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Telltale names new CEO, original property in the works
Telltale Games announced co-founder Kevin Bruner as its new CEO, with former boss Dan Connors taking an advisory role after leading the company since 2004. Telltale also revealed it has "original IP (intellectual property)" in development, a marked change for a studio that built its name on licensing and adapting properties like The Walking Dead and The Wolf Among Us. Telltale's official announcement discusses plans for growth in 2015, underscoring a period of transition for the adventure game studio. There are seasons of Tales from the Borderlands and Game of Thrones to complete after their debut episodes, while Minecraft: Story Mode. The Walking Dead Season 3 and the new original IP are also somewhere in the pipeline.
Straight Right building two Wii U games that aren't Mass Effect 3
Straight Right, the developer creating Mass Effect 3 for the Wii U, has two other Wii U games in its workshop, boss Tom Crago tells Eurogamer. One game is an original IP, while the other is "based on another big franchise," set to launch in 2013."We've made a number of bets on the Wii U, so we're certainly hoping that the platform comes strongly out of the gate," Crago says. "We've got two other titles in development. One of them is original, our own IP, and another is based on another big franchise that will come out in 2013. It's a big title and you will have heard of it."Mass Effect 3 is slated to be a Wii U launch title, whenever that may be. Straight Right started work on the Wii U version months before Mass Effect 3 launched on other platforms in March."This is the biggest title we've worked on in a long time," Crago says. "There's a significant technical challenge bringing the game from its original format to the Wii U. It's a new, different and sophisticated piece of hardware, so there's a good deal of technical energy that's been expended making that happen."
Lionhead listing for 'MMO-like title for next generation consoles'
Lionhead's latest job post brings up two salient points: That listing for a multiplayer level designer with "a deep understanding of online multiplayer games" may encompass more than a simple FPS title with online capabilities. Microsoft could be looking to bring MMOs to its console market in a big way.The most recent want ad, spotted by Superannuation and since removed, described the potential game as an "MMO-like title" and an original IP for the "future generation of platforms." It "will be an RPG-based game with a radical new take on how co-operative and multiplayer gameplay feeds into the experience, while blending online and single-player into one complete experience," the listing read, as reported by MCV.The title "will have a complex progression system, multiple routes through the campaign and an MMO-like multiplayer experience that will affect the outcome of the player experience, and many other attributes surrounding their profile (such as the environment and the outcome of certain actions)." Superannuation notes that it was labeled as a multithreaded RPG with four-player co-op.Lionhead's specific use of "MMO-like" and the description's emphasis on a "radical new" genre leaves the game's direction open to interpretation, while nodding at the style of former creative lead Peter Molyneux.MMOs can be a big gamble, even for an established studio, and especially if its audience is tethered to a single console unfamiliar with the genre as a whole. Good luck, Lionhead. You may need it.
Slant Six outs first original IP, Strata Scavenger
The developer of Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, Slant Six Games, isn't letting a few underwhelming reviews bring it down, boldly moving on with an announcement of its own original IP, Strata Scavenger. Strata is due out in 2013, according to its Slant Six product page, which features a single image, seen to the left, of a futuristic aerial device patrolling a fiery cityscape.Strata is Slant Six's first original IP, backed in part by the Canadian Media Fund, who handed over $1 million to see the title created "based on its creative and technical innovation," its description reads. Slant Six worked previously on Socom Confrontation, Fireteam Bravo 3 and Tactical Strike, before tackling Operation Raccoon City -- into the ground, some would say.There's a distinct berth between shooting zombies and participating in an interstellar, science-fictional universe, and perhaps Slant Six's new original title is the breakout we've all been waiting for.
God of War PSP studio readying next-gen third-person action title
After declaring themselves as officially done with God of War PSP games, and even going as far as to announce a "story driven action-adventure game based on original IP" back in late 2010, Ready at Dawn staffers promptly revealed they were ... creating a PlayStation 3 port of their previously PSP-exclusive God of War titles. Not quite what we were expecting! If recent job listings are any indication, though, it looks like Ready at Dawn is still working on that original IP -- but now, the game is also headed to a "next-generation home console game system." Eurogamer spotted listings for a variety of jobs on Ready at Dawn's job page, seeking experienced professionals in a variety of disciplines, from concept artists to a graphics programmer to a senior level designer. Little information can be gleaned from the listings beyond the general project, but we've reached out to Ready at Dawn for more info.
Disaster Report creator working on new IP for Vita and PS3
The creator of Disaster Report 4, Kazuma Kujo, may have suffered a small setback when his game was canceled following the earthquake in Japan last year. But it hasn't turned him off of game development for good: he reports via Twitter that his new studio at developer Granzella is hard at work on a new title for both the PS3 and the PS Vita. Kujo says that the game will be downloadable, though the PSP isn't planned to be supported at this time. It's a completely original IP, he says, but wouldn't tell Twitter followers in what genre it would be. Granzella is working on at least two titles for the PS3 and the Vita, and this is presumably one of them. Kujo also says he'd like to make a war strategy game at some point, similar to the old R-Type Tactics games, and that he knows followers are looking for a Steambot Chronicles sequel in the future as well. Let's just hope production for all of these goes a little smoother than last time.
Dimps expanding into original IPs for mobile and social platforms
Takashi Nishiyama has been in the game for about as long as "the game" has existed. Responsible for Moon Patrol, Street Fighter, Fatal Fury, the Neo Geo and more Sonic games than you can shake a stick at, Nishiyama's design portfolio spans 30 years and includes some of the most fundamental design philosophies that still serve as a foundation for many genres to this day. His company, Dimps, has made a name for itself developing titles for other publishers' IPs; Dragon Ball Z, Sonic the Hedgehog, Street Fighter, etc. After nearly twelve years of development-for-hire work, however, Dimps is looking to branch out and create its own original IPs, according to statements made by Nishiyama during an interview with 1UP. "I feel that it's time that we need to create our own social and browser IPs," Nishiyama said. "We're going to start with things that have more manageable budgets, like social and browser games. I believe that's more realistic." Nishiyama sees mobile platforms as a lower-risk entry platform for a new IP, as compared with the astronomical costs associated with console game development. His company must be cautious, however, because creating original IPs will position Dimps as competition to publishers, rather than a developmental ally: "As soon as we announce that we're creating original IP, we become their competitor. So we need to approach it carefully and be sensitive to the politics involved."
Marvelous plans new IP, 3DS Harvest Moon for next fiscal year
The reduction of new IP coming out of Marvelous Entertainment isn't as total as we'd heard. In a recent investor Q&A summarized by air-be and translated by Siliconera, the company revealed that it will have original IP in the next fiscal year, for "new hardware." The current fiscal year ends March 31, 2011. This hardware is likely to be something other than the 3DS. The company refers to that system explicitly when discussing its plans to release a Harvest Moon game on Nintendo's extradimensional handheld. That Harvest Moon game, by the way, also won't be ready until the next fiscal year, which means that you won't be planting crops deep into the ground -- with visible depth -- at the 3DS's launch.
Muramasa publisher: UK retailers avoiding original IP
Rising Star Games, the European publishing partner of Marvelous Entertainment, is speaking out against UK retailers declining to stock Muramasa: The Demon Blade, which comes out November 13th in the region. COO Martin DeFries told MCV in an open letter, "Here in the UK, the game will not be available to buy in the majority of games retail outlets." He claims that the issue is not with the game itself, but retailers' over-reliance on safer, existing intellectual property. "If it is not first-party, a sequel or supported by a multi-million pound advertising spend, they are just not interested." Defries lamented that Muramasa could find its way into stores -- when it's traded in. Defries pondered in his letter whether the seemingly growing emphasis on franchises represents a "dumbing-down of the medium" that results in consumers having "little or no exposure to a rich and different gaming experience." Of course, retailers (and publishers) have preferred the sure thing for as long as there have been sequels, but actually not being able to market your game, especially one as interesting as Muramasa, seems especially frustrating.
Report notes decline in original game IP in UK
Times are tough, which might explain why the industry is "risk-averse" and hesitant to pump out brand new properties this year. A report by the UK's NESTA (National Endowment for Science, Technology and the Arts) found that 60 percent of the publishers surveyed had either slowed, or stopped, original IP (intellectual property) work. The report specifically deals with the UK and seems to convey a sentiment that developers would do more original IP if tax credits backed them up -- an increasingly prevalent issue in the British development scene. One publisher that goes unmentioned in the report is EA, which has certainly gambled on original IP in recent years -- to critical praise and retail shrugging. Although the big boys may not be comfortable with new franchises, the size of the industry seems to offer support for fresh content from more independent channels. Source -- Industry admits to decline in IP [Develop] Source -- NESTA's tax break in full [Develop]
