Spider-Man - PS4

Zero-Cool · 17-06-2016 10:46pm #1

Insomniac Games working with Sony to launch a new wave of Marvel Comics games. No more movie tie-ins (except for possible dlc to coincide with films/comics) as they want propery devilpment cycles and not rush anything.

Some details from the dev in the blog below.

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2016/06/13/insomniacs-new-ps4-exclusive-spider-man-game-revealed-first-trailer/

Dev confirmed all in-game footage used for the trailer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3R2uvJqWeVg

Marvel did interviews about their plans. Sounds promising.

Notes taken from neogaf

Jay's team is specifically focused on console-style games for Marvel. The mobile and social stuff is already hitting it out of the park, so his group is dedicated to making their console games great again.
Insomniac/Sony's Spider-Man series will be the only console Spider-Man series going forward. They want to find excellent teams and then dedicate the IPs to them so they can focus on quality. That's not to say Spider-Man can't be in a cross-over game, but you won't see something like Activision console Spider-Man games coming out alongside these. Jay explicitly says "The future of the Spider-Man console games is with Sony and Insomniac."
Movie tie-in games are over for Marvel. This is the same as their mobile strategy. All games will be given lengthy development cycles with all the budget they need and have no concerns about hitting a specific date tied to a movie/comic book/whatever. Marvel is very clear that developers cannot be rushed or underfunded if they're going to make great games.
That said, Jay notes that on the mobile side, the games tend to have tie-in events when films or certain initiatives like Women of Marvel launch. He doesn't explicitly commit to this happening on the console side, since it probably varies a lot per game, but don't be super shocked if you have downloadable skins or DLC for a game when a movie or comic book initiative comes out, especially if it's a living product.
When asked about whether Marvel's console games will have cross-overs and cameos like the films do, he states "The world's full of surprises. You never know."
Jay notes that in the past, they used to take about 30% of console game opportunities that are presented to them. These days it's more like 10%.
He's also clear that Marvel will only work with developers who they think will make excellent, top tier titles instead of just "good" games. So far their two publicly announced partners are Insomniac and Telltale. He speaks very fondly of the LEGO games, but IIRC that's run out of the mobile licensing division.
Marvel will also only work with developers who are clearly very excited about the IP itself instead of just the IP's money making potential. He notes that he can usually tell within the first 30 seconds if someone is actually passionate about the IP in question.
There's an implication that the publishing partner is also important to them. I imagine this is especially true for retail games.
Jay mentions that the success of the films and the success of their top mobile games, along with the break away from the movie game model, has resulted in way more developers being interested in working with them. He mentions that developers have even gotten more open to the idea during his two year tenure as titles like Marvel: Contest of Champions have crossed $200 million.
As for working with Insomniac specifically, Jay mentions that they're only 10 minutes away from the studio and 10 minutes away from Sony as well, so that they're in contact every day, which they think is very helpful for getting their new initiative going well. They also openly admit that Spider-Man is the most commercially successful superhero so they're more than happy to start with him.
Jay notes they have several other console games in development that will be revealed over the upcoming years. I probably wouldn't expect an immediate impending announcement (beyond perhaps unveiling Telltale's game) since he wasn't teasing any more reveals soon.

Kylo Ren · 18-06-2016 12:44am

I so excite.

Grayditch · 18-06-2016 4:32pm

Perfect company to do Spiderman.

EDIT: Wait, I'm thinking of Suckerpunch, but still...

Turtyturd · 18-06-2016 5:05pm

Is this an exclusive exclusive or a out on PS4 a few months before Xbox exclusive?

As a huge Spider-Man fan the former would would make me consider picking up a PS4. Costume looks like sh!te though but I am sure there'll be plenty of DLC to address that.

Penn · 18-06-2016 5:36pm

Turtyturd wrote: »

Is this an exclusive exclusive or a out on PS4 a few months before Xbox exclusive?

As a huge Spider-Man fan the former would would make me consider picking up a PS4. Costume looks like sh!te though but I am sure there'll be plenty of DLC to address that.

Ps4 exclusive. If they're doing a shared universe of games with other Marvel characters games it's unknown if the other games will be exclusive or not (there may be Xbox exclusive games too, we don't know).

I do like the idea of a shared game universe of Marvel games, though I'd worry they'd run out of enemies fast seeing as how games tend to have enemies as sub-bosses or side missions.

Turtyturd · 18-06-2016 6:00pm

Penn wrote: »

Ps4 exclusive. If they're doing a shared universe of games with other Marvel characters games it's unknown if the other games will be exclusive or not (there may be Xbox exclusive games too, we don't know).

I do like the idea of a shared game universe of Marvel games, though I'd worry they'd run out of enemies fast seeing as how games tend to have enemies as sub-bosses or side missions.

I reckon the exclusivity is part of the deal to send Spidey home. As for a shared universe I reckon making non repetitive types of games would be a bigger issue than recurring enemies.

Zero-Cool · 18-06-2016 6:29pm

Sony approached Insomniac with the idea so it sounded like it was their choice from the beginning to be exclusive. Still, it's such a big license, surely they'd make more money having it on xbox as well.

As for the spidey suit, Insomniac said at E3, the white spider serves a purpose that will be revealed later. Intriguing but I'm sure there will be a ton of costumes to unlock/find. The graphics and city look class so far and of they can get the swinging mechanics down (ala Spideerman 2) then it could turn out to be a lot of fun. Hopefully this will be Spidey's answer to the Batman Arkham series.

tok9 · 20-06-2016 1:40am

Sony owns some rights to Spiderman so I'd imagine that's why it's exclusive.

Everyone expected Suckerpunch due to the rumour but I have to say Insomniac was a great choice. They are really going all out with the current batch of games they've created, Ratchet & Clank, Song of the Deep, Edge of Nowhere... all very different games.

From what I heard, the traversal in Sunset Overdrive was really good.

Skerries · 20-06-2016 2:41am

are the Spider-Man games any good?

genuinely the last one I played was this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lpptmULD6YM

Vyse · 20-06-2016 2:53am

I thought shattered dimensions was a great game. Nice bit of variety in it.

SeantheMan · 20-06-2016 3:02am

Spiderman 2 is considered the best of all of them, by a long way.

I think shattered dimensions was also popular somewhat.

I personally haven't played any superhero games in recent years as most of them have been awful or disappointing ...with the exception of the first few Batman games (Deadpool, Wolverine, Spiderman etc)

Doodleking · 10-07-2016 12:57pm

Why doesn't Insomniac Games announce the release date?

Nathan G · 10-07-2016 4:44pm

Doodleking wrote: »

Why doesn't Insomniac Games announce the release date?

Most likely they don't know when it will be ready to launch.

Zero-Cool · 13-06-2017 3:42pm

Release date '2018'....

Looking really cool but I'm not sold on the swinging yet, it looks slow and stiff in the e3 demo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GO1Haxomq3M

Osmosis Jones · 13-06-2017 3:56pm

Looks like a whole lot of fun, the Arkham combat doesn't put me off as long as it's engaging enough. The mission they showed did have far too many QTEs for my liking however.

Doctor Nick · 13-06-2017 3:58pm

I loved the combat in Arkham. While I am not a huge fan of superheroes in any context I loved the Arkham games and will definitely check this out on release

Penn · 13-06-2017 3:59pm

Osmosis Jones wrote: »

Looks like a whole lot of fun, the Arkham combat doesn't put me off as long as it's engaging enough. The mission they showed did have far too many QTEs for my liking however.

I'd be inclined to put that down to them trying to show off a particular mission with a lot of different parts (fight, swing through the city, big dramatic saving people moment). I'd hope there are fewer QTEs in the majority of the missions.

SeantheMan · 14-06-2017 8:32am

We just wanted free world swinging.

I think people would have been happy with in-game swinging around and a random event happen for Spidey to look after.

Instead it was a big set piece where the played didn't seem to have much control...and now people have fears about QTE

Stone Deaf 4evr · 14-06-2017 8:58am

Only just saw the gameplay trailer for this, I wouldnt be overly concerned about the qte aspect, most likely its just a particular story mission where its tightly scripted to give it a cinematic feel. Sunset overdrive on xbox one proves that Insomniac can totally nail a busy open world without relying on qte.

Its a great looking game, I only remarked in the E3 thread, that is only when you see spider-man swinging around in broad daylight in what looks like a beautiful summers day in new york, that I realised how tired I was of the grim and dark look that most games go for.

Osmosis Jones · 14-06-2017 10:38am

The only other problem I had is that while swinging it didn't look very momentum based. There were plenty of moments where he would sort of cancel an animation halfway through to shoot another web and kind of unnaturally change direction. That's probably both something that they'll have sorted by release and also something that I'll need to try myself before knowing.

Wonda-Boy · 16-06-2017 9:51am

SWINGING.....Im in for sure.

Penn · 16-06-2017 9:56am

Can't remember where I seen it but the devs had said the QTEs are only in the game sparingly and are used to showcase blockbuster-type moments.

Retr0gamer · 16-06-2017 11:49am

Penn wrote: »

Can't remember where I seen it but the devs had said the QTEs are only in the game sparingly and are used to showcase blockbuster-type moments.

Hopefully and it's not just the developer backtracking. They were pretty awful in the footage shown, no real context to them or reason for them to exist. It reminded me of that older spiderman game whose name escapes me, possibly for the third film where they had QTEs for QTEs sake.

Penn · 16-06-2017 11:55am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Hopefully and it's not just the developer backtracking. They were pretty awful in the footage shown, no real context to them or reason for them to exist. It reminded me of that older spiderman game whose name escapes me, possibly for the third film where they had QTEs for QTEs sake.

Yeah the QTEs in Spider-Man 3 were awful, especially after coming from how great Spider-Man 2 was.

I can see the dev's point, because for example in the gameplay shown with the crane falling, how can you possibly do that purely through gameplay without a QTE? Or going through the smashed billboard through a tiny gap? You either end up having to completely slow down time to allow for you to do it yourself through actual gameplay, or make it so easy that it's no longer as cinematic. Or not have any controller input at all and it just switches to doing it itself automatically but if you have multiple instances of that in one section, it becomes tiresome and boring.

It's a fine line, but I really hope they pull it off.

J. Marston · 16-06-2017 12:22pm

QTE's get too much stick. They're fine as long as the whole game isn't using them (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls).

They can add awesome cinematic moments to games, like in God of War.

Penn · 16-06-2017 12:25pm

J. Marston wrote: »

QTE's get too much stick. They're fine as long as the whole game isn't using them (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls).

They can add awesome cinematic moments to games, like in God of War.

One of my most hated moments in gaming came from Heavy Rain, where, since you hadn't had to input anything in a few seconds, the game made you have to tie the tie of a 50-60 year old police chief because he somehow couldn't do it himself.

Retr0gamer · 16-06-2017 12:41pm

Penn wrote: »

Yeah the QTEs in Spider-Man 3 were awful, especially after coming from how great Spider-Man 2 was.

I can see the dev's point, because for example in the gameplay shown with the crane falling, how can you possibly do that purely through gameplay without a QTE? Or going through the smashed billboard through a tiny gap? You either end up having to completely slow down time to allow for you to do it yourself through actual gameplay, or make it so easy that it's no longer as cinematic. Or not have any controller input at all and it just switches to doing it itself automatically but if you have multiple instances of that in one section, it becomes tiresome and boring.

It's a fine line, but I really hope they pull it off.

I'm ok with QTEs but these ones are just so lazy. It's the same button press action for everything. I mean they could have some fun to them, different QTEs for different actions that actually have a bearing on what is going on and at least try to simulate what is going on.

Like instead of having spidey shoot a web by timing a button press have time slow down and let the player aim at a big pulsating target. I should be a lazy game designer but then I think I'm not lazy enough for these guys.

J. Marston wrote: »

QTE's get too much stick. They're fine as long as the whole game isn't using them (Heavy Rain, Beyond: Two Souls).

They can add awesome cinematic moments to games, like in God of War.

I think Heavy Rain and God of War do it right, the QTEs have context to the actions.

Beyond however simplified everything and it was done poorly in my book along with being one of the worst games I played last generation.

gizmo · 16-06-2017 12:53pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'm ok with QTEs but these ones are just so lazy. It's the same button press action for everything. I mean they could have some fun to them, different QTEs for different actions that actually have a bearing on what is going on and at least try to simulate what is going on.

Like instead of having spidey shoot a web by timing a button press have time slow down and let the player aim at a big pulsating target. I should be a lazy game designer but then I think I'm not lazy enough for these guys.

Come now, Retr0, do you really think you're the only one to think of doing that? Would you not consider that maybe someone on the team suggested it and it was voted down? Or it was discarded because of time constraints? Or, perhaps most likely, was prototyped and found to slow down the action too frequently in set-piece heavy scenarios?

Penn · 16-06-2017 12:53pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I'm ok with QTEs but these ones are just so lazy. It's the same button press action for everything. I mean they could have some fun to them, different QTEs for different actions that actually have a bearing on what is going on and at least try to simulate what is going on.

Like instead of having spidey shoot a web by timing a button press have time slow down and let the player aim at a big pulsating target. I should be a lazy game designer but then I think I'm not lazy enough for these guys.

And that method runs the risk of losing momentum from the action sequence. I don't think either method is automatically worse than the other or lazy, it's how it's implemented and how often.

Retr0gamer · 16-06-2017 1:15pm

gizmo wrote: »

Come now, Retr0, do you really think you're the only one to think of doing that? Would you not consider that maybe someone on the team suggested it and it was voted down? Or it was discarded because of time constraints? Or, perhaps most likely, was prototyped and found to slow down the action too frequently in set-piece heavy scenarios?

I was trying to be humourous but I think my point still stands, that there's really no excuse for this kind of bad lazy design and I refuse to think there's no better way to do it. Maybe it's time/budget constraints but then again that's bad management and doesn't excuse it.

Penn wrote: »

And that method runs the risk of losing momentum from the action sequence. I don't think either method is automatically worse than the other or lazy, it's how it's implemented and how often.

I think it's better than what is currently shown because from my perspective there's no flow, the cutscenes might as well not have QTEs. Press X to continue the cinematic, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up there's no fail state for a lot of them.

gizmo · 16-06-2017 3:15pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I was trying to be humourous but I think my point still stands, that there's really no excuse for this kind of bad lazy design and I refuse to think there's no better way to do it. Maybe it's time/budget constraints but then again that's bad management and doesn't excuse it.

Time and budget constraints aren't necessarily the result of bad management though, they're both finite resources and if engineers had to implement every idea which came from design they'd never ship anything. Maybe there is a better way to do it but I wouldn't automatically blame the designers at Insomniac, and I certainly wouldn't call them lazy, for not being able to solve a problem that's existed for at least two console generations now. Then again...

Retr0gamer wrote: »

I think it's better than what is currently shown because from my perspective there's no flow, the cutscenes might as well not have QTEs. Press X to continue the cinematic, I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up there's no fail state for a lot of them.

...perspective is indeed important because, like I said before Penn posted similarly, slowing down the action in order to give the player enough time to move a reticule over a particular area would kill the momentum in certain scenes. With momentum being synonymous with Spider-Man's character movement, I'd argue that losing that would be bad design more so than relying on a QTE which is at least more indicative of the reactions necessary in those kinds of scenarios.

Retr0gamer · 16-06-2017 5:48pm

A good management would work within the constraints of a budget and time line.

The momentum thing doesn't fly with me anyway. Taking the slow motion example, when has slow motion ever killed the momentum in an action scene? It certainly doesn't in action games, look at the QTEs in Bayonetta and Vanquish. Also the slow motion this is only one example, I can come up with dozens more ways of handling these QTEs better. I just feel the current implementation is Spiderman 3 levels of lazy. Hopefully it gets improved in the final release.

Osmosis Jones · 16-06-2017 5:51pm

Considering it's a vague 2018 release date they still have plenty of time to work on it, we're far from the finished product I'd say.

Retr0gamer · 16-06-2017 6:01pm

Yeah, I don't know how you can argue this went through a design process and this is the best they could come up with. I'd me more surprised if it wasn't changed by release especially after the backlash. I'd be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt that it's just a placeholder.

Penn · 16-06-2017 6:09pm

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Yeah, I don't know how you can argue this went through a design process and this is the best they could come up with. I'd me more surprised if it wasn't changed by release especially after the backlash. I'd be more inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt that it's just a placeholder.

I genuinely don't see what the problem is with it.

Retr0gamer · 16-06-2017 6:21pm

Basically it looks like something from a game from 2006. Resi 4 and God of War come out in 2005 and do QTEs and do them right. Lots of lesser developers shoe horn them into their game and completely miss the point of how and why they worked, with arbitrary button presses just to try and keep up with the current trend.

I'd expect something more from a big budget exclusive from a respected studio than something that looks like a game design faux pas from over a decade ago. I'm not the biggest fan of arkham style combat but it's a whore to code the animation AI and other AI systems for it and it seems at the very least competent in this game, so why neglect this area and leave in what I feel is a game design relic.

Anyway I expect it to be a lot different next time its shown. I'd be very, very surprised it survives the development process especially considering the fan feedback. From my experience it's going to get ripped apart in focus testing, but I doubt it will get that far.

Penn · 16-06-2017 7:07pm

I think you're being unnecessarily harsh. I'd have no issue with playing that and don't think it would detract from the game to any tangible degree if it's used as sparingly as they're indicating.

Varik · 16-06-2017 7:34pm

They've shown a lot more gameplay, turns out most of the apparent qte aren't they just such as that steel girder.

SeantheMan · 19-06-2017 1:00am

They've all been to the Q&A with developers etc and discuss Spiderman in depth, and listening to this will put many of your fears to rest. They were negative as most when it was first revealed, but all seems good now after they've seen more than the public reveal.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6t6xLdm7zo

TrustedApple · 19-06-2017 8:19am

Retr0gamer wrote: »

Basically it looks like something from a game from 2006. Resi 4 and God of War come out in 2005 and do QTEs and do them right. Lots of lesser developers shoe horn them into their game and completely miss the point of how and why they worked, with arbitrary button presses just to try and keep up with the current trend.

I'd expect something more from a big budget exclusive from a respected studio than something that looks like a game design faux pas from over a decade ago. I'm not the biggest fan of arkham style combat but it's a whore to code the animation AI and other AI systems for it and it seems at the very least competent in this game, so why neglect this area and leave in what I feel is a game design relic.

Anyway I expect it to be a lot different next time its shown. I'd be very, very surprised it survives the development process especially considering the fan feedback. From my experience it's going to get ripped apart in focus testing, but I doubt it will get that far.

Retro I am beginning to think you dont even like video games ?. AS i have never seen you post positive about any kind of game lately its just all issues and nagtive points.

Look unlike you i dont care about AI systems, QTE or game design.

As long as it has a fun story, game play and i can switch off for 10 hours I am delighted.

Kirby · 19-06-2017 8:31am

TrustedApple wrote: »

Retro I am beginning to think you dont even like video games ?. AS i have never seen you post positive about any kind of game lately its just all issues and nagtive points.

Look unlike you i dont care about AI systems, QTE or game design.

As long as it has a fun story, game play and i can switch off for 10 hours I am delighted.

Spiderman is too western for him. If it was called Websling Oversight: Guilty Action Again! he'd be all over it.

In all seriousness though, I don't think its an issue to point out problems in games....be they good or bad games. Surely he shouldn't be pilloried for that?

Last of Us is my favourite game probably ever but I'm analytical enough to notice it has quite a few issues. Leave Retro alone! :P

kunst nugget · 19-06-2017 10:50am

TrustedApple wrote: »

Look unlike you i dont care about AI systems, QTE or game design.

As long as it has a fun story, game play and i can switch off for 10 hours I am delighted.

But all those elements are part of how much fun or how terrible a game is going to be.

Retr0gamer · 19-06-2017 11:06am

TrustedApple wrote: »

As long as it has a fun story, game play and i can switch off for 10 hours I am delighted.

I'd like to say I expect more from games but I don't really. My problem is I can't enjoy modern games that are merely competent, that do everything right but don't stand out on their own with their own merits. Spiderman with the Arkham system borrowed wholesale and the QTE's is looking to merely coast along and be just good enough. I actually find these games more boring that games with big flaws but at least try something different. I wasn't hugely enamoured with Spiderman 2 but I could appreciate that it was doing it's own thing with the open world setting.

From the trailers I can see Spiderman will be good enough, but I'd rather it was something a bit better and hope I'm proved wrong. There's nothing wrong with discussing apparent problems with the game. It's a discussion forum after all. If someone has doesn't agree with you it isn't a slight against you or your platform of choice.

Otacon · 19-06-2017 11:35am

For me, Insomniac Games have a good enough track record to have earned the benefit of the doubt. This also doesn't appear to be a rush job, as evidenced by the fact that they are not trying to hit any tie-in deadlines so they should have enough time to polish the game up and deliver a good Spider-Man game; something that hasn't happened in a while.

Retr0gamer · 19-06-2017 11:53am

I hope some sunset overdrive dna filters through.

J. Marston · 30-10-2017 6:23pm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq02p3z3X2k

Zero-Cool · 03-04-2018 6:23pm

Lots of new info coming tomorrow with the release date. Looking really good and fluid.

http://www.gameinformer.com/b/news/archive/2018/04/03/may-cover-revealed-spiderman-772336129.aspx

https://twitter.com/gameinformer/status/981199891782340608?s=19

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uyIp5C1N5M

J. Marston · 04-04-2018 3:00pm

Looks amazing. Fluid is the perfect word for it.

I think it'll rake in GOTY awards.

Zero-Cool · 04-04-2018 4:01pm

7th September release date.

https://twitter.com/gameinformer/status/981546942953066496?s=19

Zero-Cool · 04-04-2018 4:12pm

Give it to me...

Details on the standard, deluxe and collectors editions. The statue is perched on subverting that is spoilers apparently and will be revealed this summer, spoils what I wonder, hardly the game.

blog.eu.playstation.com/2018/04/04/marvels-spider-man-releases-on-7th-september-collectors-edition-revealed-and-more/amp/?__twitter_impression

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luh7RLYn1Bw

nix · 04-04-2018 4:38pm

Zero-Cool wrote: »

Give it to me...

Details on the standard, deluxe and collectors editions. The statue is perched on subverting that is spoilers apparently and will be revealed this summer, spoils what I wonder, hardly the game.

blog.eu.playstation.com/2018/04/04/marvels-spider-man-releases-on-7th-september-collectors-edition-revealed-and-more/amp/?__twitter_impression

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luh7RLYn1Bw

Betcha its the green/hob goblins flying whingamajig

Spider-Man - PS4

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