Bulletstorm Dev's Canceled Project Way More Serious

[Tom Goldman]

Bulletstorm Dev's Canceled Project Way More Serious

[vimeo=9069800]

Before working on the shooter that'll have players firing grenades into enemy posteriors, People Can Fly had a project in the works with a more serious tone.

If People Can Fly wasn't working on Bulletstorm [http://www.amazon.com/Bulletstorm-Epic-Xbox-360/dp/B003H0CC2O/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1295108202&sr=1-1], it'd probably have something similarly "extreme" in the works, right? Maybe not. Now that the studio is in the limelight for its crazy shooter collaboration with Epic Games, a video has surfaced of a very different previous project.

Artist Andrzej Rudz posted a concept video of a canceled People Can Fly game called Come Midnight that the developer presumably starting working on after the Painkiller [http://www.amazon.com/Painkiller-Gold-Pc/dp/B0008G2B7Q/ref=sr_1_2?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1295108188&sr=1-2] series. According to a report by G4, it was a survival horror game slated for the Xbox 360 and PS3.

Rudz's video doesn't show any gameplay, but it does give us a look at what appears to be a very different concept from Bulletstorm. Bulletstorm is infused with a unique sense of humor [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/106852-Bulletstorm-Pukes-on-Popular-Halo-3-Advertisement], while Come Midnight doesn't look like it would have featured blowing up enemy private parts.

The video for Come Midnight gives me the feeling that players would have taken on the role of a hard-nosed private detective that stumbles upon something he never expected. Ghosts, or ghouls, maybe. I'd much rather throw hundreds of foes onto cacti and wing them around with an electric whip than visit that boarded-up house anyway.

Source: GameSetWatch [http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/709717/Take-A-Look-At-Come-Midnight-A-Canceled-Game-From-People-Can-Fly.html]

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[hansari]

Epic games probably laughed at them when they brought up the possiblity of doing a serious mature game. A couple of "listen brah" later set them straight. That and the fact that they wouldn't get any funding.

In all seriousness, the market is already saturated with failures in survival horror at this point. Maybe not always sale-wise, but with regard to reception...

 

[GiantRaven]

It's a shame that was cancelled, I really like how it looks.

 

[The Cheezy One]

Its not like it could be less serious than BS. I'm not sure thats possible

 

[vxicepickxv]

I'm not sure that was really anything other than a test bed for a video loop. Without any other information, there's no real point in calling it anything other than a test video.

 

[Assassin Xaero]

After looking at Bulletstorm and playing Painkiller, I really can't see People Can Fly doing anything serious...

 

[Steve Fidler]

Wow, that actually looks really good. It's a shame they didn't work on it side by side, or auction it off to another developer. I hope they decide to finish it after Bulletstorm.

It looks like it would make a very good Adventure/Horror game, with locations like that. I don't like the idea of Survival Horror cause I am instantly thinking of Silent Hill/Resident Evil which would ruin the class and style that video portrays. Thinking something more along the lines of Heavy Rain, but without all the damn QTEs

 

[archvile93]

I'd much rather throw hundreds of foes onto cacti and wing them around with an electric whip than visit that boarded-up house anyway.

There would also be no PC version, so I wouldn't be able to play it anyway.

After looking at Bulletstorm and playing Painkiller, I really can't see People Can Fly doing anything serious...

They actually tried to be serious with Painkiller. Then they realized that serious really didn't fit the gameplay, so they just said, "screw it let's be as juvinille as possible with the next one."

 

[cairocat]

Thinking something more along the lines of Heavy Rain, but without all the damn QTEs

So... just a start menu?

 

[Sebenko]

In all seriousness, the market is already saturated with failures in survival horror at this point. Maybe not always sale-wise, but with regard to reception...

No, the marked is saturated with flesh coloured action games.

Actual survival horror games are few and far between.

 

[Jumplion]

That looks very interesting, though it was probably for the best. Still, I hope they come back to it, it's got a sort of Film Noir style to it, like L.A. Noir.

 

[GiantRaven]

It's a shame that was cancelled, I really like how it looks.

Yeah but the video doesn't give us any idea of how the game actually works. It could have been the prettiest game ever made, but that doesn't mean shit if wasn't going to be FUN.

Conversely, you have no idea if it wouldn't be fun. All I was saying was that I liked what I saw in the video.

 

[hansari]

In all seriousness, the market is already saturated with failures in survival horror at this point. Maybe not always sale-wise, but with regard to reception...

No, the marked is saturated with flesh coloured action games.

Actual survival horror games are few and far between.

Saturated was a poor choice of words. Numberwise, there seems to be more than an appropriate number of survival horror games.

The problem is judging how many of them are good. Silent Hill 5, FEAR 2, Resident Evil 5...there are some good ones too but I wouldn't be too optimistic about profiting from a new title when the genre has brought too much disappointment for its fans.

Dead Space had some interesting mechanics, for example, but sold quite poorly.

 

[Sixcess]

That's the theme music from Farewell my Lovely (1975 version with Robert Mitchum) Good movie.

Philip Marlowe meets Silent Hill? I'd play it.

Apart from anything else I can't help but feel that Bulletstorm's humour is going to get very old very fast.

 

[Alandoril]

They probably caught wind of LA Noire part way through the project and changed their minds.

 

[KEM10]

I want more noir games. Gritty, sepia toned realism with an alcoholic PI that was removed from the force for [that one incident]. I guess I just want a cinematic game that will make me think with cynical undertones about life, and to pretend to be Bogart.

 

[Zepren]

You really prefer the look of bulletstorm? That there concept looks so sophisticated and really interesting. Don't bash it.

"Unique sense of humour" - Low-brow, childish and aimed at an american audience.

That's just my opinion though.

 

[Dectilon]

I like the idea for a setting, but if it was just a shooter I probably wouldn't be that interested. I feel the same way about the new upcoming Bioshock. The setting, as it's been shown and explained, seems phenomenal! But I'd honestly rather play a game in that setting where combat isn't the be all end all. I'm really looking forward to Human Revolution because of that