Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Dyack touted Ontario as a potential global leader in the games sector once the economy recovers, and rather pointedly mentioned the rarity of his own studio's lifespan and that it makes him a well-positioned survivor amidst the bloodbath. Said Dyack:

It's been really a rough year and a half for the industry as a whole. The number of layoffs in the industry has been staggering. As an external developer it's been tough. I actually don't know anyone who's older than us any more. There used to be four or five people I knew of but I feel right now that we're one of the last of the V8s. I've talked to a lot of people and I know a lot of people who have gone out of business.

Further:

What that means for us is we're really excited because we're going to be able to come out, and the industry is going to rebound and grow, and we'll be one of probably five companies in the world that has any serious business beyond ten years.

"Serious business beyond 10 years"? Is he talking about the development of Too Human?

Dyack: Developer Layoffs and Closures have been "Staggering" [GamesIndustry.biz]

There's tons of fun in this 4-page pdf, which you can print out to leave a copy at the dentist's office and confuse the hell out of everyone. Word searches ("BODY ODOR," "NO SHOW" and "DENIS DYACK.") booth babes and jokes, too. ("Why did the AAA exclusive game flop after years in development?" "It was released for PC?" Owwwwww ...)

God, that cartoon of Reggie cracks me the hell up. Enjoy, courtesy of GameSpy.

The E3 Activity Book for Kids [GameSpy]

Mays will work closely with Denis Dyack to "to drive the company forward by fostering continual growth for Silicon Knights, as well as the games industry in Ontario and the Niagara Region. "

No exactly sexy, exciting stuff, but it is the sort of thing that can keep a developer from going belly up in harsh economic times. Of course within his first month on the job, Mays was handing out actual swords to Silicon Knights employees with ten years service, so maybe not.

"The sword ceremony only confirmed for me what I already knew – Silicon Knights attracts talented individuals that are devoted to being at Silicon Knights and to creating groundbreaking video games," said Mays. "I am very excited to be working for one of the largest independent game developers in the world."

Dyack says Mays arrive marks a step forward in the development of Silicon Knights.

"His keen business acumen and financial knowhow makes him the perfect leader for us and for working with the Ontario government to help build the video game industry presence in the Niagara Region and Ontario," said Denis Dyack, President of Silicon Knights. "Michael brings a fresh and knowledgeable perspective on business growth and partnerships, and I am pleased to be working with him to expand the company and move our guild forward."

According to DePetris, "I’m just looking for something different." What exactly that is, DePetris does not yet know, adding, That’s something I am going to worry about in the new year,” he said. “But I am going to stay involved in the community, and I am not planning on leaving."

The exec was instrumental in collaborating with the Ontario government on various game initiatives that helped fuel the company. DePetris is not severing ties as he will continue to work "closely" with SK president Denis Dyack (pictured), Silicon Knights stated.

Silicon Knights exec calls it quits [St. Catherine Standard via ENDSIGHTS]

Carman Dix, Art director of Too Human:
Underneath, Denis is still that boy that genuinely loves video games with a passion.

Henry Sterchi, Director of design of Too Human:
Denis is sincerely passionate about the quality of everything Silicon Knights does, and with that passion comes some of his outspokenness and desire to interact with the community.

Steve Henifin, Audio director of Too Human:
One of the things I like about Denis is that he is a tenacious person and he takes risks. I respect him for that, because I’m the same way.

That's nice and all... What do you really think?

‘Too Human’ Developers Share Impressions Of Denis Dyack [Multiplayer] [Pic]

Too Human set out to be epic and it delivered on at least one level: Denis Dyack's painfully personal reaction to the previews and reviews made for a soap opera drama of epic proportions on gaming forums and websites international. But what about the game, did it deliver on the same epic level as Dyack's wounded ego?

Loved:
May I Have This Fray?: Too Human is a button masher free of button mashing. That's one of the things the action title does so well. Initially, playing with very few button pushes is strange, even unnerving. But as you master the art of double thumbstick combat, the rolling dungeon brawls become more about spacing, tactics, timing, then they do about tapping A over and over again. Combat becomes almost terpsichorean as you slip from attacker to attacker, unloading powerful blows that some times launch them through the air.

Bountiful Armor and Weapons : Too Human is packed to the gills with different weapons and armor, hundreds of thousands of them. While the Too Human naming convention can result in some pretty goofy titles, the sheer volume is a role-playing gamers fantasy. Throw into the mix that each looks quite unique, that you can collect sets, and the fact that you can augment almost everything with Runes and you turn equipping almost into a mini-game.

Unique World: Silicon Knights' blending of Norse mythology with cyberspace initially comes off as a bit hackneyed (especially when you're introduced to a seemingly random taste of Beowulf), but it grows on you. The concepts are all solid, and some are even sublime, like the body snatching Valkyries and robot goblins, trolls and dark elves. It's a peculiar take on a familiar world that doesn't try to take center stage to the game but still manages to slightly bewilder you in its delivery.

Diverse Skills and Alignment Trees:Running there right along side that mammoth, almost never-ending selection of weapons, armor and runes, are the ever branching skill and alignment trees. Each of the five classes in the game have more than a dozen skills to choose from and build up, running along different paths. Players are also asked to choose an alignment a bit into the game, giving them another nine skills to work on. It's all lends itself to a high level of customization in the way you want to play the game and plenty of tweaking, almost reminiscent of a pen and paper RPG.

Hated:
I'm a God Not A...:Mountain climber, or hiker, or guy who likes to walk anywhere that isn't strictly defined in the game. Come on! Baldur is a God, why can't he walk the less traveled path? It's down right annoying that I can't make my way though a collection of shrubs in the middle of a map, but that each of this god's mighty leaps results in the sound of rolling thunder.

Graphic Glitches: When I played through the preview of Too Human I was struck by how beautiful the game can look at times, but I was more struck by how many graphic glitches and annoying little visual and audio bugs there were in the game. Then when I received the review code I saw much of the same issues, so I waited for the retail code. Guess what? Still there.

CyberWTF: I get what Silicon Knights is going for and in many ways I like it. The modernization of an ancient mythology is very tantalizing and gives gamers a lot of meat to chew on. But the element of cyberspace, however good it might look on paper, feels like a time-fluffing waste. Instead of opening a door I have to go to a well, walk twenty steps, push a button, walk back, leave the well and open a door. I'm sure the developers will better explore this concept in future games, but that's no reason to punish gamers now.

Epic Confusion: Too Human sets itself out to be an epic tale, one so vast it needs to be told in three games. I buy that and actually can't wait to dive into the second game. But the first felt like a plunge into the middle of a story that I wasn't even sure I wanted to care about yet. This sort of starting in the middle approach might work for some, but Silicon Knights just doesn't have the chops to pull it off. The result is a storyline so convoluted that a gamer's initial pass is likely to leave them more confused than caring.

Character Development: If you want to sell a game with its story you have to make characters people care about. In Too Human the main characters are so flat, so underdeveloped that it's hard to feel anything when they start dropping like flies. The same can be said for game lead Baldur, who with a complex back story and conflicting motives should be someone you easily empathize with. But that connection never seems to happen.

Multiplayer: When is multiplayer co-op not multiplayer co-op? When it's delivered in bite-sized chunks that strip out the cut-scenes and plot. Multiplayer gaming is supposed to be about the act of mutual discovery, experiencing something together. But the fact that characters of any level, no matter how disparate, can make their way through the game in any order they want turns the experience into more of a treasure hunt than voyage.

The most exciting part of Too Human is its ending. That's not meant to be a back-handed compliment. I'm not saying I relished not playing the game anymore. I'm talking about that final cut scene, one that delivers more hope, more possibility than almost all of Too Human managed to muster in its relatively short play through. The fact that it excited me, though, also means that over the course of the game I guess I grew to like Too Human and become a bit fond of its idiosyncrasies. I'd hate to suggest a game based on what it's sequel might deliver, but that's what I'm doing.

The absurdly diverse reaction Too Human is more a product of expectation than any major flaw in game design. Sure it could have used some more polish and this first game in a trilogy, perhaps, should have kicked off at a more interesting point in the overarching story, but it wasn't a bad game.

Too Human, developed by Silicon Knights, published by Microsoft Game Studio and released Aug. 19 for the Xbox 360. Retails for $59.99. Played through single-player campaign using review code once and final, boxed retail code once. Played through more than two chapters in multplayer matches.

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

Microsoft Game Studios and Silicon Knights are committed to finishing the first instalment, but Too Human is an overarching epic with a rich and vast game universe that cannot be told in one instalment.

This game will begin the saga of the god Baldur in the narrative tradition of classic trilogies, such as Star Wars and Lord Of The Rings. We will talk about the full trilogy and we are very excited about its potential.

Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Too Human? All in the same Microsoft breath.

Too Human trilogy ‘very exciting’, says Microsoft [MCVUK]

Too Human isn't just a science fiction reinterpretation of Norse mythology, nor is it just a philosophical look at humanity's growing reliance on technology, nor is it just a cautionary tale about the nature of war, nor is it just an action game. Definitely don't judge it as just an action game. No, Too Human is, among all of these other things, a chance at salvation for an entire city in Ontario, Canada. Or thus spake Dyack in a recent interview with his home town paper.

"If Too Human does what we expect it will (in the marketplace), then it can change the world for St. Catharines and Niagara," Dyack said Friday from his office at One St. Paul Street.

...

There is a great deal riding on the success of Too Human for Silicon Knights, which employs 160 people. If the game is a hit, it will not only allow the company to grow, but will fuel Dyack's larger agenda for the city and region.

"I've said this before. I want to see a campus here in Niagara dedicated to interactive information technology," he said.

Dyack sees Niagara as suffering from a kind of inferiority complex that keeps it from reaching its full potential. The problem is compounded by the steady decline of the manufacturing sector. Video-game development and its associated industries might help build a new knowledge-based economy for the region, Dyack said.

So not only will you make Dyack cry if you don't buy Too Human, you'll kill a town. See if you can sleep with yourself then!

Long-awaited offering by Silicon Knights may represent the future of city's economy [The Standard]

Well the trial is proceeding, we feel really good about our claims, and we’re hopeful that justice will be done. We all feel really strongly that they have defrauded us, and a major portion of the industry.

The Unreal Engine is still the industry's most popular third party engine.

SK v Epic: 'Justice will be done' says Dyack [Develop]

Hit the jump for the full press release with pre-order info:

Now is the Time to Become a god Amongst Men; Xbox 360 Exclusive Too Human has Gone Gold

Xbox LIVE Marketplace demo downloads surpass 900,000

Microsoft Game Studios and Silicon Knights announced today that the blockbuster action RPG “Too Human” has gone gold and will be shipping to retailers throughout North America on August 19. In anticipation of the title’s release, gamers can jump into the first level of “Too Human” with a demo now available on Xbox LIVE. The Too Human demo has already been downloaded more than any other action demo on Xbox LIVE Marketplace in its first week of availability and has been one of the top played titles on Xbox LIVE overall. In addition, gamers that pre-order will get access to five exclusive armor sets, one for each class in the game.

A modern take on classical Norse mythology, the Xbox 360 exclusive “Too Human” chronicles the epic story of cybernetic god, Baldur, and his quest to save humanity at the potential price of sacrificing his own humanity. By combining elements of both action and RPG genres – along with the ability to fully customize Baldur’s weaponry, armor, and combat techniques – Too Human creates a truly unique gameplay experience. Players can also invite a friend to join the explosive combat via advanced, online two-player co-op gameplay on Xbox LIVE *.

“Too Human” will have an estimated retail price of $59.99 and is rated “T” for Teen. For more information, visit www.xbox.com/toohuman.

*Online co-op play requires Xbox LIVE Gold Membership.

Too Human Gold [Gamerscore Blog]

You're not still reading, obviously, but keep an eye peeled for our similar line of interviews coming soon. They'll feature myself and Mike Fahey in Craftmatic adjustable beds interviewing industry luminaries in our PJs. As soon as someone agrees, we'll start filming. Any day now...

Denis Dyack Explains Too Human To Our Penthouse Pets, Part 1 [Das Gamer]

Dyack recognizes this dichotomy, and says that cut scenes in themselves are not a problem, but rather his fellow designers have implemented them poorly:

Over the last five to ten years, so many games have been released where cut scenes are absolutely meaningless. They don’t contribute to the content and don’t contribute to the characters. They’re almost like some kind of reward for completing the level, and that makes absolutely no sense.

As game designers we have to go beyond that. Cut scenes have to contribute to the game. That’s a really good rule for people to follow. And it shows you that the classics, well, we still have a lot to learn from the classics.

So what will he do about cut scenes in his Too Human?

Too Human will have cut scenes, but I think that we've managed to blur the line between what people would consider a cut scene and what people consider in-game. See, part of the reason we as designers want to use cut scenes is because it allows us to be cinematographers, and that's fine. But in-game, Too Human will use a dynamic, intelligent camera system that presents the in-game in a more cinematic light, at the same time being conducive to good gameplay.

Seems to me that's the logical goal, given both the advantages and disadvantages of cut scenes. And I'd guess that most of the games we've got these days that use cut scenes badly were actually an attempt to do them well. Easy to say, hard to do?

Denis Dyack Writes for Edge [Edge Online]

The demo was unveiled on Xbox Live last week — were you too caught up in E3 craziness, or did you catch it? We had a lengthy discussion on it here at Kotaku last week, in case you missed it. What do you think, Europe? Looking forward?

And on the off chance you have no idea what we're even talking about, Microsoft has helpfully offered full details in the announcement after the jump.

The Epic World of Too Human is Available Across Europe this August, exclusively on Xbox 360

Microsoft today announced the European release date of “Too Human”, the epic third person action game from renowned Canadian developer Silicon Knights. Exclusive to Xbox 360™,“Too Human” will be available across Europe from 29th August 2008.

In this modern take on classical Norse mythology, players are thrust into the midst of an apocalyptic battle that threatens the very existence of mankind. Playing as the divine cybernetic son of Odin, Baldur, you are one of the Aesir, humanity’s protectors charged with defending mankind from the onslaught of ancient machine armies.

As“Too Human” chronicles this epic story, the game breaks the genre barrier by combining elements of both the action and RPG genres. Players are treated to a non-stop barrage of action, powered by the seamless integration of melee and firearms combat, with the deep role-playing game elements fuelled by breathtaking visuals. Battles unfold on awesome scale as players engage with vast numbers of enemies, and gamers can also take this to the next level playing cooperatively on Xbox LIVE.

“Too Human” is produced by Canadian-based Silicon Knights, bringing a wealth of knowledge, story-based design and gameplay expertise to the next generation of video gaming, and committed to elevating games to the prime form of entertainment.

For more information, please visit the official Too Human website at www.xbox.com/toohuman.

Rumor has it that Molyneux is currently working on Denis Dyack II, which is said to feature more realistic gameplay, and possibly a dog.

Hold on a moment...I just actually read the full article instead of skimming it, and it turns out that Molyneux simply feels sorry for the flack that Denis Dyack is catching over Too Human.

"I feel sorry for Denis Dyack because you know, I think a few things were said wrong, there was that really unfortunate showing at E3 a few years ago. Everyone got on the bandwagon of saying things about Too Human. Now I've played it and, you know, it's a good game. It doesn't deserve a lot of that harsh criticism.

It all makes sense now! Molyneux of course caught a lot of flack himself when he released Fable on the original Xbox, a game that decidedly did not live up to his creative vision. You can see where I could get confused.

I kind of apologised at the end of Fable 1 about actually saying things that didn't end up in the game. I've tried to be really really careful about what I show and I think everything I've talked about in Fable 2 you can now play in there, so that was really important. But what I realise over time is that talking about a game before it's released is a dangerous game.

Sort of like writing out a news post before fully reading and understanding the source article, which I would never, ever do.

Peter Molyneux: 'I feel sorry for Denis Dyack' [Videogamer.Com]

I was basically calling out people who had no way of assessing the game... All I wanted to point out to people is that this is so ridiculous... I went through all of this for two reasons.... If you're going to look at the NeoGAF forum as a non-profit organization, if it does not reform itself, it's eventually going to crumble. There's going to be a point where they step over the line where someone's going to shut them down. That would be a loss for everyone.... The question I have to ask the moderators of GAF: Are you going to follow your own rules? With people making GIFs of myself that are, I would say, attacking me.... Why haven't 180 people been banned now? If I wanted to move in and shut that place down, do I have grounds under their own forum policy?

There's more. Oh, yes. More. Hit the jump for more excitement!

NeoGAF and other forums like this that don't have good management are not only hurting society and hurting the videogame industry, they're in decline, and they need to reform quickly before people stop listening to them... If the moderators and people who run the site think they aren't doing any damage, they are sorely mistaken, and it's only a matter of time before something bad happens.

This all has basis in philosophy, science fiction, and social theories that Dyack has been reading and pondering. No, really. Those interested in learning more about NeoGAF, its influence and who owns it, 1Up has a insightful feature.

Dyack Talking Gaf [1Up]

"Interview with Silicon Knights about Too Human" [Eurogamer, via VG247]

But as I hacked my way through the Xbox 360 game's first six hours of the single player campaign - putting me at about half-way through, according to the game's own Stats ticker - I became mostly puzzled by what it was the team was doing with its time. Too Human seems surprisingly unpolished for a game that's been in some form of development for a decade, delayed multiple times, and one due to be released in less than two months. Granted, the letter that accompanied our preview copy of Too Human did warn that our pre-release build was not "final retail code" and may have gameplay bugs that "will be addressed in the final retail game."

That was certainly taken into consideration as I completed Too Human's first two chapters, but some of the core issues I had with the game aren't the kinds of things that will likely be ironed out in the final thrust of development.

After going hands-on with Too Human for the first time at GDC, I was primarily concerned about the game's combat mechanics. They certainly take some getting used to. The player will use the right analog stick for melee attacks, simply pointing in the direction of the enemy to target it. While that may sound straightforward enough, being trained to use the right stick for aiming or camera control by previous action games may lead to some initial awkwardness.

You can spice up your attacks by lobbing robotic foes into the air with a double tap of the stick, keeping them aloft with gunfire, but that tactic felt largely pointless. As a Champion class character, bullets and laser-fire are no match for my hammer or sword, so I found myself doing it only out of obligation, occasionally an attempt to break the monotony.

It seemed more appropriate for me, as a Champion, to limit myself to melee combo chains and air attacks only, in an effort to raise my experience bonus and build up a cache of Ruiner moves - those screen clearing attacks that are accompanied by a light show and, later, a spirit animal (mine's a raven!). This leads to same rather repetitive gameplay. Adding to that repetition was a limited bestiary, some rather mundane puzzle solving and long stretches of slogging through wave after wave of enemies.

Too Human isn't just about swordplay and shooting, it's also about the hunt for loot. One of the more addictive aspects of titles like Diablo, World of Warcraft or Phantasy Star Online is the finding of something precious. Silicon Knights looks to have added loot in spades. There are swords, staves, pistols, rifles, leggings, helms and much, much more, all with various attributes and upgrades to collect. You'll regularly find, buy and build stuff that's better than what you're currently equipped with.

The interface for dealing with your massive amounts of loot is handy. Items that have better stats than your current equipment are shown in yellow. Less favorable stats are listed in red. You'll be able to salvage your unwanted goods from any point, no trekking back to a retailer to resell your outdated chest piece. Just hit the "Y" button. There's a hitch there, though, there's no going back to "town" until you're done with the quest at hand. That means item repairs will have to wait. There's also no way to stock up on health potions or green herbs or whatever one needs to heal their wounds. You'll have to settle for random Health Orb drops.

That means, unless you're of the self-healing BioEngineer class, you might die. You might die a lot. My character, Shin, has died 23 times in six hours. That's 23 times I've had to watch the rather long, unskippable scene of a gleaming white Valkyrie descend from the heavens and revive me. Good thing there is almost no tangible penalty to death... or is that a bad thing?

You might consider your in-game deaths bad if you expire because of Too Human's frustrating camera system. There are something like seven camera styles to choose from - like standard, near, far, iso and strategic - but all have their share of quirks. It wasn't uncommon for the camera to be pointing just slightly in the wrong direction, with something important out of sight. There's no free look while in motion either, you must pause the action to look around. One can reset the camera behind Baldur's back with the left bumper, but at times the game will override your chosen camera angle or simply refuse to reset it to your liking.

There are plenty of rough edges in Too Human, from questionable interface choices to the oddly placed voiceover to some very unattractive graphics. Some of the game's visuals are strong, others are just plain ugly. Too Human's mechanical beings look fine, but its flesh and blood humanoid characters can look downright ugly. Animation is stiff, lip synching is clumsy and never is the uncanny valley more prevalent than in some of the game's cut scenes. Character models have obviously been given a great deal of detail, but even in the game's major players, faces have sharp angles and poorly rendered hair, visual blights that do a disservice to the games cinematic portions.

There's much more to be explored in Too Human. Obviously, there's the second half of the game's core campaign, the cooperative multiplayer mode, and the game's five character classes. And we have yet to touch on the game's storyline. We'll have more hands-on impressions of these aspects of the game throughout the week.

Those on board with reinterpreted Norse mythology and cyber-gods and giant glowing bears? Say you're "For." If you think the whole thing stinks of puerile fantasy and bad art? Consider yourself an "Against."

Dyack writes "When the game is released and everyone plays game all the speculation will be over. If I am wrong and gamers in general think the game is 'crap' then I am comfortable with getting tagged 'Owned by the GAF'." Every single other person who thinks or hopes the game will be an epic failure gets their own tag — "Owned by Too Human."

Yes, it's that sound of an idea. Unquantifiable and as ill-conceived as nearly any industry figurehead attempting to interact with or counteract the bad publicity of the internet's anonymous trolls.

I don't think I'll be weighing in with my own GAF username — my awful tag is just awful enough, thank you, mods — but I can't say I'm not a fan of the drama. Not sure how big a fan I am of Too Human, yet, though. In fact, I think I'll go play some Too Human, right now and sort that out.

Too Human - Stand and be counted [NeoGAF]

Speaking to GameDaily, though, Dyack also said he thinks we'll see continuing consolidation in the games industry itself, with the big publishers eating up the smaller ones until there are only a few major companies left for all products, Hollywood-style.

Of course, bigger publishers are less agile, and this future for the business is pretty bleak as far as risk and innovation goes. Dyack said that studios will be challenged in maintaining their independence and creativity:

"It is definitely more difficult to stay independent as time goes on. However, we really don't think about this very much, and instead turn our focus and attention toward what is best for moving the interactive entertainment medium forward. Making excellent games helps pave the way for the future of any developer, and any developer's mantra should be 'quality first.'"

Dyack: Future Will Only See Handful of Publishers [GameDaily]

In even better news, Denis writes that "there will be plenty of time for press to critique Too Human as they will receive evaluation copies well in advance of the release date." We're expecting to get a new preview build pretty soon and look forward to spending plenty of time with the game.

End Game Approaches [Silicon Knights Blog]