[GDC'12, PS3] Quantic Dream's intriguing 'Kara' tech demo for PlayStation 3

[GDC'12, PS3] Quantic Dream's intriguing 'Kara' tech demo for PlayStation 3
Quantic Dream have made a name for themselves, especially thanks to 2010's brillian PlayStation 3 exclusive Heavy Rain and also thanks to the PlayStation 2 & original Xbox title Fahrenheit. Well, Cage and his crazy gang were up to their usual antics over at GDC this week as they showcased a new tech demo constructed on Sony's console with Cage announcing that the believes they can still squeeze more out of it.
This tech demo is not necessarily from Quantic Dream's next game, the developer has been sure to reinforce that point but it is worth remembering that the 'audition' tech demo prior to Heavy Rain definitely had its own part to play.

Quantic Dream has also been talking about the fact that they are quite open to being purchased by Sony if they were to make an offer. But at the same time, Cage insists that it isn't directly focused on the money involved. In an interview with IGN he said, "What matters to us is 'what is the project, what is the long-term vision, do we share common vision for the studio?'... What could be the vision for the studio. And if all this makes sense, then yeah, why not join Sony or another partner. We're open to all options."

What do you think? It makes sense for Sony to make their mark official on Quantic Dream, their next project will no doubt generate a significant amount of hype but at the same time Sony seem to have them in a pretty comfortable position without making it official. Either way, Cage is pretty determined that Quantic Dream's development is staying exclusive to PS3 at this point in time.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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[GDC'12, Multi] Just Cause developer plans to announce a new title at E3

[GDC'12, Multi] Just Cause developer plans to announce a new title at E3

Before anyone asks, they have confirmed it is not a new Just Cause title or a new Renegade Ops title. Apart from that we don't really know a lot more about what we can expect from these guys.

We do know that it will be a licensed game but not one based on a movie, Christofer Sundberg (CEO of Avalance Studios) let that much information slip out in a recent interview with IGN.

"We aren't particularly interested in movie-based games," he said. "I think the whole industry destroyed that. So much money's been pumped into those crappy games, it's amazing. It's really scary when you look at how bad they are."

There have been rumours for a long time that the studio was attached to Mad Max: Fury Road (Sundberg refused to comment), but your best bet would be to wait for E3 to roll around. The title will run on an enhanced version of the Just Cause 2 engine and will definitely still be an open-world story-driven experience (as this is what the studio is committing itself to).

So, does anyone want to take any guesses?

Written by: Kyran Morrison

(This post was last modified: 03-09-2012 09:44 AM by LemonManX.)

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[GDC'12] Capybara boss believes indie developers should chase innovation, not Rovio

[GDC'12] Capybara boss believes indie developers should chase innovation, not Rovio
You know Swords & Sworcery? Yeah, it was a pretty intriguing and interesting game that really sinks its teeth into some original bits and pieces. Nathan Vella, co-founder of Capybara Games, has issued a warning to indie developers to purse innovation instead of Rovio. He warns that attempting to make a blockbuster that has mass appeal not only limits originality but also can prove damaging to finances and reputation.

Vella goes on to discuss how scary it is that the "massive success of the iOS platform is that it has taught developers that they should try and make games for everyone." He acknowledges that the obvious choice is to make a game like Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja and Cut the Rope because they sold 10 or 20 million copies but he believes it is a terrible business decision. Every day I log onto the App Store and am completely disheartened to see what makes it into the top downloads section.

Details emerged that Swords & Sworcery has recently moved beyond 350,000 copies sold, Vella informed GDC attendees that this was not because it was developed for mass appeal but because it was laser-targeted directly at a very particular audience.

"Everyone wants to make a million-selling game, and that's cool, but the problem with the hit-based mentality is it puts you in direct competition with all the other people who have the same hit-based mentality - the people who aren't creative enough to make a unique game, and the people who aren't willing to take the risk to make something that actually has a soul, or is fresh, or flies in the face of conventional wisdom.

"Internally at Capy we talk a lot about playing the iPhone lottery - basically that's what happens when you try to compete against everyone who is trying to do the same thing.

"You're trying to make the next Angry Birds, so what you're doing is basically walking up to a slot machine, putting the budget of your game into the slot, pulling the lever and praying to God that you get three f****** cherries. In reality, one in 10,000 maybe do okay - I don't know the odds."

Nathan Vella believes that the key to making your mark on the App Store (which recently surpassed 25 billion downloads) is individuality, charm and a particular understanding of your audience. These aspects , he believes, cannot be achieved with such a scattergun approach. He emphasises the need for your game to stand out, because digital platforms are a vast ocean and every time the tide rises there is another 10,000 more to compete against.

"There's a subset of gamers who want to play something new. If you provide them with something worth playing you're not actually competing against 99 per cent of the market. You're competing with the one per cent. Sure, you might not reach the biggest slice of the money pie but you're ensuring your project has a really good chance of being successful."

What do you think? Do you believe Nathan Vella has a point? The Angry Birds craze has been quite astounding, I hold a strong disdain towards the franchise but at the same time I can understand why people enjoy it so much and why so many iOS developers try to duplicate its success.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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[GDC'12, PS3, X360] IO Interactive to showcase Glacier 2 crowd tech at GDC

[GDC'12, PS3, X360] IO Interactive to showcase Glacier 2 crowd tech at GDC

Hitman Absolution is coming sometime this year, so it seems only fitting that that IO Interactive make the most of the Game Developers Conference this year and use the chance to showcase the new technology they are developing.

At GDC, they'll be showing off their new Glacier 2 crowd tech, this new technology will allow massive crowds in game environments. That number is up to 1,200. Seems like a lot, right? They'll be aiming to create the most dense and organic crowds to date. I'm excited to see how the engine handles that much activity, personally.

Kasper Fauerby, physics programmer at IO Interactive, will be on-hand to showcase the tech on Wednesday, we'll post additional information as it surfaces. Square Enix also sent out some packshots as well, which you'll locate below.

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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[GDC'12, Multi] GDC 2012 is ready to kick off

[GDC'12, Multi] GDC 2012 is ready to kick off

The Game Developers Conference is about to kick off and will run from the 5th of March until the 9th of March, and typically it isn't the place for developers to make huge announcements. What it does typically provide is an interesting insight into what developers are up to or how they do what it is that they do.

However, there are a few things happening this year. For example, we've heard that Epic is showing off Unreal Engine 4 behind closed doors and that Crytek will be showcasing some upgrades to CryEngine 3 including DX11 support. But there are also other rumblings, such as chance that Valve will talk about plans for a 'SteamBox', and ex IGN UK boss Justin Keeling tweeted about SEE's plans to announce something and also talk E3 plans, and who knows... maybe Nintendo will talk about the Wii U or something? Anyway, it is always likely that we'll never hear anything huge, because this is GDC.

Either way it is interesting for those who are passionate about the industry and the medium that is video games. What would you like to see come out of the conference? Are there any particular panels you wish you could check out?

Written by: Kyran Morrison

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[GDC'12, PS3, X360] Lollipop Chainsaw gets a June release for the US

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