Predictions for E3 2014

[shredenvain]

Microsoft's first party studios, at least those I think maybe working on something:

*343 Industries – Halo 2 remastered, Halo 4. Probably only Halo 2 this year.

*Good Science Studio – some new Kinect game.

*Kids and Lifestyle Entertainment – more Kinect fitness updates.

*Leap Experience Pioneers – absolutely no idea.

*Team Dakota – Project Spark just finished, so nothing new except maybe updates.

*Turn 10 Studios – Forza just finished, so nothing new.

*Twisted Pixel Games – LocoCycle done, nothing new.

*Xbox Live Productions – presumably new XBLA game(s)

*Lionhead Studios – new Fable game in detail.

*Lift London – apparently they have multiple AAA Cloud Based gaming projects. Could be anything.

*Press Play – another adventure game?

*Rare Ltd. – just finished Kinect Sports, probably have something else to show too. Perhaps another Perfect Dark?

*Soho Productions – another game aimed at kids.

*BigPark – definitely have another Kinect game in the works.

*Black Tusk Studios – Gears of War won't yet be ready, I'd guess a trailer is shown anyway. Uses the latest Unreal Engine.

Someone that better understands Microsoft predict their games much better.

what about Remedy are they not a 1st party studio for Ms?

 

[AzBat]

what about Remedy are they not a 1st party studio for Ms?

No. 2nd party. BTW, Good Science Studio is no more. Studio Head Shannon Loftis is now GM of Xbox Entertainment Studios(XES). BigPark Games & Skybox Sports also merged into XES.

Tommy McClain

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Halo 2 seems to be a common expectation. I wonder what MS can do to that game in terms of graphics - today's standards are very high and the old game is ancient, but highly ambitious, especially in the cinematics. They have a lot of talking characters, both humans and aliens, and it'd take a huge effort for a remake to reach even just the level of Halo 4 which is already starting to look dated next to PS4/X1 efforts.
Of course all it takes is a few (dozen...) good artists and lots of money, so if there's a will, it can be done.


As for what I really would like to see, I guess it has to be the new Mass Effect.

 

[HTupolev]

Halo 2 seems to be a common expectation. I wonder what MS can do to that game in terms of graphics - today's standards are very high and the old game is ancient, but highly ambitious, especially in the cinematics. They have a lot of talking characters, both humans and aliens, and it'd take a huge effort for a remake to reach even just the level of Halo 4 which is already starting to look dated next to PS4/X1 efforts.
Of course all it takes is a few (dozen...) good artists and lots of money, so if there's a will, it can be done.

Hey, such considerations as "is it polished" might not stop them. 343i released the first Halo Anniversary with a bunch of sloppy mocap animations in various unfinished stages of hand-polishing. Quite a bizarre combination of weird overacting, crazy-eyes Cortana, and random choppy stuff.

(Are the alien animations even that big of an issue? The human eye isn't exactly tuned to pick out incorrectness in the subtleties of Elite jaw movements. Halo 3 Lord Hood might terrify small children, but Arby and his buddies always looked basically fine.)

 

[XpiderMX]

Microsoft's first party studios, at least those I think maybe working on something:

*343 Industries – Halo 2 remastered, Halo 4. Probably only Halo 2 this year.

*Good Science Studio – some new Kinect game.

*Kids and Lifestyle Entertainment – more Kinect fitness updates.

*Leap Experience Pioneers – absolutely no idea.

*Team Dakota – Project Spark just finished, so nothing new except maybe updates.

*Turn 10 Studios – Forza just finished, so nothing new.

*Twisted Pixel Games – LocoCycle done, nothing new.

*Xbox Live Productions – presumably new XBLA game(s)

*Lionhead Studios – new Fable game in detail.

*Lift London – apparently they have multiple AAA Cloud Based gaming projects. Could be anything.

*Press Play – another adventure game?

*Rare Ltd. – just finished Kinect Sports, probably have something else to show too. Perhaps another Perfect Dark?

*Soho Productions – another game aimed at kids.

*BigPark – definitely have another Kinect game in the works.

*Black Tusk Studios – Gears of War won't yet be ready, I'd guess a trailer is shown anyway. Uses the latest Unreal Engine.

Someone that better understands Microsoft predict their games much better.

We know for sure that several first party studios, included some named by you, are working in new projects.



And we know that there are some new first party studios, new, created from zero, and they are working on games too.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

Hey, such considerations as "is it polished" might not stop them.

Interesting - I haven't played it but some things did stick out from the trailers and screenshots. Never really liked Chief's new model either, and the entire remake was way too colorful with a less balanced emphasis on small vs. large details. I wonder if the same studio is working on the H2 remake - if that's the case, they'd better have a new art director...

Are the alien animations even that big of an issue? The human eye isn't exactly tuned to pick out incorrectness in the subtleties of Elite jaw movements.

I'm more concerned about the Prophets, they are major characters as well and a lot more antropomorphic.

 

[HTupolev]

Never really liked Chief's new model either

I've always felt that the original Mk V armor never ported well to a realistic style. Variants that look great don't look recognizable, and variants that look recognizable have a sort of plastic bubbly appearance.

I actually think the Halo 4 chief is a better recreation of the "JET FIGHTER TANK" feel of the Halo 1 armor than the CEA armor is, though who knows if it would port perfectly into CEA's style.

and the entire remake was way too colorful with a less balanced emphasis on small vs. large details.

I'm conflicted over it. Although there are reasons for me to dislike CEA's existence, and although I prefer the original game's aesthetics, and although I almost always choose to play the original on my oXbox...

CEA is still a very pretty game that has its own cohesive aesthetics, and I can't say it's totally non-worthwhile.

I'm more concerned about the Prophets, they are major characters as well and a lot more antropomorphic.

This is true.

 

[Laa-Yosh]

We usually approach almost everything in artwork as having three major levels - forms, texture detail, and so on. The Halo 1 remake's problem is that the high frequency, small sized details in textures are way too strong and thus they overpower the mid frequency forms and details; and they're als overly repetitive. My other issue is that the color saturation is way too high.

And yeah the old armor design doesn't really work in reality. Funnily enough the H4 approach isn't entirely OK either, as I had to find out recently.

 

[Brad Grenz]

I've taken a look at Wikipedia to get an idea of Sony's first party studios and had a think about what they could have:

*SCE Japan Studio – just finished with Knack, nothing new soon.

*Team Ico – hopefully The Last Guardian shown.

*Project Siren – no idea, but it's been a while since Gravity Rush.

*Polyphony Digital – I doubt Gran Turismo will be ready for PS4 yet.

*Naughty Dog – Uncharted remastered, The Last of Us remastered, possibly Uncharted 4.

*SCE Santa Monica Studio – God of War remastered, probably working on original game or sequel. I think it's been a while since their last game maybe something will be ready to show.

*Ready at Dawn - The Order 1886 shown in a lot of detail.

*SCE San Diego Studio – I have no idea.

*SCE Bend Studio – a new PSV game?

*Sucker Punch Productions – just finished Infamous Second Son, nothing new for a year or two.

*SCE London Studio – didn't they prepare the underwater Morpheus demo? Presumably they're working on that tech. Also the new camera.

*Evolution Studios – Driveclub release coming soon.

*Guerrilla Games – nothing new for a while since they just finished Killzone.

*Guerrilla Cambridge – maybe a PSV game in the works?

*Media Molecule – their new 'dream' IP shown in more detail.

This doesn't include second parties, so there's definitely something brewing with those too.

San Diego makes MLB, but they're rumored to have another team working on something else. They were supposedly the studio that was taking over that Vita/PS3 action RPG Ruin/Warrior's Lair that foundered and died.

For studios like Guerilla with 2 teams I don't think announcing their new IP is out of the question just because a Killzone came out within the last year.

Microsoft's first party studios, at least those I think maybe working on something:

*343 Industries – Halo 2 remastered, Halo 5. Probably only Halo 2 this year.

*Good Science Studio – some new Kinect game.

*Kids and Lifestyle Entertainment – more Kinect fitness updates.

*Leap Experience Pioneers – absolutely no idea.

*Team Dakota – Project Spark just finished, so nothing new except maybe updates.

*Turn 10 Studios – Forza just finished, so nothing new.

*Twisted Pixel Games – LocoCycle done, nothing new.

*Xbox Live Productions – presumably new XBLA game(s)

*Lionhead Studios – new Fable game in detail.

*Lift London – apparently they have multiple AAA Cloud Based gaming projects. Could be anything.

*Press Play – another adventure game?

*Rare Ltd. – just finished Kinect Sports, probably have something else to show too. Perhaps another Perfect Dark?

*Soho Productions – another game aimed at kids.

*BigPark – definitely have another Kinect game in the works.

*Black Tusk Studios – Gears of War won't yet be ready, I'd guess a trailer is shown anyway. Uses the latest Unreal Engine.

Someone that better understands Microsoft predict their games much better.

Press Play have already announced a new downloadable platformer they're calling Project Totem. Looks like a co-op platformer kinda like Ibb and Obb.

Lift is apparently working on Eden Falls, which appears to be a tablet-based sci-fi strategy game according to some recent leaks. I don't think Lift is very big, and I'm not sure their mandate is actually AAA console development.

 

[rokkerkory]

I predict lots and lots of good stuff. GAF will crash many times and lots of fanboy dribble.

But really, I am very excited because Nintendo is desperate, MS must bring the big guns and Sony more on VR.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

We know for sure that several first party studios, included some named by you, are working in new projects.



And we know that there are some new first party studios, new, created from zero, and they are working on games too.

Care to elaborate?

 

[chris1515]

I've taken a look at Wikipedia to get an idea of Sony's first party studios and had a think about what they could have:

*SCE Japan Studio – just finished with Knack, nothing new soon.

*Team Ico – hopefully The Last Guardian shown.

*Project Siren – no idea, but it's been a while since Gravity Rush.

*Polyphony Digital – I doubt Gran Turismo will be ready for PS4 yet.

*Naughty Dog – Uncharted remastered, The Last of Us remastered, possibly Uncharted 4.

*SCE Santa Monica Studio – God of War remastered, probably working on original game or sequel. I think it's been a while since their last game maybe something will be ready to show.

*Ready at Dawn - The Order 1886 shown in a lot of detail.

*SCE San Diego Studio – I have no idea.

*SCE Bend Studio – a new PSV game?

*Sucker Punch Productions – just finished Infamous Second Son, nothing new for a year or two.

*SCE London Studio – didn't they prepare the underwater Morpheus demo? Presumably they're working on that tech. Also the new camera.

*Evolution Studios – Driveclub release coming soon.

*Guerrilla Games – nothing new for a while since they just finished Killzone.

*Guerrilla Cambridge – maybe a PSV game in the works?

*Media Molecule – their new 'dream' IP shown in more detail.

This doesn't include second parties, so there's definitely something brewing with those too.

I'll take a look at Microsoft, but suspect it's not a fair comparison since they tend to pay for exclusivity.

Sony Bend work on a PS4 games and it seems they use UE 4.0 engine...

 

[chris1515]

Guerrilla Cambridge work on a new IP on PS4, not a PSVita game...

EDIT: Sorry Guerrilla Games works on a new ip. I am not sure Guerrilla Cambridge will work on a new Vita games...

 

[DieH@rd]

Doom 4 will be interesting reveal to see, although they can push its unveil to Quakecon in August. Better plan would be trailer at E3, live gameplay at Quakecon, public gameplay at Gamescom.

 

[chris1515]

I predict lots and lots of good stuff. GAF will crash many times and lots of fanboy dribble.

But really, I am very excited because Nintendo is desperate, MS must bring the big guns and Sony more on VR.

I don't think E3 2014 will be VR centric for Sony. The VR is more a 2015 product...

 

[Deleted member 86764]

There's news floating around the web that some retailer has listed Mass Effect Trilogy for Xbox One and PS4. So I'd guess that gets mentioned, possibly along with Mass Effect 4.

As much as I like all of these remasters (and I'm really looking forward to several of them), I do hope this doesn't cause delays with games created specificaly for the platforms.

 

[Deleted member 86764]

I don't think E3 2014 will be VR centric for Sony. The VR is more a 2015 product...

And as Dsoup suggests above, Sony are selling Morpheus as a platform, it's not necessarily just a PS4 peripheral. At least one of the games shown was a PC game.

 

[XpiderMX]

Care to elaborate?

Twisted Pixel has a game in development, you can watch some arts in lococycle.



PressPlay will release a new Tentacles game and a small group is making a game called Project Totem



Lionhead is working in a AAA game (not related to Fable)



We know, thanks to Phil Spencer, that there are new unknown studios.

 

[London Geezer]

I forgot!

RIME!!!

 

[Deleted member 86764]

Everybody's Gone to the Rapture should make a comeback. Possible for VR?