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'Underworld Ascendant' teaser reveals a reborn dungeon crawler
Ever since veteran developers successfully crowdfunded their spiritual successor to Ultima Underworld, there's been a looming question: how would the prototypical 3D action RPG translate to the 21st century? You now have an idea. OtherSide and 505 Games have released a teaser trailer for Underworld Ascendant that illustrates how the reborn dungeon crawler will work. More than anything, it's clear that this isn't just a hack-and-slash. You'll be rewarded for ingenuity and stealth, such as building bridges from magic-laced barrels, or using a water arrow to shoot out a light Thief-style. There's even some wall running for Mirror's Edge fans.
Warren Spector is in charge of 'System Shock 3'
Word broke late last year that the legendary System Shock franchise would get a modern sequel, but no details about what the game will look like were forthcoming. We still don't know much about the game itself, but we do know it's in good hands: System Shock co-creator Warren Spector is rejoining Otherside Entertainment in a full-time capacity to lead development of System Shock 3. He's been a "creative advisor" to the studio for years, but he'll now be a full-time studio director working on both Underworld Ascendant as well as the System Shock sequel.
University of Texas gaming academy to be led by execs behind Deus Ex, Warcraft
Whatever value you see in game development schools, it's clear that few of them tout gaming industry veterans who can lead by example. The University of Texas' upcoming Denius-Sams Gaming Academy could solve this discrepancy by tapping two executives whose work many of us know by heart. Both legendary designer Warren Spector and Blizzard COO Paul Sams will guide (and sometimes teach) year-long post-baccalaureate certificate programs at the Academy that focus on creative leadership and game company management -- yes, that means instruction from gurus behind the Deus Ex and Warcraft franchises, among other classics. The programs will also emphasize that all-important ability to finish a game, rather than mastering skills in isolation. The first students join the Academy's ranks in fall 2014, although they'll need to be exceptional to stand a chance of getting in -- just 20 spots will be open in the first year. [Image credits: Nightscream, Wikipedia; Rob Fahey, Flickr]
Rumor: Disney looking to take on Mario?
Each month, the EGM rumor mill churns out some very interesting topics of conversation. Well, the latest rumor that will be on the minds of all Nintendo-faithful is Disney's supposed intention to take on Nintendo's platforming plumber with their strongest mascot, Mickey.Most of us probably played Mickey's Illusion games back on Sega's systems, so we recall that Mickey can be in a good game (some of you probably count those Kingdom Hearts games, as well?). But, does he have what it takes to compete with Mario? Perhaps, with Warren Spector supposedly heading up the project. It seems silly that anyone would try to compete with Mario, but hey, that's just us. What do you all think?
Warren Spector wishes he'd made The Golden Compass
As you probably already know if you've paid even a modicum of attention to the mainstream media recently, Phillip Pullman's book The Golden Compass totally killed God. But did you know it also did something even more difficult? Did you know it broke Warren Spector's heart? It's true! The respected developer talked about the book (one of his favorites) and the ensuing movie on his personal blog, saying "I really wanted to make the game, long before the film came out, but that's another story..." Instead of whatever Warren Spector would have done with the franchise, we're left with a 44% average offering. ... Hmm. Maybe The Golden Compass broke our hearts.
Warren Spector talks retirement, Deus Ex 3, selling out
He's got at least three more games under his belt, and yet Warren Spector is already planning his exit strategy, according to a recent interview with Eurogamer. The 52-year-old game designer believes that he will work on a maximum of five more games during his career, "more likely probably three given how long they take."In the interview, Spector also discusses Deux Ex 3, which will be the first of the series which Spector will have no input on. Although he has not been in direct contact with developer Eidos Montreal, Spector expresses concern over the Deus Ex franchise, claiming it to be "delicate" and hoping that the third title might in some way correct some of the mistakes made in Deus Ex: Invisible War.Though no details are given about Spector's newest project -- which is being developed for Junction Studios owner Disney -- Spector does state that the hardcore gaming community will undoubtedly lash out in response to the eventual announcement, and he anticipates claims that he has sold out. According to Spector, it will be "glorious. Just glorious."
John Woo directing Ninja Gold film in conjunction with Warren Spector's game
John Woo will direct and produce the film-half of Ninja Gold, a multiformat project co-created with celebrated game creator Warren Spector. According to Woo's production partner Terrence Chang, the concept is based on ongoing factual accounts of the Yakuza and Russian mob stealing gold from South Africa. "The idea actually started with John Woo," Spector told Reuters, "He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me."The two components, the game and film, will be developed somewhat independently, while retaining similar elements that will provide a narrative link. In a departure from the norm, neither will be entirely based on the other -- think: convergence, like, totally. Though Spector has been credited as an executive producer of the film, he implied that Woo will be commanding the movie with little help from the game developers. Chang added that the film will be more reality-based (so no signature-Woo bullet ballets?), borrowing lightly from the fantastic elements of the game. Chang hopes that a script can be completed soon, so that production can begin next year. No timetable has been given for the game's development.As for Woo's other game-related project, Stranglehold, Chang suggested that a film adaptation was a strong possibility. "We would definitely bring Stranglehold to the big screen," Chang said. "We would like game titles to have all kinds of possibility. Having a movie made from them is certainly a major consideration for deciding on a title."
Eidos Montreal studio developing new Deus Ex
Developed under the watchful eyes of one Warren Spector, Deus Ex (promiscuously pronounced Day o' Sex) was a cyberpunk masterpiece which utterly laid waste to genre barriers and linear storytelling. The post-apocalyptic results are still remembered to this day, though less ambitious games have already rebuilt almost everything that was lost. It's about time we were visited by another catastrophe to conformity and indeed, a proper Deus Ex sequel. According to the director of Eidos France, Patrick Melchior, the plans to make that happen are already in motion.In an interview with French-language television station, MusiquePlus (translated by IGN), Melchior asserts that the publisher's new Montreal studio has made its "first mission" an attempt to revitalize the Deus Ex franchise. It's awfully tempting to suggest a remake of the original, but that very thought seems like an insult to what the game meant to accomplish. Still, this seven year-old game would put many modern titles to shame.[Via Xbox 360 Rally, IGN]
Warren Spector collaborating with Hollywood on new title
Coupling the refined sensibilities of Deus Ex designer, Warren Spector, with the more commercial tendencies of Hollywood seems like a dangerous situation, especially in how it allows for ill-advised Perfect Strangers references. During last week's Game Developer's Conference, Mr. Spector vaguely described two of his upcoming projects to Eurogamer. One is based on an original gameworld he created with his fantasy writer wife, Caroline Spector, while the other is a "collaboration with a fellow you would have heard of out of Hollywood." The latter title seems particularly interesting, if only because of the unusual cooperation between an entity that traditionally encourages compartmentalized safe bets and another that takes pleasure in smashing genre conventions with a mallet. Since it's unlikely to be a licensed title, it leaves us speculating about how exactly the Hollywood touch will play into Spector's plans. Could a first-person Night at the Museum RPG be in the works? Of course not, don't be reedigulas!
Warren Spector tells us some game stories
Three years ago, Deus Ex creator Warren Spector spoke about the sad state of narrative in the then-current crop of games and challenged the industry to makes some changes. Three years later, Spector today told a packed GDC auditorium that they had made some progress, but there was still a lot of work to be done.Spector broke game narratives down into a few basic forms. There's: The rollercoaster: An exciting story that gives the illusion of a lot of exciting twists and turns, but inevitably ends up going in more or less a straight line. Spector said the influence of this type of game story is weakening, but it will never go away completely. The "Will Wright": Like archetypal games SimCity and The Sims, these games build stories with the player's input rather than overpowering them with a narrative decreed from above. These games are built on the idea that players can share better stories with each other than the ones told to them by developers. Procedurally generated stories – Games like Facade that can alter the story on the fly without following pre-defined paths. These games offer a "terrifying amount of freedom," and provide a great way to "explore the innerspace of personal relationships as much as the outerspace of the game world," as Spector put it. While game stories have made progress on issues like structure and character graphics, Spector said stiff character interaction and animation remained the biggest obstacle to creating engaging stories in games. He also chastised the industry for not offering enough ways to interact with a game story without killing things. "I want the opportunity to play a game and not play the part of Vin Diesel," he said. Spector also encouraged developers to build fully explorable worlds, not simple, flimsy movie sets that are "just an excuse to shoot stuff."Fixing these problems is going to take some major time and effort, Spector said, as well as a willingness by developers to fund something other than better graphics. It also take a fundamental change of perspective for many game writers. "Get over yourself," Spector told the audience. "Your story isn't that interesting. Trust the players a little bit ... let them off rails. ... This is as much a design issue as a technology issue at this point."
Developer spotting: Warren Spector
I tend not to notice the many faces flying by when I'm rushing to and from various booths in the LA Convention Center, but the aura of genius emanating from the man responsible for System Shock, Deus Ex and Thief: Deadly Shadows (amongst others) was simply too great to ignore. I managed to snap a picture of Mr. Warren Spector before he had to rush off to a super top secret meeting."I look forward to your next game, Mr. Spector.""Yeah, me too."
Warren Spector: Will the real future please stand up?
Back in November, Warren Spector caused something of a stir with his comments about the state of the games industry, including an aside slamming Grand Theft Auto. What Spector was really on about was the use of clichéd violence in mainstream gaming, and The Escapist has given him a soapbox to follow up on his speech from last year and elaborate.He asks an important question: what's in store for the future of gaming? "Depending on how you look at things, you can paint a picture of gaming's bright future of growing profits and importance, or one of doom and gloom - of irrelevance and stagnation. Either could be true. Which future is our real future? Will we go mainstream or marginal?"Gaming seems bound for the mainstream one way or another, but Spector addresses an overlooked possibility--that it will lose its mainstream appeal, and go back to the sidelines like so many media fads of the past have done. He outlines that gaming is at a crossroads at the moment, and the demands of a mainstream audience will cause game developers (and the industry as a whole) to make a series of crucial decisions in years to come. Gaming won't die, but it's easy to agree with this point: It's just that it's relatively easy for me to imagine scenarios where mainstream audiences get sick of us, sick of the product we offer them, sick of repetitive, seemingly-but-not-really interactive, emotion-free, slam-bang, U.S.-centric, urban, hip hop action games and alien invasion scenarios.Cliché-slamming and thought-provoking--it'll be interesting to see Spector's followup articles in future Escapist issues.
