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GamersFirst hires Dave Jones as APB Reloaded advisor
Raise your hand if you saw this one coming: Dave Jones is back on the All Points Bulletin team. The former Realtime Worlds boss and the brains behind APB's original incarnation (as well as Crackdown and the first two Grand Theft Auto games) has joined GamersFirst "in an advisory role and will share his vast game design experience during critical design stages" according to a new press release. Jones has flown under the radar since the meltdown of Realtime Worlds and appears to be excited to get back on the development horse. "The game was my passion back when I was developing it with Realtime Worlds, and I'm extremely excited to be able to participate in fulfilling the long term vision for the title," he said. Jones also goes on to praise GamersFirst's free-to-play vision for San Paro. APB Reloaded is currently winding down its closed beta stage, with open beta scheduled for May 18th.
Realtime Worlds community manager details dev's final days
Eurogamer's piece on Realtime Worlds' collapse is an interesting read for anyone curious about the final weeks of the developer. The studio collapsed in September, shortly after launching APB, a Grand Theft Auto-esque MMO that ran out of gas after 86 days. Almost the whole piece is told through the words of Realtime Worlds' Community Officer Ben Bateman. His story is relentlessly optimistic about the state of the studio and the development of APB, especially so during the portion where he tells of QA's warnings and complaints from APB beta testers being acknowledged, but ultimately ignored. Acknowledgment of reality doesn't set in until after APB launches and the hard subscription figures showed the game wasn't going to make it. Then come the painful details of how layoffs went down and how the studio eventually shut down. Give it a read for the human interest angle on a sad business tale.
Realtime Worlds director Dave Jones not joining Epic
It was rumored yesterday that Realtime Worlds creative director Dave Jones was moving to the United States in order to join Epic Games. Jones has since contacted Develop, informing the site that the initial report seen in the Herald Scotland was incorrect. Commenting directly on the Develop story, Jones said, "I'm still in Dundee and not in any way joining Epic. No idea where that rumour came from." Before founding Realtime Worlds and developing both Crackdown and the recently closed APB, Jones contributed to several well-known titles, including the original Grand Theft Auto and Lemmings. [Image credit: Jon Jordan]
Rumor: Ex-Realtime Worlds head Dave Jones joining Epic [update: Jones not joining Epic]
Update: Dave Jones has informed Develop that he is not joining Epic and has no plans to leave Scotland at this time. The fallout from the closure of APB and developer Realtime Worlds continues this week, with the Herald Scotland reporting that creative director Dave Jones may be joining Epic Games. The report notes that Jones is "linked with a senior post" at Epic and adds that he is "known to be a close friend" of Mark Rein. If true, the report lends credence to recent rumors that Epic is interested in acquiring the rights to APB. (We've contacted Epic for comment and will update this story with any new information.) Meanwhile, former Realtime artist Tahir Rashid tells the Herald Scotland that 70 percent of the Realtime staff has yet to receive redundancy payments.
Realtime Worlds' MyWorld purchased, APB still in limbo
Develop, a European-based games industry trade magazine, has revealed the sale of Project MyWorld from troubled studio Realtime Worlds to an unnamed American company. In a story released on its website earlier today, the publication stated that the purchase has split Realtime Worlds into at least two separate entities, each of which is being eyed by several potential buyers. The fate of the 23 developers recently re-hired by administrating firm Begbies Traynor is currently unknown, as is the ultimate fate of Realtime Worlds' more famous creation, the $100 million MMOFPS known as All Points Bulletin. Develop's confirmation of a U.S.-based purchaser for Project MyWorld would seem to invalidate speculation that the anonymous buyers are Realtime Worlds heads Dave Jones and Ian Hetherington. You can view all the details at Develop's website.
Review: APB (Day 4: Cards on the table)
Review Diary Day 1: Welcome to San Paro Day 2: Enforcers, get enforcin' Day 3: Choose your illusion Day 4: Cards on the table This is the final part of a four-day review diary about the first MMO from developers Realtime Worlds, APB. One of the hardest parts about reviewing an MMO is that the genre takes full advantage of being online and persistent. Because players need to log in to an updated client every time, developers can quickly and relatively easily push out new bugfixes and content with regularity. Realtime Worlds has already released one patch post-release for APB, and while I've talked about certain issues with repetitive gameplay and earning customization levels, both of those issues can be fixed with updates if the developers choose to do so. So the final question in reviewing an MMO isn't necessarily if you should buy this game today or not. It's: Does the game offer enough promise to invest your time and attention? Future plans included, out of all the games you could spend your free time on, is APB capable of rewarding that investment with a quality experience?
Realtime Worlds restructuring to provide "total support" for APB
APB's Dave Jones said he expected mediocre reviews from the media immediately after launch. Be that as it may, the Realtime Worlds team obviously feels that the game is a success, according to today's press release. The press release announced that the APB staff will increase, and Realtime Worlds will actually be pulling resources from an unnamed second project as well in order to give full support to APB. This will mean 24/7 live support, more content updates, and generally a more active future for the game. CEO Gary Dale explained that the decision is a reflection of the game's successful launch and Realtime's expectation of continued success in the future: "APB experienced a very smooth launch for an online dedicated game along with a great reception from consumers and we're immensely proud of the game the team has produced. We now have to focus our efforts and resources on running APB as a 24/7 online live operation, creating new content and services for the future and ensuring the best possible experience for the players." Check out the press release for all the details.
APB needs partner to make console version, but willing
The idea of console MMOs is nothing new. After all, EverQuest Online Adventures, Final Fantasy XI, and the Phantasy Star titles have managed to successfully publish on consoles. With that said, it seems as if there's been a trend with recent MMOs to say they were going to console like Age of Conan and Champions Online, only to change their minds later. That's why we weren't surprised to see that David Jones, Creative Director of Realtime Worlds, sat down with Eurogamer and discussed the potential of a console port for his company's recent release, All Points Bulletin. What we did find interesting was that, despite knowledge of consoles from working on the first two Grand Theft Auto titles and Realtime Worlds being partnered with EA for distribution, there has been no discussion between the two companies regarding porting All Points Bulletin to consoles. Jones notes that the team at Realtime Worlds will remain focused on working on the PC version, as opposed to shifting into trying to build a console version, or trying to "shop around" for a partner. That said, he certainly sounds willing to discuss a deal if the right distribution partner for consoles were willing to contact them. Be sure to pop over to Eurogamer if you're wondering what else Jones may have in mind for All Points Bulletin.
APB's Dave Jones expected mediocre reviews
Realtime Worlds' Dave Jones may have created something of a self-fulfilling prophecy when he predicted that game reviewers would be less than kind to All Points Bulletin. The recently released MMOFPS hasn't exactly torn up the scoring charts on the major review sites since its debut last month. "It's always hard when you create something new as it requires a natural learning curve. Also because APB is online multiplayer focused, it's best played as intended, with 60 to 100 people in the city with you. For these same reasons I expect the reviews to be mixed," Jones told CVG. While Massively has a long-standing policy against reviewing MMORPGs, you can read our first impressions to get a general feel for the game's open beta as well as its long-term potential.
To Live and Die in San Paro: APB first impressions
Welcome, criminals and enforcers alike, to Massively's first impressions of All Points Bulletin. We've been spending a bit of time in the beta, as well as the recent Key to the City event, and we're here to bring you the skinny on what it's like to live (and die) on the streets of San Paro. Realtime Worlds has created a unique title, one that certainly won't appeal to everyone and is somewhat rough around the edges, but one that also has a mountain of potential. Yes, I know, the dreaded P-word, often thrown about during an MMO's launch window as a way of deflecting criticisms. In APB's case though, it fits. Perhaps the first thing that needs addressing when looking at a game like APB is something many of our commenters have opined about as we've covered the game these past few months, namely, is it in fact an MMO. The answer is... kinda. To elaborate, we'll take a quick look at how the game works before diving head first into our opinions, both good and bad. Hit the jump for more.
APB's Key to the City event delayed
Realtime Worlds has announced a delay in their Key to the City end-of-beta promotion. The teaser event, designed to give prospective players a taste of life on the crime-ridden streets of San Paro, features five hours of action district gameplay and unlimited social district gameplay. In a news post just released on the All Points Bulletin website, game creator Dave Jones outlines the reasons for the hiccup. "We've worked tirelessly to bring the service online, installing and configuring a massive amount of new hardware in our data-centres, to help meet the high demand and bring you the best experience we can. As we're sure you'll appreciate, this is a huge undertaking and unfortunately on this occasion, we've hit a number of installation delays," he says. The event is currently scheduled to take place starting at 9:00am EDT on Saturday, June 12th.
Dave Jones: All Points Bulletin shelf life 5 to 10 years
The crime-focused title All Points Bulletin is one of the upcoming games we've taken a fairly keen interest in here at Massively. While we're still hoping for more gameplay footage in the video podcasts that APB developer Realtime Worlds has been releasing since E3 2009, but there's been a fair amount of general info revealed about the game in recent interviews. Although APB's design is a departure from some of the game mechanics found in massively multiplayer online games, Realtime Worlds is banking that their urban crime title will have the longevity of a solid MMO. Dave Jones, Creative Director on All Points Bulletin, says they could be looking at five to ten years of life in the game.
Realtime Worlds hopes APB will have up to 10-year lifespan
We've all been curious about how long the Cops & Robbers gameplay presented in Realtime Worlds' APB would be capable of capturing our fleeting, razor-thin attention span. Realtime creative director Dave Jones just ... hey, have you guys seen Brüno yet? It looks pretty funny, but we -- oh, sorry. Dave Jones recently spoke with VideoGamer.com and explained that a five to ten year lifespan is "ultimately the goal" for APB.Jones said the action-heavy MMO would endure for the same reasons Valve's long-lasting FPS Counter-Strike has. He claims it'll include elements that made the shooter so successful, such as frantic, addictive game play, as well as "leagues and stats and achievements." See, here we thought people loved Counter-Strike because it let you spray paint private parts onto battlefield walls. Our mistake.
Realtime Worlds explains shift to MMOs, says online market is 'untapped'
(click to MMO-size) Crackdown developer Realtime Worlds -- currently working on upcoming MMO All Points Bulletin -- is pretty excited about cashing in on the online market. During his keynote at the Develop conference this week, RTW exec David Jones explained his company's shift to MMO development as one with the intention of heading where "the big dollars are." "Online ... is very, very much untapped -- it's kind of like winding the clock back 10 or 15 years," he said during the speech. Jones apparently cited Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 as examples of games where players "invest hours" in the single-player campaign but "ten times that online" -- but isn't your game PC-only, Mr. Jones? We're not so sure, considering Jones' repeated references to "next-gen technology" throughout the keynote, 100-person servers for online play, and the recent EA partnership announcement -- though we'd be a lot more inclined to believe it if even a single MMO existed on current-gen consoles in any real capacity. When we asked RTW for comment on the possibility of APB coming to consoles, a representative told us, "There's no update on that front." Hey, we tried, right?
Realtime Worlds teases ambitious new project, deets coming in 2010
During his keynote at GameHorizon, Realtime Worlds Creative Director Dave Jones revealed that the company is working on a new project. The exec had no further details about the game, but stated that the first details will be revealed next year. If you want the details now, um ... we recommend getting a job at the company.Jones noted that the unannounced game was actually the first title (pre-Crackdown) that the developer set out to build and is "very, very ambitious." The company even received $30 million in venture capital at the time to make it. Hopefully the studio will get APB out the door before talking about its next project.Source -- Realtime Worlds reveals "very ambitious" new projectSource -- Realtime to announce second MMO next year
Realtime Worlds to announce second MMO project next year
Not one, but two MMOs are to come out of Realtime Worlds, the Scotland based developer of All Points Bulletin. Even more intriguingly, this second MMO is actually the company's original MMO project!According to Realtime's CEO, Dave Jones, during his keynote speech at GameHorizon, their original investment drive of 30 million dollars was actually for their new product, this unnamed MMO. However, due to the ambitious nature of the project, All Points Bulletin was moved forwards in the production list to give the company a solid foundation before moving onwards. While all details of this next project remain a mystery, Jones has said that the company is very excited to move fowards with this next project, their original MMO project. While we can't first hand attest to how ambitious this project is, we believe that actually moving your project backwards just so you can get another MMO out first really says something about how ambitious the project is.
All Points Bulletin chaos to balance out with Criminal and Enforcer dynamic
The upcoming criminals-vs.-vigilantes game All Points Bulletin holds the promise of being an absolutely chaotic rampage, where a hundred players lay waste to a sprawling urban environment. While that *seems* like it would be fun, for a while anyway, even the most destructive gamer incarnate of Jack Thompson's personal antichrist will ultimately grow tired of blowing stuff up. Fortunately, that's not what APB is going to be all about. In fact, a closer look at this game can makes us wonder: Is it really possible to compare the unbridled carnage and hot coffee of Grand Theft Auto with the gameplay of ABP? Not really, according to Realtime Worlds creative director Dave Jones, who spoke about APB with Chris Kohler from Wired's GameLife blog. Jones told Wired, "There's nothing to compare it to, but that's kind of what we try to do with our games."
Impressions: APB
Realtime Worlds has an extremely ambitious plan to bring an enormous sandbox world full of customization to the PC player at home, and creative director Dave Jones is calling APB "The game he wanted Grand Theft Auto to be." Although we imagine those 1997-era graphics and the top-down view would have limited it somewhat. They've more than made up for that in this new game, which has some pretty slick built-in design tools .. but no cohesive story.That's one of the things that causes the hair on the back of our necks to rise, and probably those of the marketing team as well. When asked about the game, Jones said "Well, we don't really have an overarching story." In fact, their website's FAQ will tell you, "What will the outcome be? The great thing is, we don't know." We don't know either. But if you want to find out what we do know about the game, head beyond the break and give it a peep. Here's a teaser: They could release this tomorrow as Back Alley Tattoo Artist and it would clean up.%Gallery-65497%
E3 2009: APB gets the Paul Barnett hype treatment
At E3 this entire week, EA is promoting their biggest and brightest new titles at their enormous booth in the LA Convention Center's South Hall. This includes two titles we're excited about: SWTOR and APB. To help promote APB yesterday, EA's Paul Barnett got the crowd hyped up for the game with some free t-shirts and a couple Suicide Girls to help toss them out to the audience. On top of this, APB's Dave Jones was interviewed by Paul on the stage, and two short trailers were shown. The first one was basically what we saw last year, showcasing the amazing character customization options available in the MMO. Yet, we were also shown some in-game footage with characters created by the APB testing community basically, the new trailer we showed you earlier in the week). You can check out our shaky-cam footage of the event right after the jump below.
E3 2009: Realtime World's Dave Jones speaks on APB
The announcement of EA handling APB's marketing and distribution was a pretty big one for Realtime Worlds, and creative director Dave Jones was on hand at EA's press conference yesterday to speak with Gamasutra about the game, the company, and the developments of APB.Game wise, Dave has spoken a bit further on how the law vs. criminal battles will work out for the game. Criminals will be able to battle against criminals, but enforcers will never find themselves matched against one another. This will open up the possibility of multiple front wars with other criminal factions, rather than a simple two front game.Also, the game will feature large scale battles as well as "metagroups" where the game determines balancing for players who are doing exceptionally well. Dave's example was a group of 5 elite players might be matched against 15 normal ranking players, just to give the elite players a thrill and the 15 a chance against these 5.The full interview with Gamasutra goes into the company itself, partnering options, as well as more info on APB itself.
