project-sora
Latest
Kid Icarus: Uprising studio Project Sora closed
Project Sora, the studio responsible for Kid Icarus: Uprising, has closed its doors. A short message on the studio's website, translated by Andriasang, states that the company was closed on June 30 and that the website will shut down on July 31. Project Sora was started by Masahiro Sakurai, the brains behind Super Smash Bros, back in 2009.Kid Icarus: Uprising, the only title released by the studio, debuted to reasonably strong sales and critical praise this past March. Sakurai is currently working on the next iteration of Smash Bros for the Wii U and 3DS with Namco. We've reached out to Nintendo for more information on Project Sora's closure.
Kid Icarus: Uprising sequel not likely, Sakurai says
Despite strong sales and positive reception, it seems a Kid Icarus: Uprising sequel just isn't in the cards right now. Masahiro Sakurai, the game's director, has said that it's possible we could see another Kid Icarus game in the next 25 years, but not from his studio, Project Sora."If by 'lasting universe' you mean to ask if there's a sequel, the answer is no," Sakurai told IGN, "because we pushed a lot into the game in order to let people have this short yet deep experience, but the novelty of that would likely grow thin in the next game. For now, my thought is that perhaps we'll see someone else besides me make another Kid Icarus in another 25 years."25 years is a long time, but we're sure Kid Icarus: Rerising will really rock the 8DS when it drops in 2037.
Sakurai explains Kid Icarus: Uprising's contentious controls
The thing about Kid Icarus: Uprising is that, even though it induces carpal-tunnel syndrome, it's just so gosh-darned fun. Developer Project Sora's director Masahiro Sakurai has offered some insight into the control scheme and some tips for a more comfortable gaming experience – beyond "use the stand," that is."I think any game needs to provide new experiences and stimulating things to discover, but if we provided run-of-the-mill controls for it, that cuts down on the game's potential," Sakurai told IGN. "If a player used to touchscreen-based aiming played against someone used to right-analog control, the first player would probably dominate. The speed is on a whole different level."As for the pain in your hand, Sakurai has an easy solution: relax. "If there are players who say that it makes their hand tired, that's because you're applying too much force. Try to relax and work on building a rhythm to your control. Place the pen in the middle of the touchscreen; when you're flicking it, take the pen off the screen as you're sweeping with it, and stop right there. That's the basic idea." So in short, don't press too hard and try to be more elegant in your wrist control – it takes practice.Oh, and if you're a lefty, just know how lucky you are to be able to play Kid Icarus: Uprising with a Circle Pad Pro – left-handed controls almost didn't make their way into the game. "Considering how close to the limit we pushed the 3DS during development, it's a miracle that we were even able to provide support for left-handed controls at the point of completion. Providing support for independent analog control was something that was technically impossible."
Kid Icarus: Uprising prototype began on Wii and PC
Before Kid Icarus: Uprising became the carpal tunnel syndrome-inducing good time it is today, it began development on the PC and Wii. In a new Iwata Asks column, designer Masahiro Sakurai shares the story of development and some neat prototype videos showcasing Kid Icarus: Uprising as it was way before its E3 2010 unveiling. At the outset, Sakurai's company Project Sora didn't even have 3DS dev kits, so they had to start on PC and Wii.The videos -- uploaded to YouTube by Siliconera and embedded above and past the break -- were created to illustrate Sakurai's vision to new dev-team members coming onto the project. Iwata admits the reason it took so long to get Kid Icarus: Uprising out the door was having to port the already established work on PC and Wii over to 3DS.%Gallery-145129%
Kid Icarus Uprising review: Uplifting
Kid Icarus: Uprising for 3DS is more than the return of a long-dormant Nintendo franchise; it's effectively the birth of a new franchise that feels nothing like anything else in Nintendo's lineup. It's fresh, exciting, funny, and has the ability to be customized deeply to the player's interest and comfort level.It is, in short, an excellent game. And it's one I almost didn't bother to play, because -- to put it charitably -- its controls are a barrier to entry that is uncharacteristic for Nintendo. To put it bluntly, the controls are uncomfortable and hard to get used to. Nintendo is aware of this, hence the stand. I was fully ready to write the game off based on the controls, if only it weren't so consistently awesome in every other way.%Gallery-145129%
Feeling the 'Intensity' of Kid Icarus: Uprising
Kid Icarus: Uprising lets you change the difficulty of every level on a sliding "Intensity" scale, affecting not just how painful a level is, but how much loot you can get out of it. This video offers an example of how the "Intensity" level can change gameplay, using a snippet from Chapter 1. Not pictured: the shame of having the Intensity automatically drop down when you die and retry.
Kid Icarus: Uprising stays put with bundled stand [update: coming to all regions]
When I played Kid Icarus: Uprising at E3, I called the circle-pad/stylus-based controls "unwieldy" and "basically only possible if you've put the 3DS on some kind of stand." (I'm going to pretend) Nintendo was listening, as creator Masahiro Sakurai has revealed a stand peripheral, to be bundled with the Japanese release of the game. "Touching the screen works better if it's secured," he said (roughly translated). Nintendo has yet to make an announcement regarding the stand's inclusion with the American or European versions of the game, but given that this stand was designed to solve an identifiable problem, we'd be very surprised if any region left it out. Update: And we remain unsurprised! Nintendo tells 1UP the stand will be included with all copies of the game, not just in Japan.
Smash Bros. for Wii U and 3DS 'several years' away, Sakurai says
When Nintendo announced that Smash Bros. was en route to its Wii U and 3DS systems, longtime fans of the fighting series may have, in elation, momentarily forgotten how much time elapses during the announcement and launch. As creative lead Masahiro Sakurai explains in his weekly Famitsu column (translated by 1UP), the next game is "several years" away from completion. "It makes me cringe," he laments, referring to the two game projects being added to his plate. "And I'm not sure it's the smartest thing to make gamers wait for several years, but the early announcement was made chiefly in order to attract new team members." Apparently all of his studio's resources are currently being poured into Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS. "We've got no plans whatsoever -- we've got two new games out there in the open when there's no extra time to work with them at all." At least with these games, Sakurai knew ahead of time. With the Wii's Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo head Satoru Iwata announced the game before Sakurai even knew it was a project he would be working on. "With previous projects I had a game design document in place before forming a team, but with this I don't have the time for that. I won't be able to look at every aspect of the game and balance out all the characters by myself this time," he writes. Before the Wii U announcement Sakurai's studio, Project Sora, "had intended to make a 3DS Smash Bros.," but doubled up after seeing the Wii U. "If we went solely for the Wii U, the HD graphics would really bump up the visual effects, but then we'd be stuck in another arms race. If we made this game another extension over the previous one, we'd have to cut out the new things we could possibly do on the 3DS hardware and compete with ourselves again over the size of the character roster and the amount of gameplay we can put in it." If your heart stops every time Iwata takes the stage at a press conference, just imagine how Mr. Sakurai reacts.
Kid Icarus: Uprising multiplayer preview: Pitted against friends
For the second E3 in a row, Nintendo wowed E3-goers on stage with a presentation of Kid Icarus: Uprising. That's a nice way of saying the game still isn't out, in case you didn't pick up on that subtlety. This year, however, Nintendo did have playable demos in both single- and multiplayer. Wait, multiplayer? It's true! The 3DS update to the classic franchise includes a multiplayer mode that takes the ground-based parts of the single-player game and turns them into a competitive sport.%Gallery-125667%
Sakurai on how he's preventing Kid Icarus: Uprising from causing eye strain
In a GamesMaster interview (the same one during which he revealed tentative plans for online play), Kid Icarus: Uprising producer Masahiro Sakurai discussed strategies for preventing 3DS users from ruining their eyes. "In my experience of development and actually using it," he said, "when you have a lot of objects flying towards the user I find that it's more likely to cause eye strain so during development I'm using objects moving away from the user which doesn't have that effect." It sounds like the 3D effects will be most notable for Pit's arrows and projectiles, then, rather than things being flung at the winged hero. The path of those projectiles is also noteworthy, according to Sakurai: "In standard shooters or FPS games you see the bullet travel to its destination and it's just a dot because it travels in a straight line," Sakurai explained. "But because of 3D technology you can use arcing shots and get a sense of a bullet travelling with real depth." Sakurai also mentioned that he had an indirect role in the system's development. "Early on, Nintendo were soliciting lots of feedback from within the company and from me. And I had very specific requests from Mr. Iwata in regard to what my ideal picture of the device was, etc." He didn't say what his specific recommendations were, but he did subsequently call the combination of the touch screen and the Slide Panel "very important" for 3D games.%Gallery-95653%
Project Sora 'testing' online multiplayer for Kid Icarus: Uprising
According to a GamesMaster interview with Project Sora head Masahiro Sakurai (excerpted by ONM) 3DS flagship title Kid Icarus: Uprising might feature Kids Icarus, plural. "The online capabilities are currently being tested," Sakurai said. "There could be some versus play but we can't go into any detail. There are a lot of capabilities that expand on what was in the DS that people are taking advantage of." If anyone's going to make a 3DS online game happen, it's Sakurai, one of the few Nintendo developers to make an online game (Super Smash Bros. Brawl). But how would a versus mode work in an on-rails shooter -- score competitions? %Gallery-95653%
Kid Icarus Uprising trailer unfortunately isn't in 3D
Here's the unfair thing about the Kid Icarus Uprising trailer that we've posted after the break -- we got to see it running on a 3DS (in 3D) just yesterday, so we're pretty bored with all these silly two dimensional videos running on our computers. Sure, the game looks purty and features some pretty massive environments (especially considering it's a portable game), but it's not exactly running in brain-melting 3D. Oh, and if the model for Pit looks familiar, that's probably because it's nearly identical to his appearance in 2008's Super Smash Bros. Brawl. In case you were wondering, that's a good thing, folks. %Gallery-95653%
Kid Icarus: Uprising announced for 3DS
You remember Kid Icarus in Smash Bros. Brawl? That's what Kid Icarus looks like in his new game, Kid Icarus Uprising for the 3DS. Seriously, we were straight up shocked at how impressive the graphics are for a handheld title. Nintendo announced the title at this morning's presser as "Project Sora" before showing off the first trailer. We'll have more info (and the trailer) for you as soon as we can.
Project Sora shows off its smashing new office
What has Masahiro Sakurai's Project Sora studio been up to since opening in February? According to its website, the company is in the final stages of its hiring initiative, but it's also been moving. The new developer posted a photo tour of its new offices in Iidabashi, Tokyo, complete with a sound booth and a teleconference room for meetings with Nintendo of America.The room with the most furnishing is the office game room, seen above, which features an impressive array of consoles (including the dreamy Twin Famicom on the floor) and plants. "The cactus was a gift," Sakurai boasted. As for what Sora is working on in this new space: "Our project is a secret!"[Via Siliconera]
Project Sora hiring for non-Smash Bros. game
Last month, Nintendo announced the formation of Project Sora, a new studio created from the combination of Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai's Sora Ltd. and a pile of Nintendo's money. This week, the new company took out a full-page ad in Famitsu seeking new employees.The ad reiterates that Sora is working on "something that Nintendo can't create by themselves." Nintendo president Satoru Iwata also has quotes in the ad, which provide one small detail: "I am asking for something special here, something that isn't Smash Bros.," Iwata says. While it's entirely possible Sora or another studio is also working on another Smash Bros. title, the mysterious game that the developer is focusing on right now is something else. We don't even know which system it will involve!
Nintendo opens new studio helmed by Sakurai
Nintendo has announced the opening of a new Tokyo-based studio named Project Sora. The studio will be helmed by Smash Bros director Masahiro Sakurai, who seems to have been given complete creative freedom for the project. The official website is relatively bare at the moment, but includes a dialogue between Sakurai and Iwata, in which they discuss the studio's direction.Information regarding the studio's first title is sparse, though Iwata says that it is "something that can be made because Nintendo is backing you up, but is also something that Nintendo could not make." He also indicates that it doesn't fit in the Touch Generations catalog, hopefully meaning it'll be geared more towards hardcore gamers. "If one were simply considering effective use of funding, we'd have went [sic] with a plan similar to Touch Generations. But that's not I wanted."We're intrigued to find out more about Project Sora, but it's very early days. Give them a year or so and we should be hearing a lot more about what they've got cooking.[Via GI.biz]
