Guillermo del Toro
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Alone in the Dark reboot delayed to the oh-so-spooky month of January
The classic survival horror series Alone in the Dark recently announced a reboot set to release in October, but it just got delayed to January. This delay isn’t for the usual reasons. The game doesn’t need more polish or anything like that. It’s simply a matter of finding an audience in the bustling gaming month of October, given the flood of titles coming next month.
Netflix will release at least 70 movies in 2022
Get your first peek at films like 'Knives Out 2' and a big-budget thriller from the Russo brothers.
'Death Stranding' arrives on PS4 November 8th
After an hours-long looping stream of handprint silhouettes covering footage from the game, Sony has revealed more details about its upcoming PS4 blockbuster, Death Stranding, which arrives November 8th. The new trailer for legendary Metal Gear Solid director Hideo Kojima's latest creation is packed with gameplay footage.
'Allison Road' picks up where 'P.T.' left off
It's safe to say that Sony played gamers magnificently when it first revealed that Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro were teaming up for Silent Hills. An innocuous-looking game called P.T. (short for Playable Trailer) emerged on the PlayStation Store and invited players to repeatedly explore a single hallway in a house full of puzzles and ridiculous jump scares. The final reveal with The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus helped people rediscover their love for the Silent Hill franchise, only for the project to be cancelled thanks to Kojima's now-famous falling out with Konami. However, with an obvious appetite for such a game, independent studios are attempting to keep the dream alive. Allison Road, which hit Kickstarter this week, aims to build on the foundations laid by P.T. and give gamers the first-person horror title they deserve.
Kojima and del Toro's 'Silent Hills' is not going to happen
Silent Hills, at least as it was originally conceived, is no more. The next chapter of the once-popular horror series had built considerable hype off the back of a fantastic playable teaser, P.T., which was released last summer. When solved the teaser offered up a trailer for a new Silent Hill game, revealing that Metal Gear Solid creator Hideo Kojima, filmmaker Guillermo del Toro and The Walking Dead star Norman Reedus were all on board. According to both del Toro and Reedus, that is no longer the case. At the San Francisco International Film Festival, del Toro was quoted as saying that his collaboration with Kojima is "not gonna happen." Norman Reedus later tweeted an article reporting the game is canceled, adding he's "super bummed" about the news, and Konami has confirmed to Eurogamer that its contract period with the actor has "expired."
Silent Hills Swedish radio broadcast hints at aliens
The playable teaser for Hideo Kojima and Guillermo del Toro's Silent Hills offers a hint at the game's premise: aliens. A creepy Swedish radio broadcast outlines a world of tortured paranoia, including the phrase, "The radio drama from 75 years ago was the truth," as translated by YouTube user dimhoLten. This timeline aligns with Orson Welles' radio performance of The War of the Worlds on October 30, 1938. Welles' broadcast of The War of the Worlds incited mass panic among the US radio audience, as it was presented as a series of news bulletins describing a live alien invasion, which many listeners took at face value. The radio drama was based on HG Wells' 1898 novel The War of the Worlds.
Joystiq Streams: Blindly walking into the madness of Silent Hills [UPDATE: Relive the stream!]
Have you ever had that nightmare where the guy that made Zone of the Enders, the guy that made Hellboy, and that guy who played the younger brother in Boondock Saints end up in a fog-covered town that physically manifests your every trauma and insecurity? Plagued me for years, that one. Never got a wink of sleep. Let's just turn on the old PlayStation 4 here for some relaxing good timesAGGGGGHHHHHHH! The mysterious P.T. shown during Sony's Gamescom '14 press conference, available right now on PlayStation 4, does indeed appear to be a teaser for Silent Hills, a new game in Konami's horror series. It also appears to be the brain child of Hideo Kojima and filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, and stars none other than Norman Reedus, one of the stars of The Walking Dead. It also frightens some Joystiq staff so much they refuse to play it. Not Richard Mitchell, though! He'll be marching into P.T. blind starting at 4PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch, unafraid of the madness that waits within. What's waiting in there? Do Solid Snake and Daryl team up to fight kaiju? Probably not. That'll probably just stay a dream. Joystiq Streams broadcasts live every Tuesday and Thursday at 4PM EST on Joystiq.com/Twitch, but stray streams like this one happen all the time so make sure to follow us on Twitch to know when we're live.
Report: Silent Hill resurrected by Kojima and Del Toro
The mysterious interactive horror game Sony teased during its Gamescom press conference? It may just be a window into the future of Konami's Silent Hill franchise. Completing the interactive teaser while streaming on Twitch, user "SoapyWarpig" unlocked a cutscene featuring a desolate town. After title cards reveal a collaboration between Metal Gear creator Hideo Kojima and Hellboy director Guillermo Del Toro, the camera pulls out to reveal the cutscene's only character, The Walking Dead actor Norman Reedus. Then a title card reaches into our cold dead hearts and massages them back to life with the words: Silent Hills. Is it a game? A digital film? The greatest hoax perpetuated by man? We've asked Konami for details and our friends for a brown paper bag for us to finish hyperventilating in.
Del Toro in Insane talks with 'very, very big company'
Though THQ is no longer producing Insane, Guillermo del Toro's game continues its slow progress toward existence. Another publisher has shown interest in the game, the intellectual property of which was returned to del Toro after THQ dropped the project."We are in talks with a very, very big company. I can't say who, but it's one of the big ones," del Toro told the Toronto Sun. "They really responded to the game, they responded to what we were trying."The publisher isn't the only part of the project undergoing changes. "Some of the devices of the game I need to update, because now I've seen them in other games that just came out," del Toro said. "That always happens. But the principle we're trying to do with the game is to make it a really immersive narrative experience. It's still a really challenging proposal."Now, what game overlapped with Insane's planned systems? We're guessing Style Savvy: Trendsetters.
Del Toro got Valve's permission to use GlaDOS' voice in Pacific Rim
The presence of Ellen McLain's sultry, robotic trills in the Pacific Rim trailer above filled us with much, much joy when we first saw it last December, but we couldn't help but feel like director Guillermo del Toro wasn't being entirely original. Furthermore, we wondered how Valve would feel about such flagrant counterfeiting; we know it doesn't own Ellen McLain's voice or anything, but come on.None of that is actually an issue, as it turns out, since del Toro actually obtained permission from Valve to use GlaDOS' voice in the film, according to the Toronto Sun. "I wanted very much to have her, because I'm a big Portal fan," del Toro said. "But just as a wink. She's not cake-obsessed."McLain's vocal work in the actual film will be run through fewer GlaDOS-inducing voice filters in the final film, del Toro says, but he wanted her voice to be completely recognizable in the trailer. It's also worth noting that there's no actual crossover between Valve's Portal/Half Life universe and Pacific Rim's, even though Pacific Rim is a movie about universes crossing over.
It 'seems' like Guillermo del Toro's Insane may live on after THQ
Even though THQ's reconfiguration earlier this year presumably spelled deAth for inSane, Guilermo del Toro still tried to shop it around. He's hopeful that the game is back on track to production now, going on to say "it seems like we're going to be developing it after the first meeting we had." "I can't disclose where it was, but we went to a great developer on the first meeting and it seems that they're picking it up because they love the package." He says that a year and a half has been spent working on the game already, with potentially two years' work ahead before the game can be released. "We put a good year and a half into it and we have the universe quite figured out, but we are now going to take that and start doing all the leg work with coding it, creating the engine, and starting to test it. It's going to take a good two years of modeling and rendering and creating the environments and all of that. The basic tenants of the game is that it's created, but now we're going to need to start actually making it."As for the original plans of creating a trilogy, that idea is not so set in stone any more. "I think we're going to concentrate on making it a great game and then we'll see. Obviously, among the assets was that idea, so I think there's a possibility. But we are not exploring it."
Del Toro still shopping 'Insane' concept around, hired GlaDOS for his movie
THQ may have put the kibosh on director Guillermo del Toro's Insane project, but that doesn't mean the idea is dead and gone forever.Del Toro is in the middle of doing press for his upcoming Pacific Rim movie at the New York Comic Con this week, and he mentioned that he's still trying to find a good game company partner for Insane. "Now we are talking to developers," Del Toro said, according to Kotaku. "When something doesn't happen in one way, I just continue pursuing it in another way. I'm not giving up on Insane."Asked for a dream developer to work with, Del Toro said he's a big fan of Valve and the games they make. In fact, one of the robots in Pacific Rim will be played by voice actress Ellen McClain, also known as GlaDOS from Valve's Portal series. "I called the guys at Valve and said, you know how much I am a fan of Portal, can the AI be GlaDOS?" Del Toro said.
Guillermo del Toro's 'Insane' franchise also out at THQ
THQ president Jason Rubin just announced that THQ game Insane is no longer in production. "We have decided not to pursue further pre-production on Insane, and have returned all of our IP rights to Guillermo del Toro," Rubin said. It is a project the embattled publisher is no longer pursuing, and was cited alongside Facebook, mobile, and social as "outside of our core business."Director del Toro could take the rights and produce the game elsewhere. He's retained film rights since the project was first announced.Insane was announced during the 2010 Spike Video Game Awards, but never showed up during various gaming events across the past two years. Aside from it being a project developed in tandem with film director Guillermo del Toro, little is known. Saints Row developer Volition was working on the first game in the planned trilogy, and is now known to be developing a full sequel to last year's Saints Row: The Third.Update: THQ says the game "was in very early development," and that "no teams/staff are affected by this decision." When asked whether del Toro also retains any code/assets created for the project thus far, we were told, "The rights for the property have been returned to Guillermo for his future use/exploration."
THQ's new head promises no more job cuts, but 'everything is up for change'
For a guy who's only been on the job for a dozen days, newly appointed THQ president Jason Rubin is awfully comfortable answering very specific questions. He probably should be, given his title, but it was impressive nonetheless that he was able to speak with such specificity to nebulous projects like Guillermo del Toro's planned "Insane" trilogy. "Currently it's still in the slate," Rubin told Joystiq in an E3 interview. That doesn't mean the barely detailed project is a sure thing, of course. THQ will be "a different company" in the next year or two, according to Rubin. Will ambitious projects like Insane make the cut?"I'm taking every project as clay, a clay statue that's been built. It's not nearly been completed. It can be augmented, it can be shrunk, it can be changed. Everything is up for change to make the best possible product that could be," Rubin said.With THQ's financial troubles as of late, it's fair to wonder if the trilogy will ever materialize, not to mention Turtle Rock's unnamed FPS project, or THQ Montreal's new IP. "I'm well aware of the other projects that are kind of in what you would call 'nebulous states' (though internally they may not be so nebulous)," Rubin said. "I have to go around and look at everything over the next few weeks, next month, and I have to then decide which of the titles are the titles we're gonna focus on based on what I believe our future should be."Thankfully for THQ's employees (approximately 1,750 as of March 31, 2011), the coming change within the publisher doesn't mean a reckoning. "We have the appropriate number of teams and the appropriate number of people working on products, and we're not gonna be continuing to cut teams," Rubin told us. "But as far as product goes, I think we'll have to find out exactly where that's going."
An Irrational fear of monsters
"A good monster is a monster you can imagine in repose."That was the advice acclaimed horror writer and director Guillermo del Toro gave Ken Levine, the creator of the BioShock franchise, during a conversation on the Irrational Games podcast. Levine takes those words to heart in his own creative direction, and before building any terrifying monsters, he makes sure Irrational develops a rich, empathetic backstory that places each of the deformed, viciously homicidal creatures in routine settings, where they perform the most base of actions: contributing to society, petting a dog, relaxing, mourning.Four Irrational members – Levine, art director Nate Wells, lead artist Shawn Robertson, and sound man Pat Balthrop – gave the PAX audience a glimpse into the secret lives and creation of five major BioShock Infinite villains: the Motorized Patriot, Handyman, Siren, Boys of Silence and Songbird.
Ken Levine and Guillermo del Toro talk films, monsters, and narrative on latest Irrational Interviews
We've got a perfect excuse for you to once again don that Big Daddy costume from Halloween of aught seven: a podcast. Wait, wait, hear us out -- the podcast is Irrational Games' own "Irrational Interviews," and stars none other than BioShock and BioShock Infinite creative lead Ken Levine. Oh, also, it's totally Halloween again, so you probably need a costume anyway. Furthermore, Mr. Levine's speaking with film director slash game developer Guillermo del Toro -- behind films such as Pan's Labyrinth and Blade 2, and heading up creative duties on THQ's inSane -- and it's just the first half of a two-parter. If it were ever a good day to hear two creative virtuosos wax philosophical about making scary monsters, today is that day.
Del Toro's Insane to be a sandbox game, Guy Davis doing creature designs
Like a shambling horror in one of his own films, Guillermo Del Toro's upcoming project with THQ, Insane, is slowly creeping into the light. In an interview with MTV, the filmmaker turned game creator revealed that Insane will be a sandbox game, which makes sense given developer Volition's pedigree (Red Faction, Saints Row). He also offered hints about exactly what kind of horror to expect, noting that Insane is "Lovecraftian in a very sick way." He added that the game's creatures are "obscenely fun and unique," which they should be, given they're being designed by Guy Davis. Davis is best known for his work on the Hellboy and B.P.R.D. comics, both of which have a Lovecraftian bent. The art department will also be bolstered by Francisco Ruis Velasco, who worked on Hellboy 2: The Golden Army. The first planned installment of Insane will (hopefully) begin terrifying gamers in 2013.
inSane planned as trilogy, but 'if the first game doesn't work, there won't be a trilogy,' Bilson says
Guillermo del Toro's forthcoming franchise for THQ -- the awkwardly innercapped inSane -- may be planned as a trilogy, but that doesn't mean it'll necessarily play out that way. Though THQ is confident in del Toro and the franchise, Core Games veep Danny Bilson has a realistic outlook on the franchise's ability to expand to a trilogy. "We have aspirations to make a trilogy," Bilson told a gathering of press at GDC this week, including Joystiq. "If the first game doesn't work, there won't be a trilogy. It's not complicated." Bilson cited Hollywood's ability to make trilogies as an example of how not complicated this concept is. "If Avatar had been a flop then there wouldn't be two more sequels. And if the first Matrix wasn't a success there wouldn't be two more sequels." For Bilson and THQ, it means delivering quality products first. "We have to succeed on the first one. And then we have to succeed on the second one! And then you can make the third one. It's not really that arrogant, if you will, to plan a trilogy because we're very realistic." And unlike Hollywood, "we can't make two at once," Bilson jokes. "It doesn't cost that much to plan, right?" Volition president Mike Kulas said. "We're not building a bunch of assets for the future games." Instead, Kulas estimates that "a couple percent of the total budget of the second game will be spent before we have a better idea of how the first one's shaping up." As the studio responsible for collaborating with Del Toro on inSane, Volition has to succeed where many others have failed: working with Hollywood to create a successful video game franchise.
inSane trilogy game rights held by THQ, del Toro keeps movie rights
Wanna hear something crazy? Guillermo del Toro's inSane game project is gonna be a trilogy. Of course, that lengthy proposal, as documented by THQ, will still be bound by reason -- at least, by the reasonable success of the "first chapter in the series," due in 2013. (Remember how that Too Human "trilogy" started ... and stalled?) "With this new series of video games, I want to take players to a place they have never seen before, where every single action makes them question their own senses of morality and reality," said a confident del Toro as if narrating atop the mysterious and positively creepy teaser (embedded after the break). "THQ and Volition, Inc. are equally excited to make this vision of a completely new game universe into a reality." Not only excited, THQ is heavily invested in what it's dubbed "an original trilogy of triple-A games." The publisher will retain the intellectual property rights to the inSane games, while del Toro holds the rights to any associated "filmed entertainment" projects. It sounds like our sanity could be tested. A lot.
From the VGAs Red Carpet: Guillermo del Toro and THQ's Danny Bilson
THQ Executive VP of Core Games Danny Bilson stopped by our red carpet post at the VGAs this weekend with director Guillermo del Toro in tow, and Bilson talked with us about all of THQ's upcoming properties, including the quickly ensuing Red Faction movie on SyFy. "They're prepping right now," he promised, "And there's another one coming that we're going to announce soon." Would that be the elusive Saints Row 3? "I can't talk about it or they'll cut my head off," he said. "But we're going to be talking about it at some point in the future in a big way." For his part, Guillermo del Toro decided to work with THQ on the newly revealed inSane because he believes that gaming "is one of the most immersive mediums for storytelling right now." We asked him to tick off a few specifics, and he dutifully did. "Left 4 Dead has passages that are incredibly scary. Silent Hill is great, and Shadow of the Colossus was incredibly moving. There are Call of Duty moments that are better than any war movie." Bilson interrupted at that one. "Wait until they ride the bus in the first level of Homefront!" As for del Toro's inSane, Bilson says, "we're only focusing on the game right now, and whatever happens later happens later. But we're building an incredible world together that we will be talking about more later on." We'll look forward to it.
