Surviving the game

It's one thing to navigate your way through the worlds of "The Legend of Zelda" and "Super Mario Brothers," as Michael Dehen did while growing up in Brainerd. It's another to navigate the competitive video game industry.

But persistence eventually allows you to rescue Princess Toadstool from the evil clutches of Bowser, and it also can get you a spot as an industry player.

Dehen just launched his first title, the third-person space shooter "CellZenith," through his seven-man company, Faramix Enterprises. The online computer game is available for purchase and download on Direct2Drive and GamersGate.

Michael Dehen

Game developer from Brainerd

Favorite video game growing up: "Mega Man."

Favorite video game now: "Battlefield: Bad Company."

Game you're looking forward to: "Mirror's Edge."

Favorite old-school consoles: Original Nintendo and Game Boy.

Favorite current console: Xbox 360.

Favorite TV show: "Prison Break."

Best movie you've seen this year: "The Dark Knight."

Favorite book: "The Giver" by Lois Lowry.

What do you do in your spare time? Swim, run, go to movies, travel and play video games.

Where to buy it

"CellZenith" is on sale now for $14.99; the price changes to $19.99 on Oct. 14. It is available for download from Direct2Drive and GamersGate. Visit www.faramix.com or www.cellzenith.com.

The 2003 Brainerd High School graduate, who now lives in La Habra, Calif., had to endure a lot of failure before he beat the game.

"It was out of that frustration that we said, 'Fine, we'll do this ourselves,'" Dehen, 23, said in a recent phone interview. "I got fed up hearing (from game publishers) that we don't have the experience. We're basically acting as the publisher ourselves.

"We hope to hit a sales goal to pay off our debt, and hope to make enough to fund the next title ourselves so we can pay wages, buy computers and self-publish. We've had great feedback, but we won't know until the release day what happens. If we break even, that's great."

Dehen's journey to the cusp of his first release started in a time and place that pretty much everyone younger than 40 will fondly remember - the 1980s, in a living room with a Nintendo Entertainment System.

"Growing up, I always had an interest in video games," Dehen said. "I had the original Nintendo, and I remember at Northwest Pizza 'Donkey Kong' was there a long time. It was entertainment if I was bored."

Dehen studied business for two years at the University of North Dakota before dropping out. But he acquired knowledge that would pay off when he moved in 2006 to the Los Angeles area with the notion of getting into the gaming field.

"I didn't really want to stay in the Midwest," said Dehen, the son of James and Shannon Dehen of Brainerd. "I never liked the cold, even though I skied all the time growing up. I had relatives out here in L.A. I gave them a call and said, 'Can I come out to check out the area?'"

Dehen signed up for on online game and simulation programming class through DeVry University.

"It was what I wanted to do - you do writing, design, modeling, sounds, everything. ... I wanted to work with something from beginning to end, where each step was different. I didn't want to be stuck doing the same thing the rest of my life."

The class required Dehen to create and develop his own game. But he had more than one idea, so outside of school, he started Faramix and teamed up with other independent artists, including "CellZenith" creator Gregory Philbrick.

Those years of playing everything from "Mario" and "Zelda" to "Diablo" and "StarCraft" armed Dehen with useful knowledge.

"I've just looked at games I've played and made a list in my head of what makes a game good and what makes a game bad," he said.

First on the list of what he wanted in "CellZenith" was user-friendly controls.

"One of the biggest problems I've had playing games is clunky controls," Dehen said. "We designed a control system where you barely move your fingers and can do just about anything."

"CellZenith" uses the mouse for shooting, but it also expands on the basic WASD control pad (where those keys control movement) by adding nearby keys that are easy to reach. E toggles to strafe mode, Q scrolls through your weapons, X calls the carrier and Z grabs the power-ups around you.

Dehen hopes "CellZenith" is just the tip of the iceberg for his company.

"We've developed six game concepts, not counting sequels," Dehen said of Faramix, which employs two of his DeVry classmates. (The employees work out of their homes across the United States; Dehen hopes to set up a full-fledged studio someday.) "We've got a good 10 to 15 years of games lined up, plus publishers have e-mailed us. Things are really growing."

Dehen and Faramix reflect the industry in general.

"The game industry is getting big," Dehen said. "I saw a poll that said, 'If we're in recession or depression, what wouldn't you give up?' No. 1 was food. No. 2 was video games.

"People refuse to give up games. You can buy a game for $15 and you can play it for hours on end, rather than going to a movie for two hours and it's done."