Stewart-Gilray
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Just Add Water talking to publishers about Stranger's Wrath for XBLA
Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath HD has been available on PSN since last December, but its 2.1 gigabyte file size -- just .1 gigs over Microsoft's XBLA file size limit -- has prevented it from seeing the insides of the Xbox Live Marketplace. Though Just Add Water has been in talks with Microsoft to publish the game itself, it sounds like the developer will be making some alternative accommodations."We've basically run everything dry in terms of going some kind of first-party route with Microsoft, be it them publishing it or be it us publishing it ourselves," said Just Add Water CEO Stewart Gilray during an interview with VG247. "So we're now having to go down the third-party route."The developer is in talks with "two or three" publishers and hopes to have more information to announce by Easter, although Gilray did not give specifics regarding which publishers may be interested in helping the cause. It's unclear how working through a third-party publisher will aid in resolving (or circumnavigating) the game's size issue, but we're glad to see that Just Add Water is still trying.
PSN devs offer mixed reactions to cost of outage
As consumers scramble to deal with the ramifications (identity theft!) of the PlayStation Network breach and subsequent outage, PSN developers are struggling with anxieties of their own. "PSN being out definitely affects our bottom line," Q-Games Dylan Cuthbert told IndustryGamers, "but as long as the people who were going to be playing Shooter 2 and other PixelJunk titles will get right back in there playing them when it comes back up, we'll be happy and hopefully income won't be dented too much." That could prove to be a big "but" -- Cuthbert's comments came before we knew PSN users' personal information had been stolen and consumer trust in Sony perhaps irrevocably damaged. Speaking to Develop, a UK-based developer, wishing to remain anonymous, observed that "people will be a bit more wary about using their credit card on PSN, so obviously we're nervous about sales." "There may be a lot of people who won't want to spend their money through PlayStation Network now," the same developer added. "We're expecting a 5–10 percent drop in business." The dev estimated that the studio has already lost "thousands" in expected revenue.
Stranger's Wrath HD dev will 'look to' bring PS3 update to PC for free
While we're no closer to learning if the HD update to the formerly Xbox-exclusive Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath will ever make it to Xbox Live Arcade – either it's got to shrink in size or Microsoft has to bump up that size limit ... again – developer Just Add Water is hinting at another platform that may see the "NOT PS3-exclusive" remake. JAW's Stewart Gilray took to the Steam forums to placate Oddboxx consumers angry about the inconsistency of the PC port of Stranger's Wrath. Porting the title from Xbox (and an Xbox-specific implementation of DirectX) to PC and OpenGL introduced a number of issues, which Gilray was eager to address. "From a personal note, to read these comments that the game is beyond broken hurts," he wrote in the forums. "I am always incredibly paranoid about that work I/we do and am always self-critical, so please help us fix these issues by providing as much positive feedback as you can with system specs and detailed descriptions." As users turned in (generally angry) bug reports, one asked the question everyone's been wondering: "Why can't the PC port be as good as the PS3 version?" Gilray responded simply, "Because the PS3 version is not completed yet," before adding, "As for the PS3 version, we will look to bring this to the PC as an update to the current PC version at a later date." While it's far from a promise, it is a reminder that the HD remake isn't contractually bound to remain a PS3-exclusive, and it's also a potential silver lining for anyone plagued by bugs in the current Oddboxx release. %Gallery-112128%[Thanks, BoogerA]
Stranger's Wrath HD the first of six Oddworld projects from Just Add Water
The Oddworld franchise is making a comeback, starting with a remastered version of Stranger's Wrath created by a small team at Just Add Water. The developer's ambition encompasses six Oddworld projects in total -- that's an Oddworld Quintology plus one. "Well for one I'm a HUGE fan, and always have been, all the way back to 1997," said Stewart Gilray, managing director of Just Add Water. "Other members of the team are also fans, and as a company we all care deeply about the project, and will only sign off on it ourselves, when we are happy with it in every aspect." Talking to Joystiq via email, Gilray explained that his company's collaboration with Oddworld Inhabitants started when he was introduced to series creator Lorne Lanning, during the 2009 Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Hello. Follow me. Isn't that how all these deals happen?
