Author: Josh Griffiths

Josh Griffiths is a Contributing Writer at Warp Zoned, though he's also known as the popular modder "JoshBadWriter."

Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries developer GRIN shuts down, cannot deliver Kickstarter rewards

After a successful Kickstarter campaign, Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries was released by developer GRIN earlier this year (the Belgian GRIN, not the Swedish Grin that shut its doors in 2009). Yesterday, founder and CEO Wim Wouters wrote on the game’s official website that the developer has filed for bankruptcy and is shutting its doors immediately. Wouters said that poor sales of the game and the unexpected costs associated with an increase in scope during development were to blame:

Why on earth would we want to increase the scope of our game without increasing the budget. Ok, it is understandable that you get inspired to try new things in gameplay, you have to experiment to come up with creative ideas and solutions. I’m not saying the ideas we came up with were impossible. But changing gameplay from 2D to 3D had a major impact on overall development cost (we found out a little too late).

Wouters also talked about the company’s history and its decision to try out Kickstarter, making it an interesting read by itself.

While not losing my passion and still spending every minute of spare time, I generated my basic income doing work-for-hire jobs. Every year the company grew a little stronger, a little better, a little more stable. Until 2 years ago, GRIN had 5 full-time employees exclusively making games for clients, we even made enough money to save a little cash on the side. We would use these savings to create the game of our dreams. Little did we know this would be the beginning of the end.

However, his positive take on the situation turns to worry when he starts to talk about Kickstarter rewards. Primarily because GRIN doesn’t have the money to ship any of the physical rewards.

The people that believed in us from the beginning? People we made promises too. People we have let down. Even worse… people we will not be able to give the full rewards they invested in.

The crazy thing is, that we have most of the rewards ready for postage. All the backer stickers and letters of enlistment just need a stamp. All the poster sets printed, signed and ready. The artbook is ready to be printed, the soundtrack is ready for distribution, the DVD case is ready for production. But we have literally no money whatsoever to pay for stamps, let alone print the artbooks and dvd-cases.

Video game studios shut down all the time. It’s an expensive business, and feature creep is a serious issue for new and old developers alike (see Double Fine’s Broken Age). No matter how big or small the studio, it’s always sad to see someone who entered the industry to follow their dreams have life rip that dream from cold, hungry hands.

It’s even worse when Kickstarter is involved, and people don’t get to have their rewards. On the bright side, the game did end up getting made, and while it didn’t sell great, it got some decent reviews. All backers seem to have gotten their digital rewards at the very least. A continuation of the first game, Woolfe Chapter 2, is currently in limbo, as is the planned Xbox One version.

Here’s hoping those Kickstarter backers don’t feel too burned, and that the developers from GRIN get to continue their passion. For now, the developer is attempting to sell the rights to Woolfe: The Red Hood Diaries (and all the assets created for Chapter 2), so perhaps they’ll get enough to fund the physical rewards at least.

Posted in News, PC, Xbox One |

Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain gets two new trailers at Gamescom 2015

The hotly anticipated Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is less than a month away, and Konami is finally ramping up promotion for the game (while in the midst of some internal turmoil) by releasing two more trailers that show off the game’s new features.

Revealed during Gamescom 2015, a short gameplay trailer (embedded above) notably wasn’t directed or edited by Hideo Kojma, while a longer demo walkthrough (available after the break) showcased the new and improved Mother Base.

Among the new features demonstrated in the walkthrough video is the ability to take showers to wash away blood and collect posters scattered throughout the base. Players can also run obstacle courses, train troops, and customize the base (including layout, insignia placement, color, and security measures). We also got a look at how all of these features integrate with the iDroid while you’re in the field.

Also showed off was Forward Operation Base (FOB) multiplayer mode, which involves creating a base separate from Mother Base that other players can invade at any time. In the demo, we saw the player in the middle of a mission get a warning that their FOB was being invaded, and they quickly left the mission to defend the base. What followed was a game of cat and mouse that ended after the defender captured the attacker.

With Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain releasing September 1st, these are probably the last trailers we’ll see before it’s release. It’s been a heck of a ride considering the significance of this game in the franchise. But, the light is finally right around the corner. (more…)

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Uncharted movie delayed to 2017; Resident Evil: Final Chapter set for Jan. 2017 premiere

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The Uncharted movie is quickly turning into a teenage procrastinator, insisting they’ll come out of their room later, but with no immediate intention of coming out. Sony recently announced (via Variety) that the film has been delayed again, this time until June 30, 2017.

This news comes weeks after it was confirmed by Heroic Hollywood that director Seth Gordon had stepped away from the project. At least two different writers have worked on the script, and with Gordon’s departure, it’s currently being reworked for a third time. A new director has yet to be announced and the film has even struggled to find a lead actor.

We probably won’t see Nathan Drake until he’s rushing out of the door on June 30, 2017 clasping his belt with a piece of toast in his mouth, running to catch the bus. They’ll probably be some jumping involved as well.

In the same announcement, Sony confirmed that Resident Evil: The Final Chapter, which stars Milla Jovovich and is set to be directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, will be released on January 27, 2017.

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Deep Silver shows off Homefront: The Revolution at Gamescom 2015

At Microsoft’s 2015 Gamescom Briefing, publisher Deep Silver finally revealed a gameplay trailer for the upcoming Homefront: The Revolution. They also showed a short, but poignant, two-minute CGI trailer (which is available after the break).

The short gameplay snippet shows a rebel squad in Philadelphia, the new location for the game, driving vehicles through the streets (and roofs) to take down a warehouse full of North Korean soldiers. It doesn’t look like anything too revolutionary, if you’ll pardon the pun, but if Deep Silver Dambuster Studios can fix the flaws of the original game, it could be a decent title.

Homefront: The Revolution will be hitting store shelves in Spring 2016 for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The Xbox One will also be getting an exclusive multiplayer beta sometime this Winter. (more…)

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Halo Wars 2 announced at Gamescom 2015

Microsoft announced Halo Wars 2, a followup to the original Halo-themed RTS from 2009, at their Gamescom Briefing just a short few hours ago.

Interestingly, Sega’s Creative Assembly, the same team behind the Total War series, as well as Alien: Isolation, will be leading development. Ensemble Studios was responsible for the original Halo Wars, but they were shut down by Microsoft shortly after the release of the game.

Halo Wars 2 will be coming to the Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs sometime in Fall 2016.

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Red Ash anime funded on Kickstarter as game falls well short

redash-logoAs expected, Comcept’s Kickstarter campaign for Red Ash: The Indelible Legend has failed to reach its goal. The project’s $519,999 total fell quite short of the developer’s $800,000 target. The campaign was poorly run from the start, banking on nostalgia for Mega Man Legends, Kenji Inafune’s name recognition, and the success of Mighty No. 9‘s campaign. That’s game recent which was stealth delay probably didn’t help.

However, Comcept also had a second Kickstarter campaign related to Red Ash in the works at the same time. Red Ash: Magicicada is an anime short film produced by Studio 4°C, and unlike the game’s campaign, the anime has been fully funded, surpassing its $150,000 goal. The production company is proud of Magicicada and call it “a fast-paced, entertaining film in which unique characters explore various stages.” The anime won’t be released until 2017, to coincide with the release of the Red Ash video game.

Red Ash, the game, will continue development with Chinese publisher Fuze holding the purse strings. However, coupled with the announcement of the Might No. 9 delay days before the end of Red Ash’s Kickstarter deadline, and Comcept announcing they secured a publisher well into funding, they’re going to have to do a lot to win back consumer trust.

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Behind-the-scenes article paints Konami executives as Orwellian dictators

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UPDATE: Nikkei has released an official English translation of the article.

Nikkei, a Japanese financial newspaper, recently published an article that delves into the struggles and horrible working conditions of employees at Konami. Basically, it is not pretty, and if anything, Hideo Kojima’s rumored departure can only be seen as a good thing.

The article is entirely in Japanese, and the website requires a subscription to fully access it, but volunteer translators have been working on the article and released some highlights this morning through NeoGAF. Additional translations are available at GamesIndustry.biz and Kotaku.

A number of anonymous employees spoke to Nikkei about life at Konami, describing a prison-like environment. Employees who are deemed “useless” are either sent to the assembly line to work on pachinko machines, or are reassigned to become security officers. Some are even forced to clean up the gym located in Konami’s headquarters. And this punishment isn’t just limited to low-level workers, producers and other prominent creators have also had this type of grunt work hoisted on them.

Lunch breaks are said to be regulated via time cards, and any employee who runs late is “outed” from the company. Konami’s employees are also said to be under heavy surveillance at all times. Even Solid Snake himself couldn’t dodge all the security cameras and punch clocks that line the company’s halls.

All these measures allegedly stem from the success Konami had with a mobile game known as Dragon Collection, which has made far more money and was much cheaper to develop than any console game the company produced in years. This news is certainly in line with Konami’s recent attitude, which has led to the cancellation of the majority of their console projects, including Silent Hills.

Nikkei’s report also states that, as of April 2015, Konami had spent $80 million on Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain. Coupled with the publisher’s desire to move towards mobile games, this astronomical budget likely had something to do with Konami’s rift with Kojima.

Konami has already stated they plan on continuing with the Metal Gear series, as well as Pro Evolution Soccer, but beyond that, much of the company’s plans remain a mystery.

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The Long Dark’s “Deep Forest” update changes everything

The Long Dark, Hinterland’s open world survival game (you know, the one without zombies), has received a lot of updates since it’s successful Kickstarter campaign in 2013. Along the way, it’s become a great example of Early Access done right. The developer is at it again with the newest update, “Deep Forest,” which provides a lot of changes to the game on the PC and Xbox One. Though these changes are designed to make the game easier, which could make hardcore survivalists unhappy.

The changes are designed to make the game easier to understand, and make it easier to survive it’s harsh world by making it more realistic. For example, there’s now a wind shield icon to indicate when you’re shielded from the wind, and there are new modes that allow you to instantly counteract freezing via campfires. You can now break down furniture and even curtains to use as fuel for a fire. The developer also made a few little tweaks to the game such as an updated sprinting animation and enhanced graphical settings.

You can check out the full changelist at Hinterland’s official website. It’s mostly small changes that fans have been complaining about, small changes that usually add up over time that make a game much better.

Now if only Hinterland would give us an update on the highly touted story mode that hasn’t been mentioned since 2013…

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