May 10, 2013

Remember Me was originally set in water; Paris came in much later

Remember Me was originally slated to have jet skis and would’ve been called “Adrift”. Players would be seen zipping around a flooded coastal city. While that sounds vaguely interesting at first, I believe the game would’ve become boring too easily and would have been dismissed quickly.

Thankfully, that didn’t come to fruition according to the game’s creative director Jean-Maxime Moris. The team had wanted to focus on the effects of global warming on the world, which they why they had wanted to place the game in a city like Sydney, Tokyo, or San Francisco. “The [player] would have to navigate with a wakeboard, grappling from one jet ski to another,” he said.

As it stands, they became more interested in the idea of manipulating memories and shifted the theme away from global warming. Dontnod’s (the studio) home city of Paris became the game’s stomping grounds but with a sci-fi twist. The iconic features of Paris came into view, though Moris explains that they were initially reluctant to be “that French studio doing that French game.”

Honestly, I think the game looks cool. The scenic views of Paris act as great eye candy, especially the new glass-and-steel skyscrapers alongside familiar Parisian landmarks. The interview touches upon the studio’s vision of Paris in the future and how social networks will come to dominate society. It’s an interesting read.

Remember Me is expected to be released early next month on PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.

May 10, 2013

Awesomeness overload: Blood Dragon movie trailer and BioShock student film teaser

There’s this truly awesome guy called Mike Diva out there who has gone and whipped up a trailer for a Far Cry 3 Blood Dragon: The Movie. We’re all blessed for this amazing creation.

The ‘trailer’ stars Detective Rex “Power” Colt, who is ridding the streets of “cyber shit”. The video is filled with ‘80s gaudiness. There’s nudity, gratuitous violence, insane dialog (“This isn’t part of the prophecy.” “I AM prophecy!”), and a flying cyber shark, of all things.

Meanwhile, The Brothers Rapture is a more serious, somber affair from a group of Vancouver film students. They’ve released a teaser that shows off Plasmids, audio diaries, and the eternal ‘rapture’ between competing schools of thought. The group promises to release the full film on May 13, but if this teaser is any indication, it’s going to be good.

May 10, 2013

The Forest looks good, creepy, and scary

Plane crash. Jungle. Find shelter. Forage food. Survive mutants.

If that sounds enticing, then The Forest is right up your alley. The new open-world action adventure from indie developer SKS Games now has a shiny new trailer showing (naked?) mutant cannibals and some open-world gameplay. It is also now live on Steam Greenlight, and I don’t think it’s going to have too much trouble going through to Steam.

The game will take a simulation approach to gameplay. It’ll have a day-night cycle, weather, plants that grow and die, and more. You can roam around the island during day and huddle by the fire at night and survive aforementioned cannibals. You can also build and fortify camps and make weapons to kick some mutant ass.

It’s being made for PC and will support Oculus Rift when released. Check out the trailer below.

May 10, 2013

Just Cause maker staying away from Wii U because of low user base and poor communication

Many studios and publishers are shunning Wii U, Nintendo’s new console, simply because it’s not powerful enough. Crytek and DICE, both of whom engineer high-tech game engines, have stated outright that their games won’t be released on the console. You can now add Avalanche Studios to that list, but not for the same reason though.

Speaking to Press Fire (translated by The Escapist), studio founder Christofer Sundberg said that the platform’s low user base and poor communication on Nintendo’s part is causing them to forego developing for Wii U. “It’s a bit sad because we wanted to do something,” he said. “I think it’s a cool platform, but right now… we want the game to reach as many [gamers] as possible.”

Sundberg also talked about communicating with Nintendo, noting that the company has always been “difficult to reach.” He pointed out Sony’s approach, stating that their communication with studios has been clear and efficient and that their enthusiasm for the new console is palpable. Simply put, the same cannot be said for Nintendo.

I would have felt bad for Nintendo if the company wasn’t so resistant to change. Their online offering on the Wii was poor at best when compared to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live. They also thrive on gamers’ nostalgias by baking the same or same-ish games based on their past franchises. Also, the success of the Wii was based on a gimmick, which people are now becoming wary of.

Satoru Iwata, the company’s global president, has acknowledged the problem of Wii U sales, blaming it on consumer’s misconception of the new console as a peripheral for the Wii. He also said that the period of time between first-party game releases has been much longer than they expected.

Nintendo now faces an uphill battle when it comes to marketing the Wii U. I don’t know how they’re going to compete in the face of true next-generation hardware from Sony and Microsoft. I hope they survive because competition is always good for the industry. And also because I’d love to play more Mario!

May 10, 2013

Will Wright making a game about players’ lives: what does it mean?

Will Wright is one of the most ambitious designers around right now. He’s famous for having made SimCity, The Sims, and Spore. These were great games that had lofty ambitions of simulating cities, lives, and even life itself. Now, the designer aims to bring “normal, everyday life” into games with his new IP.

Speaking at the Game Horizon conference in UK, Wright said that he wants to make games that are “extremely relevant to the player, and extremely unique to each individual.” This is interesting as it would involve connecting gamers’ lives with their games in an intricate manner that hasn’t been seen till now.

And that’s exactly what he intends to do: “build a game about the player, around the player’s life, around the things that they know, the places they go, the people they hang out with.” That sounds quite exciting to me, but I don’t think it’s going to be a very good one if it’s for computers and consoles.

He addresses that as well, noting that it’s going to be a “mobile-based experience” and that it’ll follow a very different economic model than SimCity, which has been plagued with EA’s irritable DRM.

The game seems like a great idea, but it also means giving up your privacy. All of your data would have to be given over to the game for it to work, and I don’t think many people are yet willing to do so unless the confidentiality of their data is guaranteed. There’s also the fact that to most people turning their life into a ‘game’ doesn’t sound appealing at all.

All that will hopefully be answered soon. Will Wright is expected to divulge more details in the coming months. His last game—Spore—was released back in 2008, so it’s about time he made a big comeback.

May 10, 2013

Carpenter would love to make Dead Space film; I think he’s the best man for the job

John Carpenter is one of the most respected filmmakers alive. He’s famous for having made Halloween, The Thing, and In the Mouth of Madness, all of which are considered to be some of the best horror films ever made. Having said that, Carpenter would now love to make a movie on Dead Space.

He revealed this to Game Informer, adding that “it’s just great stuff.” The filmmaker notes that it’s “ready-made”, referring to its sci-fi horror story of people coming across an abandoned spaceship and finding something aboard.

While all this is exciting, it’s sad to point out that the franchise’s future is yet unclear. EA has made it known that Dead Space 3, despite being well received by critics, didn’t do so well at retail. The game introduced cooperative modes that worked its way into the story; however, it moved away from psychological horror to action horror, which some fans have said was a major blow to the popularity of the series.

Whatever may happen to the series, Carpenter expressing interest in it is a big deal. The man is a legend at horror, and his work on In the Mouth of Madness shows that he can handle Lovecraftian stories quite well. Dead Space has a lot of Lovecraft vibes going on, so Carpenter not only makes sense, he’s the best man around to do a film adaptation of it. His work on The Prince of Darkness was amazing, too, which further solidifies this argument.

Carpenter for Dead Space. The ball is now in EA’s court.

May 9, 2013

Cosplay: Kat from Devil May Cry

MishoMirage plays an excellent and accurate Kat from DmC. You can find more in her Deviantart gallery.

May 9, 2013

Warren Spector rants on new Wolfenstein game; asks why major games share similar style and tone

Writing on his Facebook page, acclaimed developer Warren Spector asked if the world “really need[s] another Wolfenstein game” in reference to the recently unveiled first-person shooter. “Did we need a generically dark, monochromatic, FPS, kill-the-Nazi-giant-robot game?” he wrote, adding that “No. The world did not. I am so tired of this.”

This outburst is in reference to the trailer for the game that depicts images of Nazi robots, guns, and violence. It all looks quite cool, though I can understand why Spector is so peeved by it: the sameness, the repetitiveness of it all.

He’s also quite taken aback by the voiceover: “Oh, and could we all just agree we’ll never use the generic gravelly whisper trailer voice guy ever again.” Well, that I can agree with, but I simply cannot get in line with this: “Please stop using Jimi Hendrix to promote your adolescent male power fantasies.” Hendrix’s cover of “All Along the Watchtower” is played throughout the teaser for the game.

Spector—I have all the respect in the world for you, but please, Hendrix is awesome. Hendrix can stay.

He later added that he’s not blaming Wolfenstein: The New Order specifically, but that he’s tired of shooters. He is “sick of a particular look and tone… particular trailer narration style… and [I am] worried about the state of the core game business.”

Further onwards, he asks whether anyone is worried about the state of the industry right now. He notes the presence of the indies, adding that the major publishers are not interested in selling anything besides generic shooters, sports, and action-RPG games.

Although it sounds like a rant, and it truly is, Spector raises an interesting and valid point. Why is the industry so fixated on a particular style? Why does everything have to be flat and grey? The answer is: they sell. These games bring in big money, and that’s what publishers are here to do—make money. It may sound crass, but it’s true, and it’s something we all have to live by. It’s a business, and a very profitable business at that.

The reason why anyone isn’t taking risks is because they can be financial disasters. Even big-budget games like Tomb Raider and Dead Space 3 have been reported not to meet their targets. Surprisingly, these aren’t even risky titles with radically different tones and themes. These were regular, ordinary games that simply didn’t sell as well as their publishers hoped they would. And that raises the question: why would they risk their precious resources on “different” things? Sadly, they won’t, so we’re stuck with and excited by games like Wolfenstein, among others.

May 9, 2013

Assassin’s Creed and Prince of Persia creator fired from Ubisoft

For those of you who don’t know Patrice Desilets, I have two names for you: Assassin’s Creed and the modern Prince of Persia. These are the two major franchises that Desilets had started during his time at Ubisoft. He’s had quite a lot of success with games, so it’s quite surprising just how Ubisoft has treated him.

Desilets left Ubi in 2010 in what is described as “[taking] a creative break from the industry”. He then shifted to THQ’s Montreal studio where he was working on two projects—1666 and Underdog. However, the publisher soon went bankrupt, and Ubisoft had picked up the studio and its assets at an auction soon afterwards. Desilets found himself back at the company that apparently hated him.

This was confirmed by reports today that Ubisoft had terminated the developer. The publisher stated that there were “good faith discussions…aligning Patrice’s and the studio’s visions have been inconclusive.”

Desilets, however, tells a completely different story. He has angrily said that he was terminated by the company, adding that this was done in person and that he was “unceremoniously escorted out of the building by two guards without being able to say goodbye to my team or collect my personal belongings.”

That sounds like a poisonous relationship to me. Desilets adds that he intends to fight Ubisoft regarding his termination and his game and that he will “survive”.

This whole situation sounds strange to me. Desilets spearheaded two of the most successful franchises Ubisoft has ever seen. Both of these series sold millions of copies and introduced memorable characters with strong gameplay and graphics. It’s strange that they’d terminate such a valuable asset to their team in such a rash manner.