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Getting touchy-feely in Doki-Doki Universe
Doki-Doki Universe, from ToeJam & Earl creator Greg Johnson and HumaNature Studios, is a game about a robot endeavoring to become more human. As Sony executive producer Alex Lee tells us in this E3 demonstration, it's also a game about self-discovery, stealing hugs from widows and sending bizarre text messages featuring adorable, animated sushi. Yeah, you'll really just have to see it for yourself. Doki-Doki Universe is slated for PS3, PS4 and Vita this year.%Gallery-187739%
Toejam & Earl creator developing Doki-Doki Universe for PS4, PS3, Vita
Greg Johnson, creator of the funky Sega Genesis classic Toejam & Earl, is heading up studio HumaNature's development of Doki-Doki Universe, a newly announced game for the PlayStation 4, PS3, and PS Vita. Doki-Doki Universe, which Johnson describes as an "RPG/Simulation/Interactive Story game," stars an abandoned robot who travels across the universe and interacts with a host of living creatures, growing more human-like as the narrative progresses. The expansive game world features a wide variety of collectible items and character-driven puzzles, and players will develop a unique, shareable personality profile as they play. Doki-Doki Universe will launch as a free download that allows players to fly around the game's universe, take personality quizzes, and send animated cross-platform messages via the included Doki-Doki Mail messaging app. The game's full story mode will be available as add-on content.%Gallery-187739%
ToeJam & Earl dev hiring for new Sony game
HumaNature Studios, the creator of ToeJam & Earl, appears to be working on a Sony-exclusive title, posts on Tech-Artists and the Gamasutra jobs board suggest. HumaNature is working on a title "directly for Sony," studio co-founder Greg Johnson writes in a head-hunting post on Tech-Artists.Johnson describes the title as "cute and filled with quirky personality. It's also super innovative in the area of emotional AI and personality simulation. It's designed for both male and female players, and will be marketed in the US and in Japan." Whew -- finally a video game for male and female players. We were getting tired of all these games marketed to "people."The Gamasutra job listing doesn't mention Sony specifically, but does provide more context for the game itself: "You should love games that create charming and believable, emotionally compelling simulated worlds; games like ICO, Beyond Good and Evil, Animal Crossing, Scribblenauts, LittleBigPlanet, and others."HumaNature stresses the importance of creativity and innovation with this title, and we can't help but picture a Vita game coming out of all this creative ... stuff.[Thanks, Jonah.]
ToeJam & Earl creator says XBLA port not so certain; future games in franchise still a possibility
Greg Johnson has been in the game industry for a long time. Having designed 16-bit Sega icons ToeJam & Earl way back in the early 90s and now running Humanature Studios, he's seen his creation rise to fame and subsequently slip into gaming history as the years ticked by. But last summer, when Sega created a poll tasking fans with selecting the next Genesis title to get the XBLA treatment, ToeJam & Earl popped back up on our industry's collective radar by taking the gold. But it's not so simple! Johnson says Sega may have "got ahead of themselves a little bit" with that announcement "and didn't realize that they don't have the rights to the property." Apparently, Johnson assures us, "it's an easy mistake to make." This same shortcoming is also the reason why the characters will not be appearing in the upcoming Sonic & SEGA All-Stars Racing, though showing up as DLC is still a possibility. "TJ&E will not be included ... and the option for including them as downloadable content is still open," Johnson said. "Sega said they're not ready to talk about that yet because they haven't started making any definite plans, but they promised to give me a shout when they get there – so hopefully we'll be able to work something out." More interesting yet, it seems that Mr. Johnson shopped around the idea for a Nintendo DS multiplayer ToeJam & Earl game – though his pitch unfortunately met with deaf ears at "pretty much all of [the game publishers]." Check out some images of what could have been in the gallery below and continue past the break for more from our conversation with Greg Johnson. %Gallery-77824%
MapleStory dev's Vancouver studio shuttered
We're sure you've all heard of Nexon Vancouver (a.k.a. Humanature), the Canadian branch of Korean MapleStory creator, Nexon. Oh, you haven't. That's likely because it hadn't produced any games. And now it's been closed, as confirmed by Gamasutra.The studio had been working on a free-to-play MMO titled Sugar Rush (not to be confused with the BBC series) and was headed up by Relic Entertainment co-founder, Alex Garden. Upwards of 90 employees have reportedly been let go in the closure, which Nexon has attributed to "today's economic landscape and the need to secure Nexon's core business for the long term."Nexon's Los Angeles operation will remain open and, according to the company, "will continue to work on our existing titles as well as upcoming titles for 2009." (Unlike the now-defunct Vancouver unit, the folks at Nexon L.A. aren't developing original content -- they perform localization of Nexon's Korean language titles for the US.) For those keeping tabs on the Great Games Industry Bloodletting of Ought-Nine, we're up to three studio closures (Black Box, Pandemic Brisbane, Humanature) and some 335 jobs lost -- not counting the ones EA and Microsoft won't disclose.
Nexon to close their Vancouver studio in economic wake
Originally reported by Kotaku and now verified by Gamasutra, Nexon is shuttering the doors on Nexon Vancouver, leaving 90 employees without jobs. The Vancouver group, also known as Humanature Studios, was unable to release one of their own games under the Nexon flag, but was involved in the development of Klei Entertainment's Sugar Rush title. The studio was headed up by Alex Garden, co-founder of PC developer Relic Entertainment (Homeworld, Company of Heroes.)Nexon is retaining their Los Angeles studio, keeping a base of operations available in North America.The company has confirmed the closure, saying that it was a difficult decision due to the dedication of the staff and all of their hard work, but necessary given the current economic conditions and the need to secure Nexon's core business.
