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Drawn to Death is David Jaffe's sketchbook arena shooter
Drawn to Death is the first project revealed by David Jaffe's new studio, Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency. The PS4 exclusive is a multiplayer arena shooter that takes place within a high school student's notebook. Players pick a sketched character and drop them into environments drawn upon the book's pages. Each character will have its own behaviors, passive tendencies, buffs and special attacks, though some abilities will never be announced, leaving Drawn to Death's community to uncover them on its own.
God of War director forms new studio with an odd supernatural angle
God of War and Twisted Metal series director David Jaffe has formed a new studio, The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency, and is developing a game with backing from a major publisher, he revealed in a recent interview with Polygon. Jaffe did not confirm which publisher he was working with, indicating that the project drew interest from Sony, Ubisoft and Microsoft. Publishing plans have not been finalized, however, and Jaffe is open to the idea of crowdfunding via Kickstarter if his studio's current publishing partner pulls out before the project's completion. "We started pitching the game about a year ago and we got a lot of interest and a lot of pitch meetings," Jaffe said. "The publisher we signed with was great at saying, instead of like, 'Here's this money, ship the game in 18 months or two years' – they are very prototype friendly. That's what I love. Build a team and find your game." Jaffe additionally names 80-year-old ghost hunter "Bartlet Jones" as a publishing partner and namesake of his studio, The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency. Though Jones appears to be a fictional character cooked up to promote the coming game, Jaffe insists that his studio is partially funded by Jones' supernatural excursions.
Jaffe-backed MotorGun Kickstarter canceled
Citing Kickstarter as a "harsh mistress," Pixelbionic has cancelled their pitch for MotorGun, their tune-up to the sparsely populated car-combat genre. Pixelbionic pulled in $63,120 of the requested $650,000 within the first eight days of MotorGun's pitch. Twisted Metal Game Director David Jaffe joined developers that worked on Interstate 76, Interstate 82 and Battlezone to serve as MotorGun's Creative Adviser. MotorGun's initial premise was a post-apocalyptic shootout between three visually distinct factions. It focused on welding car customization, team-focused multiplayer, and community features onto the established gameplay of the car-combat genre. Pixelbionic has asked fans to "help shape the next phase of this wild adventure" on their forums while they "reformulate" the project.
David Jaffe consulting on Autoduel, multiplayer car combat game coming to Kickstarter
Noted Twisted Metal and God of War designer David Jaffe has signed on with Pixelbionic, a new independent games studio formed in southern California late last year. Jaffe will take a creative advisory role to aid in Pixelbionic's first game, Autoduel – an online vehicular combat game for the PC that will seek funding on Kickstarter sometime soon. On the advisory board, Jaffe is joined by Zack Norman, the creator of Interstate '76, and Chanel Summers, a sound expert who helped design the audio systems of the Xbox hardware. There isn't much detail in the press release past the break about Autoduel itself, other than it's a team-based affair set in the post-apocalypse (of course) with "RPG-influenced persistence and progression gameplay." Pixelbionic was founded by Maxx Kaufman – a founding member of inXile Entertainment with a long list of games to his name such as The Bard's Tale, Return to Castle Wolfenstein and the Redneck Rampage series – and Mike Arkin, who served as producer for many studios, including a stint at Fox Interactive where he helped on Die Hard Trilogy, ID4 and Aliens vs. Predator.%Gallery-188499%
Zynga releases Running With Friends, developed with Eat Sleep Play
Zynga has released a new game in the 'With Friends' series (which started back when the company acquired Words with Friends, a very popular Scrabble-like iOS game). Running With Friends is, as you can see above, not a fitness app, though that does sound fun. Instead, it's an endless running game, based on the Running of the Bulls, where you compete with friends to earn points and distance. The game has you running, jumping and dodging obstacles, all while trying to earn as many points as possible. As you might expect, the title is freemium, so it's free to download, and there are in-app purchases available if you'd like extra currency. Most of the games in the "With Friends" series have been super casual so far (mostly word games and simple social titles), so it's interesting to see that Zynga is upping the ante on the gameplay just a bit. Plus, this title is developed by was developed in collaboration with (see update) Eat Sleep Play, a company founded by David Jaffe that previously worked on the Twisted Metal games. "With Friends" hasn't seen a lot of action lately (though it's still a fairly big brand for Zynga), so this may be an attempt to revitalize the offerings. Update: Zynga got in touch to point out that the game wasn't developed by Eat Sleep Play directly, but that company did collaborate on some of the gameplay elements. So there's that.
Kratos: God of war, man of evolving fashion tastes
If God of War's Kratos is best known for anything, it's obviously his impeccable fashion sense. His ensemble, even from the beginning of his hell-bent rampage, speaks of being meticulously composed, what with that pale skin, flowing skirt and bold face tattoo. How avante garde.That said, it's interesting to note that just days before Sony introduced Kratos to the world, he sported blue full-body markings and more Hot Topic-inspired accessories. Right before his launch, however, someone on director David Jaffe's team pointed out that Smurfy Kratos resembled the Barbarian from Diablo 2, and his design was swapped to the red Kratos we now know and love."I had played Diablo but never 2, and this was sure news to me," Jaffe recalls. "As it was too clearly to many/all others on the team, as this was the first we'd heard of the character, let alone the similarity. So you can bet we changed it, lickety fuckin' split!"
Twisted Metal coming to PSN October 30 for $40
Twisted Metal is heading to PSN October 30, as announced in a recent PlayStation blog podcast. The game will also see a drop in price, as it will be available on the service for $40.Creative Director David Jaffe said the game was "not a dud, not a hit" back in August. Jaffe left Twisted Metal developer Eat Sleep Play after the game's launch in March. If $40 still has you feeling uncertain, our review of the game might help you decide where to put your wallet.
Twisted Metal sold 'fine,' was 'not a dud,' says Jaffe
Last year's Twisted Metal reboot "sold fine," says creative director David Jaffe. "Not a dud, not a hit," he adds. "It was not a mega blockbuster or even a big hit (was it even a 'hit'?...not sure what is in between 'dud' and 'hit' but I think TM PS3 falls into that category)." He stops short of offering any specific sales numbers, but notes, "I hope Sony will be satisfied that it made a decent investment in the game and in us."It's unclear how large of a financial investment Sony made in the Twisted Metal reboot, but it apparently wasn't enough to keep Jaffe's Eat Sleep Play studio from facing cuts following the launch last year. Jaffe himself also left the company; he is now pursuing free-to-play games.Jaffe also outlines eerily specific plans for another Twisted Metal franchise entry, saying it'd be digital-only and aggressively truncated. "But again, this is just me pie in the sky thinking out loud," he notes. "None of this is planned." Mmmmhmmmm, Mr. Jaffe. We've heard that song before.
David Jaffe aims to create a free-to-play shooter
God of War and Twisted Metal designer David Jaffe talked about plans to create a free-to-play, browser-based shooter in an interview with GamesIndustry.biz. The game concept is one of many that seemed to have stuck with Jaffe since he left Eat Sleep Play in February. "I hate free-to-play but I love aspects of it. I love the instant-on, I love the low to no barrier of entry to get all kinds of people to jump in and play," Jaffe said."You don't have to sit there and power up your fucking machine and go through legal screens and load screens and load the game," Jaffe said. "I know that sounds kind of petty but when you think of all the distractions and fragmentation of entertainment today, for me that's kind of a pain. I'll choose to do other things rather than sit down and load up a triple-A game unless it's super, super special."Jaffe is in the process of building concept art and forming a team of like-minded individuals, all with the goal of creating a free-to-play game that is "genuinely for gamers.""You can listen to developers all day long tell you it's not pay to win, but you know, it kind of is pay to win. I'm not saying they're evil or they're lying - but one of the things they like to say is pay with your time or pay with your money. Well both of those are really shitty."
A look into Twisted Metal's 'greenlight' process, with cut content
David Jaffe posted a video made for a "green light" meeting – an early Twisted Metal clip put together to demonstrate modes that were being considered for the final game. Some of the content in this video never made it into the retail game!For example, in early versions of the game, Sweet Tooth was not a clown, but a librarian. A sexy librarian. Are we kidding? You'll have to watch the video to be sure!
Jaffe walks through the Twisted Metal car customizer web app
You've had Twisted Metal for a few days now, and you're already sick of Sweet Tooth's vanilla-style ice cream truck. Frankly, you want a cheetah print one. And series creator David Jaffe is happy to walk you through just how you'll be able to do that in a yet-to-be-released web application, as seen above.
Report: Sony preparing Twisted Metal movie
Sony has reportedly signed a deal with writer and director Brian Taylor (the auteur behind both Crank movies, the Jonah Hex screenplay, and the most recent Ghost Rider flick) to make a movie based on the Twisted Metal car combat games. Avi and Ari Arad (who formerly worked with Marvel on the Spider-Man series, among other projects) are said to be producing the movie, should it come to fruition.If the deal pans out, the screenplay would follow the story of the games, pitting a series of vehicular combatants, including the iconic Doll Face and Sweet Tooth, against each other in a tournament to win a wish from the devilish Calypso. We don't have a lot of attachment to the game's "story," so we already expect Taylor to take all of the liberties he wants. We do have one fan request, though: Can we get a David Jaffe cameo? Please?
Jaffe outlines plans post-Eat Sleep Play; no Twisted Metal DLC or sequel planned
As we learned earlier this week, Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe will be leaving Eat Sleep Play sometime after the series relaunch of Twisted Metal hits store shelves. Jaffe sat down with our own Alexander Sliwinski during this week's DICE summit for a segment on The Joystiq Show, during which he elaborated on his waning presence at Eat Sleep Play and his plans for creating a new studio based out of San Diego."I will be with Eat Sleep Play until we finish what's called the 'maintenance contract' we have and have been working on with Sony. That will allow us, post-launch, to stay and address issues that there's no way we can know of. Cleaning things up in terms of balance, bugs, tuning, tweaks." This maintenance contract expires at the end of March, at which point Jaffe plans on cultivating new ideas, as well as a new team, for his fledgling studio."There's no corporate filings, there's no official company name yet; 99 percent of my day is Twisted Metal right now. There's four games I would love to do, the one I do really depends on the team I can put together and the money that I can find to make it." His ideas for new titles include both console and browser-based offerings, with a "guerilla-style" survival-horror thrown in for good measure: "There's a survival-horror genre in there, a real low-budget survival horror, kinda guerilla film making style. Not in terms of the look, but in terms of that kind of financing and that kind of production."Jaffe recently told Game Informer that there are no sequel or DLC plans for Twisted Metal, although that doesn't mean he's left the series for good. "You never know what the future holds, I'd love to make another Twisted down the road with these guys one day, if that opportunity presents itself." For now, though, Jaffe's focus is on building new experiences with new IPs.
The Joystiq Show - DICE 2012: David Jaffe and Kevin Dent
The annual industry-focused trade show. DICE, kicked off last night with a keynote from Bethesda Game Studios' Todd Howard, but he's not the only industry veteran at the conference with insight into the inner workings of game development and publishing.In this special DICE edition of The Joystiq Show, Alexander Sliwinski talks with Eat Sleep Play's David Jaffe about the imminent launch of Twisted Metal, his current status with the company, and his plans to move into next-gen and browser game development.The second interview features IGDA Mobile SIG's Kevin Dent, the man responsible for shining the spotlight on THQ's business practices and potentially disastrous financial predicament several weeks ago. Dent joins Alexander to delve into the details of his public statements and motivations for why he spoke out.Part 1 (0:13) - Interview: David JaffePart 2 (13:31) - Interview: Kevin DentGet the podcast:[iTunes] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast in iTunes[Zune] Subscribe to the Joystiq Podcast directly in the Zune Marketplace[RSS] Add the Joystiq Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator[MP3] Download the MP3 directlyHost: Alexander Sliwinski (@XanderSliwinski)Guests: David Jaffe (@davidscottjaffe) and Kevin Dent (@TheKevinDent)Producer: Jonathan Downin (@jonathandownin - Game Thing Daily)Music: "Bust This Bust That" by Professor KliqView the full guest list, related stories, and stream the show after the break.
David Jaffe leaves Eat Sleep Play, layoffs hit developer [Update]
Eat Sleep Play, which will shortly ship Twisted Metal, has reportedly laid off eight employees. The Salt Lake City Tribune also reports that co-founder David Jaffe is out and expected to pursue "casual games." Jaffe responded to the "rumor" of him making casual games after Twisted Metal as "highly exaggerated."Eat Sleep Play now has a staff of 26 and will transition to iPhone and iPad development. "It's a platform that is in our pockets almost 24/7. It's kind of the size and types of games we're playing," said other co-founder Scott Campbell to the Salt Lake Trib. "You can certainly reach a lot more people. That's pretty exciting for us."Campbell confirmed Jaffe's departure and said that the company and Jaffe are "going down two separate paths." Twisted Metal is Eat Sleep Play's second project, following the disappointing reception and sales of Calling all Cars. We've contacted Jaffe for clarification of his current status.Update: David Jaffe has confirmed that following the release of Twisted Metal (along with sticking around for balancing and bug fixing), he will step away from Eat Sleep Play. Jaffe also confirmed an undisclosed number of layoffs. ESP's office is located in Utah, while co-founder David Jaffe currently resides in California. Jaffe cited issues with directing a big game from a distance and a fondness for internal game development as reasons behind his decision to leave.The Twisted Metal director plans to open a new studio in San Diego and says he is "talking2peeps" for his new company to tackle some "big, huge next gen game ideas" or even "stuff in the browser space" that he labeled as "gamer centric."
Twisted Metal demo shoots up PSN on January 31
During this week's PlayStation Blogcast, on which our own Ludwig Kietzmann is a "special guest," PlayStation Sr. Social Media Specialist Sid Shuman (yay, alliteration!) confirmed the planned multiplayer demo for Twisted Metal would hit PSN next week, on January 31. If you like your manslaughter a bit less vehicular, you may want to check out a demo for another February-bound title, EA's rebooted Syndicate. It will also be a multiplayer demo, focusing on the game's co-op side, but you already knew that. Who needs expensive implants and cool tech for remembering things? Not you, buddy!
Twisted Metal includes Twisted Metal: Black download code
Over on the PlayStation Blog, David Jaffe reveals that early adopters of Sony's upcoming Twisted Metal reboot will get a bonus game free of charge. Each "Limited Edition" copy of Twisted Metal will be bundled with a download code for Twisted Metal: Black, the 2001 PS2 title, as "a thank you to our hardcore fans," Jaffe notes. The download voucher will only be included in the first pressing of the game – similar examples of recent memory include Battlefield 3 and Bulletstorm, both of which included bonuses in their first pressings – though Jaffe didn't say how many "Limited Edition" copies would be sent out to retail. Twisted Metal launches in North America on February 14, 2012.
Twisted Metal pushed to 'early 2012' worldwide
Once pinned to an October launch date, the reboot of Twisted Metal apparently won't arrive until "early 2012." Eat Sleep Play head David Jaffe took to the PlayStation Blog (in all territories) to announce the delay, citing "extra time needed to polish our demented baby" for the delay. If you, like us, are wondering what exactly that means, he goes on to channel Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto: "A late game is only late until it ships. A bad game is bad until the end of time." He also assured fans, "If we shipped Twisted Metal tomorrow -- going off the response from folks who have played it -- I assure you, it would never be a bad game." Jaffe promises a big showing at both of this summer's game industry shows, Gamescom and PAX Prime, so we'll be sure to find out specifically what's being done with the extra development time.
Twisted Metal preview: Something old, something new
Playing the new Twisted Metal for my first time (I didn't personally cover last year's E3 build), I was surprised by just how powerful the feelings of nostalgia were that swept over me. The old characters and vehicles, the old environments, and the old power-ups and weapons -- though updated by the current technology and featuring new elements -- bring back fond memories of many long nights playing split-screen with friends on the original PlayStation. "The essence or the fantasy of it that inspires me and Scott [Campbell] -- that hasn't changed since the very first one," game director David Jaffe said at a preview event this week, but it's not just about taking players back to the mid-90s. "We've added stuff -- we wanted to build a deeper more relevant game in multiplayer, online, things like that." Still, the "fantasy" that inspired the original game -- an over-the-top demolition derby set loose in the streets -- "is still just as relevant today," Jaffe suggested, "and we can bring it to next-gen gamers using next-gen artwork."
Twisted Metal to darken the holiday season with Oct. 4 launch
Buried deep within the latest world exclusive trailer of Twisted Metal that aired during this week's GameTrailers TV episode was a launch date for the Eat Sleep Play-developed title: October 4. Unsurprisingly, the game will be tearing into retail outlets ahead of Halloween. Additionally, the trailer is rife with the usual cast of vehicular homicidal maniacs. Marvel as Sweet Tooth corrupts a rural farm house simply by driving past it! Stare in disbelief as Axel pilots his physics-defying two-wheel death trap! And, ya know, there are some explosions too. Head past the break and see for yourself.
