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Shadow of the Eternals - Eternal Darkness Spiritual Sequel [Crowdfunding, Dyack, ???]

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Neiteio

Member
clowns? Dyack did the original ED.
Yes, and as I said earlier in the thread, he'll always have some measure of respect from me for what I consider a tremendous game. That being said, the recent years have seen some clownish behavior. Ergo, GIVE IT TO RETRO. (Along with everything else.)
 
Wait a second... why is this a spiritual successor if they're allegedly using the sanity effects? Nintendo apparently owns the patent on that system, so they'd have to okay its use in this game... in which case they might as well allow Precursor to use the actual IP.

This is fucking weird.

Reading the cached FAQ it seems the game was supposed to be a sequel titled ED: Shadow of the Ancients, so it probably had Nintendo's approval since the beginning.
 
So, I'm a pretty big Kickstarter fan, but I'm not sure I like this trend of easing the Wii U software drought by having its meager install base pay to develop THE ENTIRE eSHOP.
 

wrowa

Member
clowns? Dyack did the original ED.

That was before he discovered GAF and lost his mind.

In all seriousness, Dyack is pretty good at conceiving creative ideas, but he's really bad at managing game development. Maybe things go smoother with a much smaller team, but I wouldn't get my hopes up. He seems to be one of those guys that need someone watching over them to prevent them from doing shit.
 

Malvingt2

Member
Rich‏@RichIGN
You'll learn more about Shadows of the Eternals (aka spiritual Eternal Darkness II) on Monday & Tuesday. Platforms, footage etc.
 

Xater

Member
Against.

People need to realize that this will most likely end up being shit. Just look at everything they did after Nintendo.
 

Kusagari

Member
Seriously though, Dyack's one of the last people in this industry I would trust to manage a budget effectively.

This will be a disaster if it actually happens and gets funded.
 
What if Nintendo is actually supporting this and Miyamoto is overlooking it? That would be awesome.

Edit: But considering this is crowd funded that's impossible.
 

Danielsan

Member
clowns? Dyack did the original ED.
A game filled with poor design, both technical and from a gameplay perspective. Eternal Darkness is good, but it's not the masterpiece that the internet/GAF makes it out to be. Dyack hasn't been involved in a truly great game since the original Blood Omen and everything post the mediocre Metal Gear Solid remake has been incompetent shit.
 
Have to set the person who creates aside and look at the thing. And I love some Eternal Darkness. One of my favorite horrors and one of the most unique to videogames.
 

Mifune

Mehmber
A game filled with poor design, both technical and from a gameplay perspective. Eternal Darkness is good, but it's not the masterpiece that the internet/GAF makes it out to be. Dyack hasn't been involved in a truly great game since the original Blood Omen and everything post the mediocre Metal Gear Solid remake has been incompetent shit.

That's your opinion, man.

ED is one of the best designed games in recent memory. No, technically it's not that great, and the combat isn't great, but throw it all together and the design is ingenious. I can think of no game that better incorporates story into the gameplay, and vice versa. Story is intertwined with level design is wrapped up in the magic system informs the puzzles affects the combat drives the story. That's really fucking good design, brother.
 
I have to wonder, if Dyack really had such bad relations with his employees, why are they willing to work with him again (if the new studio is indeed made up of former SK staff)?

Maybe Dyack is just on board as a writer, instead
of directing the game?
 
Be still my heart.

My head tells me this is going to be a disaster, but my heart wants this so bad.
Say what you will about Dyack and SK, but ED was a masterpiece in videogame storytelling. It felt more like a playable novel come to life with some janky ass technical problems.

Please be good.
 
I'd much rather an official sequel than spiritual sequel, I want so much to see actual links to the first game.

It's definitely work keeping an eye on, although won't get my hopes up too high.
 

Marcel

Member
I like ED, but not enough to give it directly to one of the more unrepentant laughingstocks of the gaming industry.
 

sakipon

Member
What if Nintendo is actually supporting this and Miyamoto is overlooking it? That would be awesome.

Edit: But considering this is crowd funded that's impossible.

Indeed. A shame Nintendo doesn't seem invested in this... After ZombiU's nice consumer feedback you'd think the install base is interested in more horror.

In any case, I still hope we'll see it on Wii U.
 

Carcetti

Member
I love Eternal Darkness but after Too Human and that shite X-Men game there's no way I'd fund any of these guys ever again.
 

thefro

Member
I'd hope Nintendo lets them use the IP in exchange for it being a Wii U console exclusive (still can be on PC/Mac/Linux) if it gets funded and actually turns out okay.

I completely understand why they don't trust Dyack at this point, though.
 
Indeed. A shame Nintendo doesn't seem invested in this... After ZombiU's nice consumer feedback you'd think the install base is interested in more horror.

In any case, I still hope we'll see it on Wii U.

Could be a case of "if we receive funding for episode 1, *insert big name publisher here* will continue funding further installments"
 
I wonder if I should call Denis and let him call me a luddite while half-crying again, all because I dared offer my services as a writer? (Yes that really happened to me once...)
 

Neiteio

Member
A game filled with poor design, both technical and from a gameplay perspective. Eternal Darkness is good, but it's not the masterpiece that the internet/GAF makes it out to be. Dyack hasn't been involved in a truly great game since the original Blood Omen and everything post the mediocre Metal Gear Solid remake has been incompetent shit.
ED was excellent. I played through it all three times for the true ending, and once I unlocked Chapter Select, I found myself revisiting my favorite parts (like the cathedral during the Inquisition). Things I loved:

- The tightly-knit plot spanning 2,000 years and a dozen characters in locations all around the world, framed by the slowly-changing mansion in the present, with lots of foreshadowing, as well as bits that took on new significance in hindsight.

- The atmosphere. It really, truly felt like you were being watched by something unfathomably ancient and evil at all times. No place felt safe. Monsters could appear anywhere at anytime, yet they never overdid this to the point that it lost its bite. The game felt threatening from start to finish.

- Dismembering enemies was fun. So was immolating the particular dry zombies with one swipe of the torch.

- The spell-casting was great, particularly as it was used to supercharge your weapons. Yet even with this ability and the sense of power it provided, I never felt invincible.

- At the time, the controls were greatly appreciated, since they were straight-up analog, rather than shitty classic RE tank controls, and the game pulled this off while retaining the carefully framed camera angles that made the old REs so suspenseful in the first place. It was the best of both worlds, in other words.

- The sound effects, the voice work, and the music were all uniformly excellent. The attention to historical detail was superb. The presentation had touches that were nice for the time, like the players head-tracking details off-screen and reacting to fire popping in a brazier.

- And of course, the sanity effects -- hardly the show-stealing presence some make them out to be, but a nice touch that could really creep up on you if you were unaware.

Eternal Darkness was great. But I don't believe present-day Dyack could do it, and without Nintendo, for that matter.
 
I wonder if I should call Denis and let him call me a luddite while half-crying again, all because I dared offer my services as a writer? (Yes that really happened to me once...)

But he'll offer you a job since he'll get another tax break for hiring you in all your wheelchair bound-ness. (which also happened too)
 
All joking aside, considering how amoral Denis Dyack has proven himself to be, and how apparently ok he is around projects of suspect legality, I wonder how many assets, how much code, etc.... in this game will have been "liberated" from the many funded, and killed-off projects of Silicon Knights?
 

jdforge

Banned
Emily Rogers‏@Emi1yRogers
I wonder how Dyack will get around Nintendo's two Eternal Darkness patents. 1st patent: Sanity meter. 2nd patent: http://tinyurl.com/crdv426

oh boy..

I honestly don't see how Nintendo are ok with any of this. Firstly, they'll be pissed that the IP will appear on other formats and potentially other consoles.

Secondly I still believe Nintendo are making a sequel in-house.

Thirdly Dyack is an attention whore and I'm willing to bet this is nothing more than a PR stunt. Because who in their right mind would give Dyack any cash?
 

Mifune

Mehmber
Guys, I'm sure this has all been cleared with Nintendo. Dyack doesn't make any move without years of forethought and careful planning. He is nothing if not cautious and level-headed.
 

Alrus

Member
Where does the belief that Nintendo is making an ED sequel in-house coming from? Why would they spend money on the sequel of a game that didn't sell too well, is probably completely forgotten by most and is from a genre that isn't doing too good these days?

But yeah, gotta wonder how SK will get around the patents (they can get away with a similarly themed game by calling it a spiritual sequel, just like From did with Dark Souls)
 

Neiteio

Member
I wonder if I should call Denis and let him call me a luddite while half-crying again, all because I dared offer my services as a writer? (Yes that really happened to me once...)
The writing in Eternal Darkness was excellent, so unless things have changed since then, he wouldn't need your "service."

Now if you could offer game development management skills, on the other hand...
 

Hiltz

Member
I'm not too excited because of A) concern over quality of the game and B) raising $1.1 million to make it happen.

Eternally damned.
 

JNT

Member
Wait a minute... Am I reading that patent incorrectly? It sounds a whole lot like it is essentially describing every bit of scripting I've ever done.

How was that copy-right granted?

Worse. Patented. Software patents are retarded beyond belief.
 
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