Tomb Raider developer Crystal Dynamics discusses its new IP
Ex-God of War director Cory Barlog on another project. Is it a Soul Reaver reboot?
Crystal Dynamics has discussed its new IP, saying it'll be "fresh and familiar" and offer a similar experience to the new Tomb Raider game.
In a recent CD podcast, executive producer Scot Amos explained why the studio had embarked on the creation of a new IP now.
"We have all these great IP, now is a great time, looking at what's coming in the future, what's coming up in the console space, what's going to be happening next... Let's start now, with a blank page," he said.
"We take that kind of bold step of, let's make something new, something where we don't already have a finger in that particular pool, and let's try, from scratch, to make a new game with all of our abilities and skills. What would be a new great experience for our future?"
Starting from scratch enables CD to attempt to create something "completely off-the-wall", Amos said.
"Working from a blank page, and literally saying, we can do anything, we can do something that's completely off-the-wall and that nobody's ever heard of, we can go make up mechanics and be completely innovative and inventive.
But, Amos said, CD will have to temper this desire to innovate with a need to provide players with a somewhat familiar experience.
"Problem is, if you go too far away from what people are familiar with, one of the phrases we use a lot is 'fresh and familiar'. Where something is similar enough that, oh, I understand that, I've seen something like that. Immediately, people can get bought into it and say, I kind of expect a certain type of experience. And then you put a couple of really unique twists on top. Like, oh, I haven't seen anybody combine these types of mechanics or this type of world with that type of system. And you start putting a little bit of that new, fresh face on top of something familiar, and you get people hooked.
"So I think... Trying to take what you know, build on top of that, and then take something that they don't expect and just blow them away."
CD's new IP remains a closely guarded secret. While we know the developer is hiring a team to build it, we do not yet know the intended launch platforms or what type of game it will be.
But Amos suggested it'll offer an experience similar to the new Tomb Raider game, due out early next year.
"So we're still very much in the early throes of creating both the team and this product," he said. "But certainly from a conceptual level, we're on a path that we're very happy with. We can't go into details until we actually announce it.
If you look at what we just showed at E3 for Tomb Raider, you get a sense of the kind of experience and expertise that this company and this studio has. The kind of things that the talent, the tech, and the tools can do.
"But if you look at what we just showed at E3 for Tomb Raider, you get a sense of the kind of experience and expertise that this company and this studio has. The kind of things that the talent, the tech, and the tools can do. Being able to take that and leverage that into a future product, again, an original world, original script, all new content, all kinds of new mechanics... But taking that as a starting base gives us a huge advantage for making a new game. Honestly, that's as much as I can say right now."
Meanwhile, Amos confirmed that ex-God of War director Cory Barlog, who recently joined CD, is working on a separate project. Is it the rumoured Soul Reaver reboot?
