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Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra, from Amy Hennig's studio, arrives in 2025
We've finally learned more details about the Marvel game that former Naughty Dog and Visceral Games writer and creative director Amy Hennig and her team are working on. The World War II-set Marvel 1943: Rise of Hydra is coming next year, and a new story trailer sheds more light on what it's all about.
Amy Hennig's studio is making a Star Wars game
Amy Hennig's Skydance New Media studio announced today it's working on a AAA Star Wars game with Lucasfilm Games.
Amy Hennig's new studio is making a game with Marvel
After years of radio silence, Amy Hennig reveals she's working on a new AAA game with Marvel.
Last of Us leads heading up Uncharted PS4 after Hennig's departure
Bruce Straley and Neil Druckmann, co-leads on multiple-award-winning The Last Of Us, will be taking charge for the next game in the Uncharted series, Naughty Dog co-president Evan Wells revealed to Game Informer. Straley, who served as game director, and Druckmann, who served as creative director on The Last of Us, will be taking over for previous Uncharted writer/creative director Amy Hennig, who departed Naughty Dog for Star Wars-ier pastures at Visceral Games earlier this year. Try not to worry too much that the change in leadership will make Uncharted on PS4 as dark as Naughty Dog's fungal apocalypse drama; both Druckmann and Straley have experience working on the PS3 Uncharted games. Druckmann helped pen Uncharted: Drake's Fortune and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, while Straley was game director for Uncharted 2 and art director for the original Uncharted. In other words: this won't be exactly ... unexplored territory for the developers. ... Wait, did we mess that joke up? [Image: Naughty Dog]
Star Wars game from Visceral, EA adds writer Todd Stashwick
Hollywood writer and actor Todd Stashwick is Amy Hennig's co-scribe on the Star Wars game coming from EA and Visceral Games. Hennig tweeted today, "Thrilled to announce that my friend @ToddStashwick will be joining me as co-writer on the Star Wars project for @VisceralGames @EA!" Stashwick has acted in Heroes, Justified, Supernatural, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and a host of television shows and movies. This appears to be his first foray into video games, though his biography reads, "He is an avid gamer and lover of comic books, sci-fi and horror." Stashwick tweeted about the news, saying he was "beyond humbled and excited" to work on Star Wars with Hennig. Visceral announced Hennig as creative director and writer of its Star Wars game earlier in April. [Image: Bjoern Kommerell]
Joystiq Weekly: Amazon Fire TV, Reaper of Souls review, Mario Kart 8 video preview and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. With this week's announcement and release of the gaming-capable Amazon Fire TV, we're starting to think we'll need a spreadhseet to keep track of all the gaming platforms that aren't from Sony, Nintendo or Microsoft. Want to check Instagram after a round of Super Hexagon on your TV? Okay, there's Mad Catz's MOJO for that. Want something a little beefier that you can take on the go? Alright, Nvidia's Shield might be your thing. Spreadsheets are boring though - maybe a mock Pokedex would work better? Come on, it'd be fun! We could assign attributes, treat future improvements as evolutions and pit them against each other in battles! There could a category for dual-type devices like the Ouya, a console that's both its own thing and associated with a storefront on other platforms. We'd even have ghost-type entries, for efforts that have returned from the grave. We'll let this idea stew for a bit longer, but you can read this week's bulletpoints of news, previews and original content right now! Amy Hennig is now serving as creative director of a Star Wars game, Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls has been properly reviewed and we've got glimpses of Mario Kart 8 and Soma to share, too. It's all waiting for you with more stories after the break!
Amy Hennig joins Visceral Games as Star Wars creative director
Former Naughty Dog writer Amy Hennig is now at Visceral Games, under EA, as creative director on the studio's Star Wars project. "Over the last few weeks, Amy and I have spent a lot of time talking about what her first project would be," Visceral VP Steve Papoutsis writes. "There are a lot of different directions we could have gone, but I could sense that what really excited her about this opportunity (because let's face it, we weren't the only ones knocking at her door) was Star Wars. Amy's a huge fan. We happen to be making a Star Wars game. Just thinking about the possibilities made both of us even more excited about having her join the team." Hennig was the writer and creative director on three Uncharted games, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception. She was believed to be working on the PS4 Uncharted game, but she left Naughty Dog early in March.
Joystiq Weekly: Batman: Arkham Knight, our South Park review and more
Welcome to Joystiq Weekly, a "too long; didn't read" of each week's biggest stories, reviews and original content. Each category's top story is introduced with a reactionary gif, because moving pictures aren't just for The Daily Prophet. Rocksteady revealed its return to the Batman series this week with Batman: Arkham Knight, and we've dug out capes and Batarangs from our Halloween stash to get properly excited. Last year's Batman: Arkham Origins and Batman: Arkham Origins Blackgate were the first pieces of the series that weren't developed by Rocksteady. We enjoyed Arkham Origins well enough, but we're ready to move on from its bugs and glitches, especially since not all of them will be fixed with a patch. Arkham Knight is set to be the final game in the Arkham series, and we're eager to see what Rocksteady will do for the finale once it releases in October. There's plenty to read while we wait however, including news of Amy Hennig's departure from Naughty Dog, a preview of Watch Dogs and a review of South Park: The Stick of Truth. We've rounded up those stories and more for you in this week's edition of the Joystiq Weekly. [Image: Warner Bros.]
Uncharted writer Amy Hennig no longer at Naughty Dog
Uncharted writer and creative director Amy Hennig parted ways with Naughty Dog this week, and the circumstances surrounding her departure aren't clear. Following an IGN report claiming Hennig left her post on March 3, Sony confirmed with the site that she's no longer employed at the studio. "We can confirm that Amy Hennig has left Naughty Dog," A Sony representative told IGN. "Amy has made significant contributions to the game industry and we appreciate all she has done for Naughty Dog. The development timeline of Uncharted will not be impacted." Hennig served as the creative director for Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, and Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception, and she also penned the script for the three games. She was understood to be reprising her role for the Uncharted PS4 game. Neither Hennig nor Naughty Dog have commented, but IGN sources claim the writer, a Naughty Dog veteran of more than ten years, was "forced out" by The Last of Us directors Neil Druckman and Bruce Straley, and the pair may take over the Uncharted series. Hennig worked with Druckman and Straley on the first two Uncharted games, before the two men switched to developing The Last of Us. [Image: @amy_hennig]
Uncharted 3 was 'the hardest thing any of us have ever done,' says Hennig
Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception creative lead and writer Amy Hennig isn't one to mince words, it would seem. On the latest episode of Geoff Keighley's "Bonus Round," Hennig and a cadre of other Naughty Dog leads speak in great detail about the process of building their latest, most ambitious project yet -- in just two years. "We absolutely killed ourselves on this project. I think this was the hardest thing any of us have ever done," Hennig asserts. Game director Justin Richmond agrees, breaking down why the project was so hard on their team, beyond the aforementioned time constraint issues. "It's a lot of things. We didn't wanna let ourselves down, we didn't wanna let our fans down. We try to do things that no one's ever done before in a game," he says, referring to the game's massive moving environments and setpieces. It's also a measure of the game being the third entry in an established franchise. "I've worked on two 'third games,'" he says, "And they're always harder ... people expect a certain level of sophistication." Finally, the most pressure came from the team itself. "We made it even harder on ourselves I think than it had to be, because compared to the previous games, we wanted it [Uncharted 3] to be perfect," Richmond concludes. And, at least from our perspective, the game certainly turned out to be not too shabby. You can find out for yourself right now as the game launches worldwide today.
Uncharted 3 preview: A Drake and Sully story
As expected, Naughty Dog officially premiered the Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception trailer at the VGAs recently, and a day later at a Hollywood club, the company invited us to come see the very first gameplay demo. We got to see a short, early segment ofthe game featuring Nathan Drake and partner Sully trying to escape from a burning chateau, and Art Director Robh Ruppel and Lead Game Designer Richard Lemarchand spoke with us about how the second sequel in the acclaimed series is new and different from the rest. The simplest answer is that it takes place in the desert. Creative Director Amy Hennig says that Naughty Dog has challenged themselves to portray "sand in all of its forms," and Uncharted 3 will try to do exactly that, eventually taking its now familiar characters (as well as some new faces) into the Arabian Peninsula. The central chase of the game revolves around explorer T.E. Laurence and his search for an ancient city of Arabian treasure, alternately known as Ubar, Iram of the Pillars, or as it will be called in the game, the Atlantis of the Sands. But outside of the new setting, Uncharted 3 is set to improve upon Naughty Dog's successful formula in a few other ways as well. Nathan Drake has never been more adept at fighting groups of enemies, more animated and active, or more grounded in his own environments than he is here.%Gallery-111529%
Uncharted 2 wins Writers Guild of America games writing award
We've lived with an unspoken fear in the back of our minds since the middle of January, when the nominees for the Writers Guild of America video game writing award were first announced. We weren't sure if we could live in a world where X-Men Origins: Wolverine was decorated over Assassin's Creed 2 and Uncharted 2 for having the year's best in-game writing. Fortunately, this fear has been dissuaded: Last night at the WGA awards ceremony, Uncharted 2 writer Amy Hennig took home the prize. In a way, though, we feel bad for Ms. Hennig. How frustrating must it be to know that you can't get comfortable in your seat for too long at one of these awards shows? And can you imagine how many acceptance speeches she's had to write over the past month? The poor thing. [Thanks, Fintan!]
Naughty Dog's Amy Hennig tells the LA Times how she made it
[Image Source: LA Times] The Los Angeles Times' "How I Made It" feature has shined a spotlight on none other than Naughty Dog creative director Amy Hennig, illuminating the secret of how a 45-year-old woman can conquer the gaming industry and nab Joystiq's Game of the Year with Uncharted 2: Among Thieves. She started out as a film student back in 1989 and says she had a revelation while working freelance for Atari that gaming "was a more interesting and pioneering medium" than even the movies. She worked her way up the ladder and took chances when they came along. When the lead designer on the wacky Michael Jordan: Chaos in the Windy City left the project, she stepped up and took the job. And having talent and intelligence can't hurt either -- she says that she puts her whole education into gaming, from English lit to film editing, and while she downplays her place as a woman in gaming ("This is a young enough and progressive enough industry" to avoid most problems with sexism, she says), she does admit that she, erm, moderated the male perspective on breast size with some of her developers. Because somebody's got to, right? Excellent profile of one of gaming's more unlikely stars. [Thanks, MikeIriye!]
Uncharted 2 exceeding sales expectations, DLC coming 'before the end' of 2009
digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2009/10/23/uncharted-2-dlc-coming-before-the-end-of-2009-exceeding-sales/'; With all the resounding critical praise that Naughty Dog's Uncharted 2 has received thus far, it's good to see creative director Amy Hennig speaking up on the possibility of DLC for the game. "We're working on that now ... there will be DLC available before the end of the year," she told IndustryGamers today. Though she's not yet revealing very much on what exactly the content will entail, she did say it may include, "new maps, new characters, things like that ... some of it will be free of charge and some of it will be purchasable." She wouldn't directly quote sales of the title thus far, but she did allow that the title is "exceeding expectations" and outselling the original game "by many, many times" -- a fact no doubt aided by the PlayStation 3's primary position among consoles on last month's NPDs. Hennig seems to embrace this head-on, referring to the confluence of events that lead to the current success of Uncharted 2 -- a hardware price drop, a handful of games being pushed back, and critical acclaim for the game -- as "serendipity." That doesn't mean the game ends in an expensive ice cream shop, right? %Gallery-70387%
Uncharted's Amy Hennig 'thrilled' by Nolan North's newfound success
Chances are, you recognize Nolan North as Nathan Drake from the Uncharted series. However, ever since the debut of the first game in the franchise, North has gone on to play a number of leading men, including the titular Prince of Persia and Jason from Shadow Complex. Uncharted creative director Amy Hennig admits that she's "thrilled to see people recognizing Nolan's talent and to see him getting all of the work that he can get and all of the recognition he can get." However, she tells Bitmob that she's "a little possessive" of North because "we were the ones with Uncharted who tapped into that talent in a way that I don't think anyone had recognized and done yet."North will undoubtedly continue to find success as the charming "everyday" man (who happens to be gifted with extraordinary acrobatic prowess). Hennig admits that "Nolan's going to get typecast because that is his persona. He's a funny guy and has that easy-going, roguish charm." Yeah, charming -- until he throws you off a cliff.
PAX 2009: Uncharted 2's Nathan Drake catches a train
Naughty Dog has been more than happy to explain to us how complicated it is to have a moving character on a moving surface, like on the floor of a collapsing building or the top of a moving train. But we have no idea how to quantify these things. We play games ... we're not math and physics experts. But if you have a barrel that needs blowing up, or a crate that needs smashing open, we're your guys.Uncharted 2's creative director Amy Hennig explained that most game levels tend to use a moving background that makes the object your character is standing on appear to be moving, and then augment that with physics. Not so with Nathan Drake. He gets to clamber over fully-modeled train cars and diveroll through actual collapsing buildings. No smoke and mirror tricks for this fortune hunter.To prove the point, the developer showed us a live demo of the game where Drake hauls himself onto the back of a speeding train while simultaneously fending off baddies on the train, and a heavily-armed helicopter that decides Drake needs to be swatted off. You'll have to fight your way forward towards an RPG if you want to survive. Hint: there's a loud, whining noise before the chopper fires its rockets, and also watch out for low-hanging lights.All of this takes place on a fully modeled and realized moving train, and it looks gorgeous, but we'll just have to take Naughty Dog's word for it as far as the mega-model railroad set that was design for this. Or, you can see what you think! Check out the new footage just after the break.
