Even I can’t resist the lure of that damn Penny Arcade strip. Damnit. Anyway, things are really heating up for The Witcher, as previews have started popping up here and there, and new videos are appearing every couple of days. Everyone really seems to dig the game’s mature world the story CD Projekt has crafted… hell, even the combat system — which was always a big question mark in the eyes of editors — has received a lot of praise. Here are some links to recent coverage of the game:

IGN hands-on preview

The story is one that American audiences likely aren’t familiar with even though the life of the main character Geralt, one of this world’s great Witchers, has been chronicled for years in Polish short stories, novels, and comics. It’s a world filled with well-realized characters set in times troubled by deeply rooted racism, corrupt government, and class discrimination. It’s not that everyone in the world is evil, but most all of the characters are painted in shades of gray making them harder to peg, which is exciting in itself.

GameSpot hands-on preview

There’s more to The Witcher than combat, though. We’re impressed with the early part of the game. The story and characters are intriguing, particularly the way the game is loaded with branching points where you have to make a choice that can affect the plot significantly. The Witcher looks like it’s going to provide a fresh new face to fantasy role playing when it’s released later this year.

Destructoid hands-on preview

I’d urge any and all action-RPG fans, or anyone who enjoys the prospect of making tough moral decisions in a harsh fantasy universe, to stand up and take notice.

Exclusive Combat video at GameSpot

Exclusive Geralt Touring Vizima video at IGN
And hey, lots more still to come!

Technorati Tags: Witcher, Atari, RPG

Another apologetic message about how difficult it can be to keep up on blog updates. You’d think I’d pack my things and bid the blog good night… but I can’t do that. It will persevere. I will persevere. Exciting things are afoot (as always) and it’s time to make this blog a priority.

Since I last checked in, I spent a bit of time down in Indianapolis at Gen Con, taking in all that nerddom has to offer while showing off The Witcher to legions of RPG fans. The show went groin-grabbingly well and we’ve since followed up with a ton of Witcher content in the past month or so. More on that sometime.

We’d like to welcome the fine folks at Meridian4 to the ultra-exclusive Evolve roster. We’ll be repping our fellow Canucks through the holiday season as they gear up to release three games: The Chosen - Well of Souls, Alpha Prime and Shadowgrounds Survivor.

Back to work. More updates soon, I promise.

Technorati Tags: Witcher, Meridian4, Atari, Gen Con

So what was the biggest surprise at this year’s E3? That it didn’t totally suck, that’s what! While I have a few gripes about the show — the hangar was a waste of time and money for exhibitors and media alike, the Fairmont and Sheraton were too far removed from the rest of the hotels, the press conferences shouldn’t have been on the same day as the show, and Santa Monica parking is an expensive joke — it was actually a solid event.

Media in attendance got a much more personal experience than would have been possible in past years, and exhibitors generally didn’t have to be as frantic as usual. It doesn’t hurt that Santa Monica is a hell of a lot nicer than downtown LA. I managed to get a lot of networking (read: ass-kissing) done… sure would have been nice to spend some time at the beach. Ah well, next year. At least I’m pretty sure there WILL be a next year.

Technorati Tags: E3

Irrelevant headlines aside, we are working on a very promising new game called Saga. It’s an MMORTS that puts you in charge of all the usual RTS stuff — resource collection, building structures, training units, etc. — in a persistent world. But it’s certainly not a usual RTS; there’s a very cool collectible element that lets you trade units, resources and spells with other players, and you can buy booster packs that just might contain really rare units to help kick some ass. Check out the press release announcing the beta over here.

Technorati Tags: MMO, Fantasy, Role-playing, Saga

But I guess we should start rolling out some blog updates again. *sigh*

Seriously, between announcing our gig with TimeGate Studios, working on D&D Tactics and The Witcher, and ramping up for Beta 2 of Sins of a Solar Empire, we’ve been a little busy. No excuse, but that’s my story and I’m sticking to it. More updates soon.

Bungie founder, Wideload Games founder and seemingly level-headed bloke, Alex Seropian, had a few words about the old E3 and how he’s happy to see it go. Now, a few days ago I suggested that losing E3 was bad for developers and smaller publishers… but I didn’t really mention (or think of, to be honest) the impact on developers who have full support of good publishers. Those devs will still get the best marketing, PR and sales support they could ask for. For them, the old E3 was just a stressful few months of hard crunch to make a killer E3 demo, taking resources away from the actual development. I can’t help but think that Editor’s Days and such would impose the same requirements.

This morning we launched a brand new cinematic trailer for The Witcher at GameTrailers.com. I really can’t wait to get my hands on this game… I’ve been working on it for way too long . The trailer was created by Platige Image, a Polish animation studio that boasts an impressive resume, including an Academy Award nomination for its short film, The Cathedral. Check out the video now!

Technorati Tags: The Witcher, Atari, CD Projekt

Games PR guru and all-round stud, Ted Brockwood, wrote up a lengthy piece on the Calico Media blog about why consumer events — PAX, Digital Life, E for All, etc. — are good venues for publishers and developers to showcase their wares. Ted makes a few great points about how a significant portion of gamers just don’t read sites like GameSpot and IGN, and how it might make more sense for a smaller publisher with a niche product to attend these consumer events, as opposed to massive press events like E3.

Says T-Brock:

“The people I’ve met at PAX, for example, come in the door ready to hear about everything you’ve got, even if they’ve never heard of you before. They’re excited and they want more, you simply can’t ask for better. The same goes for most other consumer events we’ve attended - rather than having exhausted and somewhat jaded editors visiting your booth, you’ve got a consumer hopped up on the pure joy of hearing about something new, direct from the horse’s mouth. It’s exciting and re-energizing from a PR standpoint.”

I can empathize. Editors in this industry become jaded after years of plowing through the latest, greatest and not-so-greatest games each day. Don’t get me wrong; that’s to be expected… but it’s little consolation for dev teams and PR folks who spend weeks or months perfecting a demo for a trade show, only to be met with blank stares and ho-hums when they finally unveil their labor of love. Gamers, on the other hand, get more excited every time you chop off some hapless monster’s head or send an enemy stronghold into oblivion with a well-placed cruise missile. Even the assistant-to-the-assistant EB store managers showed a ton of enthusiasm during E3 demos, and they actually helped make the event a bit more exciting. They were there to play the games and to be genuinely blown away by everything they saw.

I’m going to be attending a lot more consumer-oriented events this year, and I’m looking forward to seeing that excitement again.

I’ve mentioned my Rockstar-fanboy status here before, and the latest round of previews for Manhunt 2 have sent me into convulsions of joy… or… umm… some demented, twisted version of joy, at least. I loved the first one — my buddy Josh and I spent a few weeks plowing through it, shutting off the lights and having a few drinks in preparation of our nightly Manhunt sessions. Seldom has a game evoked as many emotions in me — most of them somehow related to fear — as Manhunt did. As much as we try to get our grubby hands on it, Rockstar is already handling promotion of the sequel admirably.

Is it wrong that I’m excited about the possibilities of axes, environment-specific kills and gun executions? Is it any more wrong that I’m even more excited about the potential Wiimote uses? Nintendo, send me a Wii!

I have a long history with the D&D license dating back to my time at BioWare… we’ve laughed, we’ve cried, we’ve screamed at each other at the top of our lungs. Evolve’s latest project for Atari is Dungeons & Dragons Tactics for PSP. I think this one should really appeal to D&D fans, with turn-based combat and faithful representation of the 3.5 ruleset. PSPFanboy recently posted an interview with Lawrence Liberty, the game’s producer at Atari. Check it out!