dantes-inferno posts (Subscribe to this feed)

Infinity Ward's fourzerotwo thinks devs should 'take control' of marketing

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 26th 2009 at 2:18PM }

With the release of the highly anticipated Modern Warfare 2 just over two weeks away, Infinity Ward's Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling has been quite vocal with the press. Speaking with MCV, Bowling unequivocally states his opinion that game developers should retain control of marketing and PR for their own games. "I don't think any developer should not have control of how their game is presented or marketed or communicated," Bowling said. "And they should take control of that a lot, lot more."

Using his own Twitter account as an example, he points out that he has a "direct line to our audience and the press," cutting out the "middleman" of a publisher handling marketing/PR duties. "Not only do we know the game but we know the gamer," he continues. Then he must know about the 160,000 or so people and nearly 600 Diggers upset over his studio's decision to not support dedicated servers on the PC, right? Ahh, the double-edged sword of control: while IW may be the one making vital decisions on its own game, the blame falls squarely on its shoulders when things go wrong.

Gallery: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Dante's Inferno draws fire for baby murder Achievement

by Ben Gilbert { Oct 23rd 2009 at 4:00AM }

Dante's Inferno is getting flak from a nanny group over an Achievement for killing unbaptized babies -- not ironically, it's named "Bad Nanny." As GamePolitics points out, the International Nanny Association (INA) released a statement calling the 'cheevo "offensive to our association," as it seemingly defies the INA's goal to "promote and educate the public regarding the selfless work nannies do to support families."

We here at Joystiq are thoroughly offended too, though mostly because we know that more than one person on staff will be once again be forced into a morally compromising position in the endless hunt for virtual grandeur.

Gallery: Dante's Inferno

Academy Award nominee penning script for Dante's Inferno

by Griffin McElroy { Oct 10th 2009 at 12:00AM }

A recent Visceral Games press release revealed the talent behind the script of Dante's Inferno: Will Rokos, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his work on the screenplay for Monster's Ball. We missed out on that one when it was in theaters, but a quick Wikipedia search taught us that it's a troubling tale of ingrained racial conflict, shattered families, coping with lost loved ones and brief, uncompromising shots of Billy Bob Thornton's testicles.

So, yeah. Lots of overlap between that and an action-oriented video game based on a 14th century epic poem.

Gallery: Dante's Inferno (E3 2009)

Video: Dante deals with Anger, kills demons

by Richard Mitchell { Oct 9th 2009 at 10:00PM }

The latest in a series of developer diaries for Dante's Inferno has been released and, as we've come to expect, it's more familiar gameplay wrapped up in the hideous guise of a ruinous literary interpretation (one that Dante himself would supposedly approve of, no less). It's hard to say that the game doesn't look enjoyable, because it really does. The scythe and cross, which feature heavily in the video, look like a lot of fun to wield. The pursuit of a smooth, 60 FPS frame rate is admirable as well.

Unfortunately, the arrival of this "Anger" video also likely means the arrival of something in our own Chris Grant's mailbox. Some grim, tasteless thing that will shake our faith in humanity and the wisdom of EA's marketing department. And so, we wait.

TGS 2009: The Recap Post

by Xav de Matos { Oct 2nd 2009 at 10:10PM }

Last week, the Tokyo Game Show brought in over 100 posts worth of news, previews, interviews, galleries, and videos. Clearly, a lot happened. If you're looking for a comprehensive list of all the goings-on during TGS 2009, Joystiq has you covered -- and organized!

Click on a platform below to scan the highlights:

(On the far right: that's "News" and "Culture" on the top and bottom, respectively)

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TGS 2009: Hands-on with Dante's Inferno in the Land of the Lust

by Ross Miller { Sep 25th 2009 at 5:45PM }

We've talked up Dante's Inferno and its similarities to God of War before -- and not much has changed in that regard in the game's latest build. So, instead of going deep into the gameplay here, we'll focus on the content we saw in the new level, based on the sin of "Lust." It's quite the hellish journey, especially for the folks at the ESRB.

(Just a warning: despite our best efforts, given the subject matter, some of the content described might be considered NSFW. Read on at your own risk.)

Gallery: Dante's Inferno

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Overheard@TGS: A high five from the real Dante

by Ross Miller { Sep 25th 2009 at 5:13PM }

"Well, you know, I do think Dante would approve of our game. He was a man ahead of his time," supposed a Dante's Inferno developer about Dante Alighieri, author of 14th-century epic poem the Divine Comedy; the first part, Inferno, serving as the game's source material ... in theory.

TGS 2009: Hands-on: Dante's Inferno (PSP)

by Andrew Yoon { Sep 24th 2009 at 10:59AM }

While the PS3/360 game is largely criticized for being exactly like God of War, we could only wish the same held true for the PSP version of Dante's Inferno. Developed by A2M, the PSP version falls short of every benchmark set by Ready at Dawn's critically acclaimed Chains of Olympus. While few developers have been able to wring such incredible power out of Sony's handheld, it's immediately clear that A2M's efforts fall flat. Whereas Chains of Olympus featured volumetric fog and dynamic lighting, Dante's Inferno looks dull and lifeless.

The console versions of Dante's Inferno do a remarkable job of copying Kratos' moves, button for button. The PSP game also does a copycat job: everything, from the standard strike, to the spin move, to the dodge, is mapped exactly according to the blueprint laid out by Sony. However, a good game requires more than just copying another game's controls. Dante's Inferno misses the flourishes that made Ready at Dawn's game so successful: visual flourishes, subtle pauses when striking, dynamic camera movement, and easily accessible finishing moves.

Gallery: Dante's Inferno (PSP)

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Get greedy with this lengthy Dante's Inferno trailer

by David Hinkle { Sep 10th 2009 at 11:15PM }

If you're looking for a trailer comprised of nothing but gameplay, then you're getting into the spirit of this Dante's Inferno trailer. You're being greedy and your greedy nature will not be rewarded -- that is, unless you're willing to work for that greed. You'll roll up your sleeves and sift through the trailer, extracting all of the juicy portions of gameplay one by one. Sure, you'll have to put up with producers and designers chatting up their version of the fourth circle of Hell, but thankfully all of that hard work is worth it, because there are some genuinely impressive environments and enemies to behold. Enemies and environments you've never seen in any other game ever. Seriously.

BioShock maestro making Dante's Inferno sound like Hell

by Randy Nelson { Sep 9th 2009 at 7:45PM }

We did a little background check on Garry Schyman, the guy EA has picked to write the score for Dante's Inferno. Yes, as the publisher brags, he did the music for BioShock. But it may be his earlier material that caught the ~~eye~~ ear of Visceral Games. We are, of course, referring to his work on the late-'80s sing-a-long sitcom Rags to Riches. Check it out and you'll know why he was tapped to create a soundtrack for Hell.

Schyman, whose Inferno score has already been recorded at London's famous Abbey Road Studios, was also the composer for the likes of Destroy All Humans! and -- most recently -- Resistance: Retribution. You'll be able to buy (but not copy!) his latest soundtrack in January.

EA marketers send Joystiq a $200 check and we save their souls

by Christopher Grant { Sep 9th 2009 at 5:57PM }

click to check out the gallery

EA's been slowly ticking off the levels of Hell by way of marketing stunts for the upcoming God-of-War-em-up Dante's Inferno. The first circle of Hell is "Limbo" ... and though we're not sure, the E3 "staged protest" was an early Dante's Inferno marketing stunt, so maybe limbo? Next is circle two: "Lust." Cue the controversial Comic-Con "Sin to Win" stunt wherein one "lucky" winner received "a night with the hottest girl at Comic-Con." Yeah, that didn't go over so well. Next up is "Gluttony." To celebrate the third circle of Hell, they mailed our own Randy Nelson a severed limb cake. We didn't reward them with a post for that one.

However, the latest stunt is a little more creative. They've mailed this editor, and presumably the editors at several other media outlets, a check for $200. The packaging says that "by cashing this check you succumb to avarice by hoarding filthy lucre but by not cashing it, you waste it, and thereby surrender to prodigality." If your SAT dictionary isn't at arm's length, that last one means wastefulness. So, we either cash it and "succumb to avarice" or burn it and be wasteful. What's an ethical gaming blog to do ...

... how about this? How about we cash it, and donate all $200 to The White House Project, a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization "that aims to advance women's leadership in all communities and sectors – up to the U.S. presidency – by filling the leadership pipeline with a richly diverse, critical mass of women"? Of course, we'll make the donation in EA's name. It won't make up for Sin to Win, but the road to redemption's got to start somewhere, right?

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Dante's Inferno 'Greed' promotion is the least offensive yet

by JC Fletcher { Sep 9th 2009 at 1:00AM }

click to epic poem-sizeAside from the special totally metal wallpaper image made for the occasion (and downloadable in our gallery), the latest Deadly Sin-inspired promotional tactic for Dante's Inferno fails to offend our sensibilities at all. Maybe this was the reason for the fake protest, repugnant booth babe contest and arm-shaped cakes -- to make us feel not just relieved, but grateful for marketing that doesn't make us ashamed of our industry.

So what is the "Greed" promotion? According to EA, pre-ordering the game tomorrow from GameStop will get you savings of $6.66 (get it?). Is it even greedy to spend $53.33 instead of $59.99? That's a lot of money coming out of your pocket either way. Taking advantage of a small discount like that sounds prudent to us. Almost virtuous.

Gallery: Dante's Inferno

Hell is a major draw for Dante's Inferno

by JC Fletcher { Aug 27th 2009 at 10:59AM }

If you thought the baffling marketing tactics for Dante's Inferno were limited to PR stunts, you may be surprised at this quote from EA Games president Frank Gibeau. "I think when you look at Dante's Inferno you start with something that everybody has some knowledge of, which is Hell," Gibeau told GamesIndustry.biz, "and the idea that you go into Hell as a hero and fight demons ... that's something that resonates with a lot of people."

That's right. One of the most appealing parts of the game ... is Hell. Specifically, "going to Hell and fighting," but Hell nonetheless. We have "some knowledge" of a lot of unpleasant places, like the little closet our water heater occupies, but we aren't necessarily clamoring for games in those settings.

Both the interviewer and Gibeau also refer to Dante's Inferno as "new IP," which seems inaccurate to us, considering that The Divine Comedy's original street date was sometime in the early 1300s.

Gallery: Dante's Inferno (E3 2009)

Dante's Inferno trailer throws epic in your face

by Richard Mitchell { Aug 19th 2009 at 5:40PM }

Dante's Inferno is epic, got it? And the latest Dante's Inferno trailer crams that fact right down your gullet like Steve Ballmer horks down invisible hoagies. Filled with demonic monstrosities and accompanied by a horrifically loud orchestral soundtrack, the trailer spews sin right into your eyeholes, injects sonic evil directly into your ears and yanks your jaw down to the floor. It then promptly tells you to "Go to Hell." Watch the trailer, dangerously embedded above, if you've got the grapes.

Dante's Inferno escapes hell development in February

by David Hinkle { Aug 18th 2009 at 1:10PM }

EA's jaunt into the underworld finally has a firm release date: February 9 in North America and February 12 in Europe. Dante's Inferno is set to release simultaneously on the PS3, PSP and Xbox 360, with an animated feature launching alongside the game and a comic arriving in December. If you're wondering what you should do with the months leading up to the game's release, might we suggest reading Divine Comedy to observe all of the differences between the game and the original work?

We don't mean to nitpick, but we've already noticed a few here and there.