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Official Site: http://infinite-line.sega.jp

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IGN has a preview on Platinum Games and Sega's upcoming 2009 sci-fi RPG game by Nudemaker on the DS called Infinite Line. The game is produced by Inaba and directed by Kouno who headed Tekki (Steel Battalion). The character designs and mechanical designs are by the same guys who worked on Tekki as well.

http://ds.ign.com/articles/874/874179p1.html

The video began with a slow spaceship crawl reminiscent of the opening scene of Star Wars. Eventually the camera panned out to reveal many vessels traveling in space. A representative from Platinum Games explained that Infinite Line will allow players to captain a ship, "like Captain Kirk in Star Trek." There are two main features of Infinite Line.

First, players will be able to customize their ship. There are over 150 design models, and another 150 possible crewmembers. The innards of your vessel are modular and can be rearranged at will.

There will be a deep story that spans across two galaxies. Platinum Games says players will learn what it means to be human.

According to Platinum Games, the "graphics will blow you away. You will not believe this is being done on the DS." Characters will be in 2D, but ships, exploration, and battles will all be in 3D.

There will be Wi-Fi two-player battles with your friends and their spaceships.

Infinite Line will be based on the novella "Childhood's End" by Arthur C. Clarke.

"There are two main [story] threads," Platinum Games told us. "One is a poor young boy who pulls himself up by his bootstraps, has no money. He gathers the money, the parts, and equipment he needs to become a space captain. Another thread gets into very high-level, philosophical science fiction stuff. [We are] fans of science fiction writers Arthur C. Clarke and Greg Egan. Humanity is made to observe and they are defining the physical laws of the universe through their observation. We want to explore the idea in the game and storyline that 'what if there are not alien species but different types of humanoid species who observe each other?' So that's where the themes of Childhood's End come into play. What is the real role of humanity? Why is humanity there to observe the universe?"

"All controls are with the touch screen. Because this is a spaceship you're not able to move completely in real time. You'll click your destination and click your engage button and your ships will start to move.

"A spaceship battle will pretty much occur in real time. There will be various parameters for your ship. According to these parameters you'll have what's called a 'command gauge.' This command gauge builds up and you can spend it to perform specific attacks during battle. For example, if you get some really great personnel on your ship, great pilots or whatever, they may be able to improve your command structure and your ship may react faster."

"We're probably talking 50-60 hours just to get through once. But if you want to do everything it will probably take you 100 hours."

 

[radios shipping overview]

I am so so so hyped for this. Concept + designs + pedigree are all ACE.

 

[MoxManiac]

Looks and sounds awesome

 

[Red Blaster]

Illnasty. C'mon, DS price drop.

 

[dionysus]

Did they mention anything about a release date? 2009 like was previewed in Famitsu?

 

[PolyGone]

definitely sounds cool

and

According to Platinum Games, the "graphics will blow you away. You will not believe this is being done on the DS."

 

[Mifune]

Holy shit, it's based on Childhood's End?

Okay I'm intrigued.

 

[Jacobi]

When I read the title I was like "meh", but reading this -it sounds very very awesome. First JRPG that sounds interesting for me this decade

 

[duckroll]

Did they mention anything about a release date? 2009 like was previewed in Famitsu?

Yes, 2009.

 

[Opiate]

The suggestion that this game will help me "learn what it means to be human" is a little cringe worthy.

 

[duckroll]

Holy shit, it's based on Childhood's End?

Okay I'm intrigued.

I think it's interesting that to the western press, they referenced Childhood's End and Star Trek, while in the Famitsu interview, Kouno talked about wanting to simulate the realism of space travel like in the original Gundam series where there's a space map and it takes time to travel from place to place, expressing the "vastness" of space. He also referenced Captain Harlock in the interview about how it would be a grand epic adventure of a captain living out his dreams. I'm pretty impressed that they're handling the dual marketing so well even this early.

 

[ksamedi]

This sounds very very promising.

 

[Mifune]

I think it's interesting that to the western press, they referenced Childhood's End and Star Trek, while in the Famitsu interview, Kouno talked about wanting to simulate the realism of space travel like in the original Gundam series where there's a space map and it takes time to travel from place to place, expressing the "vastness" of space. He also referenced Captain Harlock in the interview about how it would be a grand epic adventure of a captain living out his dreams. I'm pretty impressed that they're handling the dual marketing so well even this early.

Agreed. Those are all very appealing and effective reference points, too.

I'm actually excited about this now. Thanks for the info.

 

[Magicpaint]

Holy crap, this sounds hot.

 

[plovie]

Whoah this sounds great

 

[jj984jj]

Wow, this is the first JRPG in a long time that I find my-self more interested in the story than gameplay, and I bet I'll still be spending hours customizing my ship. I can't wait for this one.

 

[HK-47]

Holy crap, this sounds hot.

.

 

[Gozan]

I'm pretty impressed that they're handling the dual marketing so well even this early.

If they want to promote it in Europe they should namedrop Elite like crazy.

 

[Divvy]

Holy shit! This is like a dream game for me! I want to buy 10 copies to support this idea.

 

[Mifune]

Does the premise remind anyone else of Star Control?

This is easily the most promising of the Platinum games.

 

[HK-47]

Does the premise remind anyone else of Star Control?

This is easily the most promising of the Platinum games.

Woah hold on there. We havent seen Mikami's game yet

 

[duckroll]

Woah hold on there. We havent seen Mikami's game yet

Well, considering how Mikami said they've only been in development for 2 months for his game and he isn't ready to show it yet. I think we're going to see Mad World -> Infinite Line -> Bayonetta -> Mikami game in terms of release schedule. Since Mad World and Infinite Line are the only games with concreate gameplay details now, yeah I would say it's the more promising one.

I expect great things out of all 4 games though.

 

[Mifune]

Yeah. I mean, from what little we've seen of these games, Infinite Line sounds the awesomest. Not that the others won't be awesome.

 

[Stormbringer]

That's one awesome concept right there. Very promising game, indeed.

 

[Frenck]

I might buy a DS for this game if it turns out to be as great as it sounds. Fantastic concept.

 

[Symytry]

sounds great, can't wait to see a video of the game in action.

 

[Shiggy]

So it's in production for more than a year? wow

 

[Error]

2009...? :/

 

[Teknoman]

Captain Harlock?! Alright now im REALLY intrested. Would this be that Skies of Arcadia style game people were talking about awhile back?

 

[duckroll]

So it's for more than a year in production? wow

Pre-production probably. Since they just signed this publishing deal with Sega, it's likely they had to get all the game concepts and prototypes ready to sell Sega on how worthwhile the deal would be. I doubt they actually started developing the game a year ago.

Captain Harlock?! Alright now im REALLY intrested. Would this be that Skies of Arcadia style game people were talking about awhile back?

No, it sounds nothing like SoA. It's a space simulation RPG.

 

[Error]

I'm all over this.

 

[Teknoman]

No, it sounds nothing like SoA. It's a space simulation RPG.

Hmm well thats what I get for skimming. Anyway after reading through, it still sounds pretty intresting.

 

[Enduin]

Out of the three games Platinum has announced I think I am most interested in this one the most.

 

[Danj]

Those concept shots look awesome but I can't help feeling it's the wrong approach to take with a DS game, because basically it's physically impossible for anything to look like that on the DS, unless it's going to be some sort of prerendered thing.

Other than that I'm definitely in favour of having more spaceship games that aren't just shooters.

 

[Woo-Fu]

yes.yes.yes.yes.yes.yes.

 

[HK-47]

Those concept shots look awesome but I can't help feeling it's the wrong approach to take with a DS game, because basically it's physically impossible for anything to look like that on the DS, unless it's going to be some sort of prerendered thing.

Other than that I'm definitely in favour of having more spaceship games that aren't just shooters.

Apparently its not impossible...why dont you wait and see

 

[Danj]

Apparently its not impossible...why dont you wait and see

Hey, it'll probably be the best DS game ever if they pull it off, but I just think that setting the bar so high means there's a huge chance of disappointment.

 

[TrueReligion]

second to last screen reminds me of HALO.

 

[wsippel]

This looks and sounds very interesting. Very nice ship designs. If it controls anything like Homeworld, a concept like this should also work on the Wii - could be a nice platform for a potential sequel in a few years. On the other hand, I love my DS...

 

[Foxix Von]

I am in love. O_O

 

[supercake]

Sounds great. My only hope is that the space battles or style of the game lean towards traditional sci-fi.

Like, I don't want crazy mechs or magical powers. Just give me battle cruisers and 1 man planes. More of an american feel hopefully. Doesn't mean I wouldn't want to have my crew all Harlocked out, that'd be so awesome!

 

[Error]

I think it's interesting that to the western press, they referenced Childhood's End and Star Trek, while in the Famitsu interview, Kouno talked about wanting to simulate the realism of space travel like in the original Gundam series where there's a space map and it takes time to travel from place to place, expressing the "vastness" of space. He also referenced Captain Harlock in the interview about how it would be a grand epic adventure of a captain living out his dreams. I'm pretty impressed that they're handling the dual marketing so well even this early.

Maybe Inaba learned something after the Clover debacle!

 

[duckroll]

Maybe Inaba learned something after the Clover debacle!

Well, unless Infinite Line ends up being 200 bucks where you need a ship navigation add-on accessory for the DS to play the game, I think it's already an improvement from Tekki's bomba!

 

[Prime crotch]

Ohhh Arthur C. Clarke, sim-space RPG, Captain Harlock?! Yeah I'm more than interessed on this one.

 

[Kurosaki Ichigo]

Sounds good, I'm in. There is supposed to be a RPG alongside the 'spaceship' part no? With so much emphasis (in this announcement I mean) in this part I hope the other elements aren't half-assed just to compliment it.

Could be so awesome to have a full RPG and managing your spaceship and battling with it...

 

[Vinci]

Dude.

I'm frighteningly psyched.

What the hell is with this company? It has unparalleled levels of awesome in its blood.

 

[HK-47]

Dude.

I'm frighteningly psyched.

What the hell is with this company? It has unparalleled levels of awesome in its blood.

Some of the best minds from Capgod, condensed in one company. And just like Capcom, they seem to know the systems.

 

[duckroll]

Some of the best minds from Capgod, condensed in one company. And just like Capcom, they seem to know the systems.

Nudemaker was never part of Capcom though. Hifumi Kouno and Nudemaker are originally from Human. They worked on the SFC Clocktower games, then Neko Zamurai and Mikagura Girl Detectives (and its sequel) on the PS1. Kouno first teamed with Inaba for Tekki. After that they developed two adult games for the PC for Elf, Shin Mikagura Girl Dectectives and AV King.

All the games Nudemaker has developed (including the adult games on the PC) are simulation/adventure titles. They mix detailed simulation gameplay aspects with totally original worldviews and concepts. AV King is probably the one and only Japanese porn industry simulation adventure game. :lol

 

[rdaneel72]

Anyone else having visions of a spiritual Starflight remake?

 

[Vinci]

Screw Harlock, I wanna be Captain Tylor. Hopefully this game gives me something resembling that option.