by Joseph Leray
Blackpowder Games is a new indie studio created by six former Monolith Productions vets, and their first game is "Betrayer," a first-person musketeer about exploring the mysteriously vanished Roanoke Colony in 1604.
As you can see from the trailer, "Betrayer" sports a stark black-and-white-and-red visual style, coupled with a sort of otherworldly horror that shouldn't come as a surprise, given Blackpowder's history with the (underrated, I think) "F.E.A.R." series.
Here's a synopsis:
The year is 1604. You sailed from England expecting to join a struggling colony on the coast of Virginia. Instead, you find only ghosts and mysteries. What catastrophe blighted the land and drained it of color and life? Where are the settlers and tribes who lived here? And who is the strange, silent woman in red who aids you from afar?
Clue by clue, you must piece together the story of what befell this...
Blackpowder Games is a new indie studio created by six former Monolith Productions vets, and their first game is "Betrayer," a first-person musketeer about exploring the mysteriously vanished Roanoke Colony in 1604.
As you can see from the trailer, "Betrayer" sports a stark black-and-white-and-red visual style, coupled with a sort of otherworldly horror that shouldn't come as a surprise, given Blackpowder's history with the (underrated, I think) "F.E.A.R." series.
Here's a synopsis:
The year is 1604. You sailed from England expecting to join a struggling colony on the coast of Virginia. Instead, you find only ghosts and mysteries. What catastrophe blighted the land and drained it of color and life? Where are the settlers and tribes who lived here? And who is the strange, silent woman in red who aids you from afar?
Clue by clue, you must piece together the story of what befell this...
- 8/6/2013
- by MTV Video Games
- MTV Multiplayer
Six former developers from Monolith, the studio behind F.E.A.R. and No One Lives Forever, have just announced Betrayer, a first-person single-player action-adventure game set in Colonial Virginia that features exploration, weaponry authentic to the times and a metaphysical mystery with a historical foundation.
Upon arriving in the Colonies via sailboat from England, you discover ghosts and ghouls in a New World stripped of color, save for the occasional splash of red. From there, it’s up to you to figure out what happened by piecing together clues. Betrayer contains limited hand-holding. It’s not meant to be easy and the story is found – rather than told in a heavy-handed expository way.
Creative lead Craig Hubbard of the studio behind Betrayer, appropriately named Blackpowder Games, explains to PC Gamer:
“It’s been so long since someone’s done something this austere, that it just seemed like an opportunity.
Upon arriving in the Colonies via sailboat from England, you discover ghosts and ghouls in a New World stripped of color, save for the occasional splash of red. From there, it’s up to you to figure out what happened by piecing together clues. Betrayer contains limited hand-holding. It’s not meant to be easy and the story is found – rather than told in a heavy-handed expository way.
Creative lead Craig Hubbard of the studio behind Betrayer, appropriately named Blackpowder Games, explains to PC Gamer:
“It’s been so long since someone’s done something this austere, that it just seemed like an opportunity.
- 8/6/2013
- by Cody Steffen
- We Got This Covered
Indie game developer Blackpowder Games has revealed their newest title, Betrayer, an atmospheric first-person action adventure game for the PC. Blackpowder is composed of ex-Monolith developers who once worked on the original F.E.A.R. and No One Lives Forever series. These developers followed through on a mission to create compelling and memorable action games. Betrayer will be the company’s first self-funded debut that is powered by Unreal Engine 3 technology.
Creative director Craig Hubbard said “We wanted to get back to crafting games more intuitively. There’s a sense of discovery and excitement when you navigate by instinct rather than market research and open yourself up to opportunities that arise during development.”
“Betrayer washes you ashore in the New World in 1604, where you’re expecting to join a struggling English colony on the Virginia coast. Instead you find only ghosts and mysteries in a land drained of color and life.
Creative director Craig Hubbard said “We wanted to get back to crafting games more intuitively. There’s a sense of discovery and excitement when you navigate by instinct rather than market research and open yourself up to opportunities that arise during development.”
“Betrayer washes you ashore in the New World in 1604, where you’re expecting to join a struggling English colony on the Virginia coast. Instead you find only ghosts and mysteries in a land drained of color and life.
- 8/5/2013
- by Laura B.
- GeekRest
The third and fourth installments of F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin Behind-The-Scenes are now online for your consumption, so we're doing our civic horror-loving duty by pointing you in the right direction!
From the press release:
"Part three features AI Senior Software Engineer Matt Rice and AI Software Engineer Nate Cleveland discussing the improved AI system which creates a more visceral experience for gamers. The fourth and final part features Principle Software Engineer John O’Rorke chatting about how the team has taken what was great in F.E.A.R. and advanced this to the next level with various improvements to the Engine resulting in a much more rich, dynamic and polished experience."
By clicking the image below, you'll be taken to today's video, which features Primary Game Designer Craig Hubbard as he takes some time to talk about the story in the game. F.E.A.
From the press release:
"Part three features AI Senior Software Engineer Matt Rice and AI Software Engineer Nate Cleveland discussing the improved AI system which creates a more visceral experience for gamers. The fourth and final part features Principle Software Engineer John O’Rorke chatting about how the team has taken what was great in F.E.A.R. and advanced this to the next level with various improvements to the Engine resulting in a much more rich, dynamic and polished experience."
By clicking the image below, you'll be taken to today's video, which features Primary Game Designer Craig Hubbard as he takes some time to talk about the story in the game. F.E.A.
- 12/2/2008
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
It's amazing how quickly things work sometimes. Just yesterday we pointed you in the direction of the first in a series of behind-the-scenes videos for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, and now today the good folks at Warner Bros Interactive have yet another tidbit of gore-drenched goodness to share with us!
By clicking the image below, you'll be taken to today's video,which features Primary Art Lead Dave Matthews and Primary Game Designer Craig Hubbard as they takes some time to talk about the design of the game. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will hit the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on February 10, 2009. Order yourself a copy by clicking below!
- Uncle Creepy
Check Out Dread Central’S New Poster Store!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Design your fear in our Dread Central forums!
By clicking the image below, you'll be taken to today's video,which features Primary Art Lead Dave Matthews and Primary Game Designer Craig Hubbard as they takes some time to talk about the design of the game. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will hit the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on February 10, 2009. Order yourself a copy by clicking below!
- Uncle Creepy
Check Out Dread Central’S New Poster Store!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Design your fear in our Dread Central forums!
- 11/18/2008
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
The time is almost here for Alma to once again haunt our bits of digital entertainment like only she can! To celebrate Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment has released the first in a series of behind-the-scenes videos for F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin.
By clicking the image below you be taken to today's video that features Primary Game Designer Craig Hubbard, as he takes some time to talk about the story in the game. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will hit the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on February 10, 2009. Order yourself a copy by clicking below!
- Uncle Creepy
Check Out Dread Central’S New Poster Store!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Move in slow-mo through our Dread Central forums!
By clicking the image below you be taken to today's video that features Primary Game Designer Craig Hubbard, as he takes some time to talk about the story in the game. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin will hit the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on February 10, 2009. Order yourself a copy by clicking below!
- Uncle Creepy
Check Out Dread Central’S New Poster Store!
Got news? Click here to submit it!
Move in slow-mo through our Dread Central forums!
- 11/17/2008
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Gotta make this a quick one. Famous horror author Joe Knetter and his stunt ass are hitting SoCal this weekend so this Woman needs her rest. Lord knows what manner of mayhem awaits.
A good chunk of the news from the week of November 8-14, 2008, came from Afm, where more genre projects than you can shake a stick at were bought and sold. Andrew tells us his opinion of a dozen features he managed to squeeze in at the event here. Several, like The Children, Pontypool, and Blood River sound very promising indeed!
Despite our hunger for more fresh indies like those coming out of Afm, the studio remake machine keeps chugging along, and one that I plan to keep tabs on is David Ondaatje's redux of Hitchcock's The Lodger. It's Ondaatje's feature debut, but considering that he previously helmed a documentary called Undressing Hitchcock, I have a feeling...
A good chunk of the news from the week of November 8-14, 2008, came from Afm, where more genre projects than you can shake a stick at were bought and sold. Andrew tells us his opinion of a dozen features he managed to squeeze in at the event here. Several, like The Children, Pontypool, and Blood River sound very promising indeed!
Despite our hunger for more fresh indies like those coming out of Afm, the studio remake machine keeps chugging along, and one that I plan to keep tabs on is David Ondaatje's redux of Hitchcock's The Lodger. It's Ondaatje's feature debut, but considering that he previously helmed a documentary called Undressing Hitchcock, I have a feeling...
- 11/15/2008
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Ready for Alma's next rampage? You know you are! But what can we expect this go around through her world of bleeding ceilings and clone warriors? To find out we sat down with Principal Game Designer, Craig Hubbard!
DC: Since F.E.A.R., you've had two follow-up releases built by different companies, a publisher change or two, and an aborted sequel in name only began by another studio while you worked under the Project Origin name. Did all that general chaos, nothing you had any power over, change how you approached F.E.A.R. 2?
Craig Hubbard: Since Project Origin has always had Alma at the center of the story, that really didn't affect anything we were doing in terms of game development and the storyline. Having the F.E.A.R. name back has been great since it really completes the link that Monolith were the developers of F.
DC: Since F.E.A.R., you've had two follow-up releases built by different companies, a publisher change or two, and an aborted sequel in name only began by another studio while you worked under the Project Origin name. Did all that general chaos, nothing you had any power over, change how you approached F.E.A.R. 2?
Craig Hubbard: Since Project Origin has always had Alma at the center of the story, that really didn't affect anything we were doing in terms of game development and the storyline. Having the F.E.A.R. name back has been great since it really completes the link that Monolith were the developers of F.
- 11/12/2008
- by Mr. Dark
- DreadCentral.com
Warner Bros. Interactive has decided to take the Dead Space route with their upcoming sequel F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin and opened up a community website for the game. To kick the site off, one of the game’s designers, Craig Hubbard, has posted a new blog with new info on why the regenerative health system is gone and the Medkit is back. Check it out right here!
In case you didn’t know, here’s some official plot for the game, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2005 smash hit game, F.E.A.R., is a blend of advanced visceral combat mixed with seamless game pacing set inside a sinister and paranormal universe that begins shortly before the ending of F.E.A.R. A Special Forces squad is on a routine mission when the city of Auburn is rocked by a supernatural explosion.
In case you didn’t know, here’s some official plot for the game, F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, the highly anticipated sequel to the 2005 smash hit game, F.E.A.R., is a blend of advanced visceral combat mixed with seamless game pacing set inside a sinister and paranormal universe that begins shortly before the ending of F.E.A.R. A Special Forces squad is on a routine mission when the city of Auburn is rocked by a supernatural explosion.
- 10/14/2008
- by Johnny Butane
- DreadCentral.com
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