Mike Wilson has been up to some dreaming recently.

　　With the announcement on Thursday that he was leaving his position as CEO at ION Storm, he takes the next step in making those dreams a reality.

　　GameSpot News spoke with Wilson yesterday about his new company, Gathering of Developers (g.o.d.). Here's what he had to say.

　　GameSpot News: You call g.o.d. a cooperative game publishing company. Is there a precedent for this sort of company or are you building something from scratch?Wilson: There is no precedent for this company that I'm aware of... certainly not of the existing publishers. The company that inspired the idea (oddly enough) a few years ago was GT Interactive. Before you think I've lost my mind, I'm talking pre-IPO GT - DOOM II GT. Before GT went public and hired 50 VP's-of-whatever, they were a small, lean group that focused on hot developers and hot product. The difference is that they only had one id Software, not enough to support a steady product flow, and that they never truly understood what they had with id until they (we) were gone. Too many suits there willing to take credit for a game that could have sold a million units in a brown paper bag.

　　GS News: The statement also mentions an alliance of several top-tier developers joining you at g.o.d. Can you tell us who?Mike Wilson: I can't/won't announce specifics right now, but we will be announcing the group of "founding developers" in the next couple of weeks. We have some really awesome groups already committed but are still in final negotiations with others. I'd rather wait until they are all nailed down to present them for the world (especially the game publishing world) to see as a group and drop their jaws all at once. :)

　　GSNews: Who are your partners in g.o.d.?Wilson: I would rather disclose them later as well. Suffice it to say it is a small group of the best-of-the-best business people I have run into on both the publishing and development sides of this business.

　　GSNews: Are you bringing anyone from ION with you?Wilson: No plans to. Like I said, we will be a small, lean operation servicing the needs of top-tier developers.

　　GSNews: ION's been around now for a full year - and still no games to show for it. Did this lack of product moving out the door influential in your decision to leave?Wilson: No. It was never really in the plan to put out a game in eight months. We talked about Daikatana for Xmas in the early days, but by the time we were up and running, it was April. Everything is pretty much moving along as expected at ION Storm, but it takes a while to create true state-of-the-art content. The good news is that gamers will be inundated with a whole slew of ION Storm games in '98 and '99 and from then on. I left because Gathering of Developers was and has been a dream of mine, and unfortunately, ION is not in a position to be a part of its beginnings due to long-term commitments with Eidos that were necessary to fund an endeavor of such magnitude. You'll understand when you see their offices (and the games created in them) in '98.

　　GSNews: The designation of g.o.d. as an "interactive game publishing venture" casts a wide net. Can you be more specific...online? PC? console? all?Wilson: We will be facilitators for proven development talent from all genres/platforms. Initially we will be a North American publisher and will (similar to most publishers) partner with strong distribution internationally. Other than that, it's wide open. You'll see a variety of genre expertise in our initial roll out.

　　GSNews: Have your duties with ION ended?Wilson: Yes... other than checking in occasionally and wrapping up loose ends. I will probably continue to assist the people there who were handed my responsibilities in the PR and marketing areas. ION Storm is a great group of people, and I intend to keep those friendships strong.

　　GSNews: Do you expect to work with ION in the future?Wilson: I expect to be in a very good position to gain their business when their Eidos commitments come to an end. They understand the vision, and we pull it off. It will be very difficult for any traditional publisher to compete for top talent with our system. It will truly be the optimal environment for developers to deal with the publishing side of the business, much like ION Storm epitomizes the Utopia for game design.

　　GSNews: Where will you be located?Wilson: We will be headquartered in Dallas, a true hotbed for development talent. Initially, we'll be a small corporate office, and will outsource the most capital-intensive trappings of a publishing house: warehousing, manufacturing, the sales force, ad design, and PR talent, etc. Instead, we will focus on the things developers really want and need from their publishers: a development studio (music, motion-capture, etc), testing labs, tech support, and Internet services. All of this will be located in Dallas, at least initially.

　　GSNews: With all this time on your hands what are the current game releases you're dying to play?Wilson: I don't actually anticipate having a lot of free time. Like I said, the time is now, and the window for opportunities like this doesn't stay open very often. As soon as I do find myself with some time, though, I intend to lock myself in a dark room with Quake 2 and Age of Empires.