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War of the Vikings is 'historically inspired,' not historically accurate
War of the Vikings, a sequel to multiplayer melee combat game War of the Roses, is currently in development at FatShark, for launch on the PC sometime in 2014. It's a game that executive producer Gordon Van Dyke says will be "historically inspired," not necessarily entirely historically accurate. This choice gives FatShark some wiggle room when it comes to technology of the time and the types of weaponry the development team can put in the game. "We wanted to have a broader range of stuff. Even though there were a lot of places the vikings went, their technology stayed the same for 300, 400 years," Van Dyke said. "So we wanted to be able to use any style we wanted from those time periods, but we also wanted to make sure there is real evidence of these weapons so there's no fantasy, there's nothing made up. We're very factual but maybe not 100% accurate. We didn't want to paint ourselves in that corner."%Gallery-195410%
PS4 project from Paradox won't attempt 'cheap PC port'
Speaking to Joystiq at GDC, Paradox Senior Producer Gordon Van Dyke offered a few hints as to what shape the company's PlayStation 4 project may take. "There's something in the works – I can't say yet, but we are looking into it."Van Dyke pointed to a recent addition in War of the Roses, an online medieval battle game that he oversees. "Obviously we've added controller support [to War of the Roses], there's a proof-of-concept that definitely works." Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean War of the Roses is coming to PS4 – in fact, Van Dyke said Paradox still isn't sure what exactly it wants to do on PS4 yet."We first need to make sure we can get the game running on the hardware, but the hardware is much more easier to work with than it was previously when I was at DICE on Battlefield, where there were struggles with Sony's hardware – especially the way they allocated memory. They've eliminated a lot of these hurdles [on PS4] and x86 makes it much more plausible that we can do it."For now, "it's definitely a realistic possibility and something we'd like to happen, but we're not entirely sure we can deliver on that." He said it's a bit of an inverse scenario for Paradox, where the developer wants to ensure its PS4 game isn't interpreted as "a cheap PC port on console."
War of the Roses publisher announces permanent franchise team
Paradox Interactive has announced its recently released War of the Roses will receive a permanent franchise team to support the series, led by executive producer Gordon Van Dyke."The game's reception from players has exceeded expectations and we are truly grateful for the continued support from the community," said Van Dyke, who had previously been a producer on the Battlefield series for six year before joining Paradox in May of 2011. "We'll continue to improve the game and add substantial content for all players."We reached out to Paradox CEO Fredrik Wester and asked why he has such faith in this series less than a week after launch. The executive told us, "It's based on the fan feedback and the sales numbers so far. Our goal is to continue improving the game together with the fans."War of the Roses, which launched at a value price of $30, is expected to have monthly content updates. If you know nothing about this game, check out our previously recorded JoyStream.%Gallery-165451%
JoyStream: War of the Roses with senior producer Gordon Van Dyke [watch the replay!]
War of the Roses, FatShark's multiplayer melee combat game set in the Middle Ages, launches on Steam on October 2. Today, we're sitting down with Paradox Interactive senior producer Gordon Van Dyke to talk about the famous conflict that inspired his new game and his transition from working on big-budget Battlefield games at EA to his first project at Swedish publisher Paradox Interactive.From 10am until 11am PT (1-2pm ET), we'll be streaming some multiplayer matches with the QA team and Gordon Van Dyke. Feel free to lob some questions at us and Gordon by following Joystiq on Twitch, or you can drop your questions right into the comments section of this very post.You can watch the stream on the Joystiq Twitch page, or in an embed after the break. Follow our Twitch page for future streams and giveaways.Update: The stream is over. Watch the replay above.
War of the Roses post-launch plan: monthly content updates
War of the Roses, FatShark's multiplayer melee combat game set in the middle ages, launches on October 2 on Steam and I was able to get some hands-on time with the game alongside senior producer Gordon Van Dyke. We waged war together and even fought each other a few times.But as we fought in a server full of the QA team, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen after launch? Would Fatshark and Paradox continue to support War of the Roses? Van Dyke was all too happy to confirm that work on the game would continue well after launch.%Gallery-165451%
'War of the Roses' and 'Chivalry' wage war without all the nonsense
Of all the games I played this year at PAX East, two unlikely contenders stood out. They weren't indie darlings or supported by the donations of Kickstarter enthusiasts. And they weren't first-person shooters, nor character action games set against historic backdrops. Both games – Fatshark's War of the Roses and Torn Banner's Chivalry: Medieval Warfare – are about as far from my usual radar as games go. That was until I played them, of course.Both Chivalry and WotR are set in (you guessed it) medieval times, though neither employs its setting much beyond a backdrop. The games are multiplayer-focused affairs; neither has any sort of single-player campaign. Given the backdrop, you might assume multiplayer to be of the Mount & Blade variety. You'd be wrong.Both games are vicious, fast, and, most importantly, accessible. These are not the sim medieval combat affairs of many Paradox Interactive-published games. These are arcade-style medieval combat games, presented in first- and third-person perspectives, and they're like nothing else I've played in the past few years.
Get an eyeful of Salem with an hour-long tour
Ever since we heard about Salem, the crazy mash-up of sandbox tools, crafting, colonial setting, and permadeath, we've been understandably curious about just how the game will pan out. While it's still in the pre-alpha stage, Paradox Interactive hosted a Twitch.tv broadcast yesterday, during which a trio of devs showed off the game while talking about its features. If you missed it, you're still in luck: The broadcast was recorded and saved for posterity. In it, Creative Director Bjorn Johannessen, "Code Gnome" Frank Tolf, and Senior Producer Gordon Van Dyke want to give viewers a feel for how the game functions and feels. It's important to note that the demonstration doesn't begin for real until the 14-minute mark, so unless you really like elevator music and waiting, you might want to skip ahead to there. You can watch the full video after the jump.
'Project Postman' is War of the Roses, a medieval multiplayer melee actioner
"The focus initially is gonna be on the PC," Paradox Interactive senior producer Gordon Van Dyke told me in an interview last week about the next title from Lead & Gold devs Fatshark. "Project Postman," now known as War of the Roses, was announced earlier this year by Paradox head Fredrik Wester as a "dream game" for the collaborators, but we knew little else about it. That is, until this afternoon at Gamescom, where the Swedish publisher unveiled the melee-based title. "Absolutely, it's being thought of as a franchise," Van Dyke continued, though he's not yet sure how that will play out in terms of branding. "We've been looking into franchise names. It's actually really hard to find a name that has anything to do with combat in video games." As the name implies, the game set between 1455 and 1485 -- during the "War of the Roses" era in England -- though it's not necessarily steeped in Medieval politics. Instead, it focuses on the regular battles between English houses jockeying for control of the kingdom. %Gallery-130828%
Ex-Battlefield lead Gordon Van Dyke joins Paradox Interactive as senior producer
After exiting the dev battlefield of DICE back in 2010, Gordon Van Dyke recently left his second EA gig at Visceral Games in favor of a different Swedish game company: Paradox Interactive. Before wild accusations start flying, know that his reason for leaving was rather heartwarming. "During my time back in California [with Visceral], I married my girlfriend from Sweden and we had a baby. We decided it was best to raise her in Sweden," Van Dyke told Joystiq this afternoon. In the process of moving, a friend of Paradox CEO Fred Wester put he and Gordon in contact. The rest is Swedish history. "I got an email from a friend introducing me to Gordon. Two days later he was hired," Wester explained of his rapid hiring process. Van Dyke, unsurprisingly, had nothing but nice things to say about his new employer, explaining that the studio "offers me more room to explore, take risk, and work on creative niche IPs."
Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke leaves DICE for Visceral
If you've enjoyed a Battlefield game in the last ever, then you've probably heard of Gordon Van Dyke: he's the associate producer on the Battlefield franchise. Back on April 1, he tweeted that he left DICE's cushy Swedish offices for a new position in EA. We were hesitant in light of that date but, sure enough, he tweeted some more. Finally, Van Dyke has confirmed that his new digs are in sunny Redwood City's Visceral Games. We contacted him for info on why he left DICE and were told it was to help Visceral with "a new project" -- and that we'd "find out more about it later." Being close to his family was another big deciding factor. [Via Blast Magazine]
DICE explains Battlefield Bad Company 2 dedicated server rentals
One of the many volleys in DICE's Battlefield Bad Company 2 marketing campaign meant to sway Modern Warfare 2 loyalists towards its upcoming shooter was the promise of dedicated servers for PC players. That said, when the Swedish game development house recently announced a rental service for those interested in using said dedicated servers, some folks were less than thrilled. According to producer Gordon Van Dyke in an interview with Eurogamer, the reasoning doesn't have to do with profits so much as protecting "the game's integrity on PC." Van Dyke also indicates that DICE's "authorized hosts" have already been chosen worldwide, though he notes that the studio "will see where the game goes and support it post-launch." At very least, PC gamers will get a chance to find out if the rental fee is worth it when the game goes into PC beta on January 28. %Gallery-43916%
Watch out for Battlefield Bad Company 2 phishing, warns BF blog
DICE is letting folks know that there are currently no Battlefield Bad Company 2 Beta sign-ups, meaning that any recent invitations you may have received represent scams. Battlefield producer Gordon Van Dyke is letting the community know that any site asking you to sign up for the beta is phishing -- he recommends you "give them the middle finger."Van Dyke notes that if players aren't reading an announcement from the company's site or official Twitter, it just ain't real. Although we're sure you savvy consumers know better in this age, game companies aren't going to ask for your social security, mother's maiden name or other standard security questions.
PAX 2009: Battlefield 1943 producer talks lack of DLC
We spoke with Battlefield 1943 producer Gordon Van Dyke at PAX and asked him why there hasn't been any DLC at all for the game so popular it crashed servers and broke sales records. The main reason? DICE is busy. Apparently it's working so hard on the next two Battlefield games that it doesn't have time to show BF1943 any extra love at all, which is a bit perplexing given the popularity of the title. Gordon told us, "We don't have any immediate plans right now, but it's not ruled out. There's a lot of pressure on the team for Battlefield 3 and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 ... we don't want to stretch things too thin and and make something that's not up to quality. Battlefield 1943 is a huge game with a lot that we can pull from. We just want to make sure we keep our options open, and make sure that the decision we land on is what's best for everyone. We don't want to be that company that pushes out DLC just for DLC's sake." Fair enough, but we'd still like to see more maps and modes come to Battlefield 1943 like ... yesterday. Hey, hire some interns already!
No additional Battlefield 1943 content currently in development
Sad news from the front, soldiers. DICE is not currently working on any new Battlefield 1943 maps or content for the downloadable hit, which has now drafted over a million players. Speaking with Joystiq, DICE Producer Gordon Van Dyke said the company is definitely working on the game's squad-swapping bug -- he believes it's a server-side fix that will hopefully be resolved soon -- but that all the effort at the moment is being put behind getting Battlefield: Bad Company 2 out the door."We need to figure out what's the best thing for the community. What's the best thing for the franchise?" Van Dyke told us about why the online hit isn't getting further development attention. He currently has "no idea" about when the company will get to work on more content for Battlefield 1943. That certainly calls for a sad face emoticon, don't you think? :(
