Infinity Blade Dungeons
Latest
Infinity Blade: Dungeons officially canceled
The Epic Games Podcast talked with ChAIR Founder and Creative Director, Donald Mustard, this week. The week's news is a mix of celebration and sadness. The celebration is that you can download Infinity Blade II from the App Store for free this week. The bad news is that planned next game, Infinity Blade Dungeons is cancelled. Dungeons was under development at Maryland-based Impossible Games, which unfortunately has gone the way of all things. Mustard assures us that the Infinity Blade world is still growing and that they have plans for more games, books, and possibly other products. "The Infinity Blade games are all about sword fighting," according to Don Mustard. "It's about finding ways to break your enemy," for all skill levels. Parring is key with a mix of dodging and blocking. Gems, which can be found, won, or bought modify and enhance your weapons. It's a very popular game with a 5-star rating, recommended for age 9 and above. [via Polygon]
Infinity Blade: Dungeons canceled
Developer Impossible Studios was shuttered earlier this year, and now its only project, Infinity Blade: Dungeons, has officially been shut down as well. Speaking on the Epic Games podcast, Donald Mustard, creative director of Chair Entertainment, which created the Infinity Blade series, responded to fan concerns about Dungeons. He said that the iOS dungeon-crawler's concept originated at Epic, and that it was an idea that Chair was "happy to support." Once Impossible was closed, however, the game was canceled, he said. He added that Chair still intends to work with the Infinity Blade universe in the future.
Tencent sunk $330 million into Epic Games, owns nearly half of studio
Back in June, Chinese company Tencent Holdings purchased a minority stake in Epic Games, but it turns out that stake is substantial. Tencent snatched up 48.4% of Epic Games shares last year – that comes to around $330 million invested – and even has the right to nominate individuals to Epic Games' board of directors."Since the Group has the right to nominate directors to the board of Epic Games, Epic Games is accounted for as an associate of the Group." This is all laid out in Tencent Holdings' 2012 financial report, available as a pdf document through the source link below. Epic Games was the second US gaming investment from the Chinese outfit following its acquisition of Riot Games in 2011.Following Tencent's purchase of Epic shares, Epic Games announced it had founded a new studio in Baltimore, saving some Big Huge Games folks from the collapse of 38 Studios to work on Infinity Blade: Dungeons – only for Epic to eventually shutter the studio in February of this year.
Infinity Blade: Dungeons on hold as Epic shuts down studio
Announced alongside the third-generation iPad in March of last year, Epic Games' action-RPG spin-off of the Infinity Blade franchise still isn't out -- and, from the sound of things, we wouldn't count on it shipping anytime soon, if ever. As Joystiq reports, Epic is shuttering Impossible Studios, the developer of Infinity Blade: Dungeons, and putting the game "on hold." In a blog post on the official Epic Games site, company founder Tim Sweeney commented: "It was a bold initiative and the Impossible folks made a gallant effort, but ultimately it wasn't working out for Epic." Interestingly, Sweeney also divulged that in addition to providing Impossible Studios staff with three months of severance pay, Epic will relinquish the studio name and logo in case the ousted employees wish to use it to form a new company. Epic hasn't ruled out a future release of Infinity Blade: Dungeons, but Sweeney did say that Epic is trying to "figure out the future of the project." [Via Joystiq]
Epic closes Impossible Studios, Infinity Blade: Dungeons now 'on hold'
Epic Games is shutting down Infinity Blade: Dungeons developer Impossible Studios, after creating the studio eight months ago."It was a bold initiative and the Impossible folks made a gallant effort, but ultimately it wasn't working out for Epic," said Epic founder Tim Sweeney. "This means that Infinity Blade: Dungeons is now on hold as we figure out the future of the project."Impossible Studios was formed from the ashes of Big Huge Games. Employees will be provided three months severance and will have the option to form a new company with the Impossible Studios name and the Impossibear logo.
Infinity Blade Dungeons delayed to 2013
Infinity Blade: Dungeons won't come out until 2013, Epic Games spokesman Wes Phillips tells AllThingsD. Infinity Blade: Dungeons premiered with the unveiling of the new iPad in March but still hasn't touched down, it wasn't mentioned during the iPhone 5 reveal, and some rumors had it launching with Apple's supposed iPad Mini on October 23.Not so, says Epic. "Ever since the talented team at Impossible Studios got their hands on Infinity Blade: Dungeons, they've been busy adding their great ideas to the game," Phillips says. "There was also the matter of getting the Impossible Studios team up and running with desks, chairs, staplers and computers. The logistics of a new studio and implementing all these great ideas required a little extra time, so Infinity Blade: Dungeons will hit iOS in 2013."
Epic Baltimore now Impossible Studios, working on Infinity Blade: Dungeons
Impossible Studios is now the official name of Epic Baltimore, a group of developers saved following the 38 Studios implosion, which took out Big Huge Games in its wake. Under the direction of former Big Huge studio manager Sean Dunn, Impossible's first project is Infinity Blade: Dungeons for iOS, which was previously announced as a project under development at Epic's North Carolina studio."Epic Games has truly embraced this stellar collection of developers who were displaced by the closing of Big Huge Games," said studio director Sean Dunn. "They have looked after us with complete care, giving us all the tools and resources we need to make a lot of gamers happy."Epic Games President Mike Capps will lead an Infinity Blade: Dungeons panel with members of Impossible at DragonCon in Atlanta on August 31. The game is scheduled for release on iOS later this year.
Infinity Blade: Dungeons gameplay revealed
Our friends at Joystiq have procured the first gameplay footage of Epic's followup to the popular Infinity Blade series, called Infinity Blade: Dungeons, and you can get a look at it below. As you can see, it's set in the same world as the first two games, but features a completely different take on gameplay, using gestures to fight baddies from a top-down view rather than a fixed camera. There are also some interesting crafting mechanics, like rubbing out imperfections on a blade you're making, or tapping dents in metal to clear them off. Infinity Blade: Dungeons was announced at the iPad 3 Apple event, and is supposed to be out later on this year.
Descend into Infinity Blade Dungeons gameplay footage
The first gameplay footage of Infinity Blade: Dungeons reveals a game that is very different from its predecessors. For one thing, all the enemies aren't orc-type club wielders and Voldo guys – there's a dog thing too.Oh, and it's an overhead-view Diablo-style dungeon crawl experience instead of a one-on-one sword fighting game. That's another subtle difference you may have missed.
Infinity Blade: Dungeons, Namco's Sky Gamblers shown off on new iPad [Update: Infinity Blade trailer and details]
Epic Games president Mike Capps took the stage at Apple's iPad event today to reveal Infinity Blade: Dungeons. Capps noted that the game has players trying to craft the "ultimate weapon." Our friends at Engadget confirm that the game is "definitely a step up" graphically from its predecessors. Dungeons will feature new crafting system and, obviously, will look the best when played on the latest iPad (though presumably it will be compatible with other iOS devices as well). Infinity Blade: Dungeons is "coming soon."Namco also showed off a new Sky Gamblers game, which bore a very strong resemblance to the company's Ace Combat series. Namco's Jim Sheldon noted that "the extra graphics performance lets us increase the level of detail of everything in the game." Sky Gamblers will arrive exclusively on iOS later this month. See a shot of the game in action after the break.Update: Epic has dropped a few more details on Infinity Blade: Dungeons. The game will see players "assume the role of an apprentice weaponsmith who serves the Master of the Forge," ultimately seeking to forge the Infinity Blade itself. It also features "a dynamic camera system that takes you in and out of battle, weapon crafting and exploration." You can view a trailer for Infinity Blade: Dungeons above.Update 2: An Epic Games spokesperson tells Joystiq that Chair Entertainment is not behind the development of Infinity Blade: Dungeons, saying, "Infinity Blade: Dungeons is being developed by a team at the Epic Games headquarters in North Carolina, with some creative direction from Chair."
Apple reveals next-generation apps for the new iPad: Infinity Blade: Dungeons, SketchBook, SkyGamblers (video)
While Apple's ensured all of its home-baked apps are making the most of the new iPad's retina display and new A5X chipset, it also had a handful of third-party app developers ready to show what the new hardware's capable. First up was Namco, who revealed the iOS-exclusive SkyGamblers, an Ace Combat-styled jet combat simulator. There looks to be a whole load of detail crammed into both the plane models and background -- something all those extra pixels can certainly help with and something we'll want to take a closer look at when it lands later this month. Taking a different approach, Autodesk's SketchBook app took the opportunity to show off the level of detail its sketches were now capable of, alongside a new engine for the ink. Now, we're not exactly sure what that entails, but we're sure it's going to make our works of art really zing. The app can even export images larger than 100 megapixels and will be out in April. Finally, Infinity Blade developers Epic Games took to the stage to unveil Dungeons -- the next iteration of the swiping and slashing gladiatorial battler. It appears the battle system has been recast once again and HDR lighting ensures the game will arrive dripping in optical honey. We'll be taking up swords to get a hands-on with these very soon. Update: We've just added the trailer to the next chunk of the Infinity Blade saga. It's right after the break. For more coverage of Apple's iPad event, visit our hub!
