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Last of Us art director abandons swans for tombs
The Last of Us Art Director Nate Wells has joined with Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics, according to a tweet from the artist. Wells departed from Giant Sparrow after spending roughly eight months with The Unfinished Swan developer. The art director previously worked at Irrational Games for 13 years before leaving the studio for Naughty Dog in August 2012, then Giant Sparrow this past April. Wells' departure from Giant Sparrow follows the release of The Unfinished Swan on PS4 and Vita in late October, and the developer's next project largely remains a mystery. It announced "Edith Finch" in March 2013 before changing its announcement to "Unannounced Giant Sparrow Project." The next project will not be a sequel to The Unfinished Swan, though the developer said it's "not a million miles away either." [Image: Giant Sparrow]
The Unfinished Swan painting PS4, Vita next week
Giant Sparrow's surreal exploration game The Unfinished Swan will arrive next week on PS4 and Vita, just over two years after it first launched on PS3. The game will launch on Tuesday, October 28 in North America and the following day in Europe for $14.99 (€12.99/£9.99). The Unfinished Swan will also be Cross-Buy enabled, so those that own any version of the game will be able to download it on the other two systems. Our review of the PS3 game noted that The Unfinished Swan's power "lies in its engagement with our imagination, in its ability to remind us of that capacity for whimsy and fantasy." It's the first game from the Santa Monica-based developer, which is currently working on an as-yet-unannounced game that is not a sequel to The Unfinished Swan, but is "not a million miles away either." [Image: Giant Sparrow]
Journey, The Unfinished Swan to launch as Cross-Buy games on PS4
We already knew that the PlayStation 4 would be getting updated versions of two of the PS3's most visually striking games when Sony confirmed Journey and The Unfinished Swan were headed for Sony's new console. However, according to comments left by Sony Santa Monica Community Strategist Aaron Kaufman on a PlayStation Blog post announcing the ports, not only are the games making the trip from previous to current-generation consoles, but they will be Cross-Buy compatible. "Once Journey is downloaded you will be able to download it for free on any other platform available through the PlayStation Network, much like how fl0w and Flower were launched for PS4," Kaufman wrote before adding, "And The Unfinished Swan as well!" In other words, if you already own either game on PS3, you'll be able to enjoy them on PS4 at no additional cost. Unfortunately, a PS4 release date was not given for either game. [Image: Thatgamecompany/Giant Sparrow]
Journey, The Unfinished Swan confirmed for PS4
Late last month, a Sony landing page for Gamescom 2014 indicated that games such as Journey and The Unfinished Swan were destined to arrive on PS4. Sony confirmed as much today, noting that both games will arrive later this year for the latest-generation system, and stressed that both will be in 1080p. Hustle Kings was also confirmed for PS4 this week after its appearance on the PlayStation landing page. The PS4 version of Giant Sparrow's The Unfinished Swan was leaked in mid-July by a Korean ratings board. As for Journey, it topped the list of Joystiq's favorite games of 2012 after its celebrated March 2012 launch that resulted in a handful of GDCA awards and a Grammy nomination for composer Austin Wintory. [Image: Thatgamecompany]
Korean rating board lists The Unfinished Swan for PS4, Vita
Korea's Game Rating Board has issued content ratings for unannounced PlayStation 4 and PS Vita versions of The Unfinished Swan according to a Gematsu report, suggesting that the 2012 first-person puzzler is due for a cross-platform release. Currently available exclusively for the PlayStation 3, The Unfinished Swan is a (mostly) monochromatic adventure game in which players splatter their solid-white surroundings with black paint in order to reveal environmental clues and hidden passages. Joystiq's Richard Mitchell awarded The Unfinished Swan four stars in his review, recommending it for players who are looking for "a little less logic and a little more fascination" in their puzzlers. Neither publisher Sony nor developer Giant Sparrow has issued a statement regarding new ports for The Unfinished Swan. [Image: Giant Sparrow]
Journey and The Unfinished Swan bundle up on PSN for $15
Journey and The Unfinished Swan are available in one beautiful bundle, wandering onto PS3 for $15 via the PlayStation Store. They're siblings in the gaming realm, both offering individualized, introspective gameplay, though brought about by disparate worlds and mechanics. "We're incredibly happy to have The Unfinished Swan bundled with Journey because our game owes such a big debt to Journey and all the other games from thatgamecompany," says Giant Sparrow president Ian Dallas, creator of The Unfinished Swan. "It's not too much of a stretch to say that our game wouldn't exist without them. I think it was the warm reception for Flow and Flower that gave Sony the courage to fund our game, made by another team of inexperienced folks with unusual and impractical ideas." Journey was our No. 1 game of the year for 2012, for offering a "joyous illustration of how games can effectively stir and converse with players." The Unfinished Swan, we found, is a whimsical, fantastical journey through the nostalgia of childhood amazement. Joy, whimsy and fantasy – sounds like a good bundle to us.
Unfinished Swan's scrapped ideas and the future of Giant Sparrow
The Unfinished Swan originally had a river-painting mechanic and a playable library full of unfinished books, but Ian Dallas and the team at Giant Sparrow couldn't figure out a way to make these aspects fun, he told Joystiq at GDC. The river-painting tool allowed players to throw paint and create puddles 10 feet deep, and "it seemed cool. We had a whole playable prototype, it worked, it was there," but it wasn't fun, so Dallas removed it.The library of unfinished books would have been a space with "a million letters everywhere, running around," with tomes that contained the first chapter of brilliant novels, wonderful opening sentences or vague ideas only, nothing complete. While this would have been pretty, Dallas said, it didn't have a place in the game.The blueprint mechanic almost didn't make it into the final build of Unfinished Swan, but it made the cut, so, "Yay!" Dallas exclaimed.Giant Sparrow isn't in charge of the Unfinished Swan brand anymore, so if there's a Vita port on the way Dallas isn't aware. Sony isn't obligated to tell him if there's anything in progress, but it's generally up-front about these things; Dallas knew about the Unfinished Swan DLC for PlayStation All-Stars nine months ahead of time."I would be ecstatic if there were ports," he said. "If someone wanted to make a port of the game, it's awesome that we don't have to do that. I don't know if there are ports or what the plans are, but that's one of the nice things about having a publisher."As for that leak about "Edith Finch," Giant Sparrow's purported next game, Dallas can't say much. "We may have contracts, there may be a publisher involved, they may have people with feelings that may get hurt from time to time," Dallas said. "We can safely announce that we have an unannounced game that we're working on. I'm very excited about it."The publisher that Giant Sparrow "may" have might be Sony. Dallas said other publishers – Nintendo and Microsoft, specifically – are generally open to publish indie games but not fund them, while Sony goes all-in. "We've been so happy with Sony," he said. "It's amazing that Sony can do that and really put faith in these things. God bless Shuhei and Scott Rody and all these people ... They just really want to make interesting games."
Unfinished Swan developer announces, unannounces 'Edith Finch'
Giant Sparrow, developer of the PS3's surreal first-person game The Unfinished Swan, is almost ready to reveal its next game. Originally announced under the name "Edith Finch," the developer has since rolled the announcement back to "Unfinished Giant Sparrow Project," because clearly, "Edith Finch" would have given everything about the game away."When you make games about evoking a sense of discovery and wonder the publicity part of it is a little tricky," the dev noted on its blog. "If we don't say anything then no one knows the game exists, but if we talk about it too much then no one is going to be surprised when they actually play it."And so, it will begin with "broad strokes," like the above concept art.
Journey, Dishonored and The Room win big with BAFTA game awards
Journey took top honours at this year's BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) game awards, with five different gongs going to thatgamecompany for Artistic Achievement, Audio Achievement, Best Online Multiplayer, Best Game Design, and Best Original Music.The Unfinished Swan picked up two awards, for Game Innovation and Debut Game. Dishonored won the award for Best Game in 2013, and iOS tactile puzzler The Room picked up an award for the Best British Game.Valve's Gabe Newell was given an Academy Fellowship award for his storied career, while the "Ones to Watch" award (meant to showcase the best young game dev talent) was given to a game called Starcrossed, made by students working with the Dare to Be Digital competition.
See Zeus, Isaac Clarke throw down in PlayStation All-Stars
Sony will release downloadable characters Zeus and Isaac Clarke for PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale on March 19, along with a new stage that is a cross-over of MediEvil and The Unfinished Swan. According to a post on the PlayStation Blog from newly appointed Sony lead game designer Seth Killian, the stage will be free to play in online ranked matches, $1.99 to own.Both Zeus and Isaac are being offered gratis to those who purchase God of War: Ascension, available through an included voucher; or you can buy each combatant for $4.99 through PSN on March 19. Above, you can see Isaac battle back the madness – hop past the break if you want to see Zeus choke Sackboy.%Gallery-180147%
PlayStation All-Stars gets Isaac Clarke, Zeus, and an Unfinished stage next month
PlayStation All-Stars: Battle Royale will get DLC stage based on PSN's abstract The Unfinished Swan on March 19, according to an IGN feature, along with playable Zeus from God of War and Isaac Clarke from Dead Space.Isaac uses a variety of weapons in combat, with a style most similar to Jak, Drake, or Radec in IGN's estimation, while Zeus is more of a "powerhouse." The Unfinished Swan stage also crosses over with MediEvil.To see more of these new All-Stars and their new playground, you can watch 27 minutes of gameplay and commentary with Sony Santa Monica lead game designer Seth Killian.
The Unfinished Swan is totally done, here's a launch trailer to prove it
This launch trailer for The Unfinished Swan guides you through some of the intriguing scenery in the serene game. The Giant Sparrow-developed game is out now on PSN, and our review indicates that it's not one to be missed.
The Unfinished Swan review: Palette cleanser
Video games are good at a lot of things. Typically, they appeal to our baser instincts – usually the desire for power, in whatever form that may take, be it blasting aliens, slaying dragons or scoring touchdowns. What they do particularly well that isn't explored often enough, is rekindle our childhood capacity for amazement.I think this is something that most invested players realize, whether they've ever articulated it or not. More than books or movies, games engage us, and the good ones pull us in. They can remind us what it was like to lift a rock in a garden, discovering the creatures that live underneath, or how it felt to dribble paint on a sheet of paper, fold it in half and reveal a butterfly.The Unfinished Swan is the story of a child, Monroe. Its ability to plant players firmly in his shoes, to help us see the world as he does, is what makes it special.%Gallery-168082%
Unfinished Swan dev diary paints a picture with music
The latest dev diary for The Unfinished Swan dips into the games (unsurprisingly delightful) music. The music was inspired by the game's characters, the boy Monroe and the strange King. Despite the title, however, the soundtrack appears to be devoid of honking, which seems a little disingenuous.
The Unfinished Swan becomes visible on PSN Oct. 23, a week earlier on Plus
The Unfinished Swan, a sort of first-person puzzle game in which you navigate by splattering the uniformly white world with paint, will arrive on PSN for PlayStation Plus members on October 16 in North America. The wider PSN release will occur one week later on October 23. In Europe, the Plus release will happen on October 17, followed by the full PSN release on October 24.The developer diary above discusses the premise of the game, and how developer Giant Sparrow got involved with Sony. Mercifully, it also explains the title.
This Unfinished Swan story trailer is delightful
This trailer for The Unfinished Swan from PAX 2012 delves into the Sony-published, Giant Sparrow-developed game's mysterious plot. While no specific release date has been revealed for this PSN-exclusive game, the game's official site indicates it will launch some time in 2012.
The Unfinished Swan is 'Whitespace' with more color, swans and wonder
Like thatgamecompany before it, The Unfinished Swan dev team is being pseudo internalized by Sony in order to complete a PSN game exclusively. In so many words, the folks at Giant Sparrow got set up with "office space, equipment, and advice," in exchange for creating a PS3-exclusive title – the title in question being The Unfinished Swan.But wait, haven't we seen a first-person painting game before? Why yes, yes we have ... way back in 2008 when it was still named "Whitespace." Holy moly! Giant Sparrow apparently signed a deal with Sony some time in the past few years and have been plugging away on The Unfinished Swan ever since. The team's first goal: establishing a story for their neat tech demo."The idea of painting a white world is pretty abstract. You could make all kinds of different games about that," creative director Ian Dallas admits on the PlayStation blog. What his team found most interesting, however, was crafting a tale around the "sense of wonder" the world gave them. "After splatting stuff for a few months we realized what we liked most about it was the sense of wonder it created. We liked not knowing what was out there." As such, The Unfinished Swan now follows the tale of "a boy named Monroe who's chasing after a swan ... the swan stepped out of a painting and has wandered off into a surreal, unfinished world."Beyond the basic story trappings and painting mechanic, Dallas promises, "the painting a white world stuff is actually just the first 15 minutes." But then what? "After that, things get really weird." Well, OK then!The Unfinished Swan has no release window just yet, but will eventually launch exclusively on the PlayStation 3's digital network.
IndieCade: International Festival Finalists #11-15
All week, Joystiq will be revealing the 25 finalists for the IndieCade: International Festival of Independent Games, set to take place October 10 through 17 in Bellevue, Washington. The winners will be announced on October 11.The Misadventures of P. B. Winterbottom (Website)In terms of paradoxes and other temporal mechanics, Winterbottom makes Braid look like Mario in the future. From what we've seen and played of the game, our heads turn to mush thinking about how to solve these puzzles. Best of all, it's all in the name of eating pie. Take that, cake lovers.%Gallery-32537% Psst ... there's more after the break.
