Ontario newspaper the St. Catharines Standard has interviewed local developer Denis Dyack about his upcoming controversial 360 title, Too Human. The interview discusses plans for Silicon Knights' expansion should the game sell well, along with the troubled development process that has surrounded Too Human's lengthy germination.
Of particular note is the attention that the article pays to press coverage of Too Human. In doing this, your very own narrator Jim Sterling has been made to look like a total arsehole in one of the funniest quotes that have ever been attributed to me:
Still, it’s hard to shake the negative image some avid gamers have of Too Human — and that’s troubling Dyack.
Video game bloggers have been relentless, and sometimes less than kind.
"I still have a tiny sliver of hope for Too Human, but I must admit that the hope is wearing just a mite bit thin," Jim Sterling, a blogger with Destructoid, The Hardcore Gamers Community, wrote last fall.
"We can but sit tight though, those few of us who still really care about the game, and hope that when this demo ‘speaks for itself,’ it doesn’t say, "I’m a problematic, over-developed piece of wank."
I couldn't help but laugh when I saw that a paper had quoted me, least of all because of the term "over-developed piece of wank." Do you think I am being too unkind to Denis and his team? Is such skepticism about a game a bad or a good thing, do you think? As troubled as Dyack supposedly is, however, he still remains confident in his product.
"If Too Human is perceived for what it is, and people look at it, I think it will do extremely well," Dyack retorts to the cynics. "We’re in a really strange position, because most games are released with a ton of hype. Generally, previews don’t say anything negative at all." Well, Mr. Dyack, pretty soon those previews will turn into reviews, and I promise you that the less-than-kind Destructoid will have one. I hope that what we review is anything but wank, though.
Contest:
11:36 AM on 05.28.2008
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Awesomeness in the form of a man.
Your quote is pure win.
Best quote ever.
Also, that's not exactly a negative quote, it's just hoping that the demo doesn't suck. I'd say that all games should hope their demo doesn't say "I’m a problematic, over-developed piece of wank."
We'll have to wait and see I guess.
"piece of wank" You need to clip that and frame it!
With as much crap that sees the light of day, how can they NOT expect us to have a bit of gallows humor every once in a while? Especially you writers who are soaked in gameshit.
Maybe they'll give Jim Sterling the key to the city too!
When I go to Metacritic to check out a game, the first thing I do is scroll all the way down to the bottom, for the low scores. Why? Because 99% of the reviews are almost entirely identical, game-fellating in the hopes they caught the right trend early.
So no, I don't think you are being too hard on them. If anything, your line about having a 'sliver of hope' was too kind.
Honestly, I think Dyack has been pretty reserved for someone who's game is constantly attacked by people who've never played it. He's never claimed it would be the greatest game ever, just that he feels it's the greatest game he's ever made. He hasn't claimed it's going to revolutionize the industry or anything. He's basically said, he'll let the game speak for itself and hopefully people would like it. That's why putting out a demo is a big priority for him.
@Jim
I don't think you're being too harsh (especially that quote). Well maybe a little, in that this is one of those games that is immediately met with skepticism, while Haze didn't seem to. But I'd say it's "playfully" harsh (at least from you) and nothing to worry about.
My wank told me so.
I also agree that Jim has a right to be skeptical and that his comment wasn't at all "mean." That's absolutely ridiculous.
Good. I think developers, just like anyone else who makes art, need critiques to improve them selves, and cynics so they strive to make a better game. Always strive for better. Always.
I'll be prepared to shoop 4.5s onto Too Human screenshots as soon as that comes true.
I've been looking forward to this game as what it has always been hyped up as: a console successor to the Diablo formula. Cutting the co-op down to 2 players pretty much negates that. I wish SK would at least compromise and allow 3 player co-op since they claim the engine can handle 4 players. If the game really does get too chaotic with more than 2 players then let the players make that choice. What draws people back to these games is the teamwork it takes to progress through them. Phantasy Star Online wouldn't have been anywhere near as successful if it only supported 2 players.
I have no doubt that the single player game game will still be good (just as Fable was) but I have very little faith the online play is going to hold anyone's interest for long. For me that's the difference between buying and gameflying.
Though I believe it when they say 4 is too much (mainly because the people who played it agreed) I kind of hope they patch that option in as well. Dyack did say the technology is still in there so I'm sure it's possible to just make it available as an option later.
I heard an interview with Dyack and he basically said what everyone always says. We think people are going to like the work we put into this. People are going to get their own experiences from it...blah blah blah. He seems pretty confident in it. When I first heard about this game I could not care less but the more and more I hear I might give the game a shot.
- Jim
How does a journalist quoting the Sterling have anything at all to do with Dyack's confidence in his product?
Seriously, anyone up on their Lovecraft should know that "real" journalists quoting JS is NOT a good sign.
I hope that this isn't the case for this project.
As for Too Human, I just want them to get it done and overwith, so they can start working on ED2.
Technically, they haven't been working on it that long. It was originally conceived on the PS1, but then SK became a 2nd party Nintendo developer and development was stopped to work on Eternal darkness. Once Eternal darkness was finished, they planned to go back to TH but Dyack got the offer to do the Metal Gear remake and couldn't pass it up. So once THAT was done, they found out the new direction of Nintendo was going towards the Wii and they decided they didn't want to make those kinds of games so they split off. By this time, Microsoft was getting ready to release the Xbox 360 and was interested in Too Human so development was restarted on that platform.
So yeah. It was thought of waaaay back then, but they haven't actually been working on it recently.
@Oni
I'm from St. Kitts too! We should have a Too Human 4.5 launch party!
Great quote, btw.
I plan to raid the Silicon Knights Studios at some point. I just have to get an invite first or sneak in through the back door.
Everyone's entitled to their opinions, and all that.
Also, what kind of newspaper publishes the phrase "piece of wank"? The best kind, that's what.