Dark-Void posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Sure, Capcom's vertical-shootin', UFO-jackin', jetpack-flyin' third-person shooter Dark Void won't be landing on retail shelves until January 12, but the developer wants you to spend some time with Will (and The Void) beforehand. If you head over to JetpackAttack.com, you can create and play levels in your browser of a significantly pared down Dark Void spinoff game, Jetpack Attack.

After blasting our way through the first level, we didn't exactly find ourselves thirsting for more, though it did (no matter how small the scale) sate our urge for some jetpacking action. And hey, if worse comes to worse, you could always trade it in for gold, right?

Best known for her work on Joystiq's 2007 Game of the Year, Portal, Valve's Kim Swift is reportedly leaving her current position for Dark Void developer Airtight Games. According to Develop, she'll be heading up a team of developers working on a "new, unnamed project" for the US-based company. Airtight prez Jim Deal says that he's "thrilled to work with Kim," and that "her addition to the team represents a strategic move ... into new and broader gaming markets."

Swift's team will be tasked with creating "games aimed at a more diverse audience" -- a challenge Swift appears ready to handle. "I've learned so much and had some amazing experiences at Valve, but when I heard I had the opportunity to work on innovative titles with my friends over at Airtight, I couldn't pass it up." And now we wait (and hope) for the puzzle-based air combat game that's sure to come of this partnership.

If you're looking for heated exchanges of alien gunfire, the trailer above would be a terrible place to start your search. No, this particular trailer instead focuses on the lush, otherworldly environments of Capcom's jetpack-strapped Q1 action title, Dark Void. Really, with a title like that, we expect the game's setting to be more ... soul-crushing than this trailer would lead us to believe. If that's a "dark void," our apartments are endless abysses of impenetrable blackness.

Preemptively cutting off complaints that it strays too far from the source material, Capcom has announced a film adaptation of a game you haven't played yet: Dark Void, next year's promising third-person shooter from Airtight Games. In line with the agreement reached between Capcom, Reliance BIG Entertainment and Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment production company, Dark Void is primed as a "sci-fi action franchise and potential starring vehicle for Pitt."

While the parties involved decide whether or not the movie is indeed the Pitt's, someone should probably point out that as far as starring vehicles go, a jetpack is probably the best one. Players will beat Hollywood to the punch and experience it for themselves when Dark Void lands on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 on January 19, 2010 in North America and January 22, 2010 in Europe.

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For us, the worth of protagonist Will in Dark Void isn't measured by his strengths as human being, but really just his awesome jetpacking. Airtight Games wants us to know there's more to like about the guy and aimed to make Will more in line with the typical Japanese game protagonist -- more believable and less of a "caricature."

The above video diary also shows us how Nikola Tesla ended up in the game. Tesla is just one cool dude, whether he's being played by David Bowie, building super awesome defense towers for the Russians, or -- in the case of Dark Void -- spearheading an entire rebellion by inventing jetpacks and gigantic airships.

If you fancy yourself a would-be jetpacker, know that Capcom Unity is holding an event to show off Dark Void to San Franciscans this Monday, October 12. Before you get all giddy and start causing a scene in your cubicle/classroom/mom's basement, you'll need to do a few things:

• Make sure you can clear your schedule from 2pm - 7:30pmish on Monday, October 12 and you can get yourself to the downtown San Francisco area
• Be at least 21 years old and have a valid I.D.
• Hit up this link and drop a note stating why you should be chosen

And that's pretty much it. Best of luck to those of you trying to attend!

Giving Tokyo Game Show attendees a chance to get some hands-on time with Western-developed Dead Rising 2 at a party this week, Capcom's Keiji Inafune stated, "Japan is over. We're done. Our game industry is finished." Bionic Commando producer Ben Judd translated the Mega Man creator's claims to the crowd (that Destructoid captured on video, found after the break), explaining the eulogy as Inafune's reaction to the show floor at this year's TGS.

Unsurprisingly, his words were less harsh about his Japanese company's upcoming titles. "Just so that you all don't think that the game industry is finished, Capcom is doing our best," he said. Next year's Dark Void and Dead Rising 2 -- both Western developed games, mind you -- can't hurt Inafune's confidence, eh?

Did you know that at this very minute, millions of people worldwide are sitting on a fortune in gold? It's true! And you could be one of them! Capcom wants to help increase your gold treasures by one full jetpack, offering the item as a pre-order bonus with Dark Void when it lands on GameStop shelves early next year.

Rather than be way boring and send out a press release (though Capcom did that too), we've got the full faux commercial you see above, hilariously detailing the bonus; though a bit of gameplay of the jetpack can be found on the promo's website.

"My life used to be miserable and meaningless, but thanks to GOLD4JETPACK.com, I don't cry myself to sleep anymore!" Thanks GOLD4JETPACK.com!

We realize that Capcom chose to move Dark Void into 2010 for one reason or another, and we know how that makes you feel. You feel angry and sad and betrayed all at the same time but, mostly, you feel empty. Allow us, then, to provide you with some new Dark Void media fresh from GamesCom. Above we have a cinematic trailer for the game, which sets up the overall plot very nicely.

What you really want, however, is gameplay footage, and we've got plenty. After the break you will find a video with nearly five minutes of gameplay. So, go grab that old, homemade Rocketeer helmet -- we know you have one -- and strap in.

Dark Void wasn't just pushed back into 2010 to avoid "the crowded fall game season" (the crowded Q1 game season is so much nicer). Dark Void associate producer Shana T. Bryant offered another, more content-related reason to Kotaku, presumably right before she shot their correspondent out of a cannon.

"The main reason we delayed Dark Void was because we really wanted to spend the extra time we needed to re-polish it and add a new feature," Bryant explained. The new feature is hovering: by hitting the jump button twice, you can now hover in place, rising higher by continuing to hold the jump button. In happy news for people who want to play Dark Void without going insane with frustration, the damage model has also been tweaked such that wall collisions don't result in instant death.

It actually sounds like we're benefiting from the Dark Void delay. Don't tell anyone, though! We don't want the few publishers who haven't moved everything to spring 2010 to think it's a good idea.

Sure, we were upset when the gorgeous and fun Dark Void got pushed into 2010, but we guess if you have to be next year, this isn't a bad spot: Capcom announced this morning that you'll be able to strap in to Will's jetpack and helmet on January 12th in the US and January 15th in Europe.

So, just hold on to that electric beard massager for an extra week or two before you exchange it, and Aunt Stephanie will have bought you a totally bitching Christmas gift.

Capcom has dropped word on the titles it plans to feature at the GamesCom Conference in Cologne later this month, and (for the most part) the games feature a hearty scoop of violence. Kicking things off with the oft-delayed Dark Void, Capcom will feature Tatsunoko vs. Capcom: Ultimate All Stars, Monster Hunter Tri and Spyborgs for the Wii, along with Lost Planet 2 and MotoGP 09/10 for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

To promote the Rocketeer/alien battle simulator Dark Void, Capcom is hosting an event in which attendees can take flight in the Dark Void Body Flying Machine, a rigged, vertically-oriented airstream shooting gamers into the air at speeds of up to 180km/h. Luckily, Capcom is also sponsoring taxis throughout Cologne, so if something goes wrong during its "sounds like a tremendous idea on paper" gamer cannon event, attendees can make their way safely to the emergency room. GamesCom runs from August 19-23 in Cologne, Germany.

The pangs of despair we felt upon seeing the recent delay of Dark Void came in two distinct, yet equally heartbreaking flavors. For one, we became that much further removed from the title's jetpack-infused gameplay we've come to know and love. However, almost as upsetting was the fact that we'd have to wait even longer to hear the game's seemingly breathtaking musical score, created by former Battlestar Galactica composer Bear McCreary.

Machinima.com recently helped ease the pain by releasing a video interview (posted after the break) with McCreary conducted at San Diego Comic Con '09. It doesn't really feature any of the game's musical accompaniment, but provides us with an interesting look into Bear's creative process -- a process that thankfully extends further than "learn title of game, write entire score in one sitting, give music to developer, earn check, cash check, buy Jet Ski."

[Via Capcom Unity]

You know, when you're stuck in traffic and you think about changing lanes, but decide not to, reasoning with yourself that everyone else will and you're better off staying put? The lane to the left keeps moving and yet you stand still. So you go left and, what happens? Yup, you're stuck, while the right lane starts moving. Briskly.

Capcom finds itself in just such a position today, as it announces the delay of Dark Void into 2010 "in order to get the game out of the crowded fall game season," the company's Chris Kramer tells Joystiq. The Airtight Games-developed jetpack-'em-up will find a new home in Capcom's fiscal fourth quarter ... which is the increasingly crowded Q1 2010 calendar period, which ends in March.

Precisely what competition could Capcom be so afraid of? GameStop (of course, never an accurate reflection of actual release dates) listed Dark Void as touching down on September 22 ... the same September 22 in which Halo 3 ODST finally stops preparing, and just drops. When asked about the delay, Kramer said, "The move will be great for the game and for gamers: less competition in the market (curse you, Halo!), more time for polish."

So, just to make sure we've got this right: Capcom avoided releasing Dark Void in the relatively open September '09 period to avoid a "crowded" gaming season, opting instead for 2010 ... the same 2010 that now houses release dates for the similarly delayed Splinter Cell: Conviction, Bioshock 2, Singularity, Bayonetta, Red Steel 2, and probably Mafia II and Red Dead Redemption. Oh, as well as the already planned God of War 3, Heavy Rain, MAG, Darksiders, Aliens vs. Predator, Alan Wake, Dante's Inferno, Mass Effect 2, Sin & Punishment 2, White Knight Chronicles, Split/Second, and Capcom's own Dead Rising 2 and Lost Planet 2.

... boy, that right lane is looking awfully appealing again.

Dark Void looks like a pretty good video game or whatever, but its real contribution to the world is this figurine. Sold at Capcom's Comic-Con booth, the figure depicts protagonist Will taking off on his totally sweet jetpack. One detail that probably netted Capcom a few impulse buys: both the helmet and the flames light up.

Capcom-Unity says to "stay tuned for more info on these guys," suggesting that there will be some way to obtain one outside of the Comic-Con setting. Either that or the site will offer more info about how awesome it is, which could honestly fill a few additional blog posts.

It has lights.