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

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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...

It was actually years after ED. LONG story. My personal saga with SK and DD is a thread unto itself... :p
 
I love ed, really i do....
But..
Great design, great concepts gameplay-wise,mediocre graphic, mediocre battlesystem..
After the way he tanked TH (and the way he acted) and the sheer mediocrity made game (heck the game per se was bad, the way he managed the project was way beyond embarassing.. he could be considered the godfatherof the alien vs colonial marine fiasco) called xmen, he really insn't one i would crowdfund...
 

Neiteio

Member
Here's what it'd take to make me feel "sold" on this effort:

- Enlist some talent with a proven track record of releasing quality games on schedule. Dyack can be the creative lead but let someone else helm the development proper.

- Produce a design document or some such that gives us confidence he has a roadmap to the structure of the game and the nature of its mechanics, or at least something to inspire confidence he has a vision for this title.

Hmm.
 

JJD

Member
I thought the video looked good, and I was never a huge fan of ED. I played it at launch and felt that the gameplay was really janky.

I liked it mostly because of the Lovecraftian setting and atmosphere, not the gameplay (the insanity effect was cool but far from game-changing).

So I think it's a compliment to say that I am interested in this. You guys grabbed my attention.

I won't back it though, I already backed 7 games projects, and none of then hit the market yet so I decided to wait and see if my investment pays off but I'll keep an eye on this one.
 

Malvingt2

Member
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?
I have the same feeling too.

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?
no idea.
 

Axiom

Member
There is just no way I could see myself parting with my money if Dyack is anywhere near this. Nothing that has come out about the way he ran things gives me even a shred of faith.


I would be far more interested in a spiritual successor from indie devs who were fans of Eternal Darkness before I'd put money towards one from anything related to the shell of itself that was SK for most of the last decade. I'd also have more faith in them understanding what made ED great than Dyack.
 

Mifune

Mehmber
I have no idea why people think Nintendo is making a sequel in-house. Most likely they were funding a SK-developed sequel until the whole Epic bomb went off. And now Dyack is trying to finish it independently.
 

Effect

Member
I have no idea why people think Nintendo is making a sequel in-house. Most likely they were funding a SK-developed sequel until the whole Epic bomb went off. And now Dyack is trying to finish it independently.

Only to likely be sued to hell and back by Nintendo for whatever he has left if he tries to go public if it contains anything related to anything Nintendo owns.

Speaking of which did he and SK ever manage to destroy all the copies of the games he was ordered to by the courts?

If Nintendo wants to put out a horror or horror like game they'd do it themselves with Eternal Darkness and Fatal Frame (they own that 100% now I believe) or work with Ubisoft on keeping ZombiU a Nintendo hardware franchise. Perhaps kick in money for development or publishing.
 

jdforge

Banned
In all honesty as a massive fan of the original this news really pisses me off. Eternal Darkness deserves more than being whored out like this. The trailer is absolutely pathetic. I would be embarrassed to release something that mediocre. But I guess when you're as desperate as Dyack seemingly is what can you expect.

Nintendo need to shut this down so that Dyack isn't given a chance of destroying another IP.
 

Ridley327

Member
I have no idea why people think Nintendo is making a sequel in-house. Most likely they were funding a SK-developed sequel until the whole Epic bomb went off. And now Dyack is trying to finish it independently.

Judging by the Kotaku article about X-Men Destiny, ED2 was a relatively recent development that was initiated more or less because of Nintendo likely being the only publisher willing to do any business with them after the Epic lawsuit.
 

jdforge

Banned
Production values seem to be rather high for a crowd funded game.

Are you serious? I'm a fan of the original and I felt nothing but disappointment while watching the trailer. It was incredibly boring, flat, and lifeless. Getting a sequel to a game I love should be a happy occasion. But in this instance it's total disappointment.
 

FyreWulff

Member
I get the hunch that this is not expected to succeed but any interest shown will be used in a pitch to Nintendo to make ED2.
 
Are you serious? I'm a fan of the original and I felt nothing but disappointment while watching the trailer. It was incredibly boring, flat, and lifeless. Getting a sequel to a game I love should be a happy occasion. But in this instance it's total disappointment.

Production values can be high and the product can still look boring, flat and lifeless, I don't see the issue.

I was expecting Amnesia level of visuals, but this looks noticeably better.
 

Crawl

Member
So this is a new named studio? Is that their way of getting around not being able to use the unreal engine as silicon knights?

Didnt silicon knights only have like 2-5 employees left at the end? This already just smells like a train wreck.
 

Ridley327

Member
PC and Wii U? How did SK and Nintendo part anyways? Doubt they were good buddies in the end.

It sounded like that Dyack was chomping at the bit to escape from Nintendo's shadow, and the direction of the Wii gave him an out. SK's reputation got them a lot of attention from other publishers, with MS being the first one to court them. We all know what happened from that point forward.
 

Hiltz

Member
I'm fine with the game's art style. It's also got over a year in development left to polish the visuals.
 
Are you serious? I'm a fan of the original and I felt nothing but disappointment while watching the trailer. It was incredibly boring, flat, and lifeless. Getting a sequel to a game I love should be a happy occasion. But in this instance it's total disappointment.

... It was a Teaser, what in the world were you expecting?

It got the art style and environments down. It will take more than a Teaser Trailer to get a good understanding of its design and presentation overall. This was nothing more than a proof of concept teaser.
 

Ridley327

Member
Wasn't the general consensus that ED was only good because of Nintendo?
There certainly seems to be some compelling evidence to that being the case.

The evidence being Too Human and X-Men Destiny, and the mountain of canned games with their name on them.
 

NotLiquid

Member
Not going to touch Dyack + crowdfunding with a twenty-foot pole. I've got better hopes of Nintendo giving Eternal Darkness 2 to Retro as their secret project than this not turning out bad.
 

codhand

Member
dyackfcuf0.gif


shhh, he hears all of you
 

Ushojax

Should probably not trust the 7-11 security cameras quite so much
I have zero interest in an ED follow-up that isn't made with Nintendo's involvement. Giving Dyack's team money to make an ED2 on their own is foolish in the extreme.
 

Ridley327

Member
The trailer did not have Wii-quality graphics, but they are indeed not good graphics all the same. It's still early, so I would expect improvements to the environments by the time of release. Abandon all hope for the character models, though; they've always always always sucked at those.
 
The linked article says that Precursor Games has been born from the "ashes of Silicon Knights" - so has the company officially declared insolvency? I'd really like to know their current status. How much money did Epic get? What happened to the assets of SK? Does their phone number still work?

Regarding this project - I need to see more but I'll consider chipping in. I've scrutinised the portfolios of Silicon Knights, and poured over interviews to inform that thread. The saga of Denis Dyack is one of the best stories of the industry, a visionary in some ways - but also a deeply flawed man capable of great pettiness and arrogance.

In the end it comes down to the games. Denis Dyack created Legacy of Kain and Eternal Darkness - two experiences that will ensure I can never let go of the gaming medium. If he can channel that vision - and demonstrate a scale of humility to show he has learned from his catastrophic mistakes - and be upfront about the issues of patents and trademarks - then I'd love to play his next title
 

somedevil

Member
I'm conflicted about this. I want an Eternal Darkness sequel but wanted Retro to do it. If this is the only way to get a sequel then I'm for it.
 
Not using Kickstarter is a bad idea. Its a proven, trusted platform, and Dyack needs all the trust he can get.

I hope the project is 1.1 million in total, not per episodic release, because asking for such a sum will be doomed from the start.
 

Neiteio

Member
Despite ED not selling well, it does seem like the sort of franchise Nintendo would have half a mind to revisit, in the sense its core gimmicks (sanity effects, spells) lend themselves well to the GamePad (touchscreen, asymmetric gameplay, etc).
 

Ridley327

Member
Not using Kickstarter is a bad idea. Its a proven, trusted platform, and Dyack needs all the trust he can get.

I hope the project is 1.1 million in total, not per episodic release, because asking for such a sum will be doomed from the start.
It apparently does not allow for Canadian addresses.
 
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?

From the sounds of it there are numerous people in here who would have no problem with it, and others who need a little convincing.

Dyack deserves nothing.
 

Discomurf

Member
The creatures in the trailer look quite similar to like the leaked renders from Mama Robotnik's mega thread a few months back. So this pretty much confirms that this at some point was indeed Eternal Darkness 2.

Now I'm not a lawyer or anything... but if it is proven that at any point it was developed using the Unreal engine, would Epic jump all over this?

VXhtv.jpg

yWJxCmzl.jpg
 
The creatures in the trailer look quite similar to like the leaked renders from Mama Robotnik's mega thread a few months back. So this pretty much confirms that this at some point was indeed Eternal Darkness 2.

Now I'm not a lawyer or anything... but if it is proven that at any point it was developed using the Unreal engine, would Epic jump all over this?

VXhtv.jpg

yWJxCmzl.jpg

Holy shit! Its the exact same thing, how did I not notice these?

Silicon Knights allegedly funnelled money from Activision's X-Men Destiny investment into development of a working ED2 prototype....

I am now certain that the video we are watching is using creatures and scenarios from the doomed project. Perhaps even the trailer they were supposedly working on to ship to publishers...
 

Malvingt2

Member
The creatures in the trailer look quite similar to like the leaked renders from Mama Robotnik's mega thread a few months back. So this pretty much confirms that this at some point was indeed Eternal Darkness 2.

Now I'm not a lawyer or anything... but if it is proven that at any point it was developed using the Unreal engine, would Epic jump all over this?

VXhtv.jpg

yWJxCmzl.jpg

I was wondering where I saw them..
 
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