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Roundabout goes cross-buy on PS4 and Vita
Roundabout, the spinning-limo game from former Harmonix designer Dan Teasdale's studio, No Goblin, is heading to Vita on top of its planned launch on PS4 and Xbox One. Teasdale announced the new platform on the PlayStation Blog, noting that it's a Cross-Buy and Cross-Play game between PS4 and Vita. "We're remastering all of the FMV in high-bitrate 1080p to take advantage of the PS4′s horsepower!" he writes. "The PS Vita version is no slouch, either – in fact, it's the same full experience that you'd experience on console." Yep, Roundabout includes full-motion video scenes. It's all done in a 70s B-movie style, so lactose intolerant people beware: It's going to get cheesy. Roundabout hit PC via Steam in September and it's due out on consoles in early 2015.
Roundabout spins onto Steam Sept. 18, consoles in early 2015
Finally on September 18 we can live our dream of becoming the world's most famous revolving limo driver, all thanks to Dan Teasdale's Roundabout. In addition to September's Steam release, the former Harmonix and Twisted Pixel designer is also bringing the dream to Xbox One and PS4 in early 2015. The long and short of Roundabout is it's exactly like being a chauffeur in the 1970s, except your limo is always spinning around. Teasdale's No Goblin studio joshes the game includes "cutting edge full motion video technology," with games industry faces taking the limelight. Check out a new trailer below the break.
Limo-spinner Roundabout coming to Xbox One, playable at PAX East
Remember that game about the spinning limo? It's called Roundabout and it's been confirmed for Xbox One today. Roundabout will be self-published by developer No Goblin through the ID@Xbox program. Roundabout, also coming to PC, Mac and Linux, is a game in which players attempt to guide a spinning limousine past urban obstacles and through narrow streets. Roundabout is the product of Dan Teasdale's No Goblin, an indie outfit he started after stints at Harmonix and Twisted Pixel. If you'd like to sample Roundabout ahead of its launch later this year, No Goblin will have a playable build on showcase at PAX East. This year's PAX East show takes place April 11 - 13 in downtown Boston, and will be held once again at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center. Unless you've already purchased your ticket, however, the odds of getting into PAX East are pretty much nonexistent. [Image: No Goblin]
Roundabout, the spinning 70s limo game from ex-Harmonix designer
No Goblin, the indie studio founded by former Harmonix and Twisted Pixel designer Dan Teasdale, is developing Roundabout, a game where players must maneuver a chauffeur's limo across busy city streets to deliver precious cargo to its intended destination. Thankfully, there's a catch: The limo is constantly spinning. Set in 1977, Roundabout stars Georgio Manos as the world's first "revolving chauffeur." Manos spins his limo through twisted streets littered with obstacles and pedestrians to complete important tasks, such as "deliver kittens to orphans." Somehow there's a romance narrative within the game, too, "told in revolutionary 'full motion video,'" No Goblin says. Roundabout is due out in 2014 for PC and consoles. It's available now for a pre-order price of $10 (normally $15), and that includes a digital art book and the soundtrack. Roundabout has also put its foot in the revolving indie door of Steam Greenlight.
Harmonix vet founds trope-busting indie studio
Game designer Dan Teasdale, formerly of Rock Band series developer Harmonix and The Gunstringer creator Twisted Pixel, has founded No Goblin, an indie studio that aims to become "the leading developer of original mechanic-driven video games." No Goblin will focus its development efforts on original IP, and will actively avoid characters and settings steeped in sci-fi and fantasy tropes. Teasdale serves as the studio's CEO and creative director, while the pseudononymous "Panzer" works as No Goblin's senior designer and artist. No Goblin's first game will launch for PC and the PlayStation 4 in the first half of 2014. Further details are not yet available, though the studio promises that the end result will be "a game with no guns, bows, lasers, laserbows or bowguns."
Dan Teasdale leaves Twisted Pixel
Twisted Pixel designer Dan Teasdale is moving on to (presumably) greener pastures. Today marks his last day at Twisted Pixel, Teasdale noted on Twitter. "I honestly thought something incredibly unique and amazing would have to come out of left field for me to even consider leaving," writes Teasdale. It would appear that just such an opportunity has arisen, though he's not sharing what it is just yet, saying only that "it's a shift in what I've been doing for the past 15 years."Teasdale plans to take a break before his next venture begins, relaxing on a "Great American Road Trip" and working on his bizarre, recently Kickstarted app, Super Drake Tracker 2000 EX. The app tracks the flight status of Harmonix director of communication and brand management, John Drake. It also allows users to buy Drake a Diet Coke. The project originally sought $550, but went on to raise over $10,000.For his part, Drake feels "weirdly responsible" for Teasdale's departure.
MMO devs most in danger of layoffs, study claims
In an attempt to answer the question of whether the games industry is dying or not, Twisted Pixel Lead Developer Dan Teasdale conducted research into all of the layoffs of 2012 and believes he has found that, among other things, MMO developers had the highest risk of being fired. "Looking at the the raw number of people affected, MMO teams laid off more developers than console teams," Teasdale argues. He notes that 38% of video game industry layoffs hit MMO studios, although only 26% of MMO studios did any firing. Layoffs in Boston and Austin, including the closure of 38 Studios, accounted for a third of all industry layoffs, which could look good or bad depending on the total number of studios in those two cities relative to the rest of the industry (info hard to come by and not included in the study). One upshot of the report was that MMO studios tended to lay off fewer people when firings happened in comparison to social, mobile, and console studios. "While this probably isn't a surprise, it's a clear indication that it's way harder to survive as a social or MMO developer than a console developer," he concludes. However, the analysis does not break down the types of employees laid off, such as designers vs. support, community, and temporary contractors, roles common in the MMO industry.
Twisted Pixel on The Gunstringer's Kinect aiming (and shooting!) mechanics
Curious how Twisted Pixel's Kinect-powered undead cowboy marionette sim The Gunstringer works? Well, narratively, isn't it obvious? It's a western about undead puppets. As for the you-are-the-controller part, Twisted Pixel designer Dan Teasdale offers up a lengthy explanation on the studio's dev blog. "From the start of development on The Gunstringer, we've focused on getting across the feel of puppeteering as well as the feel of being an awesome kickass undead cowboy," Teasdale says. "It's really only something we could do with the Kinect sensor for two big reasons: pure analog actions and full skeletal data." Teasdale goes into some specifics on what he means by "pure analog actions" and, mostly, he means not waggle. "Gesture libraries and waggle are the designer's way to fit a square binary peg into a round analog hole," he says. In contrast, there's Kinect. Instead of the usual analog null points, The Gunstringer will actually use your body's position (see: skeletal data) to determine a null point. "'Your hand is stationary next to your hip' is incredibly more useful than 'this dot of information isn't moving,'" Teasdale relates. But seriously, how does the game control? Instead of the "move left, move left, no move right, okay stop" input you'd find with an analog stick, The Gunstringer lets you move the marionette "anywhere along the screen just by moving your hand to that location." That's movement, but what about shooting dudes? "Since we know how your entire arm from your hand to your shoulder is moving, we can accurately extrapolate what you're aiming at with your hands, and place the reticle exactly where you're pointing," he says. And the "fire action involves literally firing your six shooter as if you just felt recoil in your arm." Alright, even with all this detail we're still having a hard time picturing how it all comes together – it sounds a lot like Rez or Child of Eden ... but with undead cowboy marionettes. Luckily we'll all have a chance to try it out, together, at PAX East next month.
Twisted Pixel reveals 'The Gunstringer' for Kinect, coming in 2011
Twisted Pixel has unveiled The Gunstringer, the studio's fifth game -- but its first to star a marionette bent on revenge. The announcement trailer (after the break) depicts a western setting with a cartoon flair, blending 2D and 3D elements. In terms of how the game actually plays, the trailer depicts gesture-based actions, with each of the game's scenarios featuring a live audience reacting in the background. TP hasn't announced whether The Gunstringer will be a retail game or one of the first Western-developed XBLA games for Kinect. If you weren't lucky enough to make an appearance at Twisted Pixel's video shoot for the game last week, there'll be another chance to fraternize with the Texas-based devs at March's PAX East in Boston, where both Ms. Splosion Man and The Gunstringer will be playable. Update: The Gunstringer's official website has opened and lead designer Dan Teasdale added some details on the forthcoming Kinect title, writing in a post, "As you may have already gathered, The Gunstringer is unlike any Kinect game you may have played previously. There are no minigames, forced gestures, or end of level photos of you in your underwear here. You can play it sitting down, which is great if you just want to play and relax rather than burn crazy calories. Most importantly, you can aim and move with precision not seen in any of the Kinect launch titles, and with a speed and feel that's just not possible with a traditional controller." Teasdale additionally says, "From the start of this project, we've focused on getting across the feel of marionetting a puppet's movement through a 3D world, then mixing that with the fun and mayhem of targeting-focused shooters like Rez. One minute you'll be navigating the Gunstringer over tricky ravines or towards secret paths, the next you'll be ducking behind cover to take out a half-dozen clockwork alligators with your six shooter."
Ms. 'Splosion Man and unannounced Twisted Pixel title playable at PAX East
In a decidedly non-volatile discussion over email, Twisted Pixel told Joystiq this evening that both Ms. Splosion Man and a second, unannounced title will be playable at this March's PAX East. Without going into any detail whatsoever, the rep added that the second game will be revealed "soon" (as in "before PAX East") and, yes, it's the project that ex-Harmonix senior designer Dan Teasdale has been working on -- TP also noted that the unannounced title has "a lot of dudes working hard on it," so don't go getting things twisted. If that weren't enough, TP promises "Matt "Chainsaw" Chaney wil be there with ukelele in hand to play something special for the fans at different times of day," which is wonderful each and every time. We'll be there as well, cheering in the crowd. You'll know it's us because we won't have shirts on.
Twisted Pixel's Josh Bear on giving Ms. Splosion Man more than just a bow
Fresh out of containment and ready to butcher countless more scientists, Ms. Splosion Man was revealed this evening by Twisted Pixel. Alongside the first teaser and news of next fall's splosive sequel, Twisted Pixel CCO Josh Bear spoke with us about all things MSM. We got to the important stuff upfront, pinning Bear to the wall about the real difference between Mr. and Ms. Splosion Man. "Splosion Man has a penis, Ms. Splosion Man has a vagina," he confessed. Solved. Oh, right, there was also talk of the reasoning behind a full-on sequel in terms of gameplay. Bear explained: "I think with Splosion Man a follow up was something we really wanted to do, and that is why you never saw DLC for that game. We could have churned out new levels, but we wouldn't have had the time to add in new gameplay puzzles or cool new character stuff. But we didn't just want to do Splosion Man 2, it had to be something a ittle more interesting. That is why we decided to do MSM." And that's not all! Apparently Twisted Pixel is already hard at work on another game -- an entirely new IP, in fact -- with ex-Harmonix designer Dan Teasdale. Head past the break for more.
Rock Band senior designer Dan Teasdale leaves Harmonix for Twisted Pixel
Harmonix's Dan Teasdale, lead designer for Rock Band 3, has made the jump to Comic Jumper and 'Splosion Man developer Twisted Pixel, where he will begin work on "a ridiculously cool new project." He is flying to Austin, Texas today to join the team, though we suspect there will be time for Mexican food and Amy's ice cream somewhere in there. While we assumed the only reason you'd leave a job like that is the sudden onset of deafness, Teasdale offered justification for the decision. In a blog post, he cited a desire to work with a smaller game in order to have more hands-on influence on the creation process. "I want to be able to help drive the vision and direction of a game," he said, "but at the same time be hands on and physically implement and iterate on the low level of making games in a more substantial way than time affords me when working as a lead on multi-hundred person titles."
Rumor: Lego Rock Band shows up on Harmonix GDC slide
In January, a rumor came out about an upcoming Lego version of Rock Band in the works from Lego Star Wars/Batman/etc. developer Traveller's Tales. After a few months, we had forgotten all about our daydreams of seeing tiny, macaroni-like minifig arms windmilling on jaggy guitars like rectangular yellow Pete Townshends. The game seems to have resurfaced, according to Kotaku, in an early version of a slide from Harmonix's Dan Teasdale's GDC Rock Band presentation. "So, it looks like Think Services put up a version of my slides that was sent for speech approval rather than the version that I actually showed at GDC," Teasdale said on his blog. The "Lego" box, if it was really there in the first place, was gone by the time the slide appeared in the actual presentation. The slide now available on his website has also been amended.It could be a joke from the Kotaku fan who seemingly spotted the pre-corrected slide, or it could have been a joke from Teasdale. There remains, however, the possibility that Lego Rock Band really will arrive this year between Rock Band Unplugged and The Beatles: Rock Band. The slides also mention several Guitar Hero releases, including Guitar Hero 5, Guitar Hero VH (probably Van Halen) and Guitar Hero BH. The preponderance of unannounced Guitar Heroes makes us lean toward "joke." We contacted Teasdale to confirm this, and he referred us to MTV PR, with whom we've left an inquiry. We'll let you know if there's even a 1x2 brick of truth to this!
Peter Molyneux to reveal Lionhead 'experiments' at GDC '09
At least, that's what we imagine the Fable II designer will be doing in a talk entitled, "Lionhead Experiments Revealed." As part of the game design track at 2009's Game Developers Conference, which will run from March 23rd to March 27th in San Francisco, Peter Molyneux's lecture promises to be a candid look behind the scenes, complete with "visual and playable examples" of several concepts currently being toyed with at Lionhead Studios. Though none of them are guaranteed to show up in forthcoming projects, it should provide a tantalizing glimpse up Molyneux's sleeve. Which is not only the greatest sleeve ever, but can fit any person at any time and will force you to reconsider the role sleeves play in our modern society. Probably.Also slated to dispense wisdom on GDC's game design track are Dan Teasdale of Harmonix, who will recount design lessons learned from making Rock Band, and Jonathon Morin from Ubisoft, who will explain the level design structure in Far Cry 2. As always, Joystiq will be at the event, nodding politely and nodding off during all the boring parts.
Joystiq interviews Rock Band 2's Dan Teasdale
In the madness of E3, we got 10 minutes with Rock Band 2's Senior Designer Dan Teasdale. We rattled off a bunch of questions and jotted down his basic answers. Full quotes? We don't have time for full quotes! Check out the rapid-fire Q&A after the break.
