Ex Machina Studios, was founded on September 20th 2015 at Western Michigan University, by Shawn Lanphear and Barry Blair during what should have been a study session for a Japanese language test. The company started just to give a name to the group who would produce their first game, at the time an unnamed project, now titled Disharmony: Strategy Dogma. Since those humble beginnings the group has
grown to almost 20 dedicated and hard working WMU students and the project and company have gone farther and become bigger than any of its members could have hoped for or anticipated. The name Ex Machina comes from the idea of Deus ex Machina which originated in playwriting in ancient Greece, whereby a seemingly unsolvable problem is suddenly and abruptly resolved by the inspired and unexpected intervention of some new event, character, ability or object. Ex Machina studios used this term to reference their solving the problem with the lack of their brand of innovation and passion in the games industry. The logo of Ex Machina Studios takes more renaissance inspiration by using a technological version of the famous sculpture of The Thinker by French sculptor Auguste Rodin meant to represent the thought and poetry that was gone from the industry, which have been replaced by the board room born, mass market appealing titles. Ex Machina aims to create interesting stories, immersive gameplay, and to restore fate back to the hands of the gamer. Reclaim fate is the company’s tag line and it is multilayered to be sure. The goal of the company to take gaming back from the corporate jaws of giant publishers and bring it back to the hands of the enthusiastic consumers is a hefty one, but the group is also passionate about the ability for players to play how they want to and really create their own experience. Whether that is how the player plays the game by being able to explore different avenues of character creation and play styles or the different winding avenues the story can take based on the player’s own decision Ex Machina believes that the player’s fate is their own to take hold of and grasp with both hands. Start your journey with Ex Machina Studios games and Reclaim (your) Fate.
