One of my colleagues had an interview with Dean Dodrill. You can read it here, but it's in Dutch so the majority of GAF won't be able to read it. Some tidbits:
- Expected to publish second half of 2010
- No Multiplayer planned
- Emphasis on combat with RPG influences, platforming, mini-games such as fishing
- Would love to work on Jazz Jackrabbit again if Epic's interested (seriously, Epic, get this dude back on board for that)
- thinks 'genre fatigue' (mentions most third-person shooters look the same to him) as a factor in platformers becoming popular again
With regard to Destructoid's 'Odin Sphere for furries' blurb:
If you're not familiar with the game: trailer, official website.
- Expected to publish second half of 2010
- No Multiplayer planned
- Emphasis on combat with RPG influences, platforming, mini-games such as fishing
- Would love to work on Jazz Jackrabbit again if Epic's interested (seriously, Epic, get this dude back on board for that)
- thinks 'genre fatigue' (mentions most third-person shooters look the same to him) as a factor in platformers becoming popular again
With regard to Destructoid's 'Odin Sphere for furries' blurb:
The whole 'furry' thing is pretty interesting. I'm obviously a fan of
anthropomorphic artwork, but that's been a staple of animation for a
century. Being a student of animation, it's natural to try to humanize
anything, even inanimate objects. And for the film, I wanted to have
character designs that could emote, yet be simple enough to create in a
timely fashion. Animals were a perfect fit.
Unfortunately, at some point in the last decade or so, this whole 'furry'
thing popped up. Suddenly a minority of people started dressing up as
animals, and the media picked up on it. And with the hivemind nature of the
internet, anything featuring anthropomorphic animals was now deemed 'furry'
and detestable.
To be honest, it doesn't bother me, but I'm still a little surprised that
professional media still label a product with that name. It's as if they
forgot that a large percentage of video games star animals as key
characters.
So in the end, I'm fine if someone doesn't like my designs. I know a ton of
people who hate anime, so you can't please everyone. But I kind of wish
there wasn't this knee-jerk reaction sort of thing.
If you're not familiar with the game: trailer, official website.