With QuakeCon 2009 in the rearview mirror, there’s plenty of coverage to catch up on. Starting with Brink, G4TV has an interview with Brink Game Director Paul Wedgwood. Watch it above.
Switching gears to RAGE, G4TV also interviewed John Carmack — who discusses id Tech 5, future projects, and of course, RAGE itself. Watch this one below.
For more RAGE/id Software news, check out the links after the break…
Apparently some folks got a bit upset by reports based on Todd’s talk at QuakeCon last week. An article came out where Todd was quoted as saying we had no plans for a TES V. He did not say that. That was not a direct quote from him. That was someone’s interpretation of what he said. I know, I was there.
At his QuakeCon talk he was asked when TESV is coming out and Todd replied, “Don’t look for a new Elder Scrolls game in the near future.” He also went on to say how much the franchise means to us and that it definitely will continue. He just wasn’t going to provide any timeframe on “when.” This should not be news to anyone that has been paying attention. Both Todd and I have said repeatedly that, of course, we’re going to do another Elder Scrolls game. The last one was enormously popular. So was the one before that. You get the idea. So do we.
Todd and Bethesda Game Studios are hard at work on their next big game, and we’re not ready to discuss it. As always, we prefer to have something amazing to show when we talk about it. We aren’t going to confirm or deny or comment on speculation, nor are we going to give hints about anything. If you know us by now, you know we don’t really do that.
In regards to the MMO comment, he was asked if there was “any chance of an Elder Scrolls MMO” and he replied — in a joking fashion — by saying “I guess there’s a chance.” To be clear, Todd and his team do not make MMOs, for any franchise, at all. We have another division, ZeniMax Online Studios, which is lead by Matt Firor, and they are working on an MMO. They have not said anything about what game they are making. When ZeniMax Online is ready to show what they are up to, we’ll let everyone know. Until then we aren’t going to provide hints or speculate on what they’re doing either.
Hope that helps clear things up.
Today a press release went out announcing the scheduled events for QuakeCon 2009 — set to begin on Thursday, August 13th (that’s next week!).
Those able to get to the Gaylord Texan Hotel on Thursday will have a chance to see id Software’s John Carmack deliver QuakeCon’s keynote address. Meanwhile, Bethesda Game Studios’ fans will be excited to know that on Friday, Todd Howard will talk about our process for making games like Oblivion and Fallout 3. Following the presentation, there will even be a Q&A. Also on Friday, Splash Damage’s CEO and game director, Paul Wedgwood, will deliver the first public demo of Brink. Meanwhile, folks will be able to see id Software’s Rage in action for the first time on Saturday.
For more on all the events taking place, hit the jump below…
A little while back, the guys at Planet Elder Scrolls pinged me about doing an interview in celebration of The Elder Scrolls’ 15th Anniversary. After locking Todd in the Imperial City Prison (i.e. his office), he emerged with answers to their questions. Here’s a snippet:
Has any the community had an impact on the creation of The Elder Scrolls games?
Todd Howard: Of course, absolutely. How people feel about the games, what mods they create or play with, all of it matters. We see most of it, and talk about it in the office, and it has a dramatic effect on what we do.
You can find the rest of the interview here, as well as a look back on The Elder Scrolls Series written by the Planet Elder Scrolls team.
Point Lookout is now available to download for Xbox 360 and Games for Windows. You can buy both versions online through the Xbox LIVE Marketplace and Games for Windows LIVE Marketplace (be sure to download the GFWL Client if you haven’t already) . Also be sure to check out the latest screenshots, the Point Lookout trailer, and the team diary on the creation of Point Lookout.
For the Games for Windows version of Point Lookout, make sure you have the latest game update (v 1.6). Get it here.
Update: Wanna see more on Point Lookout. Check out videos at G4TV and MSNBC Tech Watch.
Welcome back to another web update…shall we get started?
At The Escapist, we’ve got two things for you to check out. First, Emil shared a cool gaming anecdote with the site for a series called First-Person Gaming. To find out who pwn’d him in Call of Duty 4, click here. Also on the site, part-time mycologist Zach Miller has a column this week titled, “The Shrooms of Oblivion.” Here, he discusses the realism of Oblivion and how real-world plants (err mushrooms) add to the player immersion. Here’s a snippet of the column, where he talked with one of our artists, Noah Berry:
Noah Berry, an artist at Bethesda, said that using real-world plants was entirely in keeping with the Elder Scrolls series. “Personally, I’ve always found that some of the most vivid and absorbing fantasy worlds – in fiction, film or in games – have familiar elements operating as touchstones for the participant. Even if they only register on a subconscious level, the more realistic trappings can provide contextual grounding for the player.”
We’ll move along (since I hate mushrooms) to Bitmob, who have 21 Random Questions with Todd Howard. Learn about Todd’s favorite book and 20 other random things.
In other news, gaming site Pwn or Die has a feature on 11 of the Worst Virtual Jobs in Video Games. Check it out to see what Fallout 3 job was included (as well as two careers from Fallout 2).
There’s new coverage for WET and Brink too. Gamespot has a new interview with Ed Stern, Senior Lead Designer at Splash Damage. Elsewhere, a new preview for WET is up at Gamervision.
Gamervision also got a chance to see Brink at E3. Check out that preview here. For more on Brink head to Gaming Angels, Maximum PC, and finally Kotaku (AU) — who feature the game as one of The Top 10 Best Original Games of E3.
Update: MTV Multiplayer has an interview with Jeff Gardiner from E3 in which he gives a few details on Fallout 3′s final DLC, Mothership Zeta.
We conclude our E3 Roundups for the week with a look at previews for Fallout 3′s latest DLC, Point Lookout.
We’ll begin at Planet Fallout, who sent one of their members, Ixon, to E3. Here’s an excerpt from his preview:
“The locale was also visually stunning. I would relate it to a darker version of Coney Island after lapsing into disuse for about eighty years. As you pull up, you get an overlook of the dock area of the main landing for Point Lookout and can easily see the mansion in the distance. The rustic look permeates everything about it and though I didn’t get a chance to see it, the swamp areas are supposedly to be incredibly creepy.”
Ixon also has an interview with DLC Producer Jeff Gardiner. Read it here.
Speaking of interviews, Revision3 chatted with Todd Howard at E3. The clip starts around the 19-minute mark.
More previews for Point Lookout can be found at the following sites:
Point Lookout comes to Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE on June 23rd, and later this year on PlayStation Network. If you haven’t checked out the trailer yet, you can view it on the Fallout 3 Official Site.
While I didn’t get a chance to attend E3 this year, folks at the office were abuzz about Mickey Rourke’s visit to the booth to promote Rogue Warrior. If you missed it, Rourke stars as the voice of the game’s lead character, Richard “Demo Dick” Marcinko.
In addition to Rourke, the real Demo Dick was at our booth. Check out G4TV’s interview with him (which also includes Todd discussing Point Lookout).
At Game Trailers, there’s a new video interview with Project Lead Aeron Guy. Additionally, Digital Trends has a podcast interview with Producer Charles Harribey.
Preview coverage from E3 is making its way online too. Check out impressions of the game at Big Download, Neoseeker, Gaming Angels, and IGN.
Rogue Warrior ships on PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation 3 this fall. Head to the game’s Official Site for more details.
Update: In Blast Magazine’s Best of E3 2009, Rogue Warrior was named Best Multiplatform game. You can also read their preview here.
It’s been a while since the last blog post — Pete and Ash were off at E3 while I was getting hitched and enjoying Costa Rica. With E3 in the rear view mirror, there’s plenty to catch up on. Shall we get started?
Last week on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, SNL vet Jason Sudeikis reported on the events taking place at E3. The clip is pretty hilarious, and actually includes Eliza Dushku and Mickey Rourke, who were on hand signing posters and meeting fans for WET and Rogue Warrior, respectively. There’s even outtakes for both Eliza and Mickey.
Want more video coverage of E3? Revision 3′s Matt Chandronait discusses Brink and chats with Todd Howard about Fallout 3 DLC in one of their E3 specials. Brink discussion starts at the 17:10 mark and is followed by Todd’s interview.
Elsewhere, Todd appeared on 1Up’s ListenUp podcast on the final day of E3 — joining a roundtable discussion about the show. Todd literally walks onto the podcast around the 24:10 mark — head there to get his thoughts on the show. In non-E3 news, a few weeks back Todd shared one of his laws of Gaming AI at Kotaku.
In other news, at the start of E3, Pete wrote a blog post for Edge discussing our plans for the show. Here’s a snippet:
“I guess key to that message is the reveal of a title we have been working on with the folks at Splash Damage for some time now, called Brink. We felt it was the right time to announce this game and start talking about some of the new and different things this game is bringing to the shooter space. I think folks will be impressed with what Paul Wedgewood and his team have come up with.”
Speaking of Pete, yesterday he sent me this fan video on YouTube, titled Oblivion in real life. Props to Wiggler for a hilarious video. If you enjoyed this video, you may also want to check out these posts: The Real World: Oblivion and Getting Dressed with Oblivion.
Finally, my Google Alerts brought me to some great a fan art — a papercraft version of the Fallout 3 Alien Blaster. I wonder if they’ve got plenty of papercraft ammo to share. 
This morning we put out a press release with some big announcements for Fallout 3.
Up first, we’re working on DLC for the PlayStation 3. We’ll be releasing Operation: Anchorage in late June, followed by the release of The Pitt and Broken Steel 4-6 weeks apart after. Later this year, PlayStation 3 users will also get…
…our next two DLCs, Point Lookout and Mothership Zeta. Coming first to Xbox LIVE and Games for Windows LIVE in June and July, respectively, here’s a brief synopis on both:
* Point Lookout – Explore a massive new swampland area filled with new quests and content.
* Mothership Zeta – The aliens have returned, and they’re pissed. Experience an alien abduction first hand and find out if you’re tough enough to survive.
Finally, we’ve got three more Fallout releases coming to retail this year:
It’s worth noting that retail versions of the game add-on packs for PS3 are not possible and the DLC will only be available for download online via PlayStation Network.
We’ll have more details on all of these releases soon. In the meantime, you can read the press release here, as well as a new interview with Todd at IGN.