Displaying stories with the tag "Peter Molyneux". Subscribe to this URL for an RSS feed of this tag. Want more news? Click here for the Shacknews frontpage.Over the last few months Lionhead has been working on plans for a new AAA world class game. As work on a number of its titles draws to a close, a pool of 100 super talented developers at Lionhead are available to create a new super team at Lionhead. This will be in addition to an existing team which is working on an amazing next generation title. This strategy was presented to Lionhead this morning in a company meeting but sadly it will mean some redundancies.
Today, a Lionhead representative confirmed to Next Generation the precise details of the situation. The studio will be letting go of 50 staffers, approximately 20% of its workforce, bringing the company's total headcount to 200. It was also revealed that the main team has been working on its project for a year or so. Lionhead will also maintain a small team for prototyping game concepts. It is unknown whether either project in development is related to Molyneux's longstanding Project Dimitri or the portal-centric game demo he showcased at last year's Game Developers Conference.
Of the two, Microsoft has the most history with the studio - the software giant published one of Lionhead's most successful titles to date, Fable, and is believed to be working with the firm on a next-generation sequel to the game for Xbox 360. Credence is also lent to Microsoft's involvement in the deal by the close relationship Lionhead boss Peter Molyneux has enjoyed with the firm and its top executives since the launch of the Xbox, with the well-known designer often appearing to sing the praises of the Xbox platform in public.
Microsoft would indeed seem a likely choice, given the publisher's propensity to buy out high end established studios (Bungie and Rare being the prime examples) as well as its previously mentioned success with the publishing of Big Blue Box and Lionhead's Fable (Xbox, PC). With Microsoft putting so much effort into aggressively courting developer support for Xbox 360, a studio like Lionhead, which has arguably more potential than its recent sales figures may indicate, would be a good investment.
Of course, Peter Molyneux saw his prior studio become owned by a large publisher. Bullfrog--where Molyneux made his career-defining titles such as Populous, Magic Carpet, Syndicate, Theme Hospital, Dungeon Keeper, and others--was fully acquired by EA in 1995; two years later, he left the company out of frustration in order to found Lionhead. Molyneux's current studio has been approached multiple times in the past with buyout offers.
This rumor comes just after Activision's announcement that it has cancelled the console versions of Lionhead's The Movies (PC), followed by the somewhat surprising news that the studio may very well be continuing work on the console versions without Activision's funding. It was also revealed that a PC expansion pack is in the works.
I've left Lionhead - a very hard decision for me, but one I have made - my current plan is to spend rest of this year finishing the map editor with Alex, get the free demo out (sorry about delay on this - it's in Valves hands as to when and how they release it), and then set up a dev team, to make a new game next year, with Alex and Dave, who helped out on Rag Doll. (This time, it will be full time, none of this spare time business, TOO TIRING!) I would like to point out that I didn't leave Lionhead on bad terms or anything, it was just time for a change really (I was there from the very start!).
Speaking to Shacknews, Healey was enthusiastic about the prospects of independent studios. "I really think that in general, small sized, talented development teams will have their own place in the next-generation market-place," he said, "and I'm confident we'll see some of the most exciting titles coming from such people, myself included hopefully."
Five prizes will be awarded for each category. An additional ten prizes will be awarded for special categories including Best Music, Best Dialog, Best Action Scene, Best Pun or Line, and Best Editing and Special Effects. A special prize will also be awarded to a selected movie among all valid contest entrants. Entries must be submitted by January, 21st 2006.
The combined prizes reach a total value of over $10,000, and are mainly made up of PC components and accessories from the sponsor companies. There's also an Xbox 360 in there for good measure. So, if you're into that kind of thing, get to it.
Speaking of machinima, one politically-infused movie made with Lionhead's The Movies has been getting a lot of attention lately. French "director" Alex Chan made a film entitled The French Democracy offering a look at the current riot situation in his home country. In response to the attention he's been getting, Chan said "I did not expect such a reaction to my little 'home-made' movie, but I have spread some human values that are important to me." The Movies designer Peter Molyneux weighed in as well, saying "Alex's film, which is absolutely terrific, really demonstrates the potential power and impact that these films can have."
GS: What's it like working under Peter Molyneux? Is he hard to work for?
MH: I've got an amount of sympathy [for him], I've worked for him for a while. I never really thought of myself as working for him, more with him, though he did pay my salary. He isn't like someone with a single idea of the game who goes around enforcing it, it's more like he gives in and let's people have their input. That's really Peter's great skill, when he started Lionhead it was just a small number of people, it was like a soup with all these ingredients and he would just sort of stir it. I've really learned a lot from Peter.
Healey has a lot of experience working with Molyneux; his professional relationship with the designer goes all the way back to his work on Magic Carpet at Bullfrog. At this point Healey is one of a very small team, only three people or so, working on developing a project Molyneux first presented at this year's Game Developer's Conference entitled The Room. It's an odd game dealing with odd manipulations of proportions, almost a game version of an Escher drawing--at least, that's what it seemed like when I saw it at GDC. At this point, Healey says, "it could become one of ten different games really."
"Richard Garriott has inspired countless game designers over the past 20 years and his influence can be seen in many of today's most popular games," said Ted Price, president of Insomniac Games. "He has become an icon inside and out of the games industry; because of his accomplishments and leadership within the field of interactive entertainment, Garriott deserves to be a member of the AIAS Hall of Fame."
After leaving his former studio Origin Systems, Garriott co-founded Destination Games in 2000 as a partnership with NCsoft. In 2001, the studio was renamed NCsoft Austin.
Computer And Video Games claimed today that a sequel to Big Blue Box and Lionhead's Fable (Xbox) is in development for Xbox 360. Apparently, somebody conducted an interview with designer Peter Molyneux in which he talked about an upcoming 360 sequel, and then that person passed the news on to CVG.
According to CVG's source, the game seems fairly similar to its predecessor in concept--you start out as a young boy, and as you grow your appearance is affected by the moral route you choose. This time around, however, you'll have a pet dog which is similarly affected in appearance and, somehow, breed. Somewhat oddly, it seems that the brothels featured in the expanded version of the first game, Fable: The Lost Chapters (Xbox, PC), will have a prominent place in the sequel.
CVG expects the game, if it is in fact real, to ship during the 2006 holiday season. Lionhead refused to comment.
Movie news site Latino Review has been getting some attention for posting up detailed reviews of the scripts for two highly-anticipated game-based films: Splinter Cell, which went up last week, and Halo, which went up today and has understandably been generating quite a bit of attention on the internet. The reviewer describes the Halo film script, written by Alex Garland of 28 Days and The Beach fame, as "the Saving Private Ryan of video game movies," a relentless and brutal science fiction war film. He outlines the first act of what is allegedly the movie's 128-page script in great detail, and also relates some other particularly noteworthy scenes.
It's tough to say whether it's genuine. The review is certainly very long and detailed, but then again people frequently go to elaborate lengths to perpetuate hoaxes on the internet. For what it's worth, GameSpot's Rumor Control column is guardedly giving Latino Review the benefit of the doubt, citing its accuracy on an early Batman Begins script review as positive credit.
The Halo film recently received a great deal coverage due to Peter Jackson taking on an executive producer role for the project. No director has yet been announced. Halo is set for release some time in 2007.
One of the Xbox 360's functions Microsoft has been eager to point out, given the upcoming console's stated goal as some kind of entertainment lifestyle device, is that it can draw music from a variety of USB-compatible portable music players--including Apple's wildly successful iPod. It seems, however, that Apple may not be as eager about the whole thing. Microsoft apparently contacted Apple asking to work out a deal for compatibility between the two devices, and when Apple refused Microsoft went ahead and implemented the functionality anyway. Microsoft refused to comment on whether any backwards engineering was necessary, but a programmer of a piece of 3rd-party iPod software said that Microsoft must have done some reverse engineering to get the 360 to interpret the iPod's method of storing music. The 360 is still unable to play music purchased through Apple's iTunes music store.
The end result of this is that many expect Apple to take some kind of action against Microsoft as soon as the Xbox 360 is made publically available on November 22. For the record, Apple did take action against RealNetworks when the company released software allowing music purchased from Real's Harmony music service to be played on iPods. Apple accused Real of having "tactics and ethics of a hacker."
Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection, Nintendo's online gaming service for DS and eventually Revolution, has officially gone live today. The website is now pretty much all there, with this encouraging statement in the corner: "Global Wi-Fi Gaming Service Fully Operational."
The site has details of how to get connected to the service, as well as an automated service to locate free hotspots near a given location. Each of the two online launch games, Mario Kart DS and Tony Hawk's American Sk8land (DS), also has its own Gaming Hub page. The Gaming Hubs contain stats and scores of top players for each game--which are currently limited to game testers and journalists, assumedly. The site also features details about the various online features that will be available for each game; for example, every week there will be a featured Mario Kart race with a Nintendo staff member that will be recorded and hosted on the site.
The first two online DS games will ship next week, at which time gamers will be able to register with the website and start using its features fully.
Midway sent out a press release today announcing the development of Spy Hunter: Nowhere to Run, a new iteration of the classic Spy Hunter franchise which is also being made into a film starring The Rock (The Rundown, wrestling), written by Stuart Beattie (Collateral, Splinter Cell), and possibly directed by John Woo (Hard Boiled, The Killer). Nowhere to Run will feature the voice acting of The Rock. The game will of course also feature The Interceptor, the combat automobile featured in all of the previous games, but somewhat worryingly will also bring on-foot action to the series for the first time. For the first time in the Spy Hunter franchise we are allowing the player to step out from behind the wheel of the Interceptor and straight into the action," said Midway chief marketing officer Steve Allison.
Game Informer has an interview with Mario Kart DS producer Hideko Konno.
GameSpot has coverage of the recent Nintendo press event featuring the company's upcoming lineup.
Screenshots: Steambot Chronicles (PS2). Metal Saga (PS2).
GameSpot checks out Indie Built's Amped 3 (X360) (so does X360, also PS2, Xbox), and Visual Concepts' NBA 2K6 (X360, also PS2, Xbox) (so does 1UP). 1UP checks out EA's Madden NFL 06 (X360, also PS2, Xbox, GCN, DS, PSP, GBA, PC).
Screenshots: Monster Madness (X360).
Movies: Gun (X360, also PS2, Xbox, GCN, PC). Monster Madness (X360). Amped 3 (X360).
1UP checks out Vivarium's Yoot Saito's Odama (GCN) (so does GameSpy), Next Level's Super Mario Strikers (GCN), and Nintendo's Chibi Robo (GCN) (so do GameSpot and GameSpy). IGN checks out Next Level's Super Mario Strikers (GCN), Vivarium's Yoot Saito's Odama, and Nintendo's Chibi Robo (GCN),
GameSpot takes a look at the single-player of Nintendo's Metroid Prime Hunters (DS), Square Enix's Final Fantasy IV (GBA, also SNES), Nintendo's Mario Kart DS (DS), Capcom's Resident Evil: Deadly Silence (DS), and Tomy's Naruto: Ninja Council (GBA). IGN checks out Taito's Guilty Gear Dust Strikers (DS). 1UP previews Namco's Tales of Phantasia (GBA, also SNES, PS1), Alphadream's Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (DS), Square Enix's Final Fantasy IV (GBA, also SNES) and Nintendo's Metroid Prime Hunters (DS). GameSpy checks out Sega's Super Monkey Ball DS (DS). Game Informer checks out Nintendo's Mario Kart DS (DS).
Screenshots: Prince of Persia Revelations (PSP).
Movies: Animal Crossing: Wild World (DS).
Aero the Acrobat for the Super Nintendo. "Awesome music, cool acrobatics and kicking clown ass. Aero was a cool, underrated dude!" (submitted by megarust32)
In no particular order, I'll go with Half-Life 2: Aftermath, Indigo Prophecy (Fahrenheit), The Movies, Black & White 2, Bone, and Serious Sam 2. Whoa, two Peter Molyneux games.
More rumors about the Nintendo Revolution controller, which comes as a big surprise is no longer surprising at all. However, these are a little more substantial than most, and they don't involve a 15-year-old with a trial version of Maya.
Matthew Gallant of Computer Games Magazine has posted news stating that the controller does in fact use some sort of tilt sensor. However, it seems to go a bit further than prior implimentations in gaming, as Gallant states that it "will provide resistance to being tilted" by way of balanced weights (Revolution: system of choice for driving games?). He claims that the delay in showing the controller publicly is in fact due to Nintendo's attempt to ensure the controller can achieve this feat wirelessly, while not consuming an inordinate amount of battery power and while staying cost-effective.
Furthermore, a few sources have reported some encouraging words from the mouth of that wacky Peter Molyneux. The designer, quoted at last week's Leipzig Games Convention, stated that "There is a line at the end of the book 'Game Over' and it is: 'Never underestimate Nintendo'. That is all I can say about the controller." Not much in the way of explanation, but if nothing else it confirms that people have in fact seen the thing and it might not be unremarkable or ludicrous.
Not long after announcing that The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has been delayed until 2006, Nintendo has announced that Metroid Prime: Hunters (DS) has also been delayed until next year. Unlike Zelda, however, this one is quoted as a First Quarter release. The news comes as a slight disappointment at first, but since most news outlets are speculating that the reason for the delay is to add online functionality, it becomes more of a blessing than anything else. The DS still has a more-than-solid lineup for the remainder of 2005, and Metroid and New Super Mario Bros. should do well to ring in 2006.
For some reason, a whole lot of Nintendo news surfaced today, both official announcements and rumors. Here's the rest:
Nintendo Pennant Chase Baseball (GCN) is absent from Nintendo's newly-updated 2005 release list. The game was present at this year's E3, but since then it's been drifting farther and farther off the radar. Don't be too surprised if it ends up canned.
The DS sequel to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA) has just received its final name: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. The game ships November 28.
Similarly to the presence of Mario, Luigi, and Peach in the GameCube version of NBA Street V3, rumor has it that those same three characters might make a playable appearance in the GameCube version of the upcoming SSX On Tour. Both games are published by EA.
Nintendo announced an update to their Play-Yan media player for GBA and DS--again, only for Japan. The device goes on sale at the same time as Game Boy Micro on September 13, and is appropriately named Play-Yan Micro. The device will feature native MP4 support (the old one required a patch) as well as interface improvements. Oddly, it no longer supports the extremely basic downloadable minigames featured in the previous version.
The upcoming Metroid Prime Pinball (DS) will apparently ship with a rumble pack upon its October 24 release. The main game will of course plug into the standard DS game slot, while the rumble pack itself will plug into the GBA slot. It is unknown whether other games will support the rumble feature.
Well, actually, due to a hand injury, he has someone type for him. Anyway, Microsoft's J Allard has participated in an online chat session, in which he fielded questions from gamers regarding the upcoming Xbox 360. Not surprisingly, most of the questions pertained to the recently-announced tiered price structure of the console. There was little new information revealed; most of the questions merely provided a platform for Allard to justify the company's retail approach. However, it's an interesting read and gives some perspective on Microsoft's position.
Mergers and acquisitions are all the rage in the Japanese games industry these days, what with Square and Enix, Sega and Sammy, and Bandai and Namco. Square Enix, formed from the two RPG giants in 2003, is now looking to add a third to their duo in the form of longtime arcade game studio/publisher Taito Corporation. Taito is best known for classics like Bubble Bobble, Space Invaders, Arkanoid, Bust-a-Move (praise be) and the like, which is a far cry from Square Enix's RPG-dominated history. By contrast, both Square and Enix were renowned for their blockbuster epic sagas, making their merger more natural. However, it also puts the publisher at risk of having too narrow a focus; the $610M bid to acquire Taito is one step to broaden its portfolio.
Participants in Majesco and Microsoft's Advent Rising (Xbox, PC) contest on Xbox Live will be disappointed to know that the $1M sweepstakes has been cancelled. However, they might be pleased to learn that as a consolation prize the companies are giving away Majesco-published games to those who entered the contest. Your Advent Rising UPC and participating Live Gamertag gets you two of the following games: Psychonauts, Bloodrayne 2, Guilty Gear X2 #Reload, Psychonauts, Raze's Hell, Phantom Dust, or Psychonauts. Please note that one of the games being offered is Psychonauts.
For more information, consult the official contest site.
Publisher Atari has announced that Saber Interactive's TimeShift, its upcoming timewarping FPS for Xbox and PC, will now be headed to Xbox 360 as well. The 360 and PC versions are due next spring, but oddly enough the Xbox version is not cancelled; rather, it is scheduled for release next summer. This comes as something of a surprise, as post 360 development support for the original Xbox has been rather sparse.
Tyler Sigman of Digital Eclipse talks with Next Generation about adapting Age of Empires to Nintendo DS. GameSpot also has a similar interview (this one's a video!).
Ren Reynolds reports on the 2005 Edinburgh Interactive Entertainment Festival for Gamasutra.
Gamasutra catches up with David Siller, who has worked on such franchises as Crash Bandicoot, Maximo, Freaky Flyers, and others.
GameSpot takes a look at the opening of Sucker Punch's Sly 3: Honor Among Thieves. IGN previews Amusement Vision's Shining Force Neo and Harmonix Music Systems' Guitar Hero. GameSpy looks at Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 3: Substinence and Konami's Suikoden Tactics.
Screenshots: Urban Reign.
Videos: Mario Superstar Baseball.
GameSpot tries the PSP version of EA Canada's Need For Speed Most Wanted (PSP, also PS2, Xbox, GCN, DS, GBA, X360, PC). Game Informer brings us an incredibly last-minute preview with videos of Intelligent Systems' Advance Wars: Dual Strike (DS).
IGN keeps on going with the Games Convention coverage, with updates for the weekend and today. IGN also has a preview of EA Sports' NASCAR 2006: Total Team Control (PS2, Xbox).
Screenshots: NBA Live 06 (PS2, Xbox, GCN, PSP, X360, PC).
Videos: The Warriors (PS2, Xbox). Tony Hawk's American Wasteland (PS2, Xbox, GCN, DS, GBA, X360). NBA 2K6 (PS2, Xbox, X360). Total Overdose (PS2, Xbox, PC).
Donkey Kong: Jungle Beat for the GameCube. "Jungle Beat is all to easy to dismiss as a novelty--until you play it. It's frighteningly addictive, VERY polished and hugely fun. In many ways, it's a renaissance of the 2D platforming genre. But you WILL have to fight your sig-other for the bongos." (submitted by thevogts)
Majesco officially announced today that it will bring the Age of Empires series onto the Nintendo DS with Age of Empires: The Age of Kings. This entry into the series will stray from the norm and be a turn-based strategy game. The timeline spans the Dark Ages to the Middle Ages and will feature five races: the Britons, Franks, Mongols, Saracens, and the Japanese. Special heroes such as Richard the Lionheart, Robin Hood, Joan of Arc and Genghis Khan will be playable. It's set for release sometime by the end of the year.
Mistwalker's two Xbox 360 games have been officially revealed by the head honcho himself, Hironobu Sakaguchi, at the Japanese Xbox 360 showcase. First is the title we know a little about, Blue Dragon. The story revolves around a boy and his friends on a quest to prevent a long-forgotten magic from being resurrected. In the game, everyone is casting a shadow that follows them, such as the main character Shu and his blue dragon shadow. Shadows are used like equipment (200 in all) and are highly customizable. An interesting fact is that while Mistwalker has developed the concept, Blinx series developer Artoons is handling the development.
The second title was Lost Odyssey. The story follows a character named Kaim, a man sentenced to live 1,000 years. The story follows him throughout different generations (with an emphasis on falling in and out of love and family) and takes places place in a setting of "mystical industrial revolution." The story comes from the mind of Kiyoshi Shigematsu, an award-winning Japanese author, who ensured those in attendance that the game will evoke powerful emotions and will make us cry. This game will also be developed by an outside studio, Feel Plus, which was founded to make Lost Odyssey and comprises of ex-Square Enix employees. Both Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey will feature musical scores from legendary game composer Nobou Uematsu.
Nintendo, not wanting to be forgotten, made official a few of the details surrounding their next-gen console, codenamed Revolution. They touched upon the size, stating it's no taller than a stack of three DVD cases and only slightly longer. Like the PS2 and Xbox 360, it can be placed horizontally or vertically. They reconfirmed backwards compatibility with the GameCube and said it will make use of dual-layer DVDs. The system will also have DVD playback functionality. While more will be revealed at E3, the truly "revolutionary" aspect may not come out for quite some time.
Rockstar announced today a PSP version of Midnight Club 3: DUB Edition. They tout the portable port as a complete version of its console siblings, saying it contains "all the cars, parts and cities found on the console versions." More will be unveiled at E3 but for now, here are some screenshots. Also announced today was SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Fireteam Bravo from Sony. Both the PS2 and PSP titles can sync up, but developer Zipper Interactive isn't revealing how yet. There will be both ad hoc and infrastructure WiFi multiplayer.
Sega unveiled their latest Xbox 360 title with Full Auto. The game appears to be a blend of Burnout's intense crash sequences, Twisted Metal's weaponary, and Prince of Persia's control of time. Made a bad turn that caused your destruction? Quickly rewind time and get it right. A Sega rep said, "In Full Auto, you'll never see the same explosive sequence twice and, with our proprietary physics technology, gamers will quite literally see and experience destructive uniqueness every time they play it."
You thought you had seen the last of Turok? Think again! Buena Vista Games, a subsidiary of Disney, acquired the video game rights to the franchise. Buena Vista is planning to release console and portable games, including some on next-gen hardware. Upon hearing this news, Maarten said, "Instead of killing dinosaurs, you can talk and sing with them." I bet he isn't far from the truth.
A flood of Xbox 360 information! Namco announced their first game for Microsoft's next console, Frame City. Set in the future in a fictional city, people across the world have embraced a new device called the Visual Frame which allows people to put anything into a visual form. Terrorists have also embraced this tech and are using it to kill people by shocking them to death. As a special forces officer, it's your job to assasinate the terrorist leader. Melee combat appears to be a significant part of the game. It will be using the Unreal Engine 3.
EuroGamer does a nice job of rounding up a list of all the announced and heavily rumored Xbox 360 titles. A couple under-the-table titles are Ninety-Nine Nights by Q Entertainment (of Lumines fame) and Dimitri by Peter Molyneux's Lionhead Studios. "It's a game about... You," Molyneux recently said. "It allows anyone who plays the game to relive their life, their entire individual life. That's a pretty ambitious concept."
WorthPlaying chats with the devs behind Far Cry Instincts. GameSpot interviews the designer of Blitz: The League.
We have both screenshots and a movie for Shin Megami Tensei: Digital Devil Saga 2. We also have images for Magna Carta: Tears of Blood. GameSpot goes hands-on with Soul Calibur III. IGN previews SOCOM 3.
At FileShack we have the first trailer for Test Drive Unlimited for the Xbox 360 and a video showing off Neon, the Xbox 360 light synthesiser. IGN goes hands-on with Condemned (X360) and Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. 1UP has the first details regarding Perfect Dark Zero (X360).
New details of Mario Baseball are at IGN.
A trailer for Infected (PSP) can be downloaded from FileShack. IGN posts images for Snowboard Kids DS, GoldenEye: Rogue Agent (DS), and Trauma Center (DS). They also look at the Japanese RPG PoPoLoCrois (PSP) that's coming stateside.
At FileShack is a trailer for 25 to Life (PS2, Xbox). GameSpot goes hands-on with L.A. Rush (PS2, Xbox), Blitz: The League (PS2, Xbox), and Midway Arcade Treasures 3 (PS2, Xbox, GCN). TeamXbox has a trailer for Hitman: Blood Money (PS2, Xbox). GameSpot has an official movie for Dead to Rights: Reckoning (PSP). IGN posts shots of Marvel Nemesis: Rise of the Imperfects (PS2, Xbox, GCN), goes hands-on with Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks (PS2, Xbox) and Gauntlet: Seven Sorrows (PS2, Xbox), and posts details of Batman Begins (PS2, Xbox, GCN). They also lay out all the details on the new Superstar Mode for Madden NFL 2006 (PS2, Xbox, GCN).
Wonder Boy III: The Dragons Trap for the Sega Master System. "Wonderboy III was one of the most enjoyable experiences I have ever had in playing a game and that I had the pleasure of beating." (submitted by seanisdabomb).
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