evolution studios

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Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
MotorStorm's Target Render "Pissed Us Off A Lot" Say Devs
MotorStorm: Pacific Rift Review: A Festival of Mayhem
MotorStorm 2 Getting Weekly DLC, Eventually
Fresh Motorstorm Pacific Rift Screens
MotorStorm 2: It's Official
Motorstorm 2 Details Peel Out, Full Reveal Expected This Wednesday
MotorStorm 2 Will Be A Four-Player Splitscreen Island Getaway
Motorstorm: Behind The Scenes
The MotorStorm Studio Visit

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Shiryu
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Rest in peace (pieces!?), Psygnosis... :(
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-MasterDex-
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Nooooooo! Leave Studio Liverpool as Studio Liverpool. There's a reason they're not on the same team as the guys that make Motorstorm, they make two different types of racing game. Don't destroy them by absorbing them into another studio.
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Fisketryne
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Psygnosis died after the name changed. They had a strong desire to wow the audience. That has not happened lately, and not at all with Wipeout HD. Wipeout BORING sounds more correct.
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BritBloke916
01/08/09

@Fisketryne: WipEout HD is the the single most graphically impressive game currently available for the PS3. That seems a lot like "wowing the audience" to me.
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HenryHSH
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Worth mentioning that Studio Liverpool worked on the Sony Formula 1 games.
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LllusionX Mailed the Fission
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
oooh!! Hover Billies Extreme confirmed!
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BritBloke916
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Would LOVE to see some additional DLC tracks for WipEout HD (HD versions of some of the classic tracks from Wipeout 2097 would be especially welcome). Hurry it up, I've got money to give you :)
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Cptn.PaxtonAstypalaea(Corsair)
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Ummm Where are Evolution Studios based? I mean, SCEE Liverpool is obvious, but are ES even based in the same country? If not, then there's no way this will work, without most of one studio or the other quitting...
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adinnieken
01/08/09

@PaxtonAstypalaea:

Mergers are never a great thing for employees.

I was surprised no one inquired as to whether or not job cuts would come of this.
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-MasterDex-
01/08/09

@adinnieken: I knew the minute I read it that there would be jobcuts. First they'll merge the two studios then a month - 3 months later, they'll say that this one studio has too many people and jobs will be lost. It's sad but I guess it's to be expected with the way Sony's finances are of late.
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JimboXiii
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
aren't polyphony digital also Sony inhouse as well, they do only make (occasional) games for Sony, now that would be a mind blending mix of racing games..
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hodayathink wants WWFRD back!
01/08/09

@JimboXiii: I always though Polyphony was second party (like Insomniac).
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Nocturne_Rose
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
Farewell last tenuous remnant of Psygnosis, oh how we loved your owl.
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Skunky
01/08/09

@Nocturne_Rose: So much for my hopes of a sequel to Kingsley's Adventure. Damn if that wasn't a great (albeit obscure) platformer/adventure.
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Superpiccolo
01/08/09

In reply to Sony To Bring In-House Racing Studios Together
I think my brain bled just a little from this killer announcement (from all the speed smashing fun it will bring). I can just feel the epically blistering speed smashing me against the race track wall. Mmmm...
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Black-Dog-Howls
01/08/09

@Superpiccolo: You are now manually imagining WipeOut Pacific Rift.
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Patient
11/10/08

In reply to MotorStorm's Target Render "Pissed Us Off A Lot" Say Devs
Tough love works, this seems to be a great example of it.

What, did you expect Phil to bake cookies and make a posterboard, saying "Please make a pretty game! <3" spelled out in glitter? If anyone knows a business environment where that works when millions of dollars are at stake, please send me a ticket because I've always wanted to work on a Hedgefund with the Carebear Cousins. Although I doubt much would get done.

Phil was a prick about it, they got the job done and I personally think Motorstorm looks fraking amazing.
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Phydeaux
11/11/08

@Patient: Absolutely wrong. It's this sort of behaviour that has thrust Sony from first to third in the American market.

Negative reinforcement just antagonizes your people. It's something middle management can get away with before a re-org. It nets short term results, not long term ones.

Your ass will be finding another job if you tell everybody that you're in charge of and ensuring that they're generating quality product that they're the worst of the others and all they're churning out is crap.

See 1980s Steve Jobs. Horror stories, yes, but rewards and perks that far outweighed his crap that you had to put up with.
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Patient
11/12/08

@Phydeaux: I never said it was right, it just the way things work when a lot of money is at stake sometimes.

A long time ago I was working for an Ad Firm, one of the "Big 10" here in Chicago. There was a big project at stake that had millions of dollars attached to an already busted budget. The CFO walked past my office and said right in front of me while talking to my manager, "If this guy doesn't get this done by Monday, I want him out of here without severance pay."

Ask me if the project got done on time.

I would imagine that is no different with large budget games that not only have a projected timed ROI (Return on Investment), but also the fact that Motorstorm was an "Show and tell" game that was to showcase the purported power and capability of Sony's new Console.

I agree, I much prefer working in (Open Cubical) environments that are based upon positive communication adn reward based reinforcement. Sometimes though, that doesn't work. You have to push limits with certain people and a good manager or team leader knows just how to do that with creatives. Some work better when pushed harder than others, some will wait till the last minute unless threatened and some work better when massaged gently with a bonus.

I am not condoning Phil's behavior, just simply stating that maybe he knew what button to push to get the gear going and judging from the release date and the quality of the game, I think he pushed the right one.
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FP_slomo788
11/10/08

In reply to MotorStorm's Target Render "Pissed Us Off A Lot" Say Devs
Wow, I'd never imagine Phil talking like this to his devs. Then again, I guess it saved them since it made them almost match the target. Sort of like that teacher you will always hate but made you reach your potential by pushing you around as a kid.
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bladerunner0810
11/10/08

In reply to MotorStorm's Target Render "Pissed Us Off A Lot" Say Devs
This kinda makes me want to trade for an xbox 360...
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Theoutlet
11/10/08

@bladerunner0810: Because this totally affects your gaming experience.
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EnigmaNemesis
11/10/08

@bladerunner0810:

Come on, tell us the real reason!
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Theoutlet
11/10/08

In reply to MotorStorm's Target Render "Pissed Us Off A Lot" Say Devs
What? Nobody in yet to say they're still disappointed that it doesn't look close enough to the original trailer?
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Theoutlet
11/10/08

@Theoutlet: Lol, looks like I wasn't quick enough.
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...
11/10/08

In reply to MotorStorm's Target Render "Pissed Us Off A Lot" Say Devs
It's true. All game companies create target renders to portray the final gaming experience. Too bad the press and gamers assumed it was all in-game.
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Torgen got 99 problems but the PAXFlu ain't one
11/10/08

@Barbara: Except Nintendo, because they don't even announce games until they're done anymore.
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Toasticus
11/10/08

@Barbara: Not even close to "all." Target renders usually serve double-duty as a goal for realtime visual quality and as promotional material, but if the art department is already kicking ass then there's no need for them. Where are the non-engine prerendered trailers for Gears 2, Resistance 2, and Call of Duty 4? The answer is that there aren't any. Target renders are only really useful if the visual style for a game needs to be unified and specified, or if your tech artists lack the foresight to predict what engine/pipeline adjustments and additions will be necessary to make the desired visual effects achievable. Even then it's no panacea, especially considering that target renders are almost universally outsourced.
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