Jason Kingsley
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'Virtual' studios could offer a real alternative to green screen special effects
'Percival' is a short film that was filmed entirely on a virtual studio. Here's why that could be a really big deal for the future of big-budget filmmaking.
Rebellion opens social games division after Evil Genius success
Aliens vs. Predator developer Rebellion is giving itself something new to rant about, opening a division for the creation of social games. After launching a Facebook game based on the Evil Genius IP it acquired from Vivendi, it is putting more resources into the development of games for social networks. No specific projects from this division have been announced. In a statement on the company's website, CEO Jason Kingsley said that " The release of Evil Genius has given us an appetite to look at other opportunities in the area," noting that gamers can no longer be defined just as console owners. CTO Chris Kingsley called Evil Genius "a fun and rewarding project." In addition to this new undertaking, Rebellion also recently announced that its Asura Engine supports both the 3DS and the NGP.
Rebellion's Derby studio on the verge of shutting down
Echoing grim sentiments made earlier this year, Rebellion Studios' CEO Jason Kingsley recently told Develop that the Derby branch of Rebellion that birthed Lara Croft (previously at Core Design) may not be around for too much longer. "It's quite likely that [the Derby studio] won't be kept intact in the way it did, but that individual consultancy period is not over yet," he said. He's concerned, however, with that fact that "no one has stepped up" to purchase the ailing third branch of Rebellion Studios. "We would obviously like someone to, but no one has done so as yet." When we reached out to our contacts at the studio, we were unfortunately met with no response as of publishing. Kingsley revealed that Rebellion otherwise is in the "mid-stages" of "two big projects," and reiterates that "nothing's been decided yet" for the Derby offices. As always, if you are a member or representative of the studio in question, don't hesitate to contact us if you'd like to clarify.
Rebellion to 'review the need' for Derby Studio
Rebellion, which is currently working on Aliens vs. Predator and recently blessed us with Rogue Warrior, will likely shut down one of its facilities. GI.biz reports the company plans on closing its Derby, UK studios as it focuses resources on its Runcorn and Oxford locations, the latter of which is handling AvP. The Derby studio was once home to the Core Design team, the originators of the Tomb Raider franchise before Lady Croft left for Crystal Dynamics. Studio CEO Jason Kingsley said in a statement that "growth is sometimes painful, never more so than in the current climate" and that the company has "decided to review the need for the Derby facilities, and consultation with staff at Derby is ongoing." GI.biz reports "a number of staff have been made redundant," which is the UK's horribly polite way of saying "kicked to the curb." And, with that, we have our first layoff story of 2010 -- please, we can't go through another year of this.
Rebellion won't release 'sanitized' AvP in Australia
In a statement released this morning by Rebellion's Jason Kingsley, concerning the Australian Classification Board's so-called "ban" of Rebellion's Aliens vs. Predator game, the CEO expressed his studio's disappointment with the board's ruling, but added, "as we understand the law in that country the authorities had no choice as we agree strongly that our game is not suitable for game players who are not adults." The subtle swipe at the Australian ratings system, which tops out at an MA15+ classification, turned into a full-on blow as Kingsley concluded, "We will not be releasing a sanitized or cut down version for territories where adults are not considered by their governments to be able to make their own entertainment choices." Ouch! You feel that too, Germany? "It is for adults," Kingsley insisted of AvP, "and it is bloody and frightening, that was our intent." Clearly, that's why PEGI assigned an 18-rating. Check out the box art for PAL territories that will release the game -- for adults -- come February 2010 worldwide: %Gallery-79584%
Rebellion on PSP development: "it just happened"
Rebellion Studios, the team behind the PSP versions of Dead to Rights: Reckoning, James Bond: From Russia with Love, Miami Vice, GUN Showdown, and Free Running, has been nominated for a Develop award for being the best handheld developer. Their prolific catalog of games certainly deserves some recognition (even if many of these titles aren't of the utmost quality).Speaking with Pocket Gamer, CEO Jason Kingsley explains the somewhat serendipidous relationship the team has had with PSP: "It's weird because we're down for this Develop award for being best handheld studio, but we're not a handheld developer. We're a developer who's happened to made a lot of PSP games, which is something we didn't really plan on doing. It's just happened [sic]," Kingsley explained. "We've done something like a dozen titles, and people keep coming to us with more. We're having to turn a lot of it down" (And certainly, they want to be focused primarily on their upcoming project, Star Wars Battlefront, a PSP exclusive.)It appears that the team is comfortable with the immense power that PSP has to offer, which is the main reason why they've focused on the platform. "DS has been difficult because our engine is floating point and DS is a fixed point platform."
