Celebrating Too Human's Second Anniversary

August 19, 2010 will be Too Human's Second anniversary. To celebrate we will be scheduling themed gaming knights for the whole week.

[Sunday, August 15, 2010
Newb Night - Is there still a class you have not tried yet? Maybe a character that you started but did not finish up. Now is the night to bring him out for a spin.
Denis Dyack will join us

Monday, August 16, 2010
Night of Champions - It all started with the champions, so why not take your favorite champion out for a spin.
Denis Dyack and Ted Traver will be joining us

Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Night of Berserkers - Take your twin blades to the heart of the mechanic fiends.
Denis Dyack and Ted Traver will be joining us

Wednesday, August 18, 2010
Night of Commandos - More Pew PEW...Bang BANG. Grab your favorite ranged warrior and light up the night.
Denis Dyack and Ted Traver will be joining us

Thursday, August 19, 2010
Night of the Unstoppables - It's the Anniversary Night so what better way to celebrate and show your prowess than to take your favorite character and try to get from HoH to Helhiem on one life.
Denis Dyack and Ted Traver will join us

Friday, August 20, 2010
Night of Bioengineers - I have your Healz right here come and get'em.

Saturday, August 21, 2010
Night of Defenders - Time to channel you inner juggernaught and walk all over anyone that steps in your way.
Denis Dyack will join us

I am talking with Denis Dyack to finalize some gaming nights with Silicon Knights staff also. More info to come soon.

I will be updating this thread with any new information. Please also use it chronicle your adventures.

- Purple Gryphon

Too Human - Downloadable again on XBL Games on Demand

Finally, Too Human is available again for Digital Download on Games on Demand. Good news for SK, who can now reap the benefits of higher game sales (and in turn, more money to make Too Human: Rise of the Giants ), and good news for those too lazy to get up and insert the disc . Even better, it's even available in every Country under the sun.

Download in the USA <-Click
$29.99

Download in Canada <-Click
$19.99

Download in the UK<-Click
£14.99

Download in Sweden<-Click
199,00 kr

Download in Japan<-Click
¥1,900

Download in Australia<-Click
$49.95

Please join us in the forums for discussion.

- theALLseeingEYE

New Layout!

Thanks for bearing with me during all the updates. Hope you will all enjoy the new format. Please check the Site Discussion section of the forums if you have any concerns or questions.

-Admin

Silicon Knights Announces 'Eight'

E3 2010 did not pass entirely without an announcement from Silicon Knights, although this one did not directly involve Too Human, Eternal Darkness, or a venture into a new franchise. Denis Dyack's guild of game designers announced the creation of 'Eight: The Hamilton Institute for Interactive Digital Media.'

The joint venture centers on the development of the "8th Art," art that develops technology and creativity beyond the moving image, i.e. film, and adds interactivity. The Institute's focus will be on the creation and integration of new technologies, new design and innovative artistic concepts for digital media applications. "Eight" will provide a nucleus where staff of Silicon Knights and the AGH and faculty and students at Master University and Mohawk College can move seamlessly between organizations on shared research projects and digital media development. Staff of Silicon Knights and AGH could participate in research, course development and teaching at the new Institute.

"By adding interactivity to moving images such as film (the '7th art), we are creating what Silicon Knights' has dubbed for many years as the '8th Art'," said Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack. "We have been promoting the '8th Art' for many years, and are beyond excited to have aligned with three outstanding partners – McMaster University, AGH and Mohawk College – that share the same vision, and understand the need to grow the talent and resources in this arena.

For more discussion on the opportunities a venture like this could provide, join us in the SiliconKnights.net forums.

-- Hannar

NEW MEMBER REGISTRATION

If you are having issues registering for the site please send me a private message.

Just set up the account then click this link: Purple Gryphon and send me a PM.

Thanks.

Silicon Knights to Publish Next Game Themselves?

In years past, Denis Dyack has mentioned that Silicon Knights does not just create games, but entire universes where multiple characters and stories can exist. Despite this, sequels to some of the Knights' most famous games have been hard to come by. It appears the lessons learned from franchises past have really set in with Silicon Knights as they have incrementally taken more control of their future in years past. After Eternal Darkness, Dyack made sure his team (and not Microsoft) controlled Too Human's future. Now it appears they are considering taking things a step further so that they can control their next product from start to finish (courtesy of NiagaraThisWeek.com):

Mike Mays, vice-president of finance for Silicon Knights, said the next project may be an unusual one for them as of late as it is considering making an internal game, something it hasn’t done for several years.

He explained that for its recent games, Silicon Knights has been developing them for other publishers, which would then retain the rights. Too Human was slightly different, as it was made for Microsoft, though Silicon Knights has the rights to all sequels.

Mays said the project is now in the pre-production phase, and the funding will be used to hire people over the next 12 months.

“It’s going to bring a lot of jobs to St. Catharines,” he said. And, “it will build on the high-tech footing at Silicon Knights.”

Mays said games typically take between 30 and 36 months to finish.

If the team pulls this off, it could be a major step in the right direction. No Silicon Knights game has had an actual marketing campaign behind it before, and I know that is something Denis would seek to rectify. This would also allow the Silicon Knights team to handle all pre release media without pressure. Rather than showing up at E3 or other trade shows, they can follow their preferred model of smaller, game specific shows at their own studio. Join us in the SiliconKnights.net forums to discuss all of the other ramifications of a decision like this.

More on the New Silicon Knights Funding

I'm in the finance field myeslf, so this is one of the more interesting topics for me to learn about, slow news cycle or not. The Welland Tribune first reported Friday's announcement of the $4 million dollar grant from Canada's Community Adjustment Fund. The CAF is an economic stimulus package designed to provide $1 billion dollars over the next two years to create and maintain employment in various industries.

According to the program's website, there are several key characteristics that must be met in order for a project to obtain funding:

Projects funded under CAF must:
•Be completed by March 31, 2011 with no requirement for continued support;
•Provide benefits to communities affected by the global economic recession;
•Create immediate, short-term employment;
•Be able to start quickly; and,
•Be incremental (funds should be in addition to existing resources and not replace funding available elsewhere).


In addition, priority is being given to projects in and around eligible communities that:
•Are located in rural, single-industry communities;
•Create jobs and maintain employment;
•Leverage funds from provinces, territories and other funding partners;
•Build on partnership arrangements already in place (e.g. federal-provincial/territorial agreements) and existing programs; and,
•Provide a legacy of longer-term economic benefits.

It is interesting to note that projects must be completed by 2011. For the biggest of Too Human fans, this might give hope to the thought that Too Human 2 is on the way and headed to multiple platforms under a new publisher. It could also mean that a game like "the Box" is resumed after the rumored Sega cancellation. Without delving further into the details of the program, I think it is far more likely that the term "finished" is in reference to the job creation aspect and perhaps not referring to the shipment of a final product.

MP Rick Dykstra had the following press release posted on his own site (the emphasis added is my own):

“I could not be happier that our government has recognized the significance of supporting this kind of high-tech, knowledge-based business”, said Dykstra. “This type of industry is a perfect example of where our community needs to be, going forward.”

The investment of nearly $4 million will be used to create a new AAA video game that will appeal to a mass gaming market. The game will have high production values and will be released on multiple platforms worldwide. This project will retain and create more than 65 new high-tech jobs at Silicon Knight’s home in St. Catharines."

This seems to clarify that not all of the jobs being provided by this grant will be new. It is possible that the grant will allow idling employees at Silicon Knights to continue a project that may have been on hold (perhaps in search of a publisher?). There are likely a number of other more complex possibilities out there, so join us to give your take in the SiliconKnights.net forums.

-- Hannar

The End of Too Human?

Kat Bailey over at 1Up.com posted a blog today. The purpose was to posit that the recent Canadian grant given to Silicon Knights signaled the deathblow to the Too Human franchise.

Too Human probably never had a chance to properly sell itself to the masses. Between the multiple delays, the Unreal Engine lawsuit and the now-infamous Denis Dyack vs. NeoGAF episode, the odds were simply stacked against it. But that's not to say that it wasn't at least interesting.

...

If Mass Effect 2 taught us anything though, it's that vast improvements can be made to an existing experience once the proper toolset is in place. Too Human was an ambitious project with some unique ideas, but a lot of those ideas are never properly realized. The combat, for instance, includes quite a lot of fancy aerials and other techniques, but they feel tacked on after the fact thanks in part to the control scheme. If any game could use some polishing and rethinking, it's Too Human.

The reason I bring it up is that Silicon Knights recently received some $4 million from the Canadian government, which is apparently being put toward a new, multi-platform game. Rumors emerged last year that the studio was working on something called "Siren in the Maelstrom," but there's been no hint that the planned trilogy is still in the works. At a guess, the studio is ready to move ono after the messy development and horrendous PR that came with Too Human. It'll be a shame if they decide to abandon RPGs all together though.

This is not an unreasonable position for one to take. The relationship between Silicon Knights and Too Human's publisher, Microsoft, has likely seen better days. Silence on both parts could be construed as a negative. Funding for an untitled multi-platform game at a relatively small independent developer (albeit one that could handle work on 3 games simultaneously in the best of times since we've been following them) would seem to suggest other games we expected them to be working on are now on the back burner. Too Human 2, "The Box," and "Siren in the Maelstrom" are all anticipated titles or code names that have been rumored for a long time. How many products can a developer handle?

There are a few counter points to this argument. One, since Silicon Knights has yet to publicly discuss any of the three rumored projects, it could be reasonably assumed to that the funding could go to further an existing project. Based on publish reports, Silicon Knights has employed as few as 100 employees, and as many as 125 during the ups and downs of Too Human's development and post-release. There is enough manpower to handle multiple projects either way. This, however, does not strike me as the most reasonable possibility.

A key point in the description of the grant program was that it would be used to immediately create new jobs; 65 to be exact. If Silicon Knights is expected to nearly double in size through the use of this funding and the project it creates, then what are the other 100 employees working on currently? At the peak of Too Human's development, we know there were two teams up and running with a third project on the way. Rumor of cancellations from Sega and an uncertain publishing relationship with Microsoft are certainly concerns, but with 100-165 team members potentially available for development, multiple projects are not out of the question. Some may think that would be too much for a developer that has released only a few games in the last 10 years, but Denis has never been one to follow others expectations.

For those of us who consider a Too Human sequel to be the most anticipated potential Silicon Knights title, the most pressing question is "who will publish it?" It seems clear that Microsoft has washed their hands clean of the franchise. Where silence from Silicon Knights was implied from Denis's previous statements, silence from Microsoft for this long is a rare thing. But before all hope is lost, let us remember these important points: Too Human is Denis's project. The likelihood that he gives it up before its rightful conclusion does exist (survival of his company would obviously come first), but shelving it might be tougher to swallow than some othe projects. Denis is also an excellent marketer of his business. Say what you will about his NeoGAF experience, Denis has found ways to partner with the biggest names in the gaming business, and has now successfully tapped funding from the Canadian government. I consider it highly likely that he finds another publisher if necessary.

So is Too Human dead? My sincere expectation is "no." I can certainly see why many in the press or on the periphery of the gaming world would expect as much. Only time will tell which os us is correct.

Discuss with us in the SiliconKnights.net forums.

-- Hannar

Silicon Knights Receives $4-Million in Funding

The team at Silicon Knights received some positive news last week, as the Canadian government rewarded the developer with a federal grant that is expected to create up to 65 new jobs and result in a new multi-platform game sometime down the road.

Via the Welland Tribune:

Quote:

Local company Silicon Knights is getting nearly $4 million in federal money to create a new video game, leaving community leaders gushing the region is one step closing to being a gaming capital. The St. Catharines company will use the money to create a new high-end game for multiple platforms and will immediately create 65 additional jobs. "This is going to benefit Silicon Knights in ways that are profound and long-lasting," said company president Denis Dyack. The announcement was made Friday by MP Rick Dykstra at the company's offices at 1 St. Paul Street in downtown St. Catharines. Dyack said there are only a handful of developers worldwide making AAA products, or top tier titles. The company is hush hush about its new project, which will take an estimated two to five years to develop. "In our industry, you have to be very careful never to announce anything until the right time. We can only say it's a next generation title and a high production value game," Dyack said. "That's all we can say."

Join us in the SiliconKnights.net forums to discuss the possibilities.



-- Hannar

THREE NEW VETERANS ADDED

I would like to announce our newest class of veterans.

Congrats to


General Twigums

Laxfish

Subhuman

You can say hello again here.

Congratulations Axeman and Daniel

Check out the brand new designs that were selected.




They have been co-selected as the SK swag contest winners.

Axeman won for his great recreations of the TH class and alignment symbols. Daniel's awesome guns and sword creation was also too cool to pass up.

I would like to thank Denis and SK for sponsoring this unique fan contest and providing some cool prizes. The winners will not only get their designs added to the awesome selection on SK cafepress store. But they will also recieve three (3) shirts of their choice.

We hope to get their designs finalized in the next week and I will update you all when you can view their selections at the storefront.

Continue to see the great work that got them the win and leave your comments.

GAMING KNIGHTS ARE BACK

Sunday: "Start the week off right"
Too Human

Monday: "Midnight Rider Monday"
L4D2

Tuesday: "Killing with Claptrap"
Borderlands

Wednesday: "Something old/Something new"
Dust off older titles to show them some love (Red Faction, Castle Crashers, Sacred 2, ...)
-or-
Play yesterday's new releases (Bioshock 2, AvP 2, etc)

Thursday: "Thursday night at the races"
Burnout Paradise and Forza 3

Friday: "Friday night shooters"
COD, L4D, Halo, Borderlands, BF:1943, etc...
Whatever people want to play as long as it involves killing stuff

Saturday: "CoD or PS3"
Modern Warfare 1 or 2
-or-
Break out your favorites on that other system. (Uncharted, Demon's Souls)

You can set up groups here.

Very nice Too Human Custom Car now in Forza 3

Forum member Platinum just popped up with some pics of his gorgeous Too Human and Silicon Knights inspired custom Car for Forza 3, which was made (of course, but impressively) using the in-game logo editor. Apparently you can buy one for yourself from his in-game store. Just check out the forums for details if you want one.

Examining the Still Pending SK vs. Epic Unreal Engine 3 lawsuit

So, I've been reading through the UE3 lawsuit papers, regarding the trial between SK and Epic Games. So, Silicon Knights is suing Epic for essentially, breach of contract, having and fraudulently selling SK a license to an engine by means of promising features and performance from the engine that Epic not only didn't implement until as late as 2008 (two years after most UE3 licensed games were scheduled to originally hit the market), but features that to this day, seemingly still have not been implemented.

Here's a short list of features that have allegedly forced SK to have to build their own game engine (the Silicon Knights Engine) and abandon UE3. And to be honest, not only does it sound like SK has a case, I think it sounds like they have a some serious smoking guns. Check out a partial list below, and check out the forums for much more info:

-----------------------------------------------

- Promised both Indoor and Outdoor Terrain, did not deliver Outdoor terrain
- Promised Fully dynamic Lighting, did not deliver. Most lighting in UE3 has to be pre-baked before loading the level
- Amount of characters (promised 40-50, delivered 8-10)
- Promised 4 player online co-op, did not deliver
- Promised 30 fps with more than 30 characters on-screen, did not deliver
- Promised streaming software, did not deliver

------------------------------------------------

Anyone who's played Too Human no doubt understands how these issue probably would have crippled the development of Too Human. Add to this, that SK also apparently had to renegotiate less favorable terms with publishing partners for Too Human, and apparently even almost went out of business due to these issues. I think things are becoming clearer.



Please join us in the forums to discuss, and for further details and info on the issue.

- theALLSeeingEYE

Silicon Knights helping with Darksiders development?



That's right, that Darksiders, the THQ published one that looks like a pretty fricken cool mix of action, with a mature take on Zelda, and is based on the four horsemen of the apocalypse.

I missed this, but apparently another resume leaked by another former SK employee (now employed at Rockstar Vancouver) had an interesting note on his resume. at least according to this article on site Split screen.



This would be in-line with a tip I received from member Refurs, the Unseen64 editor who also tipped me off about the concept art for unreleased SK game 'the Box'.

Anyways, what do you think? Join us in the forums to discuss.

- theALLseeingeye

Denis' Top 11 Favorite Games

The ever Purple Gryph seems to have found found an article regarding, and detailing Denis Dyack's Top 11 favorite games. Check out the list here:

1. Empire: Wargame of the Century
2. Resident Evil 2
3. Eve Online
4. Archon
5. Doom
6. Super Mario 64
7. Ultima III
8. Samurai Shodown 2
9. Defender
10. Total Annihilation
11. Heroes of Might and Magic III



Also, please do check out the actual article, along with quotes regarding each game, at the link here. Or Join us in the forums to to let us know what you think here.

- theALLseeingEYE

First Images and info of SK Horror game 'The Box' leak?

I've just received a tip from forum member, and Unseen64 editor Refurs, that some unheard of info and pics on what is apparently the rumored SK horror title 'the Crucible: Evil Within', otherwise known as 'the Box' have appeared on his site.

You can check out the article here:

There is also an interesting description of the title:

Quote:

“An open free-roaming action horror game where the player undertakes a terrorizing journey of suspense, fear, power and discovery, and where every decision has multiple consequences… Uncover an ancient chest with unimaginable power that seduces you into evil, sin and corruption.”

Also in the article, are some rather interesting images, such as the one below.



Please join us in the forums for more info and more screenshots.

- theALLseeingEYE

Rumored SK game 'the Box' appears again, on resume

A bit of a refresher, for a couple years, its been rumored that Silicon Knights is or had been working on a new Horror game to be published by Sega. Titles for this rumored game such as 'the Box', 'the Crucible', 'The Gift', 'the Sacrement', had appeared on a survey passed around by Sega a few years back.

Now, the game has reappeared, on the resume of a former Silicon Knights employee, by the name of Zhang Shao-yong. On his resume, he lists having worked on: "Too Human, and The Box (Xbox and PS3)," on which he helped shape visual effects for "explosions, smoke, water, fire, weather and so on."

The article on CVG can be seen here. Also, you can view the translated resume here. Note that his SK credits are from "June 2005-April 2008". There had been previous rumors that the Sega SK project was having publisher troubles, so its anyone's guess whether the project is still rolling.

Anyways, join us in the forums for some speculation chatter.



- theALLseeingEYE

Denis discusses the Ontario Game Industry Climate/ Layoffs

An interesting interview with sir Dyack regarding the incredible amount of layoffs seen within the industry recently, SK's ability to endure in an unusual fashion (around 20 years now!), and UBISOFT moving into Toronto Ontario is up on Gameindustry.biz. Check the interview out here.

Quote:

"What that means for us is we're really excited because we're going to be able to come out, and the industry is going to rebound and grow, and we'll be one of probably five companies in the world that has any serious business beyond ten years,"

Quote:

"It's a win-win for developers here with companies like Ubisoft, to see Silicon Knights grow and Digital Extremes grow. We'll only make a more fertile ground for us. You don't lose people because big companies come in, you lose people because you're not doing a good job managing those people that come in."

Please join us in the forums to discuss



- theALLseeingEYE