Tag Archives: silicon knights

Silicon Knights has been given $4 million by the Canadian government, giving the Too Human developer a big boost for its newest project.

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Denis Dyack believes in the flag. Too Human was carved in maple. Silicon Knights is a child of the snowy north.

“I’m a patriot,” he told GI. “I’m a big believer in Canada, I’m a big believer in Ontario and I want the industry to grow here.”

The studio boss added that the future was bright for the Canadian games industry.

“When speaking to the government it may have been self-serving that they should look at our industry, but I’m a huge fan of Peter Drucker, and if you look at traditional industry, service-based industry, they are going to remain OK, he said.

“Manufacturing is in decline. But knowledge based industries where we fit in are going to grow.”

Go Canada. Is it Christmas yet?

God bless you CVs.

A CV for former Silicon Knights designer Zhang Shao-yong has revealed that the studio is woking on a title known as The Box for the 360 and PS3.

Yong was special effects producer at the studio, working on “material performance of explosions, smoke, water, fire, weather” and more on The Box, as well as Too Human.

Is this the new IP the studio is working on with Sega? Only time will tell.

Thanks, CVG.

Silicon Knights bossman Denis Dyack has said that the amount of industry developers being laid off during the past 18 months “has been staggering”, but the next fiscal year will be one of growth for Ubisoft with its new 800-person studio opening in Toronto.

“It’s been really a rough year and a half for the industry as a whole,” he told GI.biz. “The number of layoffs in the industry has been staggering. As an external developer it’s been tough. I actually don’t know anyone who’s older than us any more. There used to be four or five people I knew of but I feel right now that we’re one of the last of the V8s”.

“I’ve talked to a lot of people and I know a lot of people who have gone out of business,” he lamented.

“Where I see some more growth for Silicon Knights in the future is I can see a very strong recruiting campaign that will say ‘come back home to Ontario’,” he added. What that means for us [the new studio] is we’re really excited because we’re going to be able to come out, and the industry is going to rebound and grow, and we’ll be one of probably five companies in the world that has any serious business beyond ten years.”

The full thing’s through the link.

Silicon Knights has said that despite the accidental reveal of its latest project through Telefilm Canada, it is not prepared to discuss what it entails.

However, a company spokesperson did reveal to Eurogamer that “several” are currently underway at the firm.

“Silicon Knights is busy working on several exciting projects,” they said. “Unfortunately, it is too early to disclose any details.”

Listed as Siren in the Maelstrom, Eurogamer was quick to point out that that a previous approval note mentioned a psychological action thriller from Silicon was slated for a 2010 – but the outed title may or may not be connected with it.

Also, back in 2005, Silicon announced a collaboration with SEGA but that title has yet to be revealed as well.

Hit the links for the rest.

Telefilm Canada, the federal cultural agency formed to promote media in Canada and hand out grants, has listed a new Silicon Knights project currently in the works for consoles.

Titled Siren in the Maelstrom, it’s listed as a possible portable or console project.

Over on the official SK forums, the community is chatting this up a bit, but there is still no hint as to what this formally secret project could entail.

Hopefully more will be revealed soon.

Thanks, GoNintendo, Via NextGen Player.

Michael Mays has been named as Silicon Knights’ new VP.

“Michael’s arrival at Silicon Knights marks a step forward in the development of our business,‭” ‬said company boss Denis Dyack.‭

“‬His keen business acumen and financial know how makes him the perfect leader for us and for working with the‭ ‬Ontario government to help build the video game industry presence in the Niagara Region and‭ ‬Ontario.”

Mays has worked for almost 20 years in the Canadian financial sector.

According to this Joystiq report, Silicon Knights has laid off 26 staff today as the studio reshuffled its size in preparation for “several new and exciting” projects.

Before the downsize, the company totalled just over 180 employees.

“Silicon Knights is currently working on several new and exciting games that will be announced to the public in the coming months,” said company boss Denis Dyack.

“In addition to those projects, Silicon Knights continues to develop and promote other new and original ideas, which will become the innovative games of tomorrow.

“These 26 individuals are hard-working and valued team members that we hope to bring back as we ramp up on our future projects.”

More through the link.

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.

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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.

Speaking with Kiziko, Silicon Knights’ controversial commander in chief, Dennis Dyack, revealed that if you want to reach level fifty in Too Human, the game can be anywhere from 50 to 80 hours in length.

“First play through is probably around fifteen hours, I guess, it depends,” said Dyack.

“To get to level fifty, it’s anywhere from fifty to eighty hours. It’s a lot! There’s a lot there to want to dig! And to get all the epic loot – I don’t even know if it’s possible to get everything in the game, it’s probably not – not for a single person.”

Too Human comes out later this month. Full interview through the link.

Look out for the videogaming247 interview with Dennis Dyack coming soon.

By Mike Bowden

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.