The classic English poem is not only getting a movie (with special Real D technology), but Ubisoft is expanding the experience with a video game tie-in. We speak with Ubisoft about working with Robert Zemeckis and Paramount Pictures and why Beowulf is a "dream convergence" project.
SAN DIEGO—On the heels of its Hollywood deals with Sony Pictures Animation for Open Season and Surf's Up and 20th Century Fox for James Cameron's Avatar, French game publisher Ubisoft is adding another blockbuster movie adaptation to its line-up. This November, Ubisoft will unleash a game based on Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf computer-generated movie for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and PSP.
Ubisoft was on hand with Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment at Comic-Con last night to debut the first footage from the film. The movie, which features the groundbreaking Real D technology that enables real actors to be transformed into 3D characters, stars Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother, Crispin Glover as Grendel, Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar and Ray Winstone as Beowulf. The game will bow with the movie's November 16 release. The film, which will be available in multiple 3D formats including Real D, will open on 1,500 3D screens, making it the largest 3D movie debut in history. It will also be available in 2D at other theaters.
"The talented creators at Ubisoft are transforming our vision of the film into an interactive experience that extends the epic adventure far beyond its classic storyline," said Zemeckis in a statement. "We've been thoroughly impressed with what we've seen from the game makers and are confident that gamers will find it to be an immersive and entertaining experience that goes far beyond the traditional movie-licensed game."
The Beowulf game is being developed in Ubisoft's Tiwak studio, which worked on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter game. Beowulf will use the same YETI game engine to bring this cinematic world to life. Ubisoft showed the game behind closed doors at its UbiDays event in San Francisco and again at the E3 Media Summit in Santa Monica. Last night, two plasma screens ran a new trailer with updated footage from the game at Paramount's Beowulf after-party on the rooftop of the trendy Stingaree restaurant and bar.
Sandi Isaacs, vice president, interactive and mobile digital entertainment group at Paramount Pictures, said at the after party that Beowulf is the type of dream convergence that she's been wanting to create for years. She said the filmmakers respect and treat the Ubisoft gamemakers as talent, which they are, and that the collaborative process has allowed this new game to delve much deeper into the story and mythology than the film ever could. The game creates the type of action experience that gamers will truly enjoy.
"Ubisoft strives to bring the hottest film properties to the video game universe and that's what we're doing with our partnership with Paramount and Robert Zemeckis on Beowulf," said Christian Salomon, vice president of licensing at Ubisoft. "We're combining Ubisoft's cutting-edge video game technology and the best developers in the world with a world renowned Hollywood director and state-of-the-art digital film creation technology to create an extremely immersive video game experience."
While the movie will be rated PG-13 (although there is the option of an unrated director's cut DVD), the video game was created for a Mature audience. The trailer shown at the party featured plenty of blood and gore, including Beowulf ripping the throat of a troll's mouth.
Since the film is entirely digital, Salomon said Paramount has been able to share all of the movie assets with the development team.
"With both the movie and game technologies reaching this level of sophistication we are able to easily integrate these materials into the game with great results," said Salomon. "We have had access to the script from the start and they've given us unlimited access so that we can be successful in making the video game and movie cohesive experiences. Zemeckis and his team provide feedback on the game on a regular basis."
Gilles Matouba, creative director at Ubisoft, said this access has allowed the team to capture aspects of the film and translate them perfectly into compelling gameplay elements such as the visceral hand-to-hand combat, dynamic swordplay and amazing visuals, while giving them the creative liberty to go even further by creating exclusive content for the game that is unexplored by the film and even the classic tale.
Zemeckis' adaptation of the classic English poem brings a new vision to the brutal, epic tale. In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf slays the demon Grendel and incurs the wrath of its monstrous, yet seductive, mother in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend.
Rather than simply regurgitating the film experience, the game actually delves into a 30-year void that the film skips over in its narrative. In this Mature-rated game, players will step into the role of Beowulf, a Norse warrior with the strength of 30 men. The game will feature characters from the film and introduce new enemies to the story that were created by Ubisoft and approved by Zemeckis and his team. The player will battle beasts and armies, while trying to balance his internal brutality with his sense of nobility. The film's inner torture of this character is depicted in gameplay that allows the player to act heroically or carnally with distinct consequences for every decision he makes.
The game's story sends Beowulf to Denmark to destroy a bloodthirsty beast wreaking havoc on a frigid land. But evil persists, and Beowulf succumbs to its lure of even greater fame, quietly manoeuvring to claim the Danish throne. As King, Beowulf must face the consequences of ambition, even as war descends on the realm.
As players progress through the bloody adventure, Beowulf will earn legacy points to unlock an army of 12 thanes who will aid him in battles against the Titans and their armies. As these warriors progress through these fights, they will earn upgradeable weapons and increase their skills and abilities. Players who choose the carnal route will find a more powerful warrior who will kill everything in his sight, including his own men, during his rages. The game offers a dynamic combat system that will evolve as the player advances through the interactive story.
Salomon said gamers can expect the same level of Hollywood quality in this game as they experienced with hits like Peter Jackson's King Kong, which sold over 4.9 million copies worldwide, and Open Season, which sold 1.8 million units globally.
"Because of our reputation for creativity and quality games, Ubisoft is one of the top partners for movie or television studios looking to extend their intellectual property into video games," said Salomon.
by John Gaudiosi
source:gamedaily.com
SAN DIEGO—On the heels of its Hollywood deals with Sony Pictures Animation for Open Season and Surf's Up and 20th Century Fox for James Cameron's Avatar, French game publisher Ubisoft is adding another blockbuster movie adaptation to its line-up. This November, Ubisoft will unleash a game based on Robert Zemeckis' Beowulf computer-generated movie for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Windows PC and PSP.Ubisoft was on hand with Paramount Pictures and Shangri-La Entertainment at Comic-Con last night to debut the first footage from the film. The movie, which features the groundbreaking Real D technology that enables real actors to be transformed into 3D characters, stars Angelina Jolie as Grendel's mother, Crispin Glover as Grendel, Anthony Hopkins as King Hrothgar and Ray Winstone as Beowulf. The game will bow with the movie's November 16 release. The film, which will be available in multiple 3D formats including Real D, will open on 1,500 3D screens, making it the largest 3D movie debut in history. It will also be available in 2D at other theaters.
"The talented creators at Ubisoft are transforming our vision of the film into an interactive experience that extends the epic adventure far beyond its classic storyline," said Zemeckis in a statement. "We've been thoroughly impressed with what we've seen from the game makers and are confident that gamers will find it to be an immersive and entertaining experience that goes far beyond the traditional movie-licensed game."
The Beowulf game is being developed in Ubisoft's Tiwak studio, which worked on Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter game. Beowulf will use the same YETI game engine to bring this cinematic world to life. Ubisoft showed the game behind closed doors at its UbiDays event in San Francisco and again at the E3 Media Summit in Santa Monica. Last night, two plasma screens ran a new trailer with updated footage from the game at Paramount's Beowulf after-party on the rooftop of the trendy Stingaree restaurant and bar.
Sandi Isaacs, vice president, interactive and mobile digital entertainment group at Paramount Pictures, said at the after party that Beowulf is the type of dream convergence that she's been wanting to create for years. She said the filmmakers respect and treat the Ubisoft gamemakers as talent, which they are, and that the collaborative process has allowed this new game to delve much deeper into the story and mythology than the film ever could. The game creates the type of action experience that gamers will truly enjoy.
"Ubisoft strives to bring the hottest film properties to the video game universe and that's what we're doing with our partnership with Paramount and Robert Zemeckis on Beowulf," said Christian Salomon, vice president of licensing at Ubisoft. "We're combining Ubisoft's cutting-edge video game technology and the best developers in the world with a world renowned Hollywood director and state-of-the-art digital film creation technology to create an extremely immersive video game experience."
While the movie will be rated PG-13 (although there is the option of an unrated director's cut DVD), the video game was created for a Mature audience. The trailer shown at the party featured plenty of blood and gore, including Beowulf ripping the throat of a troll's mouth.
Since the film is entirely digital, Salomon said Paramount has been able to share all of the movie assets with the development team.
"With both the movie and game technologies reaching this level of sophistication we are able to easily integrate these materials into the game with great results," said Salomon. "We have had access to the script from the start and they've given us unlimited access so that we can be successful in making the video game and movie cohesive experiences. Zemeckis and his team provide feedback on the game on a regular basis."
Gilles Matouba, creative director at Ubisoft, said this access has allowed the team to capture aspects of the film and translate them perfectly into compelling gameplay elements such as the visceral hand-to-hand combat, dynamic swordplay and amazing visuals, while giving them the creative liberty to go even further by creating exclusive content for the game that is unexplored by the film and even the classic tale.
Zemeckis' adaptation of the classic English poem brings a new vision to the brutal, epic tale. In a time of heroes, the mighty warrior Beowulf slays the demon Grendel and incurs the wrath of its monstrous, yet seductive, mother in a conflict that transforms a king into a legend.
Rather than simply regurgitating the film experience, the game actually delves into a 30-year void that the film skips over in its narrative. In this Mature-rated game, players will step into the role of Beowulf, a Norse warrior with the strength of 30 men. The game will feature characters from the film and introduce new enemies to the story that were created by Ubisoft and approved by Zemeckis and his team. The player will battle beasts and armies, while trying to balance his internal brutality with his sense of nobility. The film's inner torture of this character is depicted in gameplay that allows the player to act heroically or carnally with distinct consequences for every decision he makes.
The game's story sends Beowulf to Denmark to destroy a bloodthirsty beast wreaking havoc on a frigid land. But evil persists, and Beowulf succumbs to its lure of even greater fame, quietly manoeuvring to claim the Danish throne. As King, Beowulf must face the consequences of ambition, even as war descends on the realm.
As players progress through the bloody adventure, Beowulf will earn legacy points to unlock an army of 12 thanes who will aid him in battles against the Titans and their armies. As these warriors progress through these fights, they will earn upgradeable weapons and increase their skills and abilities. Players who choose the carnal route will find a more powerful warrior who will kill everything in his sight, including his own men, during his rages. The game offers a dynamic combat system that will evolve as the player advances through the interactive story.
Salomon said gamers can expect the same level of Hollywood quality in this game as they experienced with hits like Peter Jackson's King Kong, which sold over 4.9 million copies worldwide, and Open Season, which sold 1.8 million units globally.
"Because of our reputation for creativity and quality games, Ubisoft is one of the top partners for movie or television studios looking to extend their intellectual property into video games," said Salomon.
by John Gaudiosi
source:gamedaily.com
