comic-con-2011
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Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary Comic-Con video talks terminals
Comic-Con is the gift that keeps on giving, whether it's the spandex burn from that crazy night at the Marriott, or the sneak-peak videos that keep emerging online. The above video from the Halo Universe panel gives us some more story behind Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, and a look at what role the terminals may play in the franchise's future with 343 Industries.
Captain's Log: Dining with the devs
Captain's Log, Stardate 65075.4... Hello, computer (and players)! Ahhh, the good 'ol developers! You follow them on twitter, you read every one of their forum posts, and you even stalk them in-game. But you know what? Developers are just like us, a fellow human being, right? Wrong! Developers are the key to the future, the hands that create our dreams, the molders that shape our gameplay. Okay, okay -- I'm going a bit overboard, but you have to admit, they are pretty dang cool! Luckily for us Star Trek Online players, the devs that are working on the game, as well as all of the other projects in development at Cryptic, are very transparent. More often that not, they let us know what they are working on and look to the community to see what we think about particular ideas -- we truly get to help influence what makes it into the game. Aside from posting in the forums, many of them also participate with the community by guest starring on podcasts and meeting up with players when they can. As I broke the news to you all last week, I was privileged to host a Dine with the Devs event that coincided with a visit of some of the STO devs to this year's San Diego Comic-Con. While this was not associated with Massively, I figured all of you would like to know what happened and what was said. So, without further ado, it's time to recap the event and fill you all in on the super-secret meeting minutes! Ensign, warp 10! Let's boldly go where most of you were not able to go...
Leedmees preview: Like a bridge
Leedmees was a nice surprise in the Konami suite at Comic-Con this week -- we haven't posted about it yet at all, and while Fruit Ninja Kinect has gotten a lot of the press as the first downloadable Kinect title, this one looks like it might be the more original. The game describes, during a dreamy little introduction, the player wandering into a secret magical door somewhere, where little white creatures (called Leedmees, presumably) march in step from one little spinning portal to another. Like the old Lemmings games, Leadmees mindlessly walk forward, and it's up to the player to make sure they get home safely. But there's one important twist: In Lemmings, you controlled the little creatures, using their abilities to get through the environment. In Leedmees, you are the environment.
Telltale elaborates on the story and choices of The Walking Dead
Telltale Games didn't have much of The Walking Dead to show off at Comic-Con except for some screenshots and concept art, but we were provided with game designer Jake Rodkin's assurance that it would not be just another zombie game. "The last shot of this game is probably not going to be a guy with two axes on top of a mile-high mountain of zombies," he said. Telltale's garnered a reputation for building licensed games not just around a popular setting, but around strong stories and characters as well. The Walking Dead game will fit right into that tradition. It won't feature the main characters of the comic book or the TV show, however -- Rodkin said they didn't want players coming in with preconceived notions about how the game's story should play out. If the game presents you with a choice of going left or right, players may think, "'Well I've seen him turn left twice now, I saw it in the comic book and in the show, so I'm going to go left.' And as much as a designer would hope that people are going to experiment with your system, people would just want to see that story again." Telltale's game will follow Lee, a prisoner, and Clementine, a young girl he comes across in the zombie apocalypse. And anyone with hopes of anything resembling a feel-good ending should probably check that at the door on the way in. "The Walking Dead," Rodkin said, "is not really a game about people who save the world. It's more about a story of trying to survive as people inside of this huge and horrible situation." %Gallery-125847%
Neil Burger hits restart on the Uncharted film
Director Neil Burger just so happened to be promoting the DVD release of his movie Limitless at Comic-Con last weekend, and though most of the folks who spoke with him were from movie media, Joystiq sneaked in to grill Burger about his next project: the in-development Uncharted film. "I'm rewriting the script from scratch, starting like right now -- like we are just starting now," he said. "I love the game, it's great, and I think it's a great start for a movie, because the game is so cinematic," Burger added, before zeroing in on one object of cinematic admiration. "The character Nate in particular I like because he's this ballsy guy that lives by his wits, and who's capable of kind of anything and everything. He's fearless and he doesn't give a damn and he'll go after the thing. I dig that kind of character and it's a great character for a movie." Mark Wahlberg was rumored to be playing Drake under previous director David O. Russell's oversight. Burger suggested that while both Wahlberg and Limitless star Bradley Cooper could probably both pull the role off in their own ways, the decision of who will wear the half-tuck and jeans is still distant. "Once you get to the end of the screenplay," he said, "you see who's available, who seems right, who's a new actor that's just breaking on that's not even on your radar right now." Burger agreed there are plenty of good choices to go around, however: "There's a lot of actors who even look like Nathan Drake from the video game who could do it and who would be great for it, so we'll see." Burger wasn't aware of Nathan Fillion's run at the part, but we'll consider him officially back in the mix anyway.
Rocksteady and Paul Dini on the storytelling in Batman: Arkham City
Batman: Arkham City's creators and voice actors steadfastly refused to give out any new information about the game at last weekend's Comic-Con panel, instead just showing a new Penguin trailer. But both Paul Crocker, the lead narrative designer at Rocksteady Studios, and the legendary Paul Dini, Batman writer extraordinaire, kindly sat down to speak with Joystiq beforehand about the story of both Batman: Arkham Asylum and the upcoming sequel. Arkham Asylum's story was mainly about the Joker's takeover of Arkham and how Batman dealt with it, but those who explored the sidequests and secrets of the game got a look at the overarching plot of the series, that of Warden Quincy Sharp and his mysterious ties to Arkham itself. That story is what drives the sequel forward, and Crocker says that it actually appeared right in the middle of the two games' development: The secrets in the first game were "a late addition," put in while development on the sequel was alrady underway. "The biggest challenge for us was taking the game out of Arkham Island and into Arkham City," he says. "As people have seen in the secret room in the last game, we had it planned. I guess it was a rough road back, to a degree, because that meant we had to do it. But the idea of the city has grown into bigger and bigger detail, and really that was the biggest challenge."%Gallery-116887%
BioWare hopes SWTOR lasts for decades
Those of you worried about The Old Republic's longevity (all three of you) can rest easy according to BioWare. Game director James Ohlen told Comic-Con attendees that the company hopes the game will stand the test of time. "And our goal -- this being an online game that we're hoping is going to last for decades -- we're going to be, obviously, adding more to the galaxy map as the game progresses," he said. Ohlen went on to say that BioWare plans to add lots of content over the game's lifespan. "In 2025, we'll hopefully have 500 worlds," he remarked. Star Wars: The Old Republic officially unveiled its pre-order packages last week, and the game is expected to release before the end of 2011.
Kinect Star Wars preview: Pod (racing) people
At the Comic-Con panel for Kinect Star Wars earlier this week (the same panel where that R2D2 Xbox was announced), Microsoft's head of Kinect Jorg Neumann told the story of how the game itself came about. Back in 2008, when Kinect was still called Project Natal, and basically consisted of just a camera in a back room at Microsoft, Neumann and his colleagues found an engineer playing with game prototypes on the system, and one of those was a lightsaber simulator. That alone convinced Neumann and his division that Star Wars needed to be on the interface in some format. And it turns out LucasArts didn't need much convincing either. Lead producer Craig Derrick described flying out to the Microsoft campus to see the proposal for the game, and saying among his own colleagues that all they planned to do was hold out their hand and see what happened. As soon as they pushed a hand out to the Kinect unit, said Derrick, "it knocked over a bunch of droids, and we were like, 'OK, we're in.'" We saw the game's Force-driven droid pushing and lightsaber waving at E3, but Microsoft and LucasArts introduced a new mode to the game this week: pod racing. Anakin Skywalker's motorsport of choice is in the game as well, and I got to take a pod out for a spin later on in the week at a Microsoft preview event. %Gallery-128889%
The Behemoth had the best gaming booth at Comic-Con
If you were impressed by the arcade machine Sony brought to Comic-Con for Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One, you ain't see nothing yet. Indie developer The Behemoth went all out: They had a booth full of custom-made and designed arcade machines, playing both Castle Crashers and the upcoming Battleblock Theater, complete with all of the requisite joysticks and buttons for four or two players. The Behemoth (and Newgrounds) co-founder Dan Paladin told me in between signings that the machines were hand-crafted by the company, in a project overseen by The Behemoth's John Baez. And they're even cooler than they appear -- Paladin said that the big screens up on top of the machines were controlled remotely, and could move in and out of the units mechanically for transportation. If you missed these at Comic-Con, Paladin also said that they'll be on the road with the company, both at PAX Prime and the Tokyo Game Show later this year. The whole enterprise was very impressive; it's no wonder the booth was full all week long.%Gallery-129046%
Comic-Con video extravaganza continues with Warhammer 40K: Space Marine
Despite being classified as a comic book convention, Comic-Con continues to hemorrhage gaming news, the latest interesting tidbit being this Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine gameplay video. Speaking with Gamespot, THQ's Daniel Isaac outlines how Captain Titus' jump-pack and Thunder Hammer will allow players to effortlessly murder tens of thousands of severely out-classed and under-prepared orcs. Isaac also details the title's class-based multiplayer, which we previewed last week, as well as Space Marine's one-billion possible armor customizations.
Casual Mode returns in Gears of War 3, brings Casual Multiplayer along for the ride
The deluge of news from Comic-Con continues to, uhm, luge, even as the convention's end draws closer and closer. Game Informer reports that Epic's forthcoming Gears of War 3 will continue the series' tradition of offering an aim-assisted Casual Mode for players who aren't well versed in the delicate art of chainsaw sculpting. This time around, new players will also be able to sharpen their skills in their own dedicated multiplayer channels. According to USA Today, players who have played Gears online previously, or participated in the Gears 3 beta will be unable to join Casual multi. That seems like overkill -- the honor system would be enough, in our opinions. After all, the Internet has a long and storied history of shepherding and tenderly caring for its newcomers.
El Shaddai Comic-Con trailer is biblically epic
Despite having been delayed until August 16, angelically-oriented and biblically-based action platformer El Shaddai: Ascension Of The Metatron is still very much alive, kickin' around the Heavens in its designer jeans and gleaming white armor. To prove as much, Ignition Entertainment has released a new cinematic trailer during this year's Comic-Con, which has been stuffed to the rafters with gooey tentacle angels, stained-glass platforming and futuristic motorcycle chases. Still no word on an Amy Grant Collector's Edition, but we'll keep digging.
SoulCalibur V screens show two new characters and some skin
Namco Bandai released a series of SoulCalibur V screens showing two new characters, Zwei and Natsu, and of course Ivy, aged in plotline but not in looks. We don't want to see any older, maternal figures in our real lives wearing this particular outfit, but Ivy can pull it off.
Capcom talks Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 leaks and new features
Capcom held a panel this morning to talk about the recently-announced Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3, and the company shared a few tidbits about how the game is changing for the new version. It took a total of nine minutes before Capcom lead producer Ryota Niitsuma acknowledged the character leaks, joking that "there's a lot of cool stuff in this game, and I'm sure you know all about it." But while the leaked characters weren't talked about at the panel, Niitsuma did mention a few of the gameplay tweaks. The X-factor move in the game can now be used either on the ground or in the air, and he said that many players would "have to revamp your whole fighting strategy" on that one. Capcom also revealed that each character, including the older ones, will have two new costumes in the game, and they shared some of the special pre-order bonus costumes for the game. Above, you can see the Best Buy bonuses (including "Graceland Modok" -- "nobody here said Elvis," the panelists joked), and the rest are after the break.
Telltales from the crypt: The Walking Dead's first screenshot to the head
The Walking Dead is coming alive with the first screenshot from Telltale's adaptation, featuring the escaped criminal Lee Everett and the young girl, Clementine, looking terrified in front of a decrepit motel. Telltale has apparently stepped up its graphics game, and just in time to make The Walking Dead as gory and twisted as its ink-and-paper form.
WETA Workshop takes time off from The Hobbit to design for TF2
In case you missed it buried behind the Soldier's glorious mutton chops, Team Fortress 2's new weapons from Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators were created in conjunction with WETA Workshop, the makers of Orcs, Na'vi and Prawns for most of the blockbuster movies of this generation. WETA's Greg Broadmore designed Dr. Grordbort's Infallible Aether Oscillators, which include the Righteous Bison and Cow Mangler 5000, two new weapons in the Victory Pack. To better acquaint players with these stellar WETA weapons, Valve has posted a comic featuring the Soldier and WETA promises special promo coupons at its booth at San Diego Comic-Con. Just watch out for the cow pies.
Dragon Age Redemption teases a tentative release date and details
Dragon Age Redemption is bringing big-screen talent to an online miniseries, including Independence Day producer Peter Winther as director, Lost's John Bartley as executive producer and Hellboy's Doug Jones acting alongside Felicia Day (who, to this crowd, needs no introduction). At the Redemption Comic-Con panel, Day revealed that each episode will run six to 10 minutes, or an hour in total. Day, who wrote the script, said she modeled Redemption after The Guild, where each episode has a beginning, middle and end. Redemption was also confirmed as canonical within the Dragon Age universe. The series doesn't have an official host site or release date yet, although Day did say, "It should be out early this fall. Don't tweet that." Luckily for us, this isn't Twitter.
Dead Rising 2: Off the Record puts West in Greene's jacket, offers preorder DLC
We recall fondly last year's Dead Rising 2 panel, learning new information about weapons, plot and a Zombrex webseries, and it seems this year Capcom didn't want to mess with success. The Capcom panel revealed little new information about any of its titles, except for one game, Dead Rising 2: Off the Record, an enhanced version of 2010's zombie sequel. Pre-ordering Off the Record from Gamestop will give you cosplay clothing pack DLC, and anyone who played Dead Rising 2 can get Chuck Greene's jacket for Frank West to wear. Because the one thing we want when we're playing the revamp of a sequel whose second protagonist has been replaced by the original, is to see the original wearing the second's jacket. Finally, someone understands us. Capcom also confirmed it is teaming up with IDW Publishing to release a graphic novel, Dead Rising: Road to Fortune, this October. Off the Record is scheduled to drop October 11, so that might be a good time for the comic to release too. Just sayin'.
GoldenEye 007: Reloaded preview: Bringing back Bond
Here we go again. It was almost a certainty last year that we'd see the version of GoldenEye 007 released for the Wii eventually brought out to the HD consoles, but it's fair to say that Activision surprised everyone with the reveal of GoldenEye 007: Reloaded, being released this fall as a full retail title. So yes, the odds are that we'll all be playing through GoldenEye (first created by Rare for the Nintendo 64 fourteen years ago, and reimagined by Eurocom for the Wii release last year) yet again. This new version has the modern story tweaks, the addition of Daniel Craig, and all of the other reimaginings from the Wii, but Eurocom is aiming for even more, adding in a new set of modes called MI-6 Ops, as well as co-op and full competitive multiplayer. If Call of Duty had a baby with Rare's classic, this is what would crawl out. %Gallery-128860%
Tekken lead cannot withstand Street Fighter lead's furious flurry of shoryukens
Tekken project lead Katsuhiro Harada clearly hasn't been studying the finer points of the Street Fighter series he's currently collaborating on, as Street Fighter creative lead Yoshinori Ono surprises him with a flurry of shoryukens at multiple points in this bizarre SDCC short, promoting Street Fighter X Tekken (and vice versa, of course).
