Posted on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:30:00 EST
Okay, first thing is first, the headline above is somewhat misleading. Indeed, there is a new entry on IGN's Too Human blog. This time, however, Dennis Dyack of Silicon Knights steps back to let a cognitive psychologist write the entry. No, seriously, the latest entry was written by a psychologist discussing the Interacting with Immersive Worlds forum, a gathering of game designers and scholars. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss game design and theory. Rather than discuss, say, Too Human, the blog uses the birth of chemistry as an allegory for the game industry. Again, we're not joking. It's an interesting read, sure, but a little Too Human talk wouldn't have hurt. Still, we do get a screenshot, which you can see above (see it in hi-res here). Hit the "read" link for the full article.
Too Human update, new screen originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 18:30:00 EST. .
Posted on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:30:00 EST
Forget the tiny snippets of gameplay in the recent Too Human video diary, because we've got the real thing right here. Through some sort of wizardry (necromancy, we think) GameTrailers has procured a trailer for Too Human comprised entirely of gameplay footage. Isn't that something? Yeah, we thought so too. Throughout the video you get to see the cybernetic god Baldur doing what he does best, which is apparently killing robotic baddies of all stripes. For those of you out there that have been following the game, we hardly need to tell you that this is one of the very few looks we've had at the game proper. Having watched the video, we can't help but think of Diablo and its dungeon crawling sensibilities, which certainly isn't a bad thing. We're still not convinced about the right stick controlling attacks, but we're still eager to get our hands on a controller and try it out.Watch the video and tell us what you think.[Via Evil Avatar]
Too Human trailer shows off actual gameplay originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 10:30:00 EST. .
Posted on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:45:00 EST
GameDaily BIZ reports that the lawsuits between Epic Games and Silicon Knights will be moving forward as planned, and Epic's motion to dismiss Silicon Knights' case has been denied. The brouhaha all began in July, when Silicon Knigts sued Epic on the grounds that Epic did not deliver final code for the Unreal Engine 3 -- on which Silicon Knights' Too Human is built -- on time. Epic followed with a counterclaim citing breach of contract (among other things) and also filed a motion to dismiss Silicon Knights' case altogether.Now that the motion has been denied, both lawsuits will move forward. As one might expect, Epic's Mark Rein points out that the denial of the motion does not lend any merit to Silicon Knights' argument, and that such denials are common. Silicon Knights' lawyer, naturally, is "pleased that the court has recognized the merit" in their claims.No date has been set for the trial.[Via Joystiq]
Epic motion denied, Silicon Knights lawsuit goes forward originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:45:00 EST. .
Posted on Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST
The folks at Silicon Knights have served up the second video in its series of Too Human developer diaries, this time focusing on the company's theory behind game design. The video actually brings in a pair of university professors to discuss the theory behind game design as it relates to film and psychology. Along with these well-versed experts, the Silicon Knights team elaborates on the immersive nature of good video games, noting that they can engage a player on a deeper level than cinema (take that, Ebert). The diary doesn't really go into exactly how Too Human will accomplish this, but asserts that the team is attempting to make the best game possible. As Director of Design Hentry Sterchi puts it, "if they pick up the controller and they're smiling, that's the goal." An admirable goal to be sure.
Too Human dev diary 2 discusses game theory originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:00:00 EST. .
Posted on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:15:00 EST
Shacknews reports that subpoenas have been served to several Unreal Engine 3 liscensess in a lawsuit against Epic games, filed by Silicon Knights last year. The subpoenas have been served in order to acquire the liscensees' engine contracts as evidence in the upcoming trial. Specific liscensees are not named, though known liscensees include Square Enix, Ubisoft, 2K Boston/Australia, EA, and the US Army.Mark Rein, Epic VP, stated, "I'm leaving the litigation to the lawyers but, if this is the case, I'd like to apologize to any of our licensees who Silicon Knights have inconvenienced." And inconvenienced they may be. If submitted as unsealed evidence, the contents of the contracts could become public record, allowing anyone access to the trade secrets therein. Epic's lawyers can move to seal the documents if this turns out to be the case.The lawsuit was filed last July, with Silicon Knights claiming that Epic did not deliver final code for the Unreal Engine 3 on time, thus hampering the development of Too Human. The company further asserted that Epic purposefully sabotaged UE3 liscensees while promoting its own products such as Gears of War. Epic later filed a counterclaim and a motion to have the case dismissed. The motion was denied in November last year and both suits will come to trial.[Via Joystiq]
UE3 devs subpoenaed in SK / Epic suit originally appeared on Joystiq [Xbox] on Thu, 24 Jan 2008 16:15:00 EST. .