Dyack: Natal won't help create better content

Silicon Knights CEO Denis Dyack has hinted that it's unlikely his studio will use Microsoft's upcoming motion-sensing technology Natal in future projects, revealing that he "doesn't see how Natal is going to help me tell a better story or create better content".

[thereapersson]

Even though he was also responsible for Too Human...

[RememberThe357]

Franky at the end of it, I wanted it to keep going. An RPG thats 10 hrs long? WTF? PLus, the stick combat was just weird.

But Natal doesn't give devs a better way to to tell stories, just a different way. I'm not one who has a ton of faith in Natal, but I have to admit that I love the idea. I just don't think it's going to be used right very often. Shoot devs still don't know what kind of games to make for the PSP.

[Guido]

It is tough to agree the guy who made Too Human. Sorry, but that would be like puting my trust back in Free Radical after that turd of a game, Haze.

[mastiffchild]

Well, I think he's stating the obvious to be honest but you're being WAY too hard on Free Radical imo. The politics and pulled middleware were the killers of Haze and not the in house talent forced to implement everything from a move to PS3 exclusivity and a last minute switch to their own rushed physics and GFX engines. Better prepared teams struggled badly with their forst PS3 titles and don't get the avuse FRD do for Haze-when , imho, the only things you can totally blame them for are the godawful script and the voice acting being equally hammy. Seriously, there's little comparison between the situations surrounding TH and Haze.

That said Dyack's right enough here as new tech rarely ushers in a great new wave of creativity does it? For Natal to do so would be amazing, frankly, when the more trad Wii controls are ogten as not used very poorly by developers and virtually never resulted in new, creative directions but we'll see-maybe bth Sony(with their powerful 1st party muscle working on "gem")or MS (with the Natal kits being at Lionhead and even 3rd [parties for a while now)WILL manage to eek out truly new ways of creating both content and gameplay but as DD says, it's not the nost likely outcome. Not right off the bat anyway.

[SilentNegotiator]

....he's right.

[callahan09]

I thought Too Human was awesome. Not sure why everyone hated that game so much. I know I'm in the minority on it, though. The only thing that sucked about it was that stupid unskippable valkyrie animation when you die. That was just poor design. But when you weren't waiting to re-spawn, I thought the game was tons of fun.

[leyego]

common please...

with or without natal dyack would still make a turd. its just wrapped in a different interface.

maybe this time he will map the left foot to attacking and the right foot to moving.

[Perjoss]

agreed, regardless of who he is or what he has produced in the past, Dyack makes a very good point. Even if Natal becomes the best control method in the universe it will be all wasted if the games made for it are rubbish or too few. But like that guy in the film says "if you build it, they will come" (yeah i know, its a misquote, but a very well known one).

[sikbeta]

Too Human sucks but he's right, xbox owners can say natal is teh coolezt, we'll discuss abut that again when those crappy games ala wii shovelware come out

[IaMs12]

He is right, but depends on from the perspective you look at it. I mean same with the PS3 motion inside the dual shock. Can be great if implemented right. This goes for EVERYTHING in the world. Imagine the IF's. By looking at them, you can learn alot, even though they may not be real, you can still learn and maybe even strive for it to be better one day.

Also this could be just another stepping stone. Like the PS had the Eyetoy MS has taken it to another level to maybe help it along. It may do better this time, then another company could take it farther one day making it better. Who would of thought half of us would have big screen TVs in our homes if no one persued it. Its great thing they are doing, just dont screw yourself over MS.

[Sarcasm]

Now that Dyack says Natal won't make games better, It probably will since he lives in reverse world which is two blocks away from Michael Pachter.

Then a few more blocks away up to douche ave. there's Greenberg and Danawalt.

[rockleex]

But will those games be the kind us "hardcore gamers" want to play? This is a serious question.

I'd imagine we would rather play an FPS with a very accurate and responsive motion controller in HD instead.

It should be quite easy to implement Sony's motion controller onto existing video game genres from what we've seen of it.

This is why I support Sony's motion controller. So I can play all my favorite PS series with an accurate and precise motion controller, in 3D and HD.

[BlackTar187]

I really liked Too Human yes there were ruff spots etc etc etc. but i had a lot of fun playing coop and like stated above when it was over i was like BOOOOOOOOOOOOOO i want more. so i will hold out for part 2 if it ever gets released. Im old school i dont need flashy great graphics i can deal with some hiccups hell thats how all games used to be hiccup wise. Im not really on topic just wanted to show my love for the game and i will admit tried playing single player and couldnt do it hated the game its all about coop baby and i loved it.

Game on people sorry for being semi well maybe 75% off topic

Game on dont be so negative. natal doesnt interest me for games but the idea is a step in the right direction.

[ShadowCK]

Funny how the Playstation Fanboys here think he's making a point. You can hate Project Natal as much as you want, but it's going to be a huge success no matter what.

Project Natal will attract more people to the Xbox 360 console thanks to it's user freindly system and Microsoft is going to treat it like the launch of a new console. This means that not only will there be a lot of fanfare and media coverage before it's released (just like the Wii), but also they're devoted to actually having games that work with the peripheral instead of just blindly releasing it and having everybody forget about it.

Hell, Even Hideo-kojima thinks it's going to be great.

http://gamer.blorge.com/200...

[darkmurder]

What and Silicon Knights will?

[Action GO FIGURE]

Bu bu bu bu teh hypez?!?!1one!

[Arnon]

Does everyone on this website have a stuttering problem?

[Tesselation 360]

they just like to mimic their fony hardware.

[Aquarius]

PS3 fans are known to conjure up sensible conversations and conduct themselves in reasonable arguments.

"Bu bu bu bu" was invented by BOTS and are normally used when they have nothing left to say in an argument. You can clearly see that they are very foolish, two-faced people. A bunch of liars infact.

"Action GO FIGURE" is merely mocking a typical 360 fanboy.

[spinbot_lv1]

I agree with you.PM 4 you ;)

[shutupandplay]

Actually aquarious, Bu Bu But dates back to when the ps3 still sucked b@lls. Anti-ps3 news ran rampant and the most popular comment on N4G was "Bu bu but teh Cell!!!11!"

[creepjack]

Hey Dyack, instead of making making ridiculously obvious comments like this, how about making that sequel to Too Human you promised us? Yeah, I was one of the few that actually LOVED that game, and I was one of the people that would defend him, but now he is pissing me off. He refuses to give a straight answer on anything Too Human related, be it DLC or a sequal. For God sakes, there is an in game store feature that has never even been utilized yet.

[Mr_Bun]

Don't hold your breath for TH2...I would also love a sequel (I put over 80hrs into the first one, mainly co-op).

The game wasn't well received at all. He had his first layoff not long after the game's release, then he just laid off another group back in August (My best friend was one of them).

SK is the only known company that couldn't handle the Unreal Engine and is suing Epic because they couldn't figure it out....SK are also being counter-sued for reworking some of the code to make their own engine.

Bottom line is that Dyack is scrambling right now.

[Bubbles_Kitty_Cat]

He probably doesn't know the status of Too Human 2 with 100% certainty.

It is well known that Microsoft was/is not happy with the sales of the first game, and that 2 and 3 are in doubt because of that.

I loved the first game, but feel that Dyack's inability to keep his mouth shut doomed the game (and the trilogy) from the start.

[creepjack]

*Sigh*

Yeah, I know. I used to hang out on TooHuman.net, a place where Dyack actually hangs out as well sometimes, and we could never get a straight answer out of him. That pretty much told me everything I needed to know. I guess I'm just hoping that if I complain enough, Ill get something, but deep down I know better.

[Mr_Bun]

I hear ya....I'm still hopeful too, but it's not a risk that most people will take...Dyack had a hard time finding someone interested in Too Human...that's part of the reason it has taken so long to get released....the actual concept was started 15 years ago...not 10 like most people think!

[Bubbles_Kitty_Cat]

I hope so, too.

Too Human was one of my top games of all time, and I will buy Too Human 2 on day one if it gets released.

[lowcarb]

I loved Too Human myself and hope that if there is a part two they drastically improve the visuals and end those forever lasting death scenes.

[2FootYard]

He said something true this time.

[Mista T]

It will only limit because there's only a few things you can do waiving your arms around

[xaviertooth]

ohhhh, microsoft forgot to send him his cheque to hype natal.

[Feral Gamer]

I don't think Silicon Knights will help create better content, either.

[chewmandinga]

...create an awesome Eternal Darkness sequel??

If Natal or Sony's motion control-thing can tell what you're physically doing, then the game can react and so some messed up stuff on-screen. That doesn't sound too hard does it Dyack?

Not sure if Silicon Knights are owned by Microsoft or not, but i'd be pretty miffed if Eternal Darkness 2 was X-box exclusive.

[divideby0]

this is the first thing this dude said since 2 Human that I think he is actually correct..

natal and motion sensing will NEVER be used in online competitive gaming....like our Wii, they will both be niche group party gamming

[Bubbles_Kitty_Cat]

"natal and motion sensing will NEVER be used in online competitive gaming"

Uh, who ever claimed that it would?

It has a tremendous amount of potential and could turn out to be awesome.

We will know by this time next year...

[PopEmUp]

"...could turn out to be awesome. " and it could be other way around a disaster

[die_fiend]

Dear Dennis,
You are responsible for wasting 10 years making a game that is inferior to games that take less than a fifth of that time. You an an incapable developer, who doesn't know how Natal would create better content because you don't even know what a good game is...
So a new controller input like this won't spawn any new ideas/content? Just because you can't think of anything doesn't mean people who don't spend millions making god awful games can't...
Let me reiterate - Uncharted 2 took 18 months and is phenomenal. You spent over 5 times as long making a piece of crap embarrasment of a game

[TwistedMetal]

Natal is the biggest joke. the only thing thats a bigger joke are the people defending it and want wiitis to spread so that any real games dont see the light of day. Im glad sony is not going crazy sacrifising real gameing for natal like M$ has been doing by firing all its studios, canceling hardcore games, and puting there only developer team on shovelware.

[ASSASSYN 36o]

I don't hold much stock in what this man says after too human.

[Defectiv3_Detectiv3]

Finally, somebody cuts the sh!t. I find it funny that people put so much stock in Natal, when it is not being primarily developed for consoles. MS has other applications for the tech in mind, they are just using the 360 as a starting point. It has bigger Non-Gaming implications, and yes, technology will never take the place of game developing.

Back in the day, when devs were limited by the hardware, they actually had to think outside the box. Nowadays, with limitless power at their fingertips, devs are as unimaginitive as ever, games basically fall into a handful of genres.

[PotNoodle]

Go home Dyack

[bjornbear]

Too Right

[Grimhammer00]

I loved Too Human.....the story and loot fest was great! The graphics were alright - not great. The controls were simply too much for many....and the fact that he couldn't get 4 player co-op working...it was always meant to be 4 player co-op. It also has "planned" dlc for another class some necromancer type......then there's the in-game store that never been started....or the other two doors that are clearly meant for DLC.

But I suggest all the haters pick it up ($7 @staples in Canada)...can't beat that! Play it for 3-5hrs and then tell me it's crap. It'll hook you.

But I hold no delusion that their will be part 2 or 3....it sold too poorly and was universally slammed....in large part because Dyack and MS hyped it and talked sh1t.

[Xi]

It's an addictive title, and I might be alone on this but I really hope they make the sequel.

They just need to finish the game this time, make it so you don't have to watch the Valkyrie death cutscene, scale back the difficulty some, and balance out the classes more. (honestly, you cannot beat the game as a beserker without dying at least 1500 times from those rockets).

Also they need to make it so you can't take damage during a finisher, those become a necessity in late game.

[blu_yu_away]

Of course he's not going to use Natal. By the time he gets around to completing a new game the next gen systems will all be out.

[Darkfiber]

Natal and PS3 will just fill the market with more crap the industry doesn't need.

I mean, seriously. They are doing it to copy Nintendo, but they seem to be overlooking two VERY big issues:

1. Motion controls are a GIMMICK, and both companies are 3 years late to it. The fad has already worn itself out even before they have released their version. No one is interested in this.

2. They need to look at Nintendo's software sales. Yes, the hardware sales for Nintendo are (or were) huge, but the system is selling virtually no software. The only games that are selling for the Wii are Nintendo first party games like Mario and Zelda, and the reason they are selling is because they are f*cking MARIO and ZELDA, and has nothing to do with the fact that they have motion controls. There are TONS of cheesy gimmicky motion control crap games for the Wii and absolutely NOBODY is buying them. Are Microsoft and Sony so stupid that they can't see that? Seriously, has no one at either company ever thought that this was a bad idea?

Everyone else can see this is terrible, why can't they? They are just going to get crappy Wii ports of 3 year old motion control games that didn't sell on the Wii, and will sell even less on PS3 and 360, and they will end up b*tching about how it was a bad investment 2 years from now. NO ONE GIVES A SH*T ABOUT MOTION CONTROLS! And they pretty much said themselves that they are only going to be making casual games for it.

They are trying to attract the "Wii audience" but they never, ever will. You know why? Because Wii was marketed as a toy for families since the beginning, and 360 and PS3 were both marketed as hardcore FPS machines. The average old person or non-gamer will always see them as that, and even after the motion controls get released, it will never change the way these two consoles are viewed by people who don't already have one.

[Jerkstore81]

I'm actually impressed that Delirious Dyack actually said something logical for once. I can still remember the nonsense he spewed on 1UP Yours last year.

[Xbox360_owns]

Dyack: Who?? oh a nobody.....