SinEpisodes
Latest
Ritual not done with SIN just yet
When developer Ritual was acquired by casual games producer MumboJumbo, we figured that SIN Episodes had gone the way of the Mexican landfill. It turns out that it may just be taking a seat next to Duke Nukem on the bench of the infinitely postponed. Fielding questions from fansite Ritualistic, Ritual co-founder Richard "Levelord" Gray reveals that while the initial episode performed decently at retail (150,000 units in sales), it wasn't enough to fully fund a second. Development on the follow-up episode was already underway but came to a halt as the well ran dry.Gray goes on to say that Ritual is still interested in returning to SIN at some point in time and that perhaps MumboJumbo's casual outlook will play a part in it.
Geek out with SiN Episodes: Statistics
Poor Ritual, they get out the door with their (admittedly pretty decent) episodic title first, only to get shown up by the superlative Half Life 2: Episode One a short while later. It's a little early to be declaring victors, especially when Ritual and Valve are allies in the fight for episodic content, but if you're eager to compare the two, now you can do so ... empirically.Following the 1.4 patch, SiN Episodes is collecting data automatically (but anonymously of course) so they're able to analyze this stuff and (purportedly) create a better game. So, using the recently released data from SiN Episodes: Emergence and the data released for Valve's HL2:E1, we can determine that, in fact, HL2: E1 is the longer game on average clocking in at 5h 23m versus SiN's 4h 49m. The other metrics don't match up as nicely, but there's plenty to geek out over. Hardest level: se1_highrise03. Killingest weapon: Magnum. You get the idea.
More maps and modes for your Sin Episodes
Ritual Entertainment is about to release four extra maps and a new gameplay mode for Sin Episodes, at no extra charge for auto-download via Steam (the "no charge" bit will no doubt make many console owners jealous). The four new maps will be dedicated to the new mode called "Arena"--which is a single player experience akin to many games' survival modes--and will be designed around typically generic first person shooter situations like an office, a turbine room and a processing plant. Shawn, the lead game designer of Sin lays it down on his blog; "It's an infinitely repayable single player mode where you continually try and beat your high score". Our translation: "shoot loads of people and then obsess over the number of enemies you shot in the groin".Other bits mentioned on Shawn's blog include a comprehensive stat tracking system, enabling yourself and other players to compare their groinshot score, the mention of the impending release of a Software Development Kit (SDK) and a Sin development Wiki, and absolutely no news about when Episode 2 is going to hit Steam; Shawn got a little excited and forgot to give us any information beyond saying that he'd "be on the look out for some Episode 2 media in the near future" if he was you. We want dates dammit![Via EuroGamer]
Valve planning something for Xbox 360...episodic?
Valve announced today development of future game releases for Microsoft's Xbox 360 console, with the first (unnamed) title "coming soon." Valve's Gabe Newell said, "The combination of Source and the 360 provides game designers the chance to create powerful entertainment experiences...Whether developing a traditional FPS, RTS, RPG or delving into new genres, the Xbox 360 is a great platform for expanding Source and our game experiences.”Of course there is no mention of what this mystery title is, as they're undoubtedly saving the big reveal for E3. But what could it be? We know Microsoft is interested in episodic distribution (Peter Moore told me so himself) and that Ritual is interested in bringing their Source-based SiN Episodes to the 360 (they've said so), so it seems a reasonable assumption that Valve could be bringing the episodic efforts of SiN and Half-Life 2 to the 360 platform, with Microsoft making the big announcement at E3. What say you Joystiqers?[Thanks, Nate, Jeremy, and Crimson]
SiN preloading on Steam; retail drops 5/9
The first installment of SiN Episodes, Emergence, is now available for pre-loading now on Valve's digital distribution network, Steam. Though the official May 9th release date is still over a month away, you'll be able to save 10% off of the $19.95 purchase price, and get instant access to the original SiN via Steam for a grand total of $17.95. Don't have broadband and/or think Steam is the debil's bidness? Similar to their arrangement to distribute Valve's Half-Life 2, EA will be handling the retail distribution of SiN Episodes: Emergence. Both the retail version and the downloadable version will be available on May 9th.If you're nervous about the episodic playing length and the gameplay-to-hard-earned-money ratio, you'll have to wait to read the reviews ... then again, you'll miss out on the discount and the freebie. Sneaky buggers.[Thanks to everyone that tipped us off]
A SiN-terview with Ritual Entertainment
FiringSquad has an interview with some members of Ritual Entertainment, the team bringing us the Steam-distributed SiN Episodes any day now...Following the big Sony announcement at GDC, Nintendo's plans to offer downloadable games on the Revolution, and Microsoft's own prospering Xbox Live Marketplace, it's now crystal clear that digital distribution is the biggest thing since sliced bread 4x anti-aliasing. The guys from Ritual make a couple really cogent points; their Dickens analogy is particularly apt, discussing how the 19th century benefits of serial distribution are no different than many of the benefits the model aims to offer today's gaming audience. Some choice quotes: "I believe we are going to see more and more high-quality game content being released digitally via services like Steam and the Xbox Live Marketplace. That is not to say that the traditional retail channel is going away, digital distribution is merely another avenue for developers to get their games out there...." "As a developer, making a game under the episodic model has been MUCH easier. This paradigm forces us to encapsulate our efforts into more manageable pieces, and to compartmentalize our development cycles." "We’re in talks with Microsoft about getting SiN Episodes on Xbox Live Marketplace, which is a really great outlet for the game. We’ll have more on that at a later time." But what about the hard drive, man?
Video interview with SiN: Episodes guys
GameTrailers has a video interview up with some of the key players at Ritual Entertainment creating the upcoming episodic SiN series. There's some interesting talk about episodic delivery, including staying ahead of the tech curve due to the familiarity with an evolving engine, the dynamic difficulty system, which aims to remove the frustration some gamers have with games, and they even hit some tech buzzwords like iPod when discussing the jump to a short-form, serialized product. There's still no date for the "first AAA episodic" game but it should be soon (just not early March-ish). There's two versions of the video, be sure to check out the HD feed if your system can handle it.[Thanks, Nick]
Ritual raps SiN, episodic, and Xbox 360
GameDaily talked with Ritual Entertainment's Tom Mustaine and Levelord (not his birthname... we think) about SiN Episodes, episodic content, and even their Xbox 360 plans. They have some valuable insights into episodic distribution, equating it to the popular shareware format, explaining, "Finally, let's remember the shareware model used by game developers not so long ago. It was actually an episodic delivery paradigm. With shareware, we would release the first episode, usually before the completed game was finished. Then the full game would be released, which usually was the second and third episodes. These would then, if the game was successful, be followed by a series of add-on packs, each of which to be called another episode."Episodic delivery is gaining a lot of "Steam" in the industry thanks to games like SiN Episodes, Telltale's adventure game offerings like Bone and the upcoming Sam & Max, and the 800lb. gorilla in the gaming room, Half-Life 2. Figuring out how to offer episodic content over Xbox Live is something we're very eager to hear about. Ritual's Mustaine says, "[Microsoft does] have limitations on Marketplace download sizes. Since we are still in discussions with Microsoft about the 360 version, details about that product should appear in the near future." Titles distributed via XBLM are expected to fit onto the Memory Unit, which is obviously out of the question for a game like SiN. Unfortunately, the hard drive, with only 13GB free, is another limiting factor. What's the solution: larger hard drive sizes? Streaming content? Or direct-mail episodes on DVDs? If anyone wants to drop specifics, send us a tip!
SiN Episodes: Emergence goes to beta
The first installment of Ritual Entertainment's SiN Episodes has officially gone to beta, meaning the rumored March release date may be accurate. In a blog entry, lead designer Shawn Ketcherside says, "It’s official. We’re Beta. This is a very exciting time. As of Monday, we’ve shifted entirely to bug fixing and preparing to launch this thing."He also offers a nice point of view on episodic gaming: "Society is moving towards a “customized for me” sort of paradigm. Look at the popularity of iTunes, or the growing movement for a la carte cable channel selection. In more gaming relevant terms, you’ve got the phenomenal success of Steam, Xbox Live, and of course, the heavy weight precursor of customized games – Mods."With Valve's recent announcement of Half-Life 2: Episode One/Aftermath and Episode Two/AfterAftermath, the market is about to get a crash course in episodic gaming and--if gamers accept the episodic distribution model--the implications for the gaming industry could be enormous.
SiN Episodes coming "early-ish March"
A Shacknews user going by the name "sicko" claims to have gotten a whole bunch of hands on time with the upcoming episodic title, SiN Episodes: Emergence. How did he get this opportunity? Easy, the poster happens to be buddies with Ritual Entertainment's Tom Mustaine. What did he have to say about the experience? He says bluntly, "I really think this is the most exciting thing happening in gaming." Some of the juicier bits:-"I know SiN: Episodes multiplayer won't be immediately available... but it is something they hope to release before Episode 2."-"Early-ish March is the target right now I was told. It looks good, so I can't imagine they would miss that date. I am pretty stoked."-"$20 for 6ish hours of gameplay supposedly."-On the dynamic difficulty, "You won't be able to force the difficulty. I was actually feeling pretty skeptical about that at first though, but the way they do it is far more advanced than just adding more enemies, higher hitpoints, etc. Nobody has ever done it like this before... It is kind of staggering how much data they are tracking... It adjusts it every 2 minutes, so the game will be very dynamic and won't hang onto a particular setting very long if it isn't working."In summary, we're talking about a $20 game with about 6 hours of gameplay and, using technology from the future, won't be too easy or too hard... and you'll probably get some multiplayer thrown in at some point.
SiN Episodes Xbox 360 bound?
Ritual Entertainment, developers of the soon-to-be episodically distributed SiN Episodes, has revealed their interest in porting the title to the Xbox 360; after all, the two are a natural pairing. The Xbox Live service has the potential to be a disruptive technology, capable of undermining the retail channel by distributing games digitally right onto your console. The episodic nature of SiN Episodes demands this kind of distribution, and while Valve's Steam platform is capable of handling it on the PC side, it would appear Ritual is hoping Microsoft's Xbox Live service can do the same on the console side. While there is great promise in this strategy, for Microsoft, developers, and consumers, there are limitations, not the least of which is storage requirements. The Xbox 360's hard drive is just not designed for massive game downloads. With just 13 gigs free, and the SiN package coming in at over 2 gigs on the PC, the option of purchasing games and leaving them on your console forever is simply not a possibility. Will they release larger hard drives or simply allow you to download games over again when you want them, swallowing the bandwidth cost?[Via Joystiq]
