Post by Da Robot on Jan 21, 2009 0:08:37 GMT -5
From the developer n-Space (the same team that made Geist on GCN and SW:TFU and CoD games on the NDS) comes a new hardcore Wii title in the survival horror genre.
Here an extract from an IGN article about the game. (READ IT NOW . . . Please?)
The title, which seemed rooted in efforts like Silent Hill, stood out at the time for a couple reasons. First, it was a Wii project that dealt with a subject matter typically deemed mature by videogame standards: a dark storyline that revolved around an isolated heroine in the middle of a mysterious snowstorm, spooky backdrops and gruesome characters and, of course, violence. And second, it looked good, pushing Wii from a technical standpoint when so many third-parties treated the system with less respect than they did GameCube. Even today, it looks better than a lot of Wii games – impressive for a concept created so quickly by such a small team.
But for so many reasons that the developer talks about below, Winter was not to be -- not due to any major shortcomings on the game's part, but rather the restrictions imposed upon the Wii market by third-party publishers simply unwilling to take a gamble on a more traditional project. Today, IGN presents to you the first look at the in-limbo game complete with details about its origins and development from n-Space president Dan O'Leary and studio creative director Ted Newman, first-ever art, screenshots and direct-feed gameplay footage.
IGN: What is the premise behind Winter?
Ted: The basic premise revolves around an unnatural snowstorm that has settled over a small town in the Midwest, effectively closing it off from the outside world. The main character, Mia, begins the game inside a wrecked ambulance with no recollection of how she got there. As she treks off towards the small town, she starts to see signs of something monstrous that is traveling with the storm.
At first the player is tasked with simply keeping Mia alive, and this involves sheltering her from the ever decreasing temperature and the rising level of snow. We wanted to challenge the player to think, "What would I do in this situation? Where would I go to get warm? How would I start a fire or create heat with limited resources?" Soon we learn that Mia has some connection to the storm itself and the creatures that begin to appear. Meanwhile the entire town is being transformed by snow and ice - doors that were previously accessible are now blocked, forcing her to climb through second story windows or walk on rooftops. The snowstorm is as big an enemy as anything in the game and ultimately we find out what IT is and why it is here.
Video
It should be noted that the video is of a tech demo of the game that was shown (behind closed doors) at GDC 07 and was made by 12 people working full and part time on it, they have pointed out that the graphics could be much better. But then again this game was made 2 years ago and looks better than most Wii games.
There's even a fan petition going for the game! (currently at 285 signitures as I post this and it seems to be new ones every minute).
The only reason why this game has gone in to full development is because n-Space can't find a publisher that is willing to put a hardcore title on the Wii, because it's not a "kiddie" title.
Just eariler this day, I saw a video from MTV's multiplayer blog that was saying how in the past the #1 selling console got mostly the best developers working on it and now with the Wii at #1 western developers are going against that trend because they want to work on better hardware.
Here's another sad extract from the IGN article.
IGN: Aren't publishers creating a Catch 22 situation with their refusal to release darker content on Wii? It'll never sell if they don't help create and sustain an audience for it.
Dan: Sure, but I think that's just one symptom of a larger problem. Publishers are missing a lot of opportunities on the Wii. They can't apply their standard approaches to this platform. Risk analysis and sales projection techniques developed over the past 20-plus years of console development no longer apply, which makes folks very uneasy. They don't want to stick their necks out with a sales projection when they aren't able to cite comparable products. Pitching anything that isn't a kid's game for the Wii is an uphill battle.
Publishers still say to us on a regular basis, "we're still trying to figure out the Wii." It's been over two years since the launch and over three since n-Space first put our hands on prototype controllers. It's kind of ironic really -- you've got this console built on innovation, a console written off by many from day one, that now totally dominates the market, and yet many publishers still hesitate to follow suit with innovative games in all genres.
Here an extract from an IGN article about the game. (READ IT NOW . . . Please?)
The title, which seemed rooted in efforts like Silent Hill, stood out at the time for a couple reasons. First, it was a Wii project that dealt with a subject matter typically deemed mature by videogame standards: a dark storyline that revolved around an isolated heroine in the middle of a mysterious snowstorm, spooky backdrops and gruesome characters and, of course, violence. And second, it looked good, pushing Wii from a technical standpoint when so many third-parties treated the system with less respect than they did GameCube. Even today, it looks better than a lot of Wii games – impressive for a concept created so quickly by such a small team.
But for so many reasons that the developer talks about below, Winter was not to be -- not due to any major shortcomings on the game's part, but rather the restrictions imposed upon the Wii market by third-party publishers simply unwilling to take a gamble on a more traditional project. Today, IGN presents to you the first look at the in-limbo game complete with details about its origins and development from n-Space president Dan O'Leary and studio creative director Ted Newman, first-ever art, screenshots and direct-feed gameplay footage.
IGN: What is the premise behind Winter?
Ted: The basic premise revolves around an unnatural snowstorm that has settled over a small town in the Midwest, effectively closing it off from the outside world. The main character, Mia, begins the game inside a wrecked ambulance with no recollection of how she got there. As she treks off towards the small town, she starts to see signs of something monstrous that is traveling with the storm.
At first the player is tasked with simply keeping Mia alive, and this involves sheltering her from the ever decreasing temperature and the rising level of snow. We wanted to challenge the player to think, "What would I do in this situation? Where would I go to get warm? How would I start a fire or create heat with limited resources?" Soon we learn that Mia has some connection to the storm itself and the creatures that begin to appear. Meanwhile the entire town is being transformed by snow and ice - doors that were previously accessible are now blocked, forcing her to climb through second story windows or walk on rooftops. The snowstorm is as big an enemy as anything in the game and ultimately we find out what IT is and why it is here.
Video
It should be noted that the video is of a tech demo of the game that was shown (behind closed doors) at GDC 07 and was made by 12 people working full and part time on it, they have pointed out that the graphics could be much better. But then again this game was made 2 years ago and looks better than most Wii games.
There's even a fan petition going for the game! (currently at 285 signitures as I post this and it seems to be new ones every minute).
The only reason why this game has gone in to full development is because n-Space can't find a publisher that is willing to put a hardcore title on the Wii, because it's not a "kiddie" title.
Just eariler this day, I saw a video from MTV's multiplayer blog that was saying how in the past the #1 selling console got mostly the best developers working on it and now with the Wii at #1 western developers are going against that trend because they want to work on better hardware.
Here's another sad extract from the IGN article.
IGN: Aren't publishers creating a Catch 22 situation with their refusal to release darker content on Wii? It'll never sell if they don't help create and sustain an audience for it.
Dan: Sure, but I think that's just one symptom of a larger problem. Publishers are missing a lot of opportunities on the Wii. They can't apply their standard approaches to this platform. Risk analysis and sales projection techniques developed over the past 20-plus years of console development no longer apply, which makes folks very uneasy. They don't want to stick their necks out with a sales projection when they aren't able to cite comparable products. Pitching anything that isn't a kid's game for the Wii is an uphill battle.
Publishers still say to us on a regular basis, "we're still trying to figure out the Wii." It's been over two years since the launch and over three since n-Space first put our hands on prototype controllers. It's kind of ironic really -- you've got this console built on innovation, a console written off by many from day one, that now totally dominates the market, and yet many publishers still hesitate to follow suit with innovative games in all genres.
