PopCap Hiring for a Triple-A Game

[Fanghawk]

PopCap Hiring for a Triple-A Game

PopCap's next game could be powered by Battlefield 3's Frostbite engine.

When Electronic Arts acquired PopCap Games, the publisher gained a incredibly prominent foothold in the casual gaming market. Popular PopCap titles like Bejeweled, Peggle, and Plants Vs Zombies greatly distinguished the developer from EA's traditional hardcore market, and similar gaming experiences were expected to be produced under the new ownership. According to a recent EA job posting however, PopCap is actually branching out into the hardcore gaming scene. The developer is seeking a software engineer to assist in the development of a console-based triple-A title, lending credibility to the rumors <a href=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/118969-Rumor-Next-Plants-vs-Zombies-Inspired-by-Team-Fortress-2>that Plants Vs Zombies 2 will actually be a multiplayer shooter.

Outside of the usual requirements for a career in game development, PopCap is seeking an engineer experienced in modern consoles, specifically the PS3 and XBox 360. More importantly, the ideal candidate should be familiar with Frostbite 2, the engine used in hardcore shooters Battlefield 3 and Medal of Honor: Warfighter. Considering that the majority of PopCap's catalog can be run without hardware acceleration, this could mark the biggest graphical leap forward in the developer's decade-long history.

Unless PopCap is planning to turn Bejeweled into a cover-based shooter, Plants Vs Zombies 2 remains the best candidate for a triple-A experience. To be fair, the use of Frostbite doesn't necessarily mean PvZ 2 will be a shooter, as the engine is also being used <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frostbite_%28game_engine%29>for racing games and RPGs. Either way, considering that the majority of PopCap's catalog can be run without hardware acceleration, this is a fairly significant shift for the developer. It remains to be seen just how effectively PopCap can scale its signature gameplay to the triple-A industry.

Personally, I'll remain skeptical unless it turns out that PvZ will be remade as an X-Com-styled tactical shooter. At that point, all bets are off.

Source: Joystiq

Permalink

 

[Louzerman102]

Dear EA,
This is why people hate you. We gamers do not hate you because it it cool, or because the cool kids are doing it. We hate you because you make stupid decisions and urinate on the things we love.

EA please stop urinating on the things we love.

signed,
A Gamer

P.S. please ignore if this is a new IP. (ha ha I made a funny)

 

[rembrandtqeinstein]

PvZ will be remade as an X-Com-styled tactical shooter

I keep throwing money at the screen but nothing is happening!

 

[drisky]

This sounds like a bad idea just waiting to happen. Pop Cap works because it makes really fine tuned games that anyone can learn to play and can run on any device. They can still keep that first part with higher graphics but there isn't much point, a casual audience doesn't really care about graphical power as much as art style. The second part is completely out the window, I can't run something like Battlefield 3 on my computer, there is no way someone will be able to do it on a smart phone. People like to complain about developers like Bioware trying to expand their audience to much, right now I feel like complaining that Pop Cap is narrowing there's.

 

[Entitled]

I know that the definitions of "hardcore" and "casual" are always open for debate, but I think it should be clear that it shouldn't be mindlessly used for games just because they have bigger budgets and 3D environments. Espeially not if we are talking about EA's typical offerings, that tends to be some of the most idiot-friendly, hand-holding, generic bland "whichever genre is most popular at the moment" products.

 

[SonicWaffle]

Personally, I'll remain skeptical unless it turns out that PvZ will be remade as an X-Com-styled tactical shooter. At that point, all bets are off.

Nuts to your X-Com, Plants vs Zombies as an old-school Westwood RTS! That would rock several different kinds of cocks.

Imagine Red Alert 2, except you're defending Washington from zombies, and it's all about strategic plant deployment...

 

[SonicWaffle]

I know that the definitions of "hardcore" and "casual" are always open for debate

No, they really aren't. We're supposed to have moved past the egocentric "hardcore" bullshit by now, and all be too busy enjoying our games to give a shit whether somebody else enjoys Farmville more than CoD and whether that makes us better gamers than them.

 

[Entitled]

I know that the definitions of "hardcore" and "casual" are always open for debate

No, they really aren't. We're supposed to have moved past the egocentric "hardcore" bullshit by now, and all be too busy enjoying our games to give a shit whether somebody else enjoys Farmville more than CoD and whether that makes us better gamers than them.

Well, apparently the above news article still felt it important to make up it's own terminology about them...

 

[SonicWaffle]

I know that the definitions of "hardcore" and "casual" are always open for debate

No, they really aren't. We're supposed to have moved past the egocentric "hardcore" bullshit by now, and all be too busy enjoying our games to give a shit whether somebody else enjoys Farmville more than CoD and whether that makes us better gamers than them.

Well, apparently the above news article still felt it important to make up it's own terminology about them...

Yes, but that doesn't mean we have to fall into the same trap.

 

[MetalMagpie]

Dear EA,
This is why people hate you. We gamers do not hate you because it it cool, or because the cool kids are doing it. We hate you because you make stupid decisions and urinate on the things we love.

EA please stop urinating on the things we love.

signed,
A Gamer

P.S. please ignore if this is a new IP. (ha ha I made a funny)

Dear A Gamer,

Sorry, we can't hear you over the sound of all our MONEY!!!

signed,
EA

P.S. We'll stop abusing our IPs when you stop buying the games.

 

[capacollo]

Hmmm, Possibly a Plants vs Zombies MMO ? I maybe off in my thought process but that would be interesting and may not seem to much of a stretch from the current game's premise.

 

[Entitled]

I know that the definitions of "hardcore" and "casual" are always open for debate

No, they really aren't. We're supposed to have moved past the egocentric "hardcore" bullshit by now, and all be too busy enjoying our games to give a shit whether somebody else enjoys Farmville more than CoD and whether that makes us better gamers than them.

Well, apparently the above news article still felt it important to make up it's own terminology about them...

Yes, but that doesn't mean we have to fall into the same trap.

We don't, but that also means that your initial statement about these words no longer being debated, is wrong.

In that case, that "we are too busy enjoying our games" line is just a thought-terminating cliché.

 

[gardian06]

PvZ will be remade as an X-Com-styled tactical shooter

I keep throwing money at the screen but nothing is happening!

try more change that should work

OT: just because Frostbite can make shooters doesn't mean it will.

 

[Callate]

Hey, Popcap. Did you fire George Fan (you know, the mind behind PvZ, possibly your biggest game ever) because you knew there would be violence if you pulled this bullshit with him still in the building?

I don't know if it's true. I hope it's not true. But even if it isn't, whether this particular shock of bourbon-and-airplane-glue inspired brilliance to turn Popcap towards AAA Frostbite-powered console development came from within or from the Evil Archenemy, it's the worst move since someone decided a dialogue-and-plot-centric company like Bioware should be tasked with handling a multiplayer-only version of the C&C:Generals franchise.

(Who was behind that decision? Oh, right...)

 

[SonicWaffle]

I know that the definitions of "hardcore" and "casual" are always open for debate

No, they really aren't. We're supposed to have moved past the egocentric "hardcore" bullshit by now, and all be too busy enjoying our games to give a shit whether somebody else enjoys Farmville more than CoD and whether that makes us better gamers than them.

Well, apparently the above news article still felt it important to make up it's own terminology about them...

Yes, but that doesn't mean we have to fall into the same trap.

We don't, but that also means that your initial statement about these words no longer being debated, is wrong.

I never said they weren't being debated. You said they were "open for debate", which is normally used to suggest an issue which has not yet been conclusively decided. My point is that we really really should have decided this issue by now, because it's such a pitiful thing to argue; that someone is a lesser gamer by virtue of the games they play. There may be people still debating it, but the question itself is done and dusted.

In that case, that "we are too busy enjoying our games" line is just a thought-terminating cliché.

How so? Way I see it, if you're actually up in arms about how people who play Boomblox or Zynga games are inferior to you, you've got a problem. For those of us who play video games because we enjoy video games, hardcore vs casual is meaningless; it's just more people deriving enjoyment from gaming.

 

[lacktheknack]

the engine used in hardcore shooters Battlefield 3 and Metal of Honor: Warfighter.

I'd play that. Do you fire the gun by shredding your guitar even harder?

OT: AGAHUGWJGLKAHgjASK SJDK qkHLDSAHAJLRKYHWQJGKLJQDSGKlHASGjgJKRQJWLNBLFJnvIOrUQOIBHNKLAlaFJAKL.

I'm assuming that Plants vs. Zombies 2 will be the game in question. There's no way it will ever end well... ever.

 

[Fanghawk]

the engine used in hardcore shooters Battlefield 3 and Metal of Honor: Warfighter.

I'd play that. Do you fire the gun by shredding your guitar even harder?

The Frostbite engine is apparently more versatile than I thought.

Fixed.