Tag Archives: denis dyack

Too Human, eh? Peter Molyneux played it a bit and thought there wasn’t something quite right about it, as he told Joystiq.

“In the end, I think with Too Human… it has some gems in there, but they’re hard to find,” he said.

Again, I didn’t play it for terribly long. I quite like the combat and felt it was accessible, but I just… if I got my hands on the game, I’d rip out a few of the things they did and just concentrate on the core. It just slightly forgot about what it was trying to be. In a way, it tried to be something it was not. It felt – and again, I thought it did some things really well – that there was something slightly off about it.

“I’m sure that Dennis Dyack is going to come and kill me now.”

Loads more through there.

Speaking to VG247 in London recently, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack said that, in his opinion, EVE Online’s better than World of Warcraft. It’s an RPG developer MMO face-off, kids.

“I used to,” said Dyack when asked if he played World of Warcraft. “I pulled myself off… Within four weeks I was at level 57, so I almost got to level 60 and then I said, ‘You know, I’ve got to stop this.’

“I was really, really big into EVE Online,” he added. “I love EVE Online, and actually for me personally I actually think it’s a better game. I know it’s a lot harder core, but the depth of it’s unparalleled and I love it. But I have to stop, force myself to stop playing those games because it takes so much time.”

It’s not just MMOs that float Denis’s boat, though. He’s a whatever, whenever kinda guy. Expect when he’s crunching on a game.

“I play games across the board, you know,” he said. “Whatever I can play I’ll try, and I’m looking forward to getting home and actually playing some games, now that I’m not working on Too Human 24/7.”

So there you go. EVE wins. For now.

X3F’s been to Canada for a chat with Denis Dyack at Silicon Knights, done some filming and taken some pictures. It’s good shit, yo. See it all here.

It’s going to be in four parts, apparently. Take a look.

Speaking in a recent Guardian interview, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack said that he thinks “Too Human is one of the most innovative games on the 360, period.”

“You’ll get some first time players who may not get it,” said Dyack when asked as to players’ concerns over the controls. “The combat is incredibly deep and takes time to get used to.”

“It’s really funny, people say they want innovation,” he went on. “You know, this is probably too much hyperbole but Too Human is one of the most innovative games on the 360, period.

“This is because of the control and camera scheme. People don’t know what they are seeing and their first reaction is I don’t get that. But once they get it people love it”

Full interview through the link.

By Mike Bowden

After telling videogaming247 the reason he chose to challenge NeoGAF over negative comments towards Too Human was because the forum was “the worst” of it’s kind, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack now finds himself banned from the site.

GAF moderator EviLore wrote this angry response:

As Confucius once said, “the photoshop cat juggles a ball of yarn, and unravels it all over his face.” You are Baldur, Denis. You’re the poorly animated bald Norse technogod, the Übermensch with a thousand pointless book references misunderstood by the dirty proles who aren’t worthy enough to judge you.

Your favorite Nietzsche quote, “he who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster,” is one you’ve fallen victim to yourself, if your opinion of this site is to be taken to heart. In these pitiable confrontations with us you’ve proven to be the monster of gaming development, a sore on the industry and a squanderer of your subordinates’ time and effort. Through all this, through this self-inflicted PR nightmare, you’ve conquered vast new frontiers of unwarranted hyperbole and desperate pseudo-intellectual grasping. Buy an unaccredited doctorate, change your given name to Derek, and take up the reins; Derek Smart would eagerly defer to the greatness of Dr. Dyack.

What is an appropriate action to take in response to the man who continues to post here? I won’t be tolerating a second retconned “social experiment,” a second call for NeoGAF’s closing, or a second “worst forum” insult. You decided to ignore the option for real terms for your pointless tag bet, so with the majority of reviews condemning your magnum opus to mediocrity I’ll claim a suitable prize by telling you to get the hell off NeoGAF.

We’re saying nothing.

By Mike Bowden

Speaking with MCV, Microsoft’s head of gaming and entertainment, Stephen McGill, has said that MS “very excited” by a Too Human trilogy.

“Microsoft Game Studios and Silicon Knights are committed to finishing the first instalment, but Too Human is an overarching epic with a rich and vast game universe that cannot be told in one instalment,” he said.

“This game will begin the saga of the god Baldur in the narrative tradition of classic trilogies, such as Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings. We will talk about the full trilogy and we are very excited about its potential.”

Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack told videogaming247 in an exclusive interview that work is already underway on Too Human 2 and 3.

By Mike Bowden

Speaking to VG247, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has confirmed that work has begun on both a second and third Too Human game, as well as revealing new, unannounced projects in the works at the Canadian developer.

“We do,” he said when asked if the firm’s working on games other than Too Human.

“They’re unannounced. We’re not talking about them right now, but there are other games in the pipe. Also, of course, we’ll be continuing the [Too Human] trilogy with Microsoft.

“We’re definitely on the road, and things are looking really good: the sequels are underway.”

Dyack added that the only thing that would realistically stop more Too Human games would be a complete failure of the first title.

“It’s as guaranteed as anything is these days, yeah,” he said. “If the first game totally fails and no one wants to play it, then what’s the point of making a second or third?

“But looking at the trends of the demo and how we think we’re going to do, then yeah.”

Too Human hits US retail today, and launches in Europe at the end of this month.

Speaking to VG247, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has spoken out about his public feud with NeoGAF, saying that he wanted to make an example of the effects of negative forums and picked the site because he considers it to be “the worst” of its kind.

“NeoGAF is considered to be the worst, and I would say is probably the worst forum,” he said. “And so, you might as well pick the worst one. Why not?”

Dyack posted on NeoGAF to challenge its users on negativity towards long-in-development RPG Too Human, a move that instantly spread over the internet’s news sites.

“A lot of people would say, ‘Don’t post on a forum. Forums don’t have any affect.’ That post on the forum got picked up by almost every single major press site, and it did influence the press,” Dyack added.

“I knew a demo was coming up [The demo set a record for Live with over a million downloads – Ed] and I knew all this was going to happen, and what I wanted to do was make an example of [the fact that] people need to understand the affect forums are having because there is an effect, it’s not a null effect.”

Read Dyack’s answers to our questions on the matter after the break. Too Human is released today in the US and at the end of the month in Europe.

More »

Speaking to VG247, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has confirmed that no PC version of Too Human is currently in the works, despite talk to the contrary.

“It’s a rumour, it’s not true,” he said. “We have no plans for a PC version right now.”

A PC version was speculated on after the Australian OFLC listed Too Human as a PC game.

That’s that, then. Too Human releases in the US today, with the European version hitting at the end of the month.

Joystiq’s put together a montage of the first Too Human reviews, and all indications are that you should be buying it if you really, really love levelling a character and getting a bigger sword.

• GamePro (4/5) “Here’s an Xbox 360 exclusive that proudly wears its lofty ambitions on its sleeves, and yet sometimes seems bent on self-sabotage. That it’s so relentlessly addictive despite its aggravations is something of a minor miracle.”
• IGN (78/100) “What’s been delivered in the end is a good game that ultimately falls just short of its promise due to a few questionable design decisions. One thing is for sure, though. If you love collecting random loot drops, you’ll find a lot to like here.”
• Giant Bomb (3/5) “If you have an insatiable lust for items with higher stats than the ones you’re currently using, or if you get giddy at the mere thought of Diablo-style rare item naming conventions, you’ll probably be able to look past the game’s issues and have a good time. But even at its best, it’s hard to ignore Too Human’s monotonous combat and dated approach to cooperative play.”
• GameSpot (55/100): “Too Human is a game of false starts and unrealized potential that infiltrate almost every aspect of the game, from story, to combat, to balance. Its elements feel stitched together, making for a patchwork quilt of a game that’s fraying at the seams.”
• 1UP (C-) “At the very least, the cyber-Norse concept of Too Human is a good one that’s worth exploring further, just not in this context. The game is simply schizophrenic; it attempts to be all things to all people and never succeeds in executing any of them well. The end result is in dire need of polish and focus, and that doesn’t solely apply to gameplay mechanics. There’s absolutely no reason why a game released in 2008 should have a bug where characters can fall through solid ground and into some pseudoabyss.”

Game’s out today.

It isn’t just a controversial videogame: according to Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack, Too Human could make a difference to the entire area surrounding the developer.

“If Too Human does what we expect it will, then it can change the world for St Catharines and Niagara,” he told the St Catharines Standard.

“I’ve said this before. I want to see a campus here in Niagara dedicated to interactive information technology,” he added.

The game’s out tomorrow. Tons more through the link.

Speaking to Develop, Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack’s claimed that the company’s legal battle with Epic is based on the fact the latter defrauding a bunch of companies in the industry. Ow.

“Well the trial is proceeding, we feel really good about our claims, and we’re hopeful that justice will be done,” he said. “We all feel really strongly that they have defrauded us, and a major portion of the industry.”

Full thing through the link. Thanks, Kotaku.

Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack has confirmed to VG247 that the Too Human demo has now been downloaded over 1 million times.

The taster was confirmed as hitting 900,000 downloads last Friday, a Live demo record.

The information came out of a Too Human event in London today, coverage of which is embargoed until 2pm BST on August 19. Microsoft said we’re fine to do this story, however, so that’s nice.

We’ve just interviewed Denis and he had some very interesting things to say, so be sure to watch for the full banana later this month.

This is the worst one yet. Following Rob Bowling and Aaron Greenberg getting into bed with Penthouse models and talking about videogames at GDC this year, DasGamer’s released footage of Denis Dyack doing the same.

The Silicon Knights boss opens with, “Too Human is a game where you play cybernetic god Baldur in the defence of mankind.” Hot. Watch the woman’s face: like smelling vomit.

Fair play to Denis, he does look remotely phased by any of it, unlike Bowling and Greenburg who seemed as though they were struggling not to stain their pants.

Watch it. If you can.

In what easily wins the “quote of the day” competition, Peter Molyneux has said he feels sorry for Denis Dyack, and that Too Human doesn’t deserve the attention being poured on it by the h8torz.

“I feel sorry for Denis Dyack because you know, I think a few things were said wrong, there was that really unfortunate showing at E3 a few years ago,” he told Videogamer at E3.

“Everyone got on the bandwagon of saying things about Too Human. Now I’ve played it and, you know, it’s a good game. It doesn’t deserve a lot of that harsh criticism. But as soon as something starts it’s very hard to turn the tide and pull it back again. Unless you’ve got something in your back pocket to say, ‘Ahaa, but what about this?’ then it’s really, really tough.”

More through the link. As we reported yesterday, Dyack will be in London on August 5 to answer questions about his game before it releases on August 29.

Microsoft just confirmed that Silicon Knights boss Denis Dyack is to be in London on August 5 as part of the Too Human launch period.

Journalists are being promised access to the developer and hands-on with what we assume will be final code.

The game itself launches in Europe on August 29.

Anything you want us to ask him?

Denis Dyack told TheGameReviews.com at E3 yesterday that he’s “ecstatic” at the response to the Too Human demo so far.

He refused to say how many times the action RPG’s first level has been downloaded other than “a lot”.

Game’s out August 29.

In wake of Silicon Knight head Denis Dyack’s now infamous NeoGaf post challenge regarding upcoming action-RPG Too Human, Microsoft Games Studios boss Phil Spencer told the MTVBlog that he admires the Silicon Knights’ boss’s passion.

“I’ve never tried to shut down someone’s passion for a game,” he said. “I think that’s part of what [Too Human] is about.”

Spencer added: “I look at the passion that Denis shows around Too Human as critical to what Too Human is and what Silicon Knights is. [Denis] tells us when he’s going to have certain discussions and gives us a head up on what those discussions are.

“It is his company, he is the spokesperson for that company, [and] he realizes we have a strong developer-publisher relationship.”

You may remember a certain irate comment made by Silicon Knights President Denis Dyack on popular gaming forum NeoGAF. Well, as it turns out, the whole thing was just an experiment.

“I was basically calling out people who had no way of assessing the game,” Dyack told 1up. “All I wanted to point out to people is that this is so ridiculous.”

Later on, he revealed the method behind his madness.

“I went through all of this for two reasons… If you’re going to look at the NeoGAF forum as a non-profit organization, if it does not reform itself, it’s eventually going to crumble,” he said. “There’s going to be a point where they step over the line where someone’s going to shut them down. That would be a loss for everyone… The question I have to ask the moderators of GAF: Are you going to follow your own rules? With people making GIFs of myself that are, I would say, attacking me… Why haven’t 180 people been banned now? If I wanted to move in and shut that place down, do I have grounds under their own forum policy?”

Finally, Dyack concluded by demanding that NeoGAF’s moderators instigate some kind of reform “before people stop listening to [NeoGAF],” saying that the forum and others of its ilk are “hurting society and hurting the videogame industry.”

All of this has us wondering, is any publicity – negative or positive – good publicity? Too Human will certainly give us some kind of answer.

By Nathan Grayson

Oh diggedy dear. Following yesterday’s Wired revelation that Silicon Knights action-RPG Too Human was a meagre ten hours long, a poster on the Eurogamer forum, who also claims to have finished the game, has issued a withering broadside, claiming it’s, essentially, terrible.

“This has to be the worst game I’ve played in the last five years,” said EG poster pirotic. “The NDA is against my human rights after the amount of mental anguish having to play this POS has caused me, so I’m going to speak out and warn you all to cancel pre-orders while you still can.

“Seriously, finished it in two sittings. Two sittings of repetitive combat, painful story and graphics which wouldn’t of looked out of place on a last-gen machine. And don’t get me started on the animations, which I can only describe as being done by somebody reading a copy of ‘keyframe for dummies!’

“Silicon Knights… what happened? I really don’t have the words to describe how bad this game is in almost every area.”

No words being minced there. The game’s out on August 29.