The lights are on
Ninja Theory, the developer behind games like Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and the recent Devil May Cry, is planning on showing some of its titles that never came to light at GDC Europe.
Ninja Theory co-founder Tameem Antoniades' keynote, The AAA Indie Proposition, will showcase footage from an announced new-gen game that has been shelved, as well as a unrealized sequel to the Xbox multiplayer game Kung Fu Chaos. Kung Fu Chaos was released when the studio went by the name Just Add Monsters.
Cancelled projects are not the focus of Antoniades' keynote, but will rather be an element of it. The focus will be on the studios ambitions to lie somewhere between a small independent developer and a massive AAA studio. It wants to be a AAA indie studio, hence the name of the keynote.
GDC Europe takes place in Cologne, Germany, beginning August 8.
[Source: Polygon]
Our TakeI am a big fan of Ninja Theory. When our editorial pool put together a collective feature on our favorite developers, I wrote a piece on the studio, which you can read here. I am very curious to see what the studio had to put aside for new-gen.
Email the author Kyle Hilliard, or follow on Twitter, Google+, Facebook, and Game Informer.
Heavenly Sword 2 :(
Most of the games NT has developed have been incredibly mediocre at best,they barely managed to get Devil May Cry right with Capcom's help.
All style,zero substance.
Heavenly Sword should be ported to Vita with some upgrades.
I didn't own a PS3 until late 2009 and Heavenly Sword was among the first games I purchased for my system and I remember being blown away by the gameplay. Graphics, combat mechanics, facial animations, story narrative, etc. It's been years since I last played HS but I always wished that Ninja Theory would revisit the series in one way or another. News of a sequel would be most welcome.
I'm not even going to lie here, I flat-out hate Ninja Theory and their games, but I still think I'm going to pay attention to this just to see about that Kung Fu Chaos sequel, since I've always been interested in Kung Fu Chaos, if only for its reputation that caused them to have to cut all ties with it shortly after it released.
They've made some really great games, it's a shame that some of their sales don't accurately reflect that. I'm excited for anything they're working on and I can't wait to play it.
"will showcase footage from an announced new-gen game"
You meant unannounced ?
Heavenly Sword 2 as others have said would be a great. That was my first game for ps3, and I had a blast with it. Enslaved was sort of almost as good, and Dmc sucked imo, go back to your roots and why on earth did they not have Andy Serkis in Dmc lol bring him back for your future games. Heavenly Sword 2 FTW!
So its been a year and I'm ready to say it. DMC was by far my favorite DMC. Criminally underrated, best gameplay out of all of them, Dante took his sweet time but was likeable by the end. Sure that developer was being rather obnoxious, but you don't think the fans that sent him death threats weren't too?
Ninja Theory's games have always felt like they just need an extra little push to be great. They have some really cool narrative ideas and beginnings of competent battle systems, but they always come up short in the execution. Meanwhile, I think they finally hit the mark with DmC - at least in terms of battle system if not the story - which I can only assume is because they had a template to work off of.
I sort of hope this idea of being a "AAA indie studio" means they will get more projects like DmC or that they will get the chance to make smaller experiences that are similar to Enslaved or Heavenly Sword. That's what I think was part of the problem with those two feeling a bit lackluster: Ninja Theory was aiming to make them AAA games.
ugh, give me more DMC please, that game was amazing....*** the bloody palace and vergil though haha
Absolutely LOVED DMC, the gameplay was smooth, loved the story and the turns it took. Virgil was pretty awesome, and the soundtrack was one of the best I've heard. Introduced me to Combichrist and Noisia.
Ninja Theory's cancelled projects really don't bother me at all. They've yet to make something I found fun.
One of the most underrated developers, with some of the most underrated games. Heavenly Sword is jaw-droppingly gorgeous and emotional, Enslaved was fun and touching, and DmC received way, way, WAY more vitriol than it deserved. All of NT's games are a blast to play, the characters are sympathetic, funny, and multifaceted, and the graphics and environments are some if the most beautiful and detailed in the business. Even Heavenly Sword, one of the first titles available for the PS3, completely holds up to current graphics. The folks at Ninja Theory really know what they're doing, and their devotion to delivering quality games is obvious within minutes of popping one of said games into the console. By all rights, their games should be some of the most famous and best-selling in the Playstation library. I'd love to see what they put aside, but not as much as I'd love to see said projects picked up and continued!