EA-Bright-Light
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EA Bright Light in process of closure
The body count for established British studios keeps rising, with EA Bright Light the latest in the crosshairs. EA confirmed to GamesIndustry.biz that a "formal consultation process" has begun at the studio. That's a fancy term for the time required under UK law (dependent on number of employees) before the publisher can shut down the studio. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was the latest project from the studio, a title we couldn't be bothered to review after the previous installment. Apparently we didn't miss anything. "Employees that are impacted will be considered for positions at other EA Studios including those in the UK," EA said in a statement. "The UK is a vital centre of game development for EA and we intend to maintain a strong presence here." You know, with the one studio EA officially has left on the island.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 preview: COGwarts
Last November, our review called the first Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows game a "failure on many, many levels." It ran down the various ways that the game didn't deliver: as a representation of the franchise, as a game, as a demonstration of Kinect and, finally, as an overall product. EA's proprietary engine, used to build DH Part 2, has been beefed up a bit, giving Harry and co. a bit more sheen than before, and the spell-switching has been streamlined to rely on face buttons to swap spells. Otherwise, it's still a pedestrian third-person shooter with a Harry Potter wrapper, with few meaningful ties to J.K. Rowling's series. (And the Kinect part is just gone).%Gallery-126846%
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 cuts Kinect, launches on July 12
When The Boy Who Lived makes his big return to Hogwarts for the finale of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, he'll be doing it without the aid of motion peripherals on the Xbox 360. EA producer Gary Napper confirmed to Joystiq that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 won't have any Kinect functionality (unlike its predecessor), as the development team at EA Bright Light made a decision "early on to focus on the core of the experience, get as close to the atmosphere of the movie and make the flow of the combat feel right." The first Deathly Hallows game arrived last November to negative reviews. The sequel will touch down on July 12, just three days before the final movie launches in US theaters. Unfortunately, its short development time -- it's been approximately eight months since the first game launched -- raises questions about how much the sequel can really improve beyond Potter's previous outing. According to Napper, "We didn't want to dilute any of our efforts on other things that would require a lot of the team's time to perfect." We were told that EA Bright Light currently has two unannounced projects in development.
XBLA in Brief: Spare Parts
It's another one-game week for Xbox Live Arcade. This week's title: Spare Parts, a light-hearted action platformer from EA Bright Light. All the usual suspects are here: power-ups, baddies, robots and coins, lots and lots of coins. It also features the voice talents of Simon Pegg, from the much less kid-friendly Shaun of the Dead. Watch the latest XBLA in Brief and see if Spare Parts brings a spark to any of your circuits. [iTunes] Subscribe to XBLA in Brief directly in iTunes. [Zune] Subscribe to the XBLA in Brief directly. [RSS] Add the XBLA in Brief feed to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically. [M4V] Download the M4V directly.
Find some Spare Parts on XBLA, PSN this week
EA Bright Light's Spare Parts is coming out this week on XBLA and PSN for $9.99 (800 Microsoft Points). In this online co-op platformer, two robots are stranded on an alien planet, forced to collect junk to repair their ship and go back home. With its cartoony style and its focus on wacky alien technology, it's reminiscent of the Ratchet & Clank franchise. As explained in this dev diary (after the break), you'll need a friend to discover all the secrets and unlock all the Achievements in Spare Parts. You'll also get access a number of special tag-team bonuses, like a synchronized high-five that refills your health. If you aren't entirely sold on the concept, a co-op enabled demo will also be available this week.
Simon Pegg talks robots and cooperation in Spare Parts vidoc
Shaun of the Spaced Fuzz Trek star Simon Pegg recently took a moment to talk up EA Bright Light's upcoming project (for which he's doing some vocal work), Spare Parts. Check out his thoughts on gaming, robotics and the true meaning of friendship in the video below.
Create review: Losing the spark
I've spent a lot of time with EA Bright Light's Create over the last ten days. It hasn't exactly enjoyed a ton of fervor (or marketing support) and was only officially announced a few months back, plopped unceremoniously in a dark corner of EA's NYC summer press event. Frankly, the game hasn't been given a lot of attention, and taking a more thorough approach seemed like a great way to explore what folks might be missing. But after spending hours playing through puzzle after puzzle, the unfortunate truth is there just isn't that much game in Create to dive into deeply.%Gallery-98649%
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 review: A tragic spell
If you can point to one attribute responsible for the worldwide success of the Harry Potter franchise, it's that it works on several levels. Whether you're an adult or child, softy or stoic, you're bound to find something in the books that speaks to you. In a twisted reflection, EA Bright Light's Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 manages to fail on many, many levels. No matter what you may be willing to forgive, rest assured, Hallows has already found several other ways to skirt competence. %Gallery-93897%
Create moving into stores on November 16
Taking to the US PlayStation blog, EA Bright Light producer Justin Manning revealed the imminent release date for his studio's next game release, Create: November 16 (aka: next Tuesday!). We've also confirmed that Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii iterations of the game will arrive on the same day next week. Given the game's user created level sharing ability via PSN and PlayStation Move functionality, perhaps Create can fill the hole left in your heart by the LittleBigPlanet 2 delay? M ... maybe?
Create demands your most convoluted contraptions
It's not just about getting from point A to B in EA Bright Light's Create -- it's all about the score multiplier. The most recent trailer shows off elaborate, Rube Goldberg-esque contraptions resulting in far higher scores than a simple solution would ... if you can piece them together, that is.
Simon Pegg provides voice acting for Spare Parts
Spare Parts, EA Bright Light's XBLA/PSN platformer about lovable robots, has a bit of star power in addition to its known cuteness power. Shaun of the Dead and Star Trek actor Simon Pegg has joined the cast as "Con-rad," a computer who guides Mar-T and Chip on their search for spaceship parts. In fact, he may be the cast, since he's the only announced talent. This means that Pegg now has the distinction of playing both Montgomery "Hello, computer" Scott and a talking computer. That has to be important somehow, right?
Bright Light teases unannounced XBLA/PSN game from Spare Parts team, explains internal dev culture
Bright Light, EA's Guildford-based (UK) studio, is hard at work on at least four titles: Create, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Episode 1, Spare Parts and a fourth, "secret [downloadable] project." At an EA press event last week, we spoke with Bright Light senior international PR manager Deborah Coster, who teased the "secret project" and explained the studio's dedication to fostering creativity and its at least partial focus on smaller, polished titles. "The team's actually been doing the equivalent of 'iron man development,' so they're making two games," Coster told Joystiq. "And they've been making a secret game, which we haven't announced yet, but they've been making it at the same time as Spare Parts. So they've been basically doing week one: Spare Parts; week two: secret game; week three: Spare Parts; week four: secret game -- literally back-to-back." Coster confirmed our suspicion that the Spare Parts/secret project team is focusing solely on digitally distributed titles. "Yeah, this is a group that's been looking at 'What can we do digitally? We don't really wanna be making packaged goods, so what can we do?' And XBLA and PSN: the numbers are getting bigger and bigger and bigger," Coster reasoned.
Spare a moment to check out some Spare Parts media from TGS
Spare Parts has charmed us through cunning use of "cute robots." We were raised to fear metallic beings -- mostly thanks to Terminator -- but seeing them cute it up yet again in this TGS trailer, it gives us hope that we'll be allies in the future. It should come in handy once the zombies rise.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 includes a Kinect mode
EA just announced at its GamesCom 2010 conference that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 for Xbox 360 will magically lift butts off of couches, with some Kinect support. EA didn't put it exactly the same way, of course. The game features an on-rails mode in which players gesture to cast spells, moving automatically from location to location, and competing to achieve the highest score. This would explain why Walmart offered Deathly Hallows: Part 1 in pre-order Kinect bundles. The game has, however, since been removed from the promotion.
Preview: Create
Though the target audience for EA's just-announced puzzle/creation game, Create, would seem to skew younger, my take on it from a recent press event was that gamers of all types could find something to like. And don't write it off as "My First LittleBigPlanet" just yet. Create features entertaining puzzles powered by a robust customization engine. Create's title screen is its opening level. I spent nearly a half hour on this stage (it actually looks like a theater), learning the ins and outs of the extensive customization tools while a producer tinkered with the big 'Create' letters -- reminiscent of Mario's interactive face at the opening of Mario 64. The actual game is a lot like World of Goo in that you build the components of a stage rather than play through them. The levels are designed on a 2D plane and task you with various objectives (get a coin to a particular part of the map, for example). To complete these objectives, you have a mixed bag of objects with which to assemble a Rube Goldberg-like contraption that sprawls across the level. Once you've completed your creation (or exhausted the level's item constraints), you press "Play" and watch what happens. %Gallery-98649%
EA's customizable puzzler 'Create' coming this November
EA's hoping you'll take off that silly santa hat and don a thinking cap this holiday, when you play "Create," a new game from its UK-based Bright Light studio. "Create uses families' imaginations to develop new ways to play together that are both fun and challenging," said Harvey Elliot, VP and general manager of Bright Light. So, the game's about ... inventing stuff? Not quite. The actual nuts and bolts of gameplay are about completing "level-based challenges" and solving Rube Goldberg-esque puzzles in ... creative ways. The more you complete, the more objects and tools unlock to customize the environment. The game is set to launch on PC, Mac, Wii, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Create will support the PlayStation Move, though no indication is given that the Xbox version will employ Kinect. Based on the first trailer (see it after the break), the game seems comparable to LittleBigPlanet -- though it's lacking that adorable little sack guy -- and The Incredible Machine. Create will arrive at retail sometime this November. %Gallery-98649%
Spare Parts trailer has an acute case of cute robots
As the first screens implied, the first trailer for Spare Parts confirms that its co-op protagonists (cotagonists?), Mar-T and Chip, are entirely adorable. Apart from this confirmation, the trailer also shows off some of the cooperative gameplay, which amounts to baddie smashing and platforming.
EA's 'Spare Parts' to be assembled on XBLA, PSN
EA's Bright Light is working on the next Harry Potter game, but the studio evidently has got something else in the pipeline as well: Spare Parts. It's a downloadable title for XBLA and PSN about robots working together to rebuild their spaceship, according to EA's E3 lineup announcement. In this cooperative "online action adventure," robots Mar-T and Chip collect "upgradable action parts" to enhance their abilities, according to the official description, so they can survive long enough to find the necessary parts to repair their ship before Lord Krung and his Super Huge Mega Laser destroy them. Along the way, they hope to rescue other robots. Spare Parts kind of sounds like a robotic Metroidvania crossed with Toe Jam & Earl, based on EA's description. We'll learn more during E3!
