Quell, the UK-based fitness gaming developer and publisher, is pleased to announce the appointment of Stieg Hedlund as VP of Design, bringing with him sector-leading experience from a storied career in design and development across both AAA and indie game titles.
Hedlund is well known for having invented dozens of now-standard game mechanics, and brings his expertise of game design innovation to Quell as the company works to revolutionise the burgeoning fitness gaming sector. In his new position he will be responsible for leading development of Quell’s first game, Shardfall, and future games under development, as the countdown to the launch of Quell’s proprietary ‘Impact’ fitness gaming platform grows closer.
Hedlund is credited with being the ‘Father of the ARPG1’ from his time as Senior Game Developer at Blizzard, where he led development of legendary RPG hack-and-slash Diablo II, which was the recipient of more than 15 prestigious game awards, including Game of the Year from the Interactive Achievement Awards. With Hedlund responsible for the game’s design, through concept to final balancing, Diablo II went on to sell more than 15 million copies and on release set the Guinness World Record for the fastest-selling video game of all time. At Blizzard, he also provided senior design leadership during the development of the iconic StarCraft, which was hailed among GameSpot’s ‘Greatest Games of All Time’ and was the winner of multiple game of the year awards.
Following his time at Blizzard, Hedlund took on a corporation-wide role at Ubisoft Red Storm, focusing on the eponymous Tom Clancy series of video games. His conception of Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter as a line extension of Ghost Recon proved inspired, with the game having a lasting impact on the tactical shooter genre and achieving a 90% Metacritic score. He further led the level design of Ghost Recon 2 and Rainbow Six 3.
Hedlund has held additional senior positions at Zynga, nWay and Turpitude, and moves to Quell from his position as Vice President of Design at King, where he led design for the New Games Division.
The Quell Impact is available to pre-order at: www.playquell.com
Pre-order customers currently receive a complimentary one-year Quell subscription which includes the full suite of Quell games, fitness analytics and adaptive coaching.
Stieg Hedlund commented: “I love the design philosophy of Quell: using the fun and immersion of gaming to drive positive effects on people’s mental and physical wellbeing. Games have long been mischaracterised as sedentary, and Quell offers an opportunity to replace this narrative with one of health and positivity. I’m delighted to be working with Quell to open a new chapter for the gaming industry.”
Cameron Brookhouse, CEO of Quell, commented: “We’re thrilled to welcome Stieg to Team Quell. In the increasingly self-referential world of gaming, Stieg’s radical approach to design consistently moves the entire sector forward. His innovations have shaped modern gaming, establishing a plethora of mechanics and systems which developers now see as best-practice.
“Stieg’s arrival is a significant milestone for Quell, as we look to expand the boundaries of what games can be. His cross-genre expertise and proven track record of envelope-pushing will help propel Quell towards its goal of building the definitive fitness-gaming platform.”
ENDS
About Quell:
Quell is a UK-based fitness gaming developer and publisher that is pioneering the future of fitness gaming technology. Its ‘Impact’ platform is the world’s first dedicated fitness gaming system, built from the ground-up to deliver high-impact training in immersive digital worlds. Quell’s lightweight motion and fitness-tracking technology is combined with athlete-grade resistance bands to deliver real-world feedback, resistance and tracking to player action, burning over 600kcal an hour on average. The Impact device will be released in 2023 alongside the company’s first game, ‘Shardfall’, developed in-house by a leading team of engineers and fitness experts.
Quell is headquartered in London and is led by an experienced management team of gaming and engineering experts. For more information, visit www.playquell.com
- Action Role-Playing Game. This is a video game that combines elements of role-playing games with the action genre.
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