Denis Dyack shows he is only 'Too Human'

by Alexander Sliwinski { Mar 13th 2007 at 11:00PM }

Too Human to outside observers is slowly becoming the Duke Nukem Forever of the Xbox 360. After making a -- oh, how to put it kindly -- laggy presentation at the last E3, it went MIA for X06 and *poof* Too Human was gone.

Now Silicon Knights president Denis Dyack has allegedly made a statement following a heated NeoGAF thread about another Too Human delay. Dyack says, "I am sorry to see not much has changed here on the GAF. There should be no question as to why many developers do not post here. Thanks to those who were positive and made some logical comments ... In time these comments will be bearers of fruit. Unfortunately for many here, they are going to be very bitter."

At this point nobody has any idea when this game will come out. It could be Q4 2007 or sometime in 2008. Rumor has it that we'll get another chance to see Too Human at Min-E3. As long as it doesn't chug at 25 frames per second, it'll be a vast improvement over last E3.

[via CVG]

Tags: delays, denis dyack, DenisDyack, flipbook, stutter, too human

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Jake @ Mar 13th 2007 11:06PM

In the latest EGM podcast over at 1up there's a very long discussion about Too Human with Denis Dyack. In it he claims that Too Human is "much further along than anyone believes." He also claimed he probably wouldn't show the game again until it was done.

Nicholas Sulikowski @ Mar 13th 2007 11:10PM

"wouldn't show the game again until it was done." I hope that isn't the equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever coming out "when it's done."

bootsielon @ Mar 13th 2007 11:13PM

Would the game still look like shit at 25 fps if they add motion-blur? ;)

sheppy @ Mar 13th 2007 11:16PM

When is this Playstation1 game EVER gonna come out?

Joe @ Mar 13th 2007 11:17PM

I've been looking forward to this game ever since I heard about it moving from being developed for the Playstation to the GameCube.

If this game is good, it might be one of the major reasons I'll buy a 360.

However, I fear I'm setting myself up for a letdown, not because of the E3 showing that time, since an earlier build apparently played better, but because Dyack seems to have lost it recently or something (check out the interview on 1up too).

Bc @ Mar 13th 2007 11:18PM

I think people should really stop complaining about game delays. There is a certain amount a developer should take responsibility for claiming there game will be ready sooner than it actually is but they don't have to release their game if they don't want to.

And what if they release it on time. I am sure everyone will put up a bigger stink if the game sucks yet was released on time. I mean look at all the blizzard releases that were later than promised (lets see ALL of them?). They ended up being stellar games and one week after release you didn't hear a peep about how "late" they were.

I say let them tool. If they had a terrible showing at E3 and they are taking their time to fix it good for them.

The gaming community in general has no patience to speak of. Give me an XBLA release, its wednesday WHERE IS IT?!?

Damn people. Be glad you have multiple systems fresh games are coming out WEEKLY on.

Take your time. I would much rather play Too Human later and enjoy it than get my paws on it now and throw it down in disgust.

Radicoon @ Mar 13th 2007 11:20PM

Dude. This is the same guy that made Eternal Darkness. I don't want to say this game is going to be gold because concepts just don't turn into fun sometimes, but... Dyack knows what he's talking about. Listen to him talk sometime, this guy's turning this game into something worth playing even if it takes longer than expected.

Wilbur @ Mar 13th 2007 11:21PM

If this were Nintendo delaying it, the fanbois would be:

- thank you Nintendo for taking the time to polish it up.
- thank you Nintendo for not releasing anything so i can enjoy the nice weather.
- Nintendo will release it when they're done, its all about quality.

etc, etc

adrian @ Mar 13th 2007 11:25PM

The character on the box art looks a lot like Kraetos from God of War no?

Grant @ Mar 13th 2007 11:47PM

I'm willing to wait for this.
of all the "big games of '07", this was one of the few (along with halo 3) i actually look forward to.

Hannar @ Mar 13th 2007 11:50PM

Too Human is set to be shown again in the next week and a half -- IGN and TooHuman.net are traveling up to St. Catharines to view the game. If Dyack's comments about showing the game when it is done are true, you can expect a release earlier than Q4 '07, that's for sure.

Miles @ Mar 13th 2007 11:55PM

Wilbur , I think you're 100% correct. If you listen to that EGM interview Dyack pretty much said the same thing. He said he's had builds of Eternal Darkness at E3 that were completely terrible compared to Too Human, but for some reason no one in the media wanted to harp on it. They thought it was just so amazing that Nintendo was gonna have an M rated game no one crapped on it like they should've. As a fan of games , you really need to listen to that EGM Live podcast.

NintendoFanbot @ Mar 13th 2007 11:59PM

Wilbur, Nintendo (and their fans) gave them their chance with 2 systems. :P

As it stands now, aside from framerate, the game itself doesn't look that fun. It looks like you would have more fun with Devil May Cry or God of War.

maxx @ Mar 14th 2007 12:13AM

I have absolutely no doubts that Dyack and his team are going to deliver. This is the game they've been wanting to make all along, they're not going to rush it no matter what.

I actually saw Eternal Darkness at two E3's in a row. The first time it was on the N64 and I thought "looks alright" but didn't actually play it. The next E3, it was on the Gamecube behind closed doors. I got to see a brief demonstration of it while a spokesperson told me about the game. I was interested, but thought the graphics looked like ass. It looked like they simply took the existing N64 game and put it in a Gamecube dev kit. I politely asked if they had rebuilt the game or ported the existing code. I don't remember his answer, but I was basically saying "this looks like shit."

Fast forward a few years when Eternal Darkness finally came out. It still didn't look amazing in screenshots, but boy did it play well. It's one of my top ten favorite games. Dyack has my undying devotion as a result. He's as committed to gaming as Gabe Newell is over at Valve (unfortunately he's also as timely as Gabe, but that's forgivable).

Tyler @ Mar 14th 2007 12:14AM

Sure this game hasn't gotten a lot of positive attention. I'll even agree that the gameplay videos and trailer from a year ago look like crap and not a whole lot of fun, but...and I mean a big "but," I still think this will be one of the 360's bigger AAA games (whenever it comes out). I have a lot of faith in Silicon Knights. Just experiencing their last 2 games on Gamecube (Eternal Darkness and Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes) have made them one of my favorite developers. Those were awesome games, and Too Human will be too...eventually ;)

bakunin @ Mar 14th 2007 12:33AM

Purely judging from Silicon Knights' pedigree, Too Human should be great. I listened to the EGM Live podcast, and Dennis sounded like he really knew what was going on and knew how to create a good game. There needs to be more devs like Dyack and Mitch Gitelman (of Mechwarrior/Crimson Skies fame, was part of a 3-hour 1UP Yours podcast on Feb. 23). These guys get it, so I can deal with the game not looking great, as long as it's fun when it is released.

sheppy @ Mar 14th 2007 12:38AM

All I know is the following...

-This game was announced very shortly after their first game, Legacy Of Kain: Blood Omen, shipped. A quick CG was shown, and it went underground. Reemerged on Gamecube, once again went underground. Reemerged on 360... I'm not holding my breath. At some point, a development studio must either let a bird fly, or quit investing in it. Too Human is quickly approaching 10 years in development. This isn't a simple case of Blizzards delays. Most games that reach the big 10 evaporate.

-You play as Baldur, your nemesis is Loki. He better be responsible for your death through trickery. Bring on the cybernetic ragnarok.

GJM @ Mar 14th 2007 1:11AM

This game was almost done on the PSOne back in 2000. It was supposed to a 4 or 5 disc extravaganza. It never came out because Nintendo wound up buying Silicon Knights and moving the game over to the N64 (only initially) and then the GameCube. For whatever reason it took so long that the contract expired and the game was moved to Microsoft and the 360. 8 years is a long time to have a game almost ready, but you never know. Prey eventually came out...

Cal @ Mar 14th 2007 3:22AM

Dyack is a tool. His demo at e3 sucked, Mark Macdonald wrote that it sucked and then he went insane. Somehow he thinks a judgement on his demo, which no one, not even himself or shane kim, denies sucked hard, is a judgement on the future completed product. He's got this idea that if Too Human turns out to be awesome Mark Macdonald, EGM and NeoGaf forums are going to have to apologize for saying they had a terrible showing at e3. He even accuses Mark of being influenced by mythical anti-too human fanboys on neogaf who hate him and his company for not working with nintendo anymore. This guy is nuts.

kabes @ Mar 14th 2007 7:41AM

"Too Human is quickly approaching 10 years in development. "

Man, people need to get their facts straight.

Too Human WAS in actual development for PS1, until SK become 2nd party partners with Nintendo. It was shelved and they begun working on Eternal Darkness. After ED, they worked with Konami on Metal Gear Solid: Twin Snakes. ED in particular took a long time develop since they did switch systems at one point. MGS also took up some time.

After MGS, SK parted ways with Nintendo and joined Microsoft in mid-to-late 2004 in which case they started conceptualizing Too Human again. Since Xbox 360 dev kits were still not quite ready most of this consisted of R&D and concept art. Early 2005 they start developing Too Human (note for the math challenged, 2005 does not equal 10 years ago). Mid 2006 they run into some problems with the Unreal engine and decide they need to rewrite significant portions of it to work with their game. This is a large undertaking and does slow down the game a lot. Now it's early 2007, 2 years after they started ACTUAL development.

SK didn't turn into a large company until recently. Before this they were a 1 project company. TH was on the backburner and not even touched for at least 5 years.

Denis is totally right with what he says in the (almost 2 hour long) interview he participated in with EGM in their podcast. He makes some damn valid points, he's totally passionate about this game, and don't forget he's the person behind ED. Great games take years to develop. Gamers (and many journalists like that f**k-tard from 1up) don't understand the process, and this is why Denis suggests changing the whole preview/review model.

Hoffer @ Mar 14th 2007 8:03AM

i listened to that EGM podcast yesterday. I though the guy came off really bad. He sounded a little whiney to me.

I'm still interested in Too Human. I loved Eternal Darkness on the Gamecube. I even played through it 3 times consecutively. I never do that. I think the game will turn out good.

Jake @ Mar 14th 2007 8:32AM

It's funny how people actually think they've literally been working on the game for 10 years. That's just silly.

It was planned as long as 8 or 10 years ago. But, they never really got into working on it. They've been working on the 360 build since some time in 2005. It's Silicone Knights, the game will most likely be good. It is just going to take some time.

Jake @ Mar 14th 2007 8:32AM

felixlighter @ Mar 14th 2007 9:01AM

I listened to Dyack on the EGM Live podcast and what I heard was a extremely passionate man trying to defend his project. From the interview, you can hear his frustration, which seems to have originated from the attacks on his company for leaving Nintendo. He created one of the best games ever to be released on the Gamecube but now he's the enemy of Nintendo fanboys everywhere. From his point of view, he sees so many people rooting for the failure of this game that it puts extra pressure on him to make it great. The weak showing at E3 and the apparently deserved "terrible" rating EGM gave the E3 build just added fuel to his detractors fire.

I think the E3 backlash has left a bad taste in his mouth and now he comes off as very bitter. It seems now his main concern is proving his haters wrong and thats just not a good attitude to have when you're trying to be creative. I wouldn't expect to hear anything official about this game until it is virtually complete. Personally I think for the sake of himself and his game, he should either grow some thicker skin or simply stay away from message boards.

Josh @ Mar 14th 2007 9:15AM

Denis Dyack is the M. Night Shyamalan of gaming. He started off amazing and then slowly went insane and goes crazy if anyone criticizes his work.

Miles @ Mar 14th 2007 9:16AM

After listening to that interview I think E3 deserves to be a memory. And people keep bringing up that E3 showing , when I still have that Too Human cover story in EGM that praises it in a preview. But of course in life, you're only as good as the last thing you do ,so nobody cares anymore. Which is bullshit. And I have to agree with him , when he goes on about getting this random hate when he's with Microsoft, but none of that hate when he was making games for Nintendo. No matter what anyone says, people like to like Nintendo. Its not fanboy crap, just the way it is.

sado @ Mar 14th 2007 9:19AM

To Denis:
Denis I am not sure why you did the podcast if the main reason to do it was to moan and groan about how the game was perceived by the press. We after all have free thought and as the press we have a duty to tell the truth to our readers, if that hurts you, so be it. If you guys were forced to show the game by MS then that is there fault but it is not the press' fault for giving you guys poor previews. The entire podcast I felt like I was hearing the tantrum of a 2 year old "WAAAA you didnt like my game! WAAA!". The 100+ minutes could have been solely spent on talking about the game and building new press about the game but instead you chose to talk about the E3 build for about 60 minutes. All you ended up doing was getting the listeners and the press even more mad at you.

By bringing up the E3 demo again you brought the issue back up again, so now the issue is now in front of every gamer's face, and now everyone is aware of a demo again that should have been dead and forgotten. With all of that said I would like to say I get your point about games being previewed too early at these press events but that solely lies on you and your publisher's shoulders and not the press. If you show the game early you're taking a chance that your game will not be well received. The press gained from showing the demo early is a big reason to show it early but in the end it's risk/reward situation. When you make a game you're sticking your neck out there and you have to be willing to take what comes your way, otherwise get out of the business.

Kizzle @ Mar 14th 2007 9:19AM

"I listened to Dyack on the EGM Live podcast and what I heard was a extremely passionate man trying to defend his project."

And what I heard was a whiny yutz who couldn't handle being called out for having a terrible demonstration. Toughen up, you sissy. You're not the first to get ripped a new one for screwing up a presentation, and you won't be the last.

This guy is deluded. As someone above mentioned, he probably honestly believes people will owe him "an apology" when the game comes out and is (supposedly) great. Why? Why should ANYONE apologize for calling it like they see it?

Dyack's team screwed up, and now they're the petulant little 7 year old still whining about a punishment they once had when they were 5.

Mikeo @ Mar 14th 2007 9:33AM

@Kizzle

Wow. Just wow.
You obviously haven't spent any time making anything only to get people slam you all the way.

Try THAT for a change.

n2 @ Mar 14th 2007 9:53AM

Isn't this on the 'coming soon' list at xbox.com?

Can't be that far off. It's not like they're featuring Duke Nukem Forever on that list.

I'm thinking release is sometime in 2007

sheppy @ Mar 14th 2007 10:12AM

"@Kizzle
Wow. Just wow.
You obviously haven't spent any time making anything only to get people slam you all the way.
Try THAT for a change."

This really has to be said because, for some reason, people have a huge misconception about the industry at large. When you show something to the public, regardless of it's state, you expose it to judgement. If the judgement is not in your favor, you use this to focus the project, find where things are wrong, and adapt. You don't bitch about the criticism you get. You use that criticism to fix what's wrong.

Now, having said that, if Dennis Dyack has never had to deal with criticism or pointless hating, art school or any creative field would fucking tear him apart. Nothing feels worse than pouring 40 hours into a painting just to have someone hate it but not know why. But you know what, that's the issue. That's the price of entering any creative field. You expose yourself and your heart to the world. The solution is simple, you invest in a stronger breastplate, ironclad yourself and soldier on.

But let me get this straight. Dennis Dyack you readily admitted Too Human was not ready to be shown when it was shown, is complaining when people state that it wasn't ready to be shown. All the sudden, he's hated by Nintendo fanboys and him are cry. There is one thing that could stop this issue and it's going underground and reemerging with the game I've been looking forward to since I first completed Blood Omen. Work out the issues with the game but for gods sake, either disappear completely from the limelight or shut the fuck up about such whiny shit.

I mean, seriously. Do you hear about David Jaffe complaining about the fanboys? Or Hironobu Sakaguchi? Or even Kaz Hirai, Ken Kuturugi, or even Phil Harrison. You never hear them bitch about the Nintendo fanboys and you best believe for every one Nintendophile that bashes Dennis Dyack, 100 bash Sony PR heads (granted, some deserve it). But you never see them bitch about that.

If this is how Dennis Dyack is going to act from now on, maybe it's about time he cries his way out of the industry like Lorne Lanning. But I'm hoping I'm wrong. I'm hoping it's just the stress of development getting to him. Because if half his complaints in this regard are true, then he is truly a fucking weak-willed individual.

eight @ Mar 14th 2007 11:58AM

When i first read about this game i was really excited abuot it. Using Nors Mythology is a pretty awsome idea. But with all the development problems and delays it's really putting me off to this game. At least they accepted the fact that the game looked horrid last year and it vanished (hopefully seeking improvements of a dev team that doesnt sleep).

I'd like to see this game be awesome, but i have this feeling i'm going to be let down.

madcaliban @ Mar 14th 2007 1:35PM

Agrees with Sado.

There was no reason to bring back the E3 demo. He already did that w/ the Ice Bucket Blog. And now more ppl hate him. He came off as whiny and childish. He didn't defend his points and came off incoherent at times. He was not the first to get flamed by journalists and he won't be the last. And by the spiteful reaction he kept spewing during that podcast (I feel sorry for you..you're gonna regret what you wrote, etc..) makes me want to hate SK and his game.

felixlighter @ Mar 14th 2007 1:07PM

@28

Don't get me wrong; I'm not trying to defend Denis Dyack behavior during that podcast. I was just commenting on my impression of the man and where he was coming from. He handle himself very poorly. I was actually very impressed with how Mark MacDonald and the other EGM interviewers handled the situation. Dyack was down right insulting and he kept questioning the EGM writers' journalistic integrity, basing his claims on zero evidence. EGM was absolutely right to report critically on what they saw at E3 based solely on what was presented. Dyack is wrong, when he tells them that they will regret the report when they see the final product.

At the end of the day, however, I would rather listen to an oversensitive developer rant, with some emotion, about his project, than listen to 60 mins. of PR bullshit.

Johnvanjim @ Mar 15th 2007 9:53AM

Agreed. Dyack should learn that if you show a crappy game demo, expect someone to say "Now that was a rappy game demo." Besides, if the game comes out and rocks as hard as he thinks it's going to (in his mind) it'll sell just fine.

Cut the complaints and fix your obvious and admitted problems.