Crystal Dynamics, the California-based studio behind the Tomb Raider franchise and the upcoming Avengers Project has expanded with the creation of a new Bellevue, Washington satellite studio called Crystal Northwest, parent company Square Enix announced.
Here is an overview of the studio, via Square Enix:
The new studio in the Seattle area is officially up and running as of today, and is a full-fledged extension of Crystal Dynamics. Dedicated initially to technology development, it delivers even more expertise to the highly-anticipated Avengers Project. Led by 20-year industry veterans Chad Queen and James Loe, the new studio bolsters the development of future games, tools, and technology.
In addition to the new studio, Crystal Dynamics has added best-in-class development talent to its Redwood Shores, California headquarters. These new additions will strengthen the teams on both current and future projects.
Among the dozens of new hires are world-class developers like Vincent Napoli, the new Lead Combat Designer at Crystal Dynamics who was most recently on the latest God of War, plus Ben Wanat, an 18-year industry veteran and an original co-founder of the Dead Space franchise, who led the development of Dead Space 3 as Creative Director. Joining them is David Fifield, who sports 20 years of experience as Executive Producer and Design Director at 343 Industries on Halo, as well as Game Director at Raven Software on numerous Call of Duty titles. Crystal Dynamics continues to attract the best and the brightest talent across all disciplines, many recently hailing from the likes of Naughty Dog, Pixar, EA, and many more.
Find a pair of comments below.
Scot Amos, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics
“We’re aggressively scaling up our teams and adding a new studio with spectacular talent to deliver the ultimate gaming experiences for our players. We have assembled a team of industry veterans and leaders in order to create gaming experiences that surpass the expectations of our passionate community.”
Ron Rosenberg, Co-Head of Studio at Crystal Dynamics
“Our new studio in Bellevue, and the new hires in Redwood Shores, represent our continued commitment to the most ambitious project we’ve ever created. We’ll keep building on the exciting growth Crystal Dynamics has experienced over the last several years, and are eager to deliver a world-class Avengers experience for fans around the world.”
kirassss
2018-8-16 10:25 PM
本帖最后由 kirassss 于 2018-8-16 11:08 PM 编辑
The Quiet Man ‘Silence Rings Loudest’ trailer
SQUARE ENIX 新作《静人 The Quiet Man》释出新宣传片「Silence Rings Loudest」
Square Enix has released a new trailer for The Quiet Man dubbed “Silence Rings Loudest,” which showcases the game’s “seamless blend of high-production live action and exhilarating gameplay.”
Here is a brief overview of the game, via Square Enix:
The Quiet Man takes players beyond sound to deliver an immersive story-driven cinematic action experience, which can be completed in one sitting. In a story that unravels across a single night, players take the role of deaf protagonist Dane as he fights his way through a “soundless” world to discover the motives behind the kidnapping of songstress Lala by a mysterious masked man.
The Quiet Man will be released as a digital-only title for PlayStation 4 and PC via Steam for $14.99. A release date has yet to be announced.
Square Enix will delist The Last Remnant for PC from digital and physical marketplaces on September 4 at 10:00 a.m. PT / 1:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. UK, the publisher announced.
Users who already own or purchase the game before it is delisted will still be able to download the game at any time after September 4. The Last Remnant is currently available for purchase on Steam for $9.99.
Console release of arcade fighting game launches November 29 in Japan.
Following this weekend’s announcement, Square Enix has released the first information and screenshots for the PlayStation 4 version of 2D fighting game Million Arthur: Arcana Blood.
About the Game
Million Arthur: Arcana Blood is a 2D fighting game first released for arcades in November 2017. Popular characters from the Million Arthur series like Arthur Kenjutsu no Shiro and Thief Arthur, as well as Lise from Seiken Densetsu 3 and more appear in 2D pixels graphics and participate in flashy battles.
Development is handled by Arcana Team, which developed the Arcana Heart series and Nitroplus Blasterz. Fighting game fans can of course enjoy it as a pure fighting game, but there is also a story supervised by Kazuma Kamachi, as well as familiar background music and productions implemented in various places. Additionally, there are other elements that only appear in this game, including the theme song “Die or Dice?” sung by Kotoko, theme background music for Nitou Arthur and Iai Arthur composed by Yoko Shimomura, and more.
Three New Characters
In addition to the 10 playable characters from the arcade version, the PlayStation 4 version of Million Arthur: Arcana Blood adds three new playable characters.
Joining the fray are Yamaneko Arthur (voiced by Ayana Taketatsu) from Han-Gyaku-Sei Million Arthur, Other World-Style Koume Saiyama (voiced by Aoi Yuuki) from Lord of Vermillion IV, and Other-World Style Iori Yagami from The King of Fighters XIV.
Additionally, on August 28, the arcade version will add support knight Other World-Style Akira Oono from the anime High Score Girl. She will also be implemented in the PlayStation 4 version for a total of 13 playable characters and 31 support knights. Of course, every character, including Iai Arthur (voiced by Sumire Uesaka) and Thief Arthur (voiced by Ayane Sakura), will be voiced by a cast of wonderful actors.
New Story Mode, Online Battles, and More
In addition to the “Story Mode” implemented in the arcade version, the PlayStation 4 version of Million Arthur: Arcana Blood also has a new story mode called “Episode of Arcana Blood,” which leads to the true ending.
As for online battles, the game features both “Online Ranked Matches,” where players can fight against other players close in ability, as well as “Room Matches,” where up to six players can gather to fight and spectate.
There are also various other game modes, including a “Training Mode” where you can practice for various situations, link together combos and support knights, and so on; a “Gallery Mode” where you can collect character illustrations; and more.
Million Arthur: Arcana Blood is due out for PlayStation 4 on November 29 in Japan.
Mossmouth has released the first gameplay trailer and screenshots for its October 2017-announced Spelunky 2, as well as confirmed a 2019 release window. It will launch for PlayStation 4 and PC.
Spelunky 2 will be playable at the PlayStation booth at PAX West in Seattle from August 31 to September 3.
Here are the first details, via a PlayStation Blog interview:
PlayStation.Blog: So, first things first: What is Spelunky 2?
Derek Yu: Spelunky 2 is the sequel to the roguelike platformer Spelunky and takes place after the events of the original game. Since Spelunky 1 was released a lot of great roguelike-inspired games have come out and pushed the genre in cool new directions, but I think Spelunky is still very unique in terms of the freedom it offers the player and the way different elements interact, where one event can trigger a cascade of consequences that have to be dealt with. That’s something we’ve been building on – not just adding lots of new things (which we’re doing!), but also making the world feel even more interconnected. And that includes storytelling (both developer-created and player-created) as well as game mechanics.
PlayStation.Blog: I understand this game is very, very different from Spelunky 1 – why? What guided that decision? Why not be safe and just do another like he already did?
Derek Yu: At its core, Spelunky 2 is not too different, actually. My opinion about sequels is that they are extensions of the previous games, so I want fans of Spelunky 1 to jump in and feel like they’re playing a continuation, both storywise and mechanically. The big question on my mind was “What makes Spelunky, Spelunky?” I wanted to figure out what those ideas were and take them to their limit without anything getting in their way. Sometimes that means adding, sometimes that means remixing – it can also mean subverting expectations created by the original game.
PlayStation.Blog: What will Spelunky fans “get” about the game right away? What’s similar? What’s different?
Derek Yu: I think they’ll immediately get into the flow of playing the game. Which is great, because with Spelunky 1 we had a hard time explaining that to people. Now that they get it, we can spend more time making the experience deeper and richer. There are a lot of differences that, when added up, really make the game feel different. For example, each level will have a second layer that you can go back and forth between. Sometimes the entrance is right there and sometimes it’s a hidden shortcut. Even though the gameplay is still 2D platforming, this adds a feeling of a third dimension to the exploration.
We’ve also added liquid physics that are really fun to play with – combined with the destructible terrain you get things like dynamic water or lavafalls that you have to deal with on each run. The world breathes more. And then there’s all the expected new areas, items, monsters, and traps. It really is a lot.
I’m still very much thinking about new players, though. But my philosophy has always been to attract new players by making the world more interesting and inviting instead of focusing on tutorials and things like that. Spelunky is still Spelunky and it will be very challenging – my hope is that new players will want to persevere because we made the effort worth it. Spelunky 2 will have very strong themes of family and friendship and I want new players to feel cared for even as we put tough obstacles in their way.
PlayStation.Blog: Are the levels randomized? That’s super hard to do; what was the approach?
Derek Yu: The approach is the same as with Spelunky 1 where we generate a “safe” path to the exit using room templates. However, with new features like the second layer we’re finding lots of surprising new ways we can make random level design even more interesting. As I said before, it feels like there’s a new dimension to it. And BlitWorks is doing the programming on Spelunky 2 and has built tools for creating and testing levels that we didn’t have the resources to build the first time around. It’s been a lot of fun going back “into the lab” with our previous experience and a lot of new technology.
PlayStation.Blog: How is the flow/pace? How does that change when moving to this new gameplay style?
Derek Yu: To me it feels more fast-paced but also more expansive. I imagine that runs may take a little bit longer beginning to end, but the main goal is not extending the game’s length but making the stories that emerge even more rich and personal.
PlayStation.Blog: Is it safe to assume there will be lots of secrets?
Square Enix and Tencent have announced the formation of a strategic alliance that will result in the establishment of a joint-venture company, co-development of AAA titles based on new intellectual properties, the licensing of existing intellectual properties, and more.
Find the full press release below.
Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd. (the “Company”), today announced that the Company and Tencent Holdings Limited have signed a letter of intent to create a strategic alliance between the high-quality content provider and the mega internet service provider.
Square Enix Group is making tireless efforts to offer unique content experiences to its fans all over the world through multifaceted business deployment. Square Enix Group will be accelerating these business development efforts to enhance its content services worldwide through this strategic alliance with Tencent Group. Outcomes of this newly created alliance include the establishment of a joint-venture company, co-development of AAA titles based on new intellectual properties, the licensing of existing intellectual properties, and more.
“We have strong expectations for this strategic alliance with Square Enix Group,” says Steven Ma, Senior Vice President, Tencent Group. “The alliance will enable us to couple our broad range of internet service capabilities to Square Enix Group’s superb creativity, and provide our customers with unprecedented content experiences on a global basis.”
“Tencent Group and Square Enix Group share the vision of utilizing technology and creativity to deliver unprecedented entertainment experiences and services to a global audience,” said Yosuke Matsuda, President and Representative Director of Square Enix Holdings. “This newly established alliance will be a strong boost to Square Enix Group’s strategy to diversify our content offerings and expand access channels to a wider customer base.”
Further details of the strategic alliance will be announced at a later date as progress is made.
Square Enix has announced The Last Remnant Remastered for PlayStation 4. It will launch via the PlayStation Store on December 6 in Japan for 3,980 yen.
The game is a remaster of the 2008-released Xbox 360 The Last Remnant with all the additional elements of the PC version. Furthermore, it uses a new game engine and has higher resolution graphics. The new key artwork was illustrated by Yusuke Naora, who was the art producer on the original game.
Square Enix will host a special broadcast for The Last Remnant Remastered at Tokyo Game Show 2018 on September 22 featuring Hiroshi Takai (original director), Yusuke Naora (original art producer), Kouichirou Sakamoto (remaster director), Asami Katada (remastered project assistant), and MC Nobuo (of the comedy duo Penguins).
