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New Firefall dev blog introduces super-secret surprise mystery writer!
Mark Kern, CEO of Red 5 Studios, sits down with players today for a nice fireside chat in the not-quite-June Firefall developer diary. The focus of the dev diary is on the story Red 5's upcoming MMOTPS. Mr. Kern explains that the Firefall team really wants players to be invested in the game's story, and he goes on to discuss how the folks at Red 5 intend to make them give a darn. So how exactly are they going to do that? Well, as Mr. Kern points out, a large part of a good story is a good writer. And contributing to Firefall's story will be none other than the esteemed Orson Scott Card. That's right, the creator of the legendary Ender's Game series -- alongside his daughter, Emily Janice Card -- will be contributing to a free upcoming Firefall manga that will help to set up the story prior to the game. Udon Entertainment (of Street Fighter comic fame) will be providing the artwork for the manga, so it's sure to be a must-read for any Firefall fans. To see the whole dev diary, which includes some words from Mr. Card himself, head on past the cut.
Ender's Game tabled by Chair
Chair Entertainment co-founder Donald Mustard has confirmed to Joystiq that the studio's Ender's Game project has been put on indefinite hold. Announced in early 2008, the downloadable game was to take place in the story's "Battle Room," a place where the protagonist partakes in simulation combat. "We have and had an amazing design for the Ender's Game game," Mustard assured, but "one of [parent company] Epic's primary objectives is to create original and unique franchises. I don't know that Ender's Game fits into that strategic objective anymore." "So, probably not," Mustard said of the project's completion. "Not from us." Still, Chair maintains a good relationship with Ender's Game author Orson Scott Card, who wrote a novel set in the developer's Shadow Complex universe. "If anyone decides they want to make it," Mustard added, "I have some ideas I'd love to talk to them about."
Epic Games takes seat, acquires Chair Entertainment Group
Epic Games today announced its acquisition of Utah-based Undertow developer, Chair Entertainment Group. Under directors Donald and Geremy Mustard, and CEO Ryan Holmes, Chair Entertainment becomes a wholly owned subsidiary of Epic, keeping both its name and "its focus on creating new original game properties which utilize Epic's Unreal Engine technology." We've placed the full press release, which contains the usual "We're thrilled to buy this awesome company!" and "We're so glad this amazing company bought us!" quotes, after the break. Not specifically mentioned is how the acquisition will affect Chair's Ender's Game projects, if at all. After requesting comment, we were promised an update "as soon as one is available." Funny, we were just about to tell you readers the same thing.
Ender's Game might end up on the DS
Any sci-fi geek worth his or her salt will have heard of Orson Scott Card's magnificent Ender's Game series. (The original happens to be one of this blogger's favorite books.)For those of you unfamiliar with the story, let's catch up. Ender's Game tells the tale of the young prodigy, Ender Wiggin, who must prepare to save the word by training at Battle School. Ender's training consists of (what else?) playing games -- intense, simulated battles that involve a lot of strategy and tactics.It was only a matter of time before a game about a book about playing games was made, and we couldn't think of a better way to do it than with Orson Scott Card's novel. Chair Entertainment (developer of XBLA 's Undertow) recently signed the rights to the series, and plan to (eventually) make the title for all consoles and handhelds.While games based on licenses have a tendency to fall short of our expectations, we're somewhat comforted to know that Orson Scott Card is "working with [Chair Entertainment] to ensure the game is as authentically Enderish as possible," as he puts it. We only hope that this title actually appears on our favorite handheld, and doesn't turn into DS vaporware like some others that we know. If it does come out on the DS, though, it probably won't be until after the game releases onto downloadable platforms first (which we assume will include Wii Ware, too).[Via Games Industry]
Chair to bring Ender's Game to the XBLA
Orson Scott Card and Chair Entertainment (the developers behind Undertow) just announced today that they're collaborating on a project to bring sci-fi novel Ender's Game into the video game world. Geeky fun!Newsweek's N'Gai Croal confirmed that Chair Entertainment will begin developing Ender's Game sometime later this year and that the gameplay will not be focused on the entire novel, but instead will be more focused on the Battle Room. Croal also confirmed that Chair will be developing the game as a digital distribution title for release on services like the Xbox Live Arcade. A fully geeked out press release can be read after the break. [Via Game Stooge]
Undertow team creating Orson Scott Card's Ender's Game's game
A new collaboration between renowned author Orson Scott Card and Undertow developer, Chair Entertainment, will see the popular sci-fi novel Ender's Game adapted into a series of video games "across all next-generation consoles, handheld platforms, and PC." The first offering is expected to begin development later this year and will be released in downloadable format. As the story of Ender's Game revolves around the protagonist's experiences within the "Battle Room" -- home to a simulation of futuristic combat -- it should come as no surprise to learn that Chair Entertainment's goal is to place players into the very same virtual environment. Turning Ender's fictional game into a "real" one certainly makes sly sense within the context of the book, though we would be slightly concerned if the people on our Xbox Live friends should start turning up dead. In a recently published interview, N'Gai Croal managed to catch-up with the Mustard brothers, Donald and Geremy, founders of Chair Entertainment. They described the Unreal-engine game with great relish, noting that the "the unique characteristics of the Battle Room will make a very compelling, competitive game play experience." Let's hope it can make up for the bad taste left in our mouths by one of their previous Card collaborations, Advent Rising. [Image: "Ender's Game(s)" by Penny Arcade]
