Kevin Kelly
Articles by Kevin Kelly
Naughty Dog wants to half-tuck Uncharted into the PSP
Naughty Dog's co-president Evan Wells is definitely interested in having people tuck Nathan Drake -- either halfway or all the way -- into their pockets and visit the world of Uncharted whenever they want to. He feels that there are a lot of stories to tell in that world, and that the PSP would be the perfect platform for it. Just imagine Uncharted: Sully's Adventure where you can wheel and deal in the black market, or Uncharted: Elena on Assignment where you're chasing a dangerous news story. Scoop! "I think it would be fantastic to see the game (move) onto a handheld system," Wells told us. "Each one of the episodes is sort of like a standalone thing and I think we could do that pretty easily. If we can find a partner to work with, I'd love to do that ... we definitely wouldn't do it ourselves. We're trying to just focus on the PS3 technology and platform right now." He added, laughing, "But, if we can't find a partner, then maybe we're going to have to find a budget ourselves." Laugh if you will, Wells. You're just toying with our heartstrings is all. We'd love to see Nathan Drake on our PSP. Make it happen. We have Ready at Dawn's phone number if you need it.
Interview: EA Sports Active 2.0 executive producer Tarrnie Williams
Tarrnie Williams, formerly of Relic Entertainment, now spends his days working at EA Burnaby on EA Sports Active, which now has him wearing plastic peripherals and extolling the virtues of exercise in his role as executive producer on EA Sports Active 2.0. He's definitely very eager about working out, and he's eager to shake the image of chubby dudes playing games in their parent's basement. He wants them to be fit while they're down there. We talked to Williams at the EA Sports Opener at GDC where he deftly dodged questions about the Xbox 360 version, and didn't give up much information on the iPhone and iPod Touch versions, other than the fact that "they're online enabled." We'd sure hope so. He does talk about the peripherals and future plans for the property, which includes monitoring your brain. So jog beyond the break to read the full interview.
PlayStation Move: the everything you need to know post
.nounderline a { text-decoration: none; } Good morning, dear reader! You've got a lot to catch up on: "PlayStation Move" is official name of motion controller We touched it: PlayStation Move from every angle Interview: Sony's Scott Rohde on PlayStation Move %Gallery-87963% That's it, you ask? Oh, no -- wait till you see what we've lined up for you after the break!
Interview: Alex Alvarez of the Gnomon School of Visual Effects
Alex Alvarez is one of those people who obsessively played games and constantly doodled in a sketchbook as a kid. He studied art, but with no one career-oriented channel for that creativity, he didn't find himself making a living as an artist until he stumbled into a job working on comic books. A few years later, he was explaining software to movie studios and eventually opened The Gnomon Workshop, which provides training to artists who are interested in the entertainment industry. Alvarez recently finished a six-month stint working on James Cameron's Avatar, and Gnomon just hosted the "Unleashed: The Art of Naughty Dog" art exhibit showing off works by many of the artists from Naughty Dog, several of whom went through classes at Gnomon. In our interview after the break, Alvarez talks about the expanding reach of video games, looks back at his youth spent playing Ultima and Wizardry, and doles out plenty of advice for budding young artists.
GDC: EA's Schappert touts DLC as most profitable form of digital distribution
EA's chief operating officer John Schappert had a fireside chat with Alex Pham of the Los Angeles Times about "mythbusting" at GDC today. Unfortunately, not many myths were actually busted -- other than the one we heard that everything at GDC is exciting! But Schappert did speak briefly about DLC, talking up the fact that Dragon Age: Origins DLC has made over a million dollars (and that was by November's count!). He went on to explain that digital distribution, in all its forms, earned $575 million dollars for EA last year, and the publisher placed its expectations for this year at $750 million. "The fastest growing area of digital distribution -- and that includes subscriptions and microtransactions -- is downloadable content," Schappert said. "It's the extension of your current game through expansion packs and downloadable content."
Move supported by 36 companies, 20 games this fiscal year
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/10/sonys-move-supported-by-36-pubs-and-devs-gets-20-games-this-fi/'; At Sony's special GDC event, Activision, Capcom, WB Games, Namco Bandai, Square Enix, Ubisoft, EA, Disney, Konami, Sega, Crave and Tecmo Koei all confirmed that they'll be supporting the Move in future versions of their games. Although that confirmation came in the form of a slide full of company logos and word from Sony vice-president of marketing and PSN that, "Virtually every third-party publisher" will support the new motion-control device. Sony's Jack Tretton went on to say that 36 publishers and third-party developers will support it, and according to a press release, "In fiscal year 2010, SCE Worldwide Studios will also release more than 20 games that are either dedicated to or supported with the PlayStation Move platform. While this same group of publishers will probably support Microsoft's Project Natal as well, it's good to know that everyone is onboard. But onboard how? Are they developing Move departments that will get every possible ounce of gameplay out of these things? Or do they mean support like backrubs and cookies? We aren't sure what titles will be supported just yet, but our team of Joystiqers are waving the Move about as you read this, and we'll have more news very soon.
EA's John Schappert comments on Activision & Infinity Ward situation
EA's John Schappert spoke on the sticky situation regarding Activision and Infinity Ward at GDC today, and rather than put a spin on what he said, we'll let the man speak for himself: "I'm sure there's two sides to that story, I'm certainly not passing judgement," Schappert said. "On the human side, they're two great guys. I'm disappointed on a couple of fronts. I'm disappointed because I think Jason and Vince, on the human side, are two great guys. I know them personally, and they've done great things. And I think they're two of the best creative leaders in our space, and to think that they're going to be spending their future dealing with litigation and lawyers rather than crafting the next great experience." "I don't think that's good for them," Schappert continued. "I don't think that's good for our industry. I think that's disappointing. I hope that they find a way to make games and focus on that during this period." "I think the other disappointing thing is that, rivalries aside, Modern Warfare 2 is a great game," Schappert concluded. "It's the biggest launch our industry has seen, it's a great franchise. I'm putting my consumer industry fan-hat on to think that there could be some challenges -- what's the future of that franchise? I don't know what's going to pan out. I feel bad for Jason and Vince and the franchise itself because they're great leaders and it's a great franchise for our industry."
EA Sports mines your football data, and makes example out of Favre
Brett Favre is one of the all-time greats. Still, he throws one untimely interception, and that's all people talk about. Just imagine if he threw 7 and a half million! That's the number EA highlighted during its EA Sports Opener last night in an extraordinary example of the game data the company collects from its players. According to EA, Favre -- under our control -- has thrown 7,564,282 picks and counting. That's Hall of Shame material for sure. Each game of Madden played generates a single line of code, and that code gets sent to EA to the tune of over 173 million data instances every day. The company is mining all of this data in an attempt to make its Madden and NCAA Football games better every time you play them, but short of John Madden himself showing up at your door to explain what you're doing wrong, look for Favre to keep adding to the INT column. %Gallery-87893%
Name that PlayStation Motion Controller!
Sony will announce the "official" name for its PlayStation Motion Controller during its main event tonight (7PM ET) at GDC. In the meantime, let's play a game! According to our source, the official name for the device is one of the choices in the poll below -- we're not going to tell you which one, though. So ... %Poll-42754% Update: Did you guess the right name?
Impressions: Civilization V or 'I Wanna Hex You Up'
We already told you that Sid Meier's Civilization IV was finally getting a sequel with Civilization V later this year, and then we showed you the trailer that contained absolutely no gameplay. But now we've actually seen an early build of the game, and we can tell you how hexy it is. That's right, forget about old Civilization games which had four cardinal directions plus diagonals to choose from when moving your units; this installment ramps that down to to six. That's right! Two less directions! It's a brand new game! In all fairness, it is Civilization but Firaxis made plenty of substantial changes to it. Besides hexing it up, they've also added ranged units (think archers, artillery, ICBMs, etc) and taken out the ability to stack units up into an army. Also, only one unit can occupy a spot at any given time, meaning you won't be able to bulldoze your opponent from one hex. They've also built an entirely new engine for this game, meaning you'll see some really nifty stuff ... provided you have a DX11 card and a multicore processor. %Gallery-87799%
Hands-on: The Path of Go (XBLA)
Ready to frustrate yourself forever? Learn the game of Go. It's an ancient Chinese game that's over four thousand years old, and games can last up to 16 hours in tournaments. Sounds just perfect for an adaptation into the frenetic world of video games, right?! Well, your wish is granted. The Path of Go or How We Came Up With A Proprietary Name For The Public Domain Game of Go is being developed in-house by Microsoft at the likewise excitingly named Microsoft Research Cambridge division. We played the game briefly at GDC, and it's actually very robust. It includes a tutorial where your avatar has some faux back and forth dialogue with an ancient Go master, in which he really does teach you the game. I tried reading an old instruction manual for a set of Go I found at a thrift shop once, and was so confused by terms like "ko" and proper stone placement that I just re-thrifted the set. Now, I'm ready to take on Russell Crowe in A Beautiful Mind and kick his ass. Additionally, the game features single player or two player both locally and through Xbox Live, multiple backgrounds, and full 3D environments where you can control the camera. There's also an actual story mode in here, where you learn the nuances of the game in "beat the situation" scenarios while heading down a path. The ... wait for it ... Path of Go. %Gallery-87790%
Naughty Dog artists go Unleashed
If you're an artist lucky enough to work on one of the biggest games of last year, what do you do when you're done? Well, besides taking time off and thinking about slipping into a coma. If you're at Naughty Dog, then you create your own unique artwork and show it off at the "Unleashed: The Art of Naughty Dog" art exhibit at The Gnomon Workshop in Los Angeles. We stopped by on Saturday night to check out the wares and talk to some of the artists, like shader/texture artist Melissa Altobello (you saw her work in Uncharted 2 during the train level, among others). She created this piece, which was inspired by the recent earthquakes and natural disasters. "I have been thinking a lot about erosion and deteriorating earth, which inspired me to do this piece where the ground crumbles away and we are left to build upon, and try to salvage, the remaining earth." Check out a galley full of the artwork down below, and marvel at the creativity. %Gallery-87628%
First Modern Warfare 2 map pack coming to Xbox Live on March 30
Infinity Ward community manager Robert Bowling has pointed us toward a new self-help website filled with good news: new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 mutliplayer maps are coming to Xbox Live on March 30. While the powers that be at Activision might have ousted the creators of the game, they haven't affected the delivery of eagerly awaited new maps. People afflicted with "mapathy," your cure is on the way. PS3 players ... well, you'll have to suffer a bit longer. Have you spoken to your FAMAS-ist about a prescription? [Thanks Legion!]
Tron: Legacy blasts your old-school eyes with new trailer
Boy, Tron is old. That movie came out way back in 1982, and we're finally getting a sequel in 2010. You can see how long it's been if you count the wrinkles on Alan Bradley's (Bruce Boxleitner) face. That's Tron himself, but we've heard that he's hardly in the movie. So what gives? Well, this one is all about Flynn's (the now Oscar award-winning Jeff "The Dude" Bridges) son Sam searching for his dad, who has been missing for years. Oh, and the Game Grid has received several substantial upgrades. Just look at that Recognizer and the light cycles in this trailer. Looks like someone firehosed a ton of pixels onto everything in the computer world. We're all for that. Tron: Legacy comes out on December 17, 2010, and yes, there will be a video game adaptation. We're just waiting to see if that's been upgraded as well.
Currently (un)folding: GDC 2010
Nothing says, "We're at a serious gaming event where developers tell us about their innovations and upcoming creations," like a papercraft Wario from WarioWare D.I.Y. And nothing says, "Hey, we're about to write a bunch of news stories about all that stuff," like posting a photograph of a papercraft Wario from the Game Developer's Conference in San Francisco. We'll be here all week putting our hands on games, talking to people, sitting in panels, and bringing you all the news. What sort of news, you ask? Expect some LucasArts announcements, a new look at the Sony Motion Controller, and even more Fable 3 news. Stay tuned! %Gallery-87726%
Swag Sunday: Age of Zombies eats your braaaaaaains (PSP Minis)
Why do zombies eat brains? There's usually perfectly available, good meat around, so what's with the brain-cravings? It's not like they do anything special with them. If they saved them for some kind of a stew or possibly pulled a Sylar, then you could understand it, but this willy-nilly shambling towards grey matter? Weird. Plus, do they have some sort of brain detector built-in? They always seem to know exactly which way to go. Whoops, pardon our tangent. You want to get right to the swag, don't you? We're giving away nine copies of Halfbrick's brand new Age of Zombies, the PSP minis game that combines cute and cuddly with brain-hungry and undead. Seriously, these little zombies are adorable, and they'll look super keen on your PSP or your PS3. Since we can't explain why zombies crave brains, all you have to do is follow the rules below and tell us what the perfect side dish would be. Leave a comment telling us what the perfect side dish would be for a serving of brains. You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec -- it has to do with Pierre Duchesne and he knows why). Limit 1 entry per person per day. This entry period ends at 11:31AM ET on Monday, March 8. At that time, we'll randomly select nine winners to receive a code good for one copy of Age of Zombies for PSP or PS3 (ARV: $4.99). For a list of complete rules, click here. What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here. %Gallery-84946%
Swag Saturday: Toy Soldiers! (XBLA)
Signal Studios' new game Toy Soldiers might sound like any other tower defense game at first glance, but it has art direction that will knock your socks off. It's one thing to pit the Kaiser's forces against the boys from England, but Toy Soliders turns them into little clockwork toys, full of cogs and springs. Combine that with addictively fun gameplay and Facebook integration and you have a winner. So worry not if you have moral objections to pumping howitzer shells into approaching baddies, they're just toys! We want to share this toybox full of fun with you, so we're giving away three codes for this game on Xbox Live Arcade. All you have to do is follow the rules below, and tell us what your favorite toy was. Or is. There's no shame in still playing with toys, is there? Leave a comment telling us what your favorite toy was (or is). You must be 18 years or older and a resident of the US or Canada (excluding Quebec, at least in part due to our vehement opposition of the Montreal Canadiens). Limit 1 entry per person per day. This entry period ends at 7:01PM PT on Sunday, March 7. At that time, we'll randomly select three winners to receive a code good for one copy of Toy Soliders on XBLA (ARV: $15). For a list of complete rules, click here. What is Joyswag? Since we don't keep the games and merchandise we receive for review or promotional purposes, it becomes "Joyswag," which is passed along to our readers. Please note that Joyswag may be in "used" condition. For more info on our policy, click here. %Gallery-73953%
JBO: Joystiq Box Office, March 1 - March 5
We can't be gaming all the time, despite our best efforts, and from time to time we'll actually take advantage of the movie-playing abilities on our gaming systems. JBO features our top picks for XBL, PSN, Netflix's Watch Instantly and Blu-ray each week. Recommendation of the Week: Ponyo (Blu-ray, $39.99 MSRP, much lower at most retailers) If you don't know who Hayao Miyazaki is yet, then you need a crash course in gorgeous Japanese animated films with amazing storytelling. He's like the Japanese Walt Disney, and Ponyo is his latest film. It's a wonderful fantasy that was inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid and he's put his own particular spin on it. A young boy named Sosuke rescues a female goldfish, Ponyo, and they set off on an adventure together. The Blu-ray disc includes an ultra-crisp transfer of the film, which features hand-drawn animation, and a look inside Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli. We're offering up five sets of Miyazaki films with this Joystiq Box Office, so read the rules at the bottom of the post to enter. Five winners will receive Ponyo on Blu-ray, and standard DVDs of My Neighbor Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Castle in the Sky. Truly magical filmmaking. Read on after the break for the rest of our recommendations, and let us know what you're watching!
EA publishing 'DeathSpank' and 'Shank' on PSN, XBLA
EA Partners, a division of Electronics Arts, has announced an exclusive publishing agreement with two upcoming indie games -- Hothead's DeathSpank and Klei Entertainment's Shank -- which will allow a much wider (and ostensibly easier) path to distribution for both games. EA claims Shank will be available on Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and PC this summer, while DeathSpank will be available on Xbox Live and PSN with no date yet announced. "Our mission at EA Partners is to work with the best talent across the game industry, and we are thrilled to extend our expertise to the leading creative developers in downloadable indie games," said EA Partners' outreach director Jamil Moledina. "DeathSpank is engrossingly fun and hysterically funny ... and Shank is an amazing experience." The EA Partners program has had some heavy hitters onboard, like Rock Band, Left 4 Dead 2, and Brütal Legend, but this marks the first time that smaller, downloadable indie games have been brought into the fold. We've toured through DeathSpank before (with Ron Gilbert himself!), and Shank was just named a finalist at the Independent Games Festival, taking place during GDC next week in San Francisco. It's interesting to see EA move into the indie arena, much like 2K Games has done with 2K Play (think: The Misadventures of P.B. Winterbottom and Axel and Pixel), but we'll have to see how it plays out. Hopefully they'll offer both in a Spank 'n Shank special bundle. We spoke with EA's Moledina and both developers, so stay tuned for more info shortly.
Activision ousts Infinity Ward studio heads [update]
G4's The Feed, which has been in communication with a source at Infinity Ward, reports that organizational changes may be in effect at the FPS developer's offices. The source claims that a "bunch of 'bouncer-types' just showed up outside of the Infinity Ward offices unannounced. When approached by employees, the non-uniformed 'bouncers' were unwilling to disclose why they were there." In addition, The Feed notes that Infinity Ward's studio heads, Vince Zampella and Jason West, were not seen by fellow staff members after a meeting with Activision on Monday morning. A desk guard at Infinity Ward's offices was unable to confirm any of the events to Joystiq, and calls to community manager Robert Bowling went unanswered at the time of writing. Apparently, on Monday Activision filed a Form 10-K with the SEC, which is basically an overview of the company's financial condition, and includes any information that could possibly affect that condition. This filing states, "In November 2009, the Company released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, a game developed by one of the Company's wholly-owned studios, Infinity Ward. As noted above, Modern Warfare 2 was the best selling console title in the U.S. and Europe in 2009. Consistent with past practice, the Company intends to release a Call of Duty game in 2010 developed by another wholly-owned studio. The Company is concluding an internal human resources inquiry into breaches of contract and insubordination by two senior employees at Infinity Ward. This matter is expected to involve the departure of key personnel and litigation. At present, the Company does not expect this matter to have a material impact on the Company." Co-studio head Jason West has reportedly changed both his Facebook status and LinkedIn page to indicate that he is no longer employed. As soon as we get more news, we'll pass it along. Update: Activision has confirmed the departures of Vince Zampella and Jason West. Read here for more details. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]