Canadians! Cut out the tax middleman and let Dyack waste your money directly!

[Howard Alan Treesong]

Crowdfunding spiritual successor to Eternal Darkness. Asking for $1.1 million for part 1 of 12.*

*according to documents found in Google Cache, not confirmed for final pitch.

http://www.wired.com/gamelife/2013/05/eternal-darkness-sequel/
http://www.ign.com/videos/2013/05/03/shadow-of-the-eternals-teaser-trailer

The creators of the 2002 GameCube horror game Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem will launch a crowdfunding campaign for a “spiritual successor” called Shadow of the Eternals on Monday, the game enthusiast website IGN said today.

IGN says it will release the full details on the game on Monday; for now it has posted a trailer (above).

Denis Dyack, head of Eternal Darkness developer Silicon Knights, is reportedly involved with the project. However, the website that the trailer points to shows that the game is in development by a brand new studio called Precursor Games. It has a Facebook page that was founded on July 9, 2012, but its website has no information other than a countdown clock to the commencement of the crowdfunding drive.

One assumes the connection between Silicon Knights and Precursor will be spelled out by the impending IGN story and crowdfunding campaign. The crowdfunding site Kickstarter has not been mentioned specifically, leaving open the possibility of Shadow using a different crowdfunding site or a custom one.

In October, as part of a behind-the-scenes report on the difficult development process of Silicon Knights’ last game X-Men Destiny, Kotaku reported that the Canadian developer was down to a staff of five employees, and had been working on a pitch for Eternal Darkness 2 that it was showing to publishers. If this report was true, it’s possible that Shadow of the Eternals is this very pitch, with the Eternal Darkness branding removed. Certainly its developers are not downplaying the connection to the GameCube game.

Update: Clues via Google Cache?

Shortly following the announcement, a NeoGAF member did some digging and turned up a Google cached version of an old page hosted on the Precursor Games website. It appears to contain an in-progress version of the crowdfunding pitch, in which the game is referred to by the title Shadow of the Ancients.

The page says that the game will be a series of 12 episodes, each with 2-4 hours of gameplay. Like Eternal Darkness, it will feature in-game “Sanity Effects” that play with the player’s mind, although it will ask the community to create and submit their own concepts for these. Again, according to this page, the game is planned for release on the PC and Wii U, around the third quarter of 2014. The game’s plot is described thusly:


In Shadow of the Ancients, we follow the investigations of Detective Paul Becker, who is called to one of the bloodiest massacres in Louisiana state history. Only two survivors remain from a brutal conflict between two rival cults at the abandoned Pleasant View Sanitarium: one a suave, clean-cut business man – and the other a hardened, rogue-like biker.
 Both men have seemingly lost all memory of who they are – and yet they are compelled to kill each other. As Becker begins his interrogations of the suspects, their combined recollections create the world of Shadow of the Ancients.

You play Paul Becker, a Louisiana police detective. You also play Clara Rusznyák, a handmaiden to the noblewoman, Erzébet Bathory.

Even assuming this information was accurate at the time the page was created, since this is clearly a work-in-progress, these details (like the game’s title) may have changed. We’ll see what IGN has to say about the matter on Monday.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

AGAINST.

[close]

[Mr. Gundam]

Part 1 of 12?!?!?

[Rufus]

The usual megalomania from Dyack.

[Steve Contra]

 

The hilarious thing is this would definitely need to be on PC, so all the salty Nintendo fans crying in their showers for a sequel won't get to play it.

[Don Flamenco]

Part 1 of 12?!?!?

after the rousing success of the Too Human Trilogy, Dyack felt he needed a bigger challenge. 

[Howard Alan Treesong]

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

This really pisses me off for some reason.  I mad.

[Positive Touch]

cant keep a good man down

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

I hope they put it on the Ouya.  That way it is a fucking failure of a game made by a fucking failure on a fucking failure of a console.

[Steve Contra]

This is going to fail so fucking badly

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I hope they use Kickstarter, otherwise they might actually get some money on the way to failing at their goal

still, I think this is transparently a "bad bet" even to non-game industry folk ... RIGHT?

[Don Flamenco]

i feel so bad for the one guy with the big smile in the middle.    :'(

[Steve Contra]

Apparently it WiiU, and we know how dumb Nintendo fans are (I mean they liked Eternal Darkness) so I fully expect it to get funded, never made.

[Howard Alan Treesong]

yeah, announcing it for the Wii U is the biggest "who is the most desperate" tell imaginable

[Great Rumbler]

[Joe Molotov]

Wow, $10,000 huh? At this rate they only need 110 days to reach their goal!

Apparently it WiiU, and we know how dumb Nintendo fans are (I mean they liked Eternal Darkness) so I fully expect it to get funded, never made.

Of course it's never gonna get made, they could barely even release a game with Activision breathing down their necks, what are they gonna do with $1 Million of free money and no contract to deliver a game?

[DCharlieJP]

WiiU - probably so they don't have the temptation to use the latest version of Unreal Engine

[Great Rumbler]

WiiU - probably so they don't have the temptation to use the latest version of Unreal Engine

Unity

[pickle]

He's going to ruin it.

[recursivelyenumerable]

Time will sharpen its blade - and it will cut you when you find it

[Uninstall]

this is pretty pathetic and im not sure how i feel about the kickstarter (model) gaining more legitimacy (although with dyack is it actually more legitimate or less? hohoho)

i wonder if this is using any assets he was using to try and con nintendo into making ed2, if so i hope nintendo sues him and ends this once and for all

otherwise i hope this turns out to be good. the world can use more good game.

[HyperZoneWasAwesome]

I got an e-mail from a very polite but grammatically challenged Nigerian prince that would give me a better ROI then this.

[maxy]

Canadian Developer Precursor Games Launches Crowd-funding Campaign for “Shadow of the Eternals”

Hamilton, Ontario – May 6th 2013 – Precursor Games today unveils its debut project Shadow of the Eternals. Developed by the creators of the critically acclaimed Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem, Shadow of the Eternals is an episodic action/adventure game that is likely to gain the attention of gamers everywhere.

Featuring an ensemble cast, Shadow of the Eternals will span over 2500 years of human history. Players will question their own perception of reality as they progress through this mind-altering psychological horror. The Pilot Episode is slated for release Q3 2014 on the Nintendo Wii U and PC.

The emerging studio is taking crowdfunding to the next level by giving the community the ability to contribute content to the game. Precursor Games has also revealed a campaign video and rewards tier system to go with their 1.5 million dollar goal, including pre-orders and exclusive merchandise.

“Precursor Games intends to leave no stone unturned in order to create an unparalleled experience for gamers”, said Paul Caporicci, CEO of Precursor Games. “We have a talented team, incredible technology with CryENGINE and a new business model where we directly integrate the fan base into the development process, allowing for new possibilities and game direction. We are very excited to see where this new direction leads.”

The Shadow of the Eternals crowd-funding campaign is can be found at www.ShadowOfTheEternals.com.

About Precursor Games:

Founded in July of 2012, Precursor Games is comprised of veteran game developers with over 20 years of experience. Precursor Games is an agile, efficient, multi-disciplinary, and collaborative company dedicated to community participation. It is looking to change the way games are made in an ever-changing industry by taking advantage of the emergence of digital distribution, episodic content and community-driven crowdfunding.

http://www.precursorgames.com/team/

[Howard Alan Treesong]

"The Shadow of the Eternals crowd-funding campaign is can be found at www.ShadowOfTheEternals.com."

YOU HAD ONE JOB

[Howard Alan Treesong]

I also like how they want $1.5 million AND for me to make all their assets for them.

[Great Rumbler]

(Image removed from quote.)

(Image removed from quote.)

[Steve Contra]

They keep your money even if the goal isn't met  Amazing.

[cool breeze]

What happens if you do not reach your goal?

Our financial goal is a flexible one, and Precursor Games is committed to creating Shadow of the Eternals. All contributions will go directly towards the development of this game and making it a reality.

Kickstarter only charges backers if the goal is reached.  These guys aren't using Kickstarter.

[Great Rumbler]

They keep your money even if the goal isn't met  Amazing.

[Trent Dole]

Can't believe some people on Gamasutra are actually defending and excited for this project. 

[Don Flamenco]

What happens if you do not reach your goal?

Our financial goal is a flexible one, and Precursor Games is committed to creating Shadow of the Eternals. All contributions will go directly towards the development of this game and making it a reality.

Kickstarter only charges backers if the goal is reached.  These guys aren't using Kickstarter.

that's a pretty glorious non-answer.   

[Great Rumbler]

*Development costs include a one-month trip to Italy, a new Ferrari, and a yacht.

[Don Flamenco]

and Dyack's $1000 a day poutine habit

[brob]

If the dude can stay off the dole with these sorts of scams I'm not gonna knock the hustle. You'd be pretty stupid to throw your hard earned canada money after this shit show.

[Human Snorenado]

Coming soon: a crowdfunding pledge drive for a Cruncheons world headquarters, complete with fully functioning love dumpster

[Uninstall]

"The Shadow of the Eternals crowd-funding campaign is can be found at www.ShadowOfTheEternals.com."

YOU HAD ONE JOB

canuck doesnt know how to spell

cant say im surprised

[Phoenix Dark]

Dennis Dyack is the Ridley Scott of our favorite medium. When given control he creates great art (Eternal Darkness), but when outside forces meddle he produces flawed products (Too Human). The beauty of crowd funding is that he can now create his director's cut, if you will. After the success of this title I hope he returns to Too Human; just as Kingdom of Heaven needed a DC to reveal it's true merit, perhaps the same will be true of Too Human.

[Uninstall]

or it could turn out to be a flappy brown fart like prometheus

i guess it depends on the talent he surrounds himself with

[Great Rumbler]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/617502838/shadow-of-the-eternals

[Joe Molotov]

This is going places.

spoiler (click to show/hide)

Straight down the toilet.

[close]

[Phoenix Dark]

Wait so they have crowd funding on the game's site, and now a Kickstarter for the same game?

[Barry Egan]

this makes absolutely no sense  they likely just split their potential earnings in half by putting themselves in such great risk of having the second pool of donations tossed away by Kickstarter.

[Sho Nuff]

wtf are they doing here

[Great Rumbler]

wtf are they doing here

I suspect the same question is being asked quite often around the Precursor Games offices.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

this makes absolutely no sense  they likely just split their potential earnings in half by putting themselves in such great risk of having the second pool of donations tossed away by Kickstarter.

Denis probably assumed that people want this game so badly that both the kickstarter and the crowdfunding page would hit their targets without a problem.  That and Denis probably also assumes that people are too dumb to know about both the kickstarter and the crowdfunding page.

[Great Rumbler]

They're desperate, plain and simple. Their own crowdfunding campaign is mired sub-10% and it's got no chance of gaining much more than that, so they're pulling out all the stops to get SOMETHING to work for them. It won't.

[mjemirzian]

The market has spoken. That's all that needs to be said.

[Steve Contra]

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2013/05/15/silicon-knights-mostly-working-on-legal-issues.aspx

Definitely bodes well for this.  I wonder if Dyack ends up getting charges brought against him in all this?

[Howard Alan Treesong]

they are focused on winning the 24-hour media cycle