Vancouver video-game developers Hothead Games and Klei Entertainment have signed agreements with EA Partners, it was announced this morning.

Jamil Moledina is outreach director of business development for EA Partners. On the phone from his office in San Francisco, he explained that EAP is the division of Electronic Arts responsible for publishing “the original game designs and ideas of independent publishers”.

It’s a return to what used to be a core component of EA’s business. Developers can focus on the job of making a good game without having to worry about things like manufacturing and distribution or marketing and promotion.

“At the end of the day,” Moledina said, “the core idea is partnering with talent.”

The aspect of EAP that makes it different, though, is that studios who become partners can pick and choose from a suite of services. Those developers that have a marketing and promotional vehicle in place don’t have to avail themselves of that particular offering.

“We’re absolutely flexible and interested in doing what’s best for the game,” Moledina said.

The deal with Hothead Games is for DeathSpank, being designed by industry veteran Ron Gilbert for release this year. An adventure role-playing game with a slightly absurd story and witty dialogue, the animation is, just like the tone of the game, a bit off-kilter.

Ian Wilkinson, CEO of Hothead, told me in a phone interview that EA’s “reach and marketing” were appealing.

“Our experience is that we’re very good at making games, not necessarily good and marketing and selling them. It really requires both pieces to have a successful product and we believe with EA we can do that,” he said.

On its own, Hothead released two episodes of Penny Arcade Adventures: On the Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness, and Wilkinson said that while those games were critically successful, “they didn’t sell as well as either Penny Arcade or Hothead would have liked”.

Moledina characterized the Hothead deal as more of a co-publishing deal, and said DeathSpank “fits quite well into our portfolio…. It’s got this great combination of Diablo-style looting and with Monkey Island humour. It’s extraordinary.”

Shank, from Klei Entertainment, is scheduled for release this summer. It’s a side-scrolling action game with an incredible art style that fuses old western and ’70s-era martial arts films.

Jamie Cheng, Klei’s CEO, said it is important that EA is hands off when it comes to the game’s development.

“The reason we’re partnering with EA is because they really let us execute on our vision…. The main thing is allowing us to create the game that we wanted to create, that we envisioned creating.”

Said Moledina: “Their creative vision is the reason why we’re doing the deal in the first place. The partnership is operating in very much of an allocation of talent and resources. We do our thing best and they do their thing best.”

EAP has, until now, been partnering with developers to release games that are packaged for retail, but both DeathSpank and Shank are games being developed for the digital services Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network. (Shank is also being released for PC.)

“We look at this space as an opportunity,” said Moledina, “to provide our services to developers … that are experimenting and demonstrating a high-degree of creativity that is afforded in this space.”

Cross-posted at the Georgia Straight