If you were excited about Tarsier Studios' City of Metronome, now might be a good time to get over it.
In a recent interview with PlayStation Universe, Tarsier game designer, Björn Sunesson, states that the game as you might have known it no longer exists. The project, he goes on to say, has been put out of production for nearly a year. Why? Metronome, which used a unique visual style and game design approach that heavily relied on sound, was viewed as too risky by publishers.
"A new team combined with a game that had unproven "weird" ideas for gameplay and took place in an environment unlike any other game. So what we are doing now is basically building the needed track record, combined with re-designing gameplay to a state where it is still innovative and awesome, but not so unusual that publishers marketing people gets all confused and scared."
Tarsier are still actively working on projects, so we're likely to see some interesting products emerge in the future, but it seems the
City of Metronome project is dead.
But don't worry --
Madden NFL 2008 is shipping on time, there's another
Pokémon game hitting shelves in a few months, and at least one
Ghost Recon game will probably be announced later this year. Who needs unique and interesting IPs? The industry is doing just fine without 'em.
Contest:
8:28 AM on 04.26.2007
| 
I never heard about the game before, but their initial idea is a genuinely intriguing concept. Too bad publishers are pussies and are too scared to put it out.
Like the Hit Stick©.
I mean I do but I mean that in the badly translated Darth Vader way...ah forget it.
The current structure of the gaming industry does not work. Publishers should not be allowed to shoot down such potentially outstanding and creative ideas because they're afraid it won't make a big enough profit. Between this and clover being forced to close down(pray for seeds), my opinion of the industry has taken a crippling blow of late.
I mean, for fuck's sake, that game sounded absolutely brilliant.
i think that's what we need to see. innovation FTW!
Its just easier to be a retro gamer. You have no expectations, no let downs.
As I was writing this story, I was picturing you crying. It made me sad.
spent some of the government's money for those 10cent words. I'm obligated to use them. obfuscation.
If Microsoft or Sony really wanted to change things the way that they claim, they would be smart to snatch up this IP and try to position it as the next big thing.
can you hear that?
it's the deadline of PC gaming
This really sucks...I wanted to play!