Podcast Oct. 3rd – The tragic ‘Destiny’ of Silicon Knights

Silicon Knights- Once a well-loved and accomplished development team; There was once a time where the mere mention of their name evoked anticipation and confidence that whatever they were working on wasn’t just going to be good- it would likely be GREAT. That is, until 2006, when Too Human finally demoed at E3 that year and was almost unanimously panned by critics, prompting studio head Denis Dyak to speak out against the game outlets who judged it harshly and against the concept of previewing unfinished work altogether, saying it “does not work” anymore. Fast forward through 5 years, the critical and commercial flop that was Too Human, and dozens more scathingly critical statements from Dyak about the games press, we have their next game: X-Men Destiny, the latest release from a once proud developer that at best can be called mediocre and at worst unfinished- the very thing Dyak himself was railing against.

So what happened? This week we’ll discuss what led up to these events and pose that very same question.

 

Hosts: Mike Dunn & Ron Burke
Producer: Mike Dunn
Music: Strange Motorcycle

01:30 – What we’re playing (RAGE, Spider-Man: Edge of Time, Diablo III Beta, Old Republic Beta)
04:32 – Coming out this week
09:48 – Silicon Knights and X-Men:Destiny- what the hell happened?
12:51 – Early days of Silicon Knights – Legacy of Kain, Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem
16:05 – MGS: Twin Snakes, Too Human
20:58 – Too Human demo controversy
23:19 – Denis Dyak on the offensive
27:15- Developers vs. Press
30:12 – Dyak’s good points overshadowed by his bad
39:00 – Government funding
42:43 – Best way to shut everyone up
45:00- What’s next, Denis?

Email your questions and comments to [email protected]

 

[powerpress]