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Neal Stephenson's Clang reduced to a part-time project as cash runs dry
Crowdfunding a project doesn't guarantee that it will be finished on time, or at all. Unfortunately, we're seeing an example of that uncertainty today -- Subutai has reduced its work on Neal Stephenson's Clang to an "evenings and weekends" schedule after running out of development money. Venture capitalists weren't willing to take a risk on a swordfighting game and invest the additional cash that the team had been counting on, according to Subutai. The company has shipped almost all of its promised Kickstarter perks, but it doesn't know if or when it will finish the software in question. There's still a way to help, however. Subutai suggests funding Sixense's Stem controller, which would at least bring a Clang-friendly peripheral to market.
Insert Coin: Clang, a motion-controlled swordfighting game by no less than Neal Stephenson (video)
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line. We won't lie: this might be the ultimate Insert Coin. It's not often that you get the author of Snow Crash and Cryptonomicon asking for Kickstarter funding, after all. Neal Stephenson and Subutai Corporation are tired of swordfighting in video games being reduced to abstract button presses, and they want to produce both a video game and a control system that will replicate what it's really like to fight steel-to-steel, complete with pommel hits, blocks and distinct techniques. The initial game, Clang, will focus on two-handed longsword dueling with an "off-the-shelf" controller to get out the door quickly. In the long run, however, the plan is to work on custom controllers, and the project will involve an open framework known as MASE (Martial Arts System Embodiments) that will let anyone build their own fighting game. You could create a realistic Wushu simulator... or an extremely detailed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles beat-em-up. Any pledge will help the cause, but if you'd like a credit in the game or an actual copy, you'll want to spend a respective $10 or $25. The rewards escalate quickly after that: $50 and $75 pledges first give downloadable concept art and later a digital fighting manual, while $100, $150 and $250 donations will add a very real t-shirt, a hard copy of the manual, a signed poster with a patch and eventually a signed poster. Are you a high roller? Spending $500 or $1,000 adds a signed manual as well as either the first book or whole collection of the related The Mongoliad trilogy, plus (at the higher tier) invitations to Subutai parties in Seattle. Pledges at $5,000 will supply the actual concept art; at the peak $10,000, you'll get a real longsword, lunch with Subutai and a tour of the offices. If you're game in the literal sense of the word, you'll have until mid-day on July 9th to help Neal reach the lofty $500,000 funding target.
Why you should be playing Puzzle Pirates: Swordfighting
"Why you should be playing ..." is a free form column from Massively.com intended to inform you about our favorite parts of our favorite games. We want you to know why we play what we do!Free to play MMOs just don't get the respect they deserve. The problem is that that the entire submarket is painted by the same brush. Yes, there are many examples of not-so-great Asian MMOs poorly translated and dumped on the US market as free-to-play titles. Despite that, not only are some imports well done but home-grown free games are increasingly high quality. Three Rings has been making high quality free games for years, and Puzzle Pirates is their flagship title. You probably already know the outline of the gameplay just from the name; it's an MMO where everyone does pirate-y things via puzzles. Everything is a puzzle in the game, from sailing and bilging to drinking contests. One of the most popular games in Puzzle Pirates is the swordfighting contest, and rightly so. Truly massively multiplayer, based on the Puzzle Fighter 2 console game, swordfighting is craftily, beautifully fun. Read on below the cut for my thoughts on why this simple puzzling technique may be one of the most engaging combats you can enjoy in an MMO.
Pirates of the Burning Sea to get revamped avatar combat
Swordfighting in Pirates of the Burning Sea is going through a major overhaul, not unlike how ship combat has evolved since the game launched. Flying Labs' Isildur has written a dev blog titled, "Avatar Combat Revision" which explains why changes were necessary, and how they envision the new system working. Ultimately, the changes are intended to bring Pirates of the Burning Sea's combat closer to Isildur's ideal system: "I wanted a system that would let me slice through armies of minions like a hot knife through butter, but that would be tactical and complex in a one-on-one duel between evenly matched opponents." Read on below the cut for a listing of the fundamental changes coming to the game's avatar combat.
Zorro to leave his mark (exclusively) on the Wii
Between all the sword-swinging in the currently released Twilight Princess, Red Steel, and Wario Ware and more to come in planned Wii incarnations of Dragon Quest, Dynasty Warriors and Star Wars, you'd think developers would be getting a little tired of using the Wii remote to emulate a blade. Well, think again. On Friday, Zorro Productions announced that Pronto Games will be bringing the famous fictional swashbuckler to the Wii with "The Destiny of Zorro" this holiday season. Pronto President and Creative Director Randy Angle told Joystiq that they have been working on the game since last August when they got the license from Zorro Productions. Angle said the game would build off of existing Zorro properties while presenting a totally new story that gets into the origins of the character and brings the player "fully into the moment of Zorro-ness." The game is currently planned as a Wii exclusive, a decision that Angle said was predicated on the controller. "We would do a very different game if we were working on the PlayStation 3 or Xbox 360," he said. Players will get to control Zorro as he uses his trademark sword and whip, according to Angle, but that the moves will most likely be linked to abstracted Wii remote motions rather than a one-to-one representation of real-world movement. "Players tend to do better and get less tired with abstraction," Angle said. "It's not a sword-fighting simulator." Pronto, which also works on Wii middleware, has already secured a publishing partner in Europe but is still looking for a stateside publisher. They hope to have the game ready for production in September in advance of an early November release. [Via VG Gen]
Ubisoft on Wii: A good place to put our money
The good folks at Infendo have posted an interview with Ubisoft president, Laurent Detoc, taken from the June 2006 issue of Fast Money. In it, Mr. Detoc justifies Ubisoft's decision to give Nintendo a Wii exclusive in the form of first-person shoot 'n slash, Red Steel. Detoc points out that this year, "we'll be the only publisher besides Nintendo that'll have an exclusive title--Red Steel, a first-person shooter game--released for the new Wii console when it debuts [in November]. People think this is crazy. Nobody is paying attention to Nintendo. Everyone has been obsessed with the Xbox 360 and Sony's [upcoming] PlayStation 3."He praises the system's unique controller and its ability to create new ways of playing games, and indicates that being first out of the gate will give them a major advantage. "It seemed like a good place to put our money. For my competition, it's too late to have a game out for the Wii by Christmas. They can't do it. But we did it. We will be there. Maybe Wii will fail, and I'll look like an idiot. But if it succeeds, then we will have a new brand on our hands that could be worth up to $100 million"We think that Mr. Detoc might be making a mistake by directly connecting the success of Red Steel to the success of the Wii. After all, the game's E3 showing, for lack of a better expression, just didn't cut mustard. Pass the Metroid Prime 3, please.[Note: According to Infendo, all instances of "Revolution" have been changed to "Wii". What a relief.]
