The Montreal International Game Summit recently wrapped up, and keynote speaker David Braben of Frontier Development really took the industry to task on everything from the business model (broken!) to retailers (killing longevity of games!) to the ‘online myth’ of the next gen consoles. He makes some interesting points, though I’m not at all convinced of the veracity of some of them. Here’s his take on the retail model:
I’ve been waiting so long for Elite 4 that the issue of what platform it will actually appear on has become kind of irrelevant.
In my mind’s eye, I just see the same old 8-bit wireframes only… better, somehow. A bit less blocky would do. They don’t even have to have textures or anything, just as long as the gameplay is up to the original I will be happy. Just slap a bit of anti-aliasing on or something and I am there.
Sadly, the odds of Elite 4 being released for the BBC Model B or Commodoure 64 are quite slim, but series co-creator David Braben has popped up to tease us with the idea that Elite 4 will be hitting current-gen consoles.
This sounds great, but surely Elite needs about 500 keys to be playable? Matching the complex controls to a game pad is going to be tricky, clumsy or both.
As to the game itself, Braben is staying tight lipped. “Very, very deep and dark,” is all he could reveal – hopefully referring to the gameplay rather than the remaining project plan.
Elite 4: “We are looking at console,” says Braben [Videogaming 247]
A lot of Americans may be in the dark when it comes to Elite, since it’s more fanatical followers are based mostly out of the UK, but all you really need to know is that it’s one of the greatest games ever made. Actually, I think its sequel – Frontier – is even better, but whatever, that’s open to debate. The point is, the latest Elite game, Elite 4, which has been years in the making, is…still being made, according to series creator David Braben. Which is good to know, since it’s been over nine months since we heard anything on the project. Latest is that it’ll be out after his current game, The Outsider, which is slated for release sometime next year. Putting Elite 4′s release at somewhere around 2010. At the earliest. Which, when you write it down like that, is an awfully long time away.
David Braben, who developed Elite and has recently been talking up his latest, the espionage-themed The Outsider (and giving backhanded compliments to games like Bioshock in the process). Gamasutra has an interesting interview up with Braben, talking about new paths for narrative design, what he and Frontier Developments are hoping to do with The Outsider, and what everyone in the industry is doing wrong:
We really need to move forward on story — as one of the fronts. That’s not the only front left ….
I had an argument with somebody that there were only four types of gameplay, and then out comes Populous. Okay, there are five, then. And usually, it’s an excuse to plagiarize. We all take inspiration from other games, and that’s fine. It’s when we take inspiration and don’t do any more. That’s the sad thing. When you don’t move it forward. And there’s a danger. Some of the games that fortunately don’t get much airtime don’t necessarily do that. That’s a missed opportunity. Especially these days, where we’re making fewer games than we used to. We’re essentially being trusted to use the opportunity to do something fantastic, and if we don’t we should get slapped around — which I’m sure we will do.
Well, now I’m curious to see if Braben and his team can actually deliver – talking about grand plans is one thing, putting them into practice (in a manner that actually works) is another. I’m all for improved narrative design, but plenty of developers have gone down the ‘revolutionary’ path only to fall flat on their face with a disappointed audience who was expecting more.
Next-Gen Narrative: The David Braben Interview [Gamasutra]
Elite is a classic. Frontier: Elite II isn’t as…recognizable, but it too is a classic. First Encounters (Elite III) was…well, it had problems. Which brings us to Elite IV, David Braben’s fourth crack at an interstellar space combat/trading sim. First announced a long, long time ago, we’ve heard neither jack nor shit on it since, but in a recent interview he’s promised that the game is still in development, and is actually going to be released. This generation, even, if you want to believe him. And we do want to believe him. Dearly. Braben reveals more on The Outsider, Elite IV [IGN] More »
Frontier Developments’ boss David Braben is feeling really confident about his upcoming game, The Outsider (for PS3 and Xbox 360). Players take control of an ex-CIA agent framed for the assassination of the President in what looks to be a good, “high octane” time. But like we said, he’s feeling really confident about it. I loved the 1930s-1950s atmosphere of BioShock… but the gameplay itself was not ‘next-gen’… I found Halo 3 great fun, too, but also a little disappointing – as although there were a few nice touches and improved graphical fidelity, it hadn’t really moved on much from Halo 2 in terms of the gameplay.
His game on the other hand, is going to be fantastic: More »
I’m a David Braben fan. Guy makes Elite, he gets me on his side for life. David Braben, though, is not a fan of the UK’s BBFC ratings system. Not a Manhunt 2 fan, either, now you mention it. …from what I’ve heard of Manhunt 2 (I haven’t had the chance to play it), it is not the sort of game the industry should be making, as it is inevitably going to attract controversy.
