General Game Development – Page 21

Lego Star Wars is NOT the “Big Wii Lightsaber game”

There were rumours abound of a lightsaber game for the Wii a few months ago. Then again, I wonder if it were possible not to hear rumours of a Wii lightsaber game. Then there came a massive wave of fan disappointment when it was found that this mysterious Wii lightsaber game was Lego Star Wars – The Complete Saga. Lego Star Wars is a respectable line of video games, but us fans were hoping for some with, well, a little less plastic.

Well, it has just so happened that Mark Montuya,from LucasArts has leaked that Lego Star Wars’ Wii-induced lightsaber action is “just a taster” for a future release involving lightsabers. This sounds awesome! Can it be a Force Unleashed port or sequel? A Jedi Knight sequel? Whatever the case, Montuya’s words imply that such a game must be in planning stages, or heck, may have already entered production!

I can’t frikkin’ wait! But if you wish to play Lego Star Wars – The Complete Saga, you must. LSW – TCS gets released on November 7 for the Wii, DS, Xbox 360 and the PS3.

BioShock sequel confirmed!

Alright, c’mon. How can a game that has silenced so many critics not have a sequel? BioShock is being loudly touted as one of the greatest shooters ever, and to not make a sequel for it is just against gaming laws.

Take-Two Interactive’s Chief Executive Officer Ben Feder reportedly said when presenting his company’s financial report:

Our creative teams are delivering a strong and increasingly diverse product portfolio, including our successful new BioShock franchise.

BioShock “2” hasn’t been listed on Take-Two’s 2008 Fiscal Year line-up, which can either mean that it’s going to be released in 2009 or (worse,) later, or that it’ll be on next year’s November 2008 line-up. Certainly exciting!

[Via Gameplayer]

Unreal Wars: Episode II – The Epic Strikes Back

Gears of War

One of the more popular topics doing the rounds these days in the games industry is that of the ensuing Epic Games – Silicon Knights legal war. To summarize, Silicon Knights claims that Epic gave them a faulty engine, while they used a better (but same version) of the engine to make their shiny Gears of War. Epic has declared war and claims that Silicon Knights is just bitching and that they haven’t even paid Epic. You can find the complete details here, in the Stuffwelike Archives.

Epic’s lawyers have thrown a counter-motion against Silicon Knights, which reads:

Silicon Knights wants to take Epic’s Licensed Technology, pay nothing for it, and use it any way it pleases. Having exploited Epic’s intellectual property to its advantage, Silicon Knights now seeks to renege on its payment obligations under the License Agreement. It is Silicon Knights, not Epic, that has engaged in deceit, infringement of Epic’s intellectual property rights, breach of contract, and unfair business practices.

But what is most interesting is the way Epic slaps SK in the face by claiming that when the Unreal 3 engine was licensed, Epic gave no warranty. Silicon Knights demanded one, and didn’t get it. They (Denis Dyack, head of SK, to be specific) signed the License Agreement anyways (he must have skipped it, like the rest of us). The agreement reportedly reads:

[Epic does] not include any warranty that (i) the functions performed by the Unreal Engine… will meet [Silicon Knights’] requirements, nor (ii) that the operations of the Unreal Engine… will be bug free or error free in all circumstances, nor (iii) that any defects in the Unreal Engine… can or will be corrected.

If that is for real, Silicon Knights may have very well stepped on a minefield by shooting a lawsuit. If Epic wins, Silicon Knights will be forced to produce lots of money. We wonder where the Gears of War will turn now in this truly Epic conflict that is simply Too Human to be Unreal and Silicon…
I’d better leave now.

[Via Shacknews]

UT3+PS3+Mouse+Keyboard is possible. Xbox 360 can go to hell.

UT3’s shiny graphics.

Mark Rein, VP at Epic Games announced on the Epic Games Forum not long ago that the PS3 version of Unreal Tournament III will feature keyboard and mouse compatibility. Why is that such a big issue, you ask? Because of two main reasons.

As any UT fan will tell you, there is no better UT experience than a good ol’ keyboard and mouse. While consoles are nice and all, you can’t beat the PC’s controls. So bang, add the Keyboard/Mouse compatibility to the PS3 and you’ve got yourself a winner.
Microsoft is big on not allowing developers to make games K/M compatible. Of course, they’re Microsoft.

This effectively means that Epic is going to over to the PS3 camp even more, while Microsoft is wondering where they went wrong. Epic had also announced earlier that the Xbox 360 version of the game will release quite a while after the PS3 and PC release. Also, the PS3 will support user-made modifications, something that the Xbox Live shindig isn’t cool with.

Here’s what he said, if you’re too lazy to click the link above.

I checked with Steve Polge and he said that YES we are supporting keyboard and mouse in Unreal Tournament 3 on PS3. He is confident we are doing it in a way that will be balanced without feeling “gimped” for either side. We’ll also allow people to choose whether or not they want to allow mixed controller vs. keyboard/mouse games or not.

Mark also states that more details will be coming soon. I can’t friggin’ wait!

“The Scourge Project” is the latest game to use Unreal Engine 3

You’d think developers would be disheartened after all the Silicon Knights/Epic Games hullabaloo, but you’d think wrong. Instead, Epic has been swimming in publicity since. Also, they have caught the eye of the Spanish Tragnarion Studios. Tragnarion will be utilizing the might of Unreal Engine 3 for their newest title, which was also announced today, named The Scourge Project. As you can probably guess, it’s going to be an FPS with co-op elements embedded.

Carl Jones, the head of Tragnarion said:

We’ve been amazed at the speed and quality of results on Unreal. We’ve only had the engine for a couple of months, yet we’ve already been able to build a great-looking, fully playable prototype, which we’ll soon show to publishers, featuring our innovative narrative system for multiple players and our unique co-op focused game play mechanics. Every single feature we want is easily implemented in Unreal – for all the major high-end platforms.

This is looking to be a splendid game, complete with emphasis on team play, slick graphics and well, the Unreal Engine. And for people like me, who are supporting Epic, here’s what Mark Rein had to say:

When we saw the demo that Tragnarion produced, we were really impressed with the progress they had made in such a short time. The high quality visuals, innovative game features and co-operative story have come together in only a few months. It made us very proud to see how quickly they were able to learn Unreal Engine 3 and we can’t wait to get a look at this title again in a few more months.

And he’s damn right. Tragnarion has done a fine, quick job there. This is one of those games that would be worth tracking. The game will be released some time in 2008, for the PC, Xbox 360 and the PS3. Hopefully, the Unreal Engine won’t cause any problem-induced delays.
Check out the game’s trailer below:

[Via Gamershell and GameDaily]

Bioware to use Perpetual’s Online Platform in upcoming MMO

Perpetual Entertainment

Bioware has reportedly licensed Perpetual Entertainment’s Online Platform for use in their new MMO. The untitled MMO in question is currently unnamed and no information has been given out. It is under development at Bioware’s Austin Studio and its team includes veterans from Neverwinter Nights and Ultima Online, which is enough to hint that it has kickass potential.

According to Gordon Walton, Co-Studio Director of BioWare Austin:

“We evaluated numerous technology solutions to serve as the service backbone of our first MMO title and feel Perpetual’s online platform is the best fit. The Perpetual team has years of experience building infrastructure and tools for online games and we are thrilled to be working with them.”

Meanwhile, Joseph Keene, Co-Chairman and CEO of the Perpetual camp said:

“BioWare is one of the leading developers of AAA games in the world and we know they will find the Perpetual platform provides both the functionality and ease-of-use they are looking for to support their upcoming title.

With the Perpetual platform, BioWare’s Austin studio can focus on making great games while minimizing the time and effort required to deploy and support their titles.”

This Online Platform will include all the tools necessary to make a MMO game, like managing a game’s online operations, billing, customer support and so on. If you want one for yourself, head here.

[Via Game Informer]