If you missed the EGM Dennis Dyack podcast interview, your in luck. Here's a compiled list of the most interesting facts about the game Too Human.
And, despite rumors, probably still coming out this year.
By now, everyone's publicly aware of the hard time Silicon Knights experienced at E3 last year with Too Human -- an unfinished demo, playable on the show floor, that received constant criticism from gamers and press alike. Since then, however, the studio has "gone dark" and revealed next to nothing about the action adventure since.
After getting bad press from E306, Too Human is coming along nicely. Expect hands on preview of Too Human in early February with info, movies, and screenshots on the way. Silicon Knights said that the latest update of Too Human is going to blow everyone away, making them forget about the footage during E306. Too Human is going to be one of those games that will come out of nowhere in 2007...
Xbox 360 titles Forza Motorsport 2, Crackdown, Shadowrun and Too Human are now down for release at the end of June 2007, Peter Moore has admitted.
Talking with the San Jose Mercury News, Denis Dyack argues "The 360 and the PS3 are equal in power in my eyes." He comments that the "PS3 has more processing power. The 360 has more available memory. It's pretty much a net, net."
"We knew that X06 would not be the right time," says Silicon Knights boss, Dennis Dyack
Microsoft Game Studios today revealed that Too Human won't be on show at X06. The first game in the trilogy was expected to blow audiences away with some new videos or even playable levels, but sadly the game won't be on show.
Over the weekend, rumors spread that Too Human had hit a major development snag. Word was the makers of the Norse-mythology-inspired sci-fi Xbox 360 game were discontinuing use of the Unreal Engine 3 in favor of an all-new proprietary engine. The alleged reason for Too Human losing Unreal Engine was that it was not running well on the 360, even though it is the basis for Gears of War and Mass Effect, two of the most visually complex games in development for the platform.
In this case, for the great 360 exclusive, it's Thor in new artwork. The mix of Too Human is old Scandinavian mythology and the future.
Too Human was originally announced an ambiguous 2006 release; while expected in time for the holidays, a release this year was expected by most. A delay into the spring wouldn't be too surprising considering how much marketing muscle Microsoft is throwing behind Gears of War. Too Human might find itself in the shooter's shadow.
Denis Dyack is certainly ambitious. Not long after a slew of negative E3 impressions for the first installment in his Too Human trilogy on Xbox 360, Dyack's already taken to his IGN blog and confirmed Silicon Knights "absolutely yes" has sequels in mind for their cult Eternal Darkness horror adventure game, originally in development for Nintendo 64 before releasing on GameCube early in its lifespan.
Designing the environments of Too Human went through many styles and ideas since its first inception. One of the concerns when designing for a science fiction themed work is not too alienate the player with ungrounded concepts that are too "sci-fi" and detached. Giving your audience reference points such as familiar shapes, conventions and symbols grants your vision a layer of believability. The design principle "Form Follows Function " is a good starting point for conceptualizing your work followed by thoughtful reiterations. If designing architecture in the real world one wants to transcend the rational building process to create a work of art. The same holds true for our approach in designing the visuals in video games but at the same time provides the environment to facilitate gameplay and tell the all important story which is driving all of this design and conceptualization.
"Oh sure they're pretty, but can they fight?" ¿ a classic line from the movie The Dirty Dozen where Donald Sutherland's character jokingly questions the troops. As the Art Director on Too Human I'm more apt to say, "Sure it's pretty, but does it tell the story, does it leave me with an understanding of what is happening around me, or evoke a feeling in me?" Too Human must not only look good, but it must also take the player on a visual journey - a journey that we're sure will keep them coming back for more.
Read Ken McCulloch latest blog update about Too Human .-- "I have been working on Too Human since the very beginning. Since its first official announcement, the public's conception of the game has developed over the years to such a degree that I'm pretty sure that a lot of people are actually visualizing their own version of Too Human¿"
Making an Electronic Entertainment Expo demo is a tricky thing for game developers. Some choose to put together a highly controlled scenario with E3-themed in-jokes and special case objectives. But to do that properly can take a company quite a bit of time, which can lead to delays and problems in getting the rest of the project completed. A few developers even choose to skip the process of putting together a demo for the show entirely, so they can stay focused on getting the full game done properly.