Don't cut yourself on all that edgy

Buckle up for safely, because it appears that Sweet Tooth and his maniacal pals are revving their engines once again. But this time, David Jaffe's violent world of Twisted Metal has been given the green-light in a wh??ole other fashion, joining the growing line of video game IPs getting a TV adaptation.

As reported by Variety, the Twisted Metal TV series will be an "action comedy" set in a post-apocalyptic universe, where a down-and-out loser is offered a better life provided they can transport a mysterious package across the wastelands - teeming with bands of marauders an??d other eccentric characters. All very Mad Max. While the cast list is still on the ground, the woefully edgy serial killer clown Sweet Tooth is confirmed to be putting in an appearance, driving his horrifying ice cream truck through what remains of humanity.

Produced by Sony Pictures Television and "PlayStation Productions" - which is a thing - Twisted Metal will be written by Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick, the duo who penned horror comedy Zombieland and the violent comic-book actioner Deadpool. Sounds like a good fit. Michael Jonathan Smith, producer of Karate Kid spin-off series Cobra Kai, is on board as executive producer.

Originally launched in 1995, the Twisted Metal series follows a group of outcasts as they battle to the death in vehicular bloodsport, the prize being the winner's greatest wish, granted by doomsday executive Calypso. While some series entries - such as 1996's Twisted Metal: World Tour and 2001's Twisted Metal: Black are particularly notable, the series has had more than its fair share of duds, such as 1999's awful Twisted Metal 4. With the series in hiatus, the new show could see the way paved for a ??f??resh sequel. I certainly hope so.

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March 25, 2019 is the end date

Creating games with a lone multiplayer component is an inherent risk when it comes to game preservation. You keep costs low without having to create a single player component and keep potential yields high with microtransactions, but once the servers are pulled on a console exclusive -- it's lights out. As spotted by ResetEra, David Jaffe's Drawn to Death is meeting that very same fate.

After booting up the game a user was greeted with a splash screen noting that Drawn to Death would be shut down on March 25, 2019 in its entirety. The PSN listing echoes this, stating: "Multi-player and all online features for this product will be terminated and will no longer be available on 03/25/19. As you have to be online to play this title, this game will not be playable sta??rting 3/25/19."

Drawn to Death launched in April of 2017 and lasted far longer than a lot of people expected it to. Perhaps it was Sony's PlayStation Plus promise (it was originally given out for free for Plus members before reverting to a $20 pricepoint) that let it linger, and now the playerbase is low enough to justify pulling the plug. Details weren't shared but as of now, unless there's a massive fan campaign to prolong it (like Gravity Rush 2), it's done.

Drawn to Death [PlayStation Store via ResetEra]

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Staff laid off and a project cancelled

In what is sadly becoming a trend in the industry, another indie studio has been forced to lay staff off. This time, Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency (known for Drawn to Death) is the one on the chopping block. Helmed by industry legend David Jaffe (Twisted Metal, God of War), i??t seems like nothing is going well for Bartlet Jones.

Jaff??e took to Twitter to inform fans that staff h??as been laid off and that a potential project had been cancelled recently.

This is always a sad thing to hear, especially when it happens to an icon lik?e Jaffe. Here's hoping everyone affected lands on their feet and returns to their craft sooner rather than lat?er.

David Jaffe [Twitter]

The post David Jaffe’s game studio is going through some hard times appeared first on Destructoid.

Crude but competent

From the mind of Twisted Metal and God of War designer David Jaffe comes Drawn to Death, a multiplayer-only arena shooter ?set within the doodle-filled confines of a teenager's notebo?ok.

This is a world in which a shark-headed ninja can grapple-hook her way past a self-destructing cyborg vampire, or a punk rocker can wield a poop????ing monkey against an invisible chainsaw-toting butcher.

It's as weird as it sounds.

Drawn to Death (PS4)
Developer: The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency
Publisher: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Released: April 4, 2017
MSRP: $19.99 (free with PlayStation Plus subscription)

The crude hand-drawn art direction makes a strong but not necessarily good first impression, as does the game's intentionally over-the-top juvenile sense of humor. But even if those elements fall flat for you, trust me when I say this is a nuanced shooter, one that's possible to enjoy in spite of th??em.

As an online game that's free with PlayStation Plus this month, I worry that subscribers will be curious enough to dig into the absolutely necessary tutorial only to get turned off by the super-talkative "edgy" narration and it'll cause them to bail. That'd be a shame. Drawn to Death doesn't reveal its true depth until you've gotten a dozen matches under your belt (if not more), and new tricks will continue bubbling up as you unlock wacky or otherwise ?atypical weapons and get a better feel for each character's complexities.

The game carves out a nice little niche for itself as a small ?but focused arena-style shooter complete with weapon, ammo, and health pick-ups, environmental kill opportunities, and minuscule match sizes (it's two vs. two at most). That setup and scope feels old-school, sometimes to a fault, but the characters come across as more modern with intricate abilities that run on a cooldown.

My favorite of the six is Cyborgula. Every character has a huge, floaty jump to accommodate for Drawn to Death's vertical map layouts, but he can stay in the air even longer with his vampire wings, enabling me to more easily lock on and launch a missile array or dive down for a head-on attack. If that isn't enough -- a likely outcome, considering how large players' health pools are -- I can launch some explosive game cartridges with my JRPG. Or, if it's a close match and I need to pull out something amazing to hit the winning score?? threshold, there's always the Hand, a once-per-match Hail Mary move in which you leap atop a floating hand and can devastate your papery foes with smart timing.

Drawn to Death is designed such that each of the characters handle very differently. Your proficiency and tactics with one won't always transfer to another (for instance: I'm totally worthless as Ninjaw), and things get trickier when you take into account customizable weapon loadouts. Who goes best with what? I'm still slowly figuring that out. What's more, everyone has a unique advantage and disadvantage, though some a??re more important to keep in mind than others. Alan, the murderous butcher, inherently does bonus melee damage against the devilish Diabla, but my boy Cyborgula can see right through his cloak ability. If it weren't clear already, it takes time to feel at home with this game.

Most of the depth is left to the characters, the way they work off one another, and the game's handful of secret-filled maps. In terms of modes, Drawn to Death ends up feeling rather limited.

You're looking at a pair of deathmatch modes and Organ Donor, a mode in which you drop a heart when you die and points are obtained by ever-so-slowly banking hearts at a drop-off point. There are wrinkles to freshen up these familiar offerings -- including ways to actually subtract from the opposition's score, or subvert the game's standard air-dro??p-in respawn for an instant revive at half your normal health -- but they eventually shed their novelty. So too ??does the vulgar announcer.

As much as I don't care for Drawn to Death's hard-to-ignore grating tone, the attention to detail present in its scribbled characters, world, and menus does shine through. I find myself getting really invested in matches when it's a full two-on-two game where spamming the same old weapons, explosives, and abilities is less likely to cut it? as a viable "strategy." Unfortunately, as it stands, those adrenaline-pumping matches ??aren't the norm -- not nearly enough people are playing yet. In the event that a team match begins with three people, it compensates by giving the short-handed player a massive buff. I don't think I've ever lost as the lone player, but it's still a position I'd prefer never to be placed in.

There's hope for Drawn to Death to grow into something more, and my fingers are crossed that it does. After not quite a week, I've just about had my fill and don't feel compelled to stick around for cosmetic unlocks earned from drawn-out blind boxes. With new modes and characters, another pass at balancing, and some matchmaking options, I could see myself coming back. Until then, I'm good.

_{[This r?eview is based on a retail build of the game downloaded for ??free with PlayStation Plus.]}

The post Review: Drawn to Death appeared first on Destructoid.

So uh

I was right there on launch day with Drawn to Death. Sure, David Jaffe has had some mis??ses in?? his career, but the idea of a free PS4 shooter (with Plus) sounded pretty sweet.

I'm wondering though, is anyone else aware that this game even exists? I had some trouble finding a multitude of people to play, and it seemed like I was rolling with the same crew on a consistent basis. It's kind of a shame, as Drawn to Death does a lot of things right.

Although some microtransaction based concepts (read: keys, which unlock weapons) do seem a little scummy, most of the economy is based around cosmetics,built around a fairly solid shooter base. I don't have enough experience to truly render a verdict as to whether or not I actually like it?? (Jordan will have so?mething for you soon), I'm definitely conflicted.

But really, mainly just wanted to know if you're playing it, and what you think about i?t.

The post Are?? you playing Drawn t??o Death? Not many people seem to be appeared first on Destructoid.

Launching on April 4

If you've ever once thought Drawn to Death looked like something that would do well to come out of the gate as a free-with-??PlayStation-Plus game to help bolster its multiplayer community, I'm right there with you. And so are David Jaffe and co., apparently! The notebook doodle-style arena shooter/brawler title is out on April 4, 2017, and it'll be a part of the PS Plus lineup for ?that month.

You might've seen Drawn to Death a couple years back. Here's a more recent look.

The standout quote, at least to my mind: "It's less about dropping you into sort of just a chaotic blender of action," explains Jaffe, "and instead saying 'We want smart players, we wanna create a game that really is rewarding you for thinking and being great with reflexes at the same time.'"

Drawn To D???eath is Free for PS Plus Members This April [PlayStation Blog]

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Did anyone else forget about this?

Honestly, I had completely forgotten about Drawn to Death until today. The last we heard of David Jaffe's (Twisted Metal, God of War) kooky arena shooter was in 2014??, but I'm glad to see it ali?ve and kicking. 

Drawn to Death is an arena shooter taking place in some disturbed teenager's rowdy notebook. Given the nature of weapons like a fire-breathing dragon head, or characters named things like "Diablo Tijuana," Jaffe designed a game directly for the audience who've been waiting to go on another Twisted Metal bender. I've always gotten destroyed in these games, but I want to try it out. The art style's ug??ly, bu??t endearing? I'm not really sure yet.  

Drawn to Death launches for PlayStation 4 via the PlayStation Network on April?? 4th for? $19.99.

Drawn to Death launche?s April 4, David Jaffe on Doodles and Game Design [PlayStation Blog]

The post Drawn to Death launching on P?layStation Network this April appeared first on Destructoid.

Set in a teen's notebook

"They said I could cuss." Oh, Jaffe.

Jaffe's (Twisted Metal, God of War) new studio's PS4 exclusive (in conjunction with Sony San Diego) is Drawn to Death, a third-person arena shooter? set in a high school kid's violent notebook. That should get someone sent to a principal's office.

There are a number of different characters and some oddball weapons, like a dragon stuffed with gasoline breathing fire. Oh, teens. That everything--levels, guns, characters--comes from some teen's messed up imagi?nation could make for a lot of wild, interesting stuff.

Drawn to Death is playable at PlayStation Experience, but in pre-alpha, so the team will be impromptu focus-testing at t?he show. 

The post Drawn to Death: A PS4 arena shoote??r from Da??vid Jaffe appeared first on Destructoid.

We'll find out at PlayStation Experience

PlayStation Experience takes place in Las Vegas in early December, and it's sure to have plenty of announcements and surprises. One of those is getting teas?ed today with a rabbit hole of information (starting with this notebook trailer), and all signs point to a new game by David Jaffe.

A sharp eye will notice a URL in the teaser that points to a site for Bartlet Jones that only contains a video titled "Haunted" (below). A quick Internet search for "Bartlet Jones" leads to The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency, which specializes in "ghost hunting, ghost removal, and spectral analysis." Toward the bottom, it lists David Jaffe and Nick Kononelos as employees of the agency. Oh yeah, and it says they make videogames w?hen they're not ghost bustin'.

Judging by this, whatever this game may be looks to focus on tracking down and removing supernatural threats such? as spirits, werewolves, and demons. Here's to hoping that this is playable at PlayStation Experience; we'll make sure to ??bring you all the news and impressions that we can.

The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency [Bartlet Jones]

The post This? seems to be the new David Jaffe game, and it looks fantastic appeared first on Destructoid.

Alongside other genre veterans

Twisted Metal creator David Jaffe will serve as a creative adviser on Pixelbionic's debut title, a car combat game named Autoduel. The studio, co-founded by Maxx Kaufman (inXile, art director of Return to Castle Wolfenstein) and long-time producer Mike Arkin, will ?be going after that Kickstarter money, though the campaign has not been started yet.

Other notable people working on this online multiplayer PC game include the lead designer of Interstate '82, Scot Kramarich, and the creator of Interstate '76, Zack Norman, who will join Jaffe on the board. If you're going to make a vehicular combat game, these certainly seem like the people to get. Early details indicate that Autoduel will take place in a post-apocalyptic wasteland wher??e three competing?? factions of road warriors try to blow one another up.

The post David Jaffe attached to new car combat? game Autod??uel appeared first on Destructoid.

Developer gives Erin Burnett a furious piece of his mind

Last week, we talked about how CNN anchor Erin Burnett des??perately tried to li??nk videogames to violent crime, attempting as she did to lead a psychologist into agreeing with her, and appearing flustered whe??n he didn't. She wants her viewers to believe games turn people into killers, and funnily enough, many of us found that intellectually offensive. 

One such offended party happened to be David Jaffe, who addressed Erin Burnett via the magic of Twitlonger and launched into a massively wordy assault that dressed the journalist down someth??ing fierce. 

"You, ma'am, are at best an idiot that CNN should be ashamed to have as an anchor," he began. "At worst, you are the worst kind of American: one who has allowed the healthy desire for success to morph into a capitalistic cance??r that makes it ok to ignore the facts in order to make your product more appealing, regardless of the consequences.

"To make matters worse, your own views about video games -- which you seem to have ??no problem sharing with your hundreds of thousands of viewers -- clearly have not been formed by any actual research or real life experience with the medium."

Jaffe mentioned how there's zero research to support the belief that videogames make people violent, though I imagine that's barking up the wrong tree with Burnett. She clearly didn't care about evidence when she steamrolled her guest the moment he started disagreeing with her. Jaffe went for the jugular, though, bringing up the social dangers presented by Erin's industry, rather than his. 

"There is very real evidence that our society suffers greatly when our news media fails to properly inform the public," he told her. "The fact that you think a guy who 'trains' on a shooting videogame would be granted the skill to horrifically, tragically ki?ll those CHILDREN in Norway only serves?? to show how little research you do before you open your mouth in front of your world wide audience under the guise of delivering news.

"I'm not sure what makes your argument look more ignorant: the fact that you don't back up your idiotic statement b??y showing a correlation to the current health of America's agriculture sector with the popularity of Farmville OR the fact that the sick, deranged evil loser who killed those poor kids in Norway had picked such a poor 'training' tool that after 700 hours?? of play, he was only capable of hitting little kids with his bullets versus the well armed pretend terrorists and highly skilled virtual soldiers that he was battling in the game.

"?Shame on you," he concludes. "But more importantly: shame on your professi??on. It deserves so much better."

A scathing retort -- words Erin will likely ignore, but ultimately deserved to hear. Her little performance on CNN was simply staggering in its offen??sive ignorance, and I do hope she got nothing but negative feedback as a result of flinging her shit around on national television.

David Jaffe Lashes Out at CNN Anchor [The Escapist]

The post David Jaf??fe launches glorious verbal attack on CNN anchor appeared first on Destructoid.

Twisted Metal dev dishes out financial advice to Capcom

What I love about David Jaffe is that he'll answer questions and damn the consequences. He was asked by one gamer how he'd fix Resident Evil 6, the polarizing action game that's received a famous critical mauling. He shared his view in no uncertain terms. 

"CHOP THE DEVELOPMENT BUDGET," he said on Twitter. "Give a small,? hungry, visionary team 3-5 million bucks, make a 2-3 hour digital only game and put the money into paying for a creative way to reinvent the genre. Hell, if I was not doing what I was doing now you can BET I'd be out on Kickstarter trying to raise 400-700K for my take on a super low budget horror game with the goal of making the SCARIEST game of all time!"

He had an alternative idea?, too. Let it not? be said that Jaffe won't cover all the bases ...

"??If you are going to compete with the big boys then fuckin?g show up and play serious. Get a AAAAA developer or build one, spend the money, and call it a day. 

"Both would work, but I'd choose a :)."

The former Eat Sleep Play director did confess to having not played the game himself yet, but used his development knowledge to pinpoint the issue. He also stated that finishing and shipping any sort of game was an accomplishment in and of itself, so he has no intention of bashing the team that worked on the title??.&n?bsp;

Really, Jaffe's financial advice works for most "AAA" games these days. The budgets are escaping the sensible means of the publishers, and it's hardly surprising they're all terrified of risks and untested ideas. When you have a massive budget and 600 developers working on one game, I don't see how it wouldn't result in chaos fueled by terror.

The old ad?age about too many cooks may be corny, but there's some merit to it.

The post How David Jaffe would fix Resident Evil 6 appeared first on Destructoid.

Every now and then, some industry chap will ring the death-knell for consoles, and the rest of the world will agree or scrabble to defend their favorite systems. Today's contestant is David Jaffe, forme?r face of Eat Sleep Play and newly positioned maker of social games. Yep, he says those wacky consoles are on the way out!

"Look, consoles are going away," he said to GI International. "I th??ink in 10 years -- probably sooner, but 10 years is always the safe thing to say so you don’t sound like an idiot -- but here&rsqu??o;s what I’ll say: I’ll go on the record and say that the next generation of hardware will be the last consoles. And they should be."

Jaffe isn't especially excited about Nintendo's la?test offering either, admitting the Wii U hasn't made him excited yet. 

"I don’t see the Wii U and say 'oh my God I have to have that,' but with new hardware that's usually the case; the software's going to drive it. Or it's like Apple and the hardware is so elegantly designed that it's like, 'Oh they make toilet plungers? I'll buy it!' I played some games, I enjoyed Rayman ... it's not like I'm knocking it but I would say that I wasn't blown away by any?? individual piece of software that was exclusive to Wii U."

Those are some things David Jaffe said. Oh damn that man?? and his words!

The post Jaffe isn’t excited for Wii U, thinks consoles are dying appeared first on Destructoid.

Following his work on Twisted Metal, David Jaffe has shared details about his next project in an interview with GamesIndustry International: it's a free-to-play, browser-based, third-person shooter. While this is still very much in the early stages of development, the outspoken designer had pl?enty to say.

"I hate free-to-play but I love aspects o??f it," explains Jaffe. "I love the instant-on, I love the low to no barrier of entry to get all kinds of people to jump in and play?, I love the fact that you're sitting there at lunch and can play for five minutes or you can get sucked in and play for three hours. You don't have to sit there and power up your f***ing machine and go through legal screens and load screens and load the game."

"You can listen to developers all day long tell you it's not pay to win, but you know, it kind of is pay to win. I'm not saying they'r??e evil or they're lying -- but one of the things they like to say?? is pay with your time or pay with your money. Well both of those are really shitty."

"For me it's about starting a company and finding the right group of people that really believe in this vision that there's great stuff about free?-to-play but we want to make it genuinely for gamers." Continuing, he says "It's really about how we're going to execute our version of what that means. So that's what I'm extremely passionate about and what we're building."

God of War, Twisted Metal ????designer David Jaffe pursuing free-to-play project [GamesIndustry International]

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I love the idea of promoting a new game release with a contest; it's a pretty foolproof concept. I definitely like the idea of being allowed to shoot Sweet Tooth's ice cream truck with a machine gun. ?Sounds perfect, right? 

My one hangup with this plan is that you're not phy??sically shooting the gun. They've devised a system in which you aim the guns via satellite from the comfort of your couch. Still cool; you're sti?ll shooting something, but my excitement for the experience dwindled ever so slightly. 

Head on over to the Shoot My Truck site and sign up with either your Facebook or Twitte??r ?account and wait for the big day.  

The post David Jaffe wants you to shoot his truck appeared first on Destructoid.

[Update: Jaffe has responded to today's news, confirming that layoffs were had, but addressing talk of casual development by saying, "I have zero plans to make games like FARMVILLE and ANGRY BIRDS. I never said what I was doing post TM ...  I will be opening a game studio here in San Diego because I really miss internal game de??velopment. Happy to share more details later."]

Eat Sleep Play is the latest studio to be hit by the, "develop big game, kill off a bunch of jobs" phenomenon. The Twisted Metal devel??oper has lost eight employees to continue with a staff of 26, and it would appear that even the infamous David Jaffe is leaving. 

The studio will be sticking to iPad and iPhone games in the future, with co-founder Scott Campbell calling the move "pretty exc?iting" and looking forward to "reaching a lot mo?re people." Even so, it looks like a step down for a team that's got a major PS3 exclusive on the horizon. 

As for Jaffe? There's talk of him going into the casual games market, but he has said on Twitter that such rumors are "hig?hly exaggerated" and they won't be casual games "as you know them." He has, so far, said nothing else beyond that. 

Whatever happens, there's something fundamentally wrong with this industry wh?ere thing??s like this happen so regularly.

The post Twisted Metal dev hit with lay??offs, Dav?id Jaffe leaving appeared first on Destructoid.

Upon the news that a new Twisted Metal game was coming out, many gamer??s couldn't wait to sink their sweet teeth into it. Well, if you live in or near San Francisco, you will have the opportunity to check out this game next Thursday, February 2, weeks before its release!

As seen in the above video, David Jaffe himself cordially invites you to come take part in a Twisted Metal multiplayer tournament. Held at the Mezzanine from 6:00-9:00 PM, this event is open to the public (21+) and involves a multiplayer tournament where you can win a sweet-looking, laser-etched Twisted Metal PS3??. Not only that, exclusive swag that can only be collected at this ??event will be given away throughout the night for those in attendance.

You can sign up for the tournament at the event or RSVP at the Facebook group here. Hope to see many of you all there!

The post David Jaffe ??invites YOU to a Twisted Metal Tournament! appeared first on Destructoid.

_{[Editor's Note: Ladies and gents, welcome Chris Carter to the front page and the Destructoid news staff. Regular readers will surely recognize his face and name from our community. As always, that's where our best people come from. Don't hold back on the hazing!]}

In case you haven't heard, a multiplayer demo of Twisted Metal is coming to a PlayStation 3 near you. Now, thanks to the PlayStation Blogcast, we know the date: January 31st, 2012. As a fan of the series since the first iteration, I can't wait to see what Jaffe and his team have in store for us. I thought Twisted Metal Black was an incredibly fresh take on the franchise and I see a lot of s??imilarities in the upcoming title -- especially with the game's dark undertones and the return of twisted storyline videos.

I know some of you may not be joining in because of the online pass situation, but to me, the free inclusion of Twisted Metal Black is enough to make up for it. Regardless of the quality of the demo, my wife and I will be blowing stuff up come February 14th. Considering Jaffe has stated that this iteration is mostl??y a multiplayer game, is anyone else excited at the prospect of mingling with fellow carmageddon caballeros?

The post Sweet Tooth is gonna ?take you for a ride on January 31 appeared first on Destructoid.

Despite David Jaffe stating he didn't want one, Twisted Metal is getting itself a lovely, shiny, pretty little online pass. Because inconveniencing all your customers is what gaming is all about.&nb??sp;

It's absolutely not suprising, because Sony told Destructoid that it planned to put online pass in pretty much eve??ry single game it pub??lishes. Nevertheless, I fully intend to post a story for every online pass I see, because it will never become banal or boring to me.

The second it becomes a mundane story, unfit for posting, is the second it becomes acceptable, and I don't think online pas??ses will ever be an acceptable response to the used game market. It's just more controlling, possessive behavior from the corporate equivalent of a jealous husband. 

So yeah, Twisted Metal is getting an online pass, and that's rubbish.

The post Yep, Twisted Metal is getting an online pass appeared first on Destructoid.

Twisted Metal director David Jaffe would rather not have an online pass in Twisted Metal, declaring that any lost sales due to used games would be acceptable if it generated new fans. He did, however, admit that it's ultimately up to Sony.?? 

"Only because we have such a mountain to climb in terms of gaining people's good faith, especiall??y in Europe, and really letting people know that this is a title that's worth getting excited about," he said. "I'm okay with the fact that we might lose sales on this first game if, because of it, we generate a lot of fans that otherwise wouldn't have played the game.

"The online is so much the bread and butter of this game, so I'm okay with it because it means we're setting ourselves up?? for a possible return to the franchise one day. It's not my call and I'd totally understand if Sony as a company said 'Look, this is a mandate tha?t permeates all of our titles. We're not making selective choices.'"

Unfortunately, Sony seems intent on cramming online passes into every title going forward, so one can reasonably expect to see it in Twisted Metal. Still, at least Jaffe isn't pleading poverty like Naughty Dog did. Onlin??e passes are slightly easier to swallow when they're not accompanied by cowardly, awful excuses.

Jaffe hopes to avoid Twisted Metal online pass [Eurogamer]

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David Jaffe kick??ed off PAX Prime 2011 this year and his keynote address was simply mesmerizing. Here's a man who has done amazing things in the videogame industry bearing it all, including all the hardships that's come with the job.

David spent an hour describing everything from how he first started in the gaming industry to how he felt he was losing his touch. He also cussed a lot, which I f*cking loved.

The post David Jaffe’s PAX Prime 2011 keynote appeared first on Destructoid.

After being pushed out of 2011, Twisted Metal has a firm relea?se d??ate: Valentine's Day 2012. (That's February 14 for those who aren't romantically inclined.)

"What I predict is gonna happen is you're going to have people goi??ng out to very romantic dinners," said developer Eat Sleep Play's David Jaffe, "and then coming home and playing the crap out of local split-screen, and then obviously e know what's gonna happen after that, because there's nothing more romantic than blowing your significant other up with a maniacal demonic ice cream truck."

He's talkin?g about sex, everyone. After playing the game, people are going to have sex. Thought I'd ??clear that up for you.

Jaffe also announced that a new trailer focusing on the game's Dollface character would be revealed this week, and then he showed a teaser of a trailer. Which is nuts, and Jaffe knows it, calling it idea "absurd." But you know you want to see it anyhow, so head over to the PlayStation Blog for the goods.

Twisted Metal Update: Happy Valentine's Day [PlayStation Blog]

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David Jaffe has joined Bethesda's Todd Howard in admitting that $60 is a significant investment for gamers to make. However, just like Howard, he's also decided that his own Twisted Metal provid??es enough to justify the asking price. ;

"Sixty bucks is a SH*T TON to ask for so if we are goin??g to charge that, you deserve our best ... even if it takes a little longer than we anticipated," he said. "Also hitting smack dab in mid Nov/Mid Dec is a bad time to release this game (although that was not the ?reason we delayed AT ALL ... we WANTED to be out in Oct) ... but the extra time gives us more time to balance weapons, tune vehicle handling, tune the EXP progression for levelling up, etc."

I love that developers are starting to really hit back at the $60 price point, but can someone please have the balls to back up what they?'re saying? Publishers must realize that it's a large barrier and doesn't gel well with their fight against used games, but nothing will change unless someone takes the first step. 

Stop talking about high pr??ices and f*cking do something abo?ut them.

David Jaffe provides more specific details as to why T??wisted Metal was delayed [Examiner]

The post Jaffe: $60 is a ‘SH*T TON’ to ask for a game appeared first on Destructoid.

David Jaffe says that they're going to miss the date of October 4, and that Twisted Metal has to be pushed? back. They need time t??o polish the title, he says.

"Thing is, you go?tta trust me when I tell you that – with this extra time for tuning and polish – the game is going to be s??o much better than it already is." 

From this fall to early next year is a long-ass delay for polish and tuning, wouldn't you say? Still, Jaffe puts it nicely so you can appreciate that he's doing it for you. I believe him.

"Most importantly, we plan on treating you – the kind folks who play our game (and pay our bills) – like the VIPs that you are," Jaffe wrote on the PS Blog. "You only deserve our best and we appreciate your understanding as we take a little more time to guarantee that our best is what we d?eliver."

Judging from the times I've played it this year game is already rockin', so I trust they are doing something really impo?rtant with this extra time. If that 3 or more months is truly polish time, t??his is going to be the shiniest game ever made.

There is some good news, though: Twisted Metal will be playable at both PAX Prime a??nd Gamescom 2011.They be showing off a brand new level called Thrills ??& Spills Amusement Park, and new mode Team Hunted will also be debuted. Bonus: there will also be some free Sweet Tooth masks given away.

The post Damn: Twisted Metal delayed to early 2012 appeared first on Destructoid.

Remember when Eat Sleep Play was aiming for a T-rating for the upcoming PlayStation 3 Twisted Metal? It's given up that plan; the game will now ship with an M-ra?ting.

"Without the blood," Eat Sleep Play's David Jaffe told a crowd during a panel at Comic-Con (via GameSpot), "it felt a little weird, frankly."

During an on-stage demo, Jaffe showed off a few of the game's weapons, including a sniper rifle. After landing a headshot with the gun, the skull exploded in a founta?in of gore, something you definitely wouldn't have seen with a T-rating.

When the game was first announced at E3 2010, Jaffe was pretty clear about the?? line the studio was walking to get that T-rating, which theoretically could have broadened the ??audience for the title.

“The way I’ve been thinking about it, and this comes through especially in the weapons and the stories, it’s kind of like anything that can air at like 8 or 9 o’clock television is okay for us,” he told us in 2010. “We’re shooting for an edgy Twilight Zone vibe versus the dark depression that we did in Black. It’s not as light and frothy as [Twisted Metal 2]; that was very cartoon-y and? comic book-y. Somewhere in the ??middle.”

"Th?ere’s the 8 o’clock CBS serial killer, and then there’s the HBO serial killer," he said at the time. "We’re doing the 8 o’clock CBS serial killer.”

Twisted Metal, now an HBO serial killer with its M-rating, hits shelves on October 4.

Twisted Metal embraces M rating [GameSpot]

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David Jaffe has revealed what we'll be seeing of Twisted Metal this week at?? E3?. The above trailer reveals a little bit of the story behind Sweet Tooth's deadly ramapage as well as a boss named Iron Maiden, a semi-cab. Oh, and they transform into robots.

ROBOTS.

If you had told me that Twisted Metal would have cars that transform into robots, I would have called you a filthy liar and phone??d your mother to let her know how bad you've been. Did not see this one coming. Jaffe reassured franchise fans who may be worried at the revelation, saying, "Twisted Metal has not become a mech game. It’s still 95% a vehicle/car combat game."

In addition to the trailer, Jaffe also posted a developer diary where he pontificates on the essence of Twisted Metal and shows off a new stage in the game, set in New Y?ork Cit??y during the holiday season. You can watch that below.

Twisted Metal at E3 2011: ?Iron Maiden, NYC Chaos and More [PlayStation Blog]

The post E3: Jaffe reveals boss, stage and ??robots in Twisted Metal appeared first on Destructoid.

Oh, you're not ready for Twisted Metal. You think you a?re, but you're not. You may think that you're prepared, being a fan of this PlayStation and PS2 predecessors, but you're not even close to being prepared. This game is insane. There's a million things happening at once, a million bullets flying your way, and million ways to die. It's pure chaos, but it works. It works beautifully. 

David Jaffe and his people at Eat Sleep Play have been crafting a game so wild that no existing genre type fits it. It's sure as hell not a racer -- you'd be blown up before you could make it through a single lap in this world. 'Shooter' gets closer, but that doesn't really give the game enough credit, as Twisted Metal feels deeper than the modern shooter.

Jaffe says it's something like a fighting game, and I think that's a good ?fit. It's a fighting game where?? you move really fast, and where the weapons are key. It's a game that embraces competition wholly. It's pure competitive chaos on a disc.

Down to the Metal

Jaffe says that Twisted Metal does a good job of bringing forth the fantasy that the original team had for creating their game back in the 1990s. He says this is the first time they've been able to get close to achieving that original vision. I got a better appreciation of that when I saw how deep Twisted Metal could be, and just how much work the team has put into this game. On the surface there's thes??e ??crazy vehicles and weapons, new modes, and online connectivity to impress you with. But underneath the hood you'll find lots of deep strategy and fine levels of polish on the control and balance. The end result of their work is the ultimate competitive playground.

Twisted Metal is so balanced that I can't find issue with any of the vehicles. You'd think that with so many different types of vehicles and weapons there would be an imbalance, but I couldn't find one. Granted, the game isn't finished yet, and there were a few types of vehicles we couldn't play with at this preview event, but from what I've seen there was no doubt that the development team spent a good amount of time making Twisted Metal fair and fun. Amazingly, despite this balan?ce, no ve?hicle feels gimped. You truly feel like a badass with nearly limitless power in all of them.

The level of polish also shows in the vehicle control. In all my matches I never had to question steering or braking; it was never an issue. I loved being able to mash the X button to slam on the brakes, turn on a dime, spin around and send a missile right into the windshield of the guy that has been tailing me. That felt great every time. Knowing exactly where you'll turn, skid or stop goes a long way toward making this chaotic game fun, as with so much going on, it could have been a big, sloppy mess. Even the helicopter's controls felt like a lot of thought went into it. Hats off to the Eat Sleep Play on how much polish went into the balance and control in Twisted Metal. Maybe yo??u could meet with some of the modern day fighting game makers and teach them a thing or two.

Beyond all of this, it's clear that so much thought went into making these vehicles play nice together. Just about every uniq??ue function of each ve??hicle seems to promote teamwork. Some functions are completely obvious, while others are uncovered after a bit of play experience. Those with a few battles under their belt can get incredibly deep into vehicle choices and uses in the different mode types. 

It should be noted that David Jaffe addressed the level destruction in Twisted Metal. Some people had beef with the destruction model when the game was originally shown at last year's E3. Jaffe made it clear that this had been addressed since then. Now ?shit blows up real nice. 

Vehicles

Much of the fun of Twisted Metal lies in the awesome selection of vehicle ??types. While there's a bunch of different modes in the game, all of them let you go nuts with your favorite vehicle type, and they all le?t you change your vehicles during a match. There's never a dull moment with so many choices. Even when I was getting my ass handed to me, I still was having a blast trying out all the different vehicle types. 

Juggernaut is one of the most devastating vehicles in a game. A normal big rig with trailer would already do heavy damage on the road, but this particular one has quite a few advantages over a standard semi. The sides of the trailer open up to reveal giant mines that can be dropped on the road. Hitting one of these is deadly for just about any vehicle. In a very Spy Hunter fashion, the back of the trailer can be opened to hold up to two other vehicles. This comes in handy during team play. The teammates inside can then man either the top-mounted or rear turrets while being transported, making Juggernaut a moving fortress. There is a key ??weakness to this vehicle: Opening the back door to let cars in leaves the vehicle vulnerable, with da??mage counting up to three times normal when open.

Talon, the helicopter, is the first flying vehicle in Twisted Metal. Flying might sound unfair at first, but know that ground vehicles can just as easily take down this chopper with a missile. First time players may be surprised to find that the helicopter fits into the ??support class more than it does offensive.  Its magnet can pick up other teammates' cars and haul them to safety. It can also bring them quickly to a conflict zone. That said, the same magnet can pick up an enemy car and drop it from up high, causing damage. It's also equipped with a Gatling gun that can be fired from a first person view. Talon was beautifull?y implemented and I found myself picking it more than any other vehicle.

I had the most fun with t?he ambulance called MeatWagon. There's guns and alternates to use in this car, much like the others, but the main appeal is MeatW??agon's special, which fires off hospital patients on a gurney. They're strapped with TNT to become a rolling human missile. What's great is that you can use RC control to move this gurney in a first-person view and then blow it up at a key location.

Place: Sunsprings, California, Mode: Team Death Match

In Sunsprin?gs you'll blow up movie theaters and grocery stores, crash through office building doors and run over innocent bystanders. Jaffe says? he has always wanted the destruction to go down in a place we can all relate to. So this is like trashing your own hometown. You know you've always waned to do this.

The mode was the standar?d team death match. We played 10 minute matches in our first hands-on sessions to get a feel for all the vehicles. I was too busy testing all all the different car types and getting a feel for their control and weapons to pay attention to how bad I was doing. In the very first round of multiplayer, going up against other games press members, I came in dead last with one kill, eight deaths, and the highest amount of damage taken. A QA rep told me that I wasn't that bad. I told him he was full of shit.

In a second try I sped around the city, avoiding the town center where all the action was happening. I snatched up power-ups and then came into the action fully loaded, spewing forth everything I could find at enemy cars. It was here that I really got to see how tight the steering controls are, as I had to dodge and hide from everyone that was out for me after they figured out what I was doing. This mode is Twisted Metal ?in its simplest form, but it's still a delight. I could have played this mode all night.

Place: Black Rock Arena, Mode: Team Last Man Standing

Black Rock Arena is insane. It's an underground battle arena out in the desert. It has a Mad Max vibe, with fire and electricity and metal tracks up high around the perimiter, surrounding a pit for lots of car bashing. The walls are sloped and it's easy to slip down into this battle pit...or worse. The level itself is alive, with moving platforms, ramps and walls that can rise or fall at any time. They'll reconfigure during gameplay, creating a sort of living maze. I had walls popping up in my face during matches that made me giggle at first, as they seemed to be playfully dickish. Going down a tunnel to find? a wall pop up right before I could exit was a particularly good dick move. Later I found a ramp that popped up from the ground. I took the bait and took the ramp, and found out too late that it guided me right for a lava pit. In the ultimate dick move, lava pits have been placed at the ends of all platforms. Take a corner or edge too fast and you'll be molten metal. 

The fun in this locale continues with spiked wrecking balls that swing right in?to the zone where the best pick-ups are. A room with spikes on the roof has you following a small, safe path very carefully. Floating health orbs that you can drive under will definitely save your ass in this level. The best power-up opportunity ever comes from a pad that you park on to charge up. Charged, it launches into the stands to bring pedestrians out into the course. Plow into these fans and you'll get health and item power-ups. 

The mode Team Last Man Standing gives each team a pool of shared lives. This means that each life really matters, which is a great contrast to shooters where you'd just die and respawn over and over. The team still standing, with lives remaining at the end, wins. Making each life important really promotes team play. With communication you could use the helic??opter to pick up a team mate and drag them to a healing orb. You could use Juggernaut to pick up vehicles and haul them to safety. A player using the tow truck could drop health for teammates.

With good communication, offensive team play really makes a difference. In my first play of this stage I was a helicopter, and I worked to pick off unsuspecting victims from up above. When word got out on the other team, I found that many o??f them respawned as choppers themselves, and they worked hard to take me out of the air. 

On the ground this stage is absolutely nuts. I could almost feel the developers laughing at me as I frantically sped around in race car Spectre, with machine guns blazing, firing at nothing in particular. I felt like I was up against both the opposing team and the stage itself. I was happy to see that ??everyone else playing was just as lost as I was. They were all doing their best to boos??t out of lava pits or find their way off a wall that popped up out of nowhere. I'm sure the dev team had a great time creating this stage.

Place: Harbor City, Mode: Nuke

Harbor City is a gritty, industrial town. It features two factories, one on each side of town. It features dive bars and strip clubs, and there's plenty of gas stations and oil refineries to blow up. A large water canal runs down the middle of the level, connecting the two factories. It's the perfect stage for one of the most interesting and deep modes of Twisted Metal: Nuke.

In Nuke the goal is to destroy the opposing team's statue with a launched missile. This mode plays out in innings, with teams playing either offense or defense for a set time, and then switching. When playing offensive, you'll drive to quickly find the enemy's faction leader and "grab" him. Once kidnapped, you'll drag the faction leader behind your vehicle to a missile launch point. At this launch point, staying in the launch area safely for a set period of time will transform the captured faction leader into a sacrificial m??issile. You'll then fire this missile and take control of it, working to guide it to the enemy's statue without being shot down. A point goes to a successfully missiled statue, and two points go to taking one down. The team with the most points, after all the innings and rounds are complete, wins.

In these stages there are two missile launchers: one in the back of the factory?? and another that's mobile, and requires you to follow it to launch. Getting to either and staying there is going to be hard when the defensive team is out to get you and anyone that helps you. This all may sound pretty crazy, but helpful icons on the heads-up display make it easy to know what you're doing and where you're going. Playing offense, the location of faction leaders is always marked, telling you exactly where to drive to pick one up. Once you do, you'll follow another icon to the launch area. For defense, an icon will give you the location of your kidnapped faction leader. They've made it really easy -- you just get in and go.

Matches don't have to be coordinated, but they can be, and there's potential for very deep competitive play in this mode. There's much to be gained from careful planning of vehicle types and roles. For instance, each vehicle type has a different wait time? before a missile can launch. Some vehicles are better suited for defense or support while other??s are better for snatching the faction leader up. Of course, you can also just go in and go nuts. It works nicely either way. 

The Twist:

Twisted Metal expands upon everything that was great about the old series titles and the?n adds a bunch of depth, connectivity and creativity. Competitive gamers stuck in yet another war shooter will happily crawl out of the trenches for this game come October 4th. Eat Sleep Play have created a beast unlike anything we've ever seen. 

The post Preview: Twisted Metal appeared first on Destructoid.

David Jaffe, ever a man after my own heart, has slammed the praise that people pour on "art" games. He claims that most art games aren't as compelling as peop??le pretend, and focusing on them only serve?s to devalue the medium. 

"Just because there's wind blowing and a minimal soundtrack and vast open spaces to explore and a slow pace doesn't mean that the game you are playing is art," he wrote. ??"Shining the powerful media light on these sorts of games -- that tell you they are important but are not really all that engaging/interesting play wise and are nowhere near as emotional or meaningful as most B-rate, night time dramas on network television -- means that the media light and publisher cash gets taken?? away from traditional games.

"... Traditional g?ames are disrespected, devalued, and shown a lack of appreciation, understanding, and love for the very things the medium does so well, so effortlessly, and so successfully."

I want to buy David Jaffe the biggest damn beer after this. While I am interested in seeing videogames "grow up" and do more interesting things, I don't feel it should be done at the expense of fun and I certainly don't feel that most of the "art" games we currently have are worth the praise they get. Falling for pompous vagueness or a script that would get laughed out of a movie theater only exposes how infantile this me??dium really is.

As David Jaffe says, i?t's "sm??oke-and-mirrors bullshit" and I'm glad some people can see that.

The post David Jaffe criticizes media praise for ‘art’ games appeared first on Destructoid.

Outspoken game director David "Glistening Bull" Jaffe has criticized games that rele?ase huge amounts of patches in a sh?ort space of time, suggesting that a game should be updated four times a year at most.

"Hardware manufacturers, I feel, should only allow one to f??our updates to?? the software per game per year," he suggested, to a large applause from a GDC crowd. ;"None of them should come within the first one to two months the game is shipping.

 "When I first started, when the disc was shipped it was our last chance [to get rid of bugs] off the bat. If developer??s could make i?t work then, then today they can at least make sure our games don't have to be updated the first week they hit shelves."

I've long been against the "patch culture" that seems to encourage the development of rushed games, and developers who concentrate on shipping a game first, and ironing out problems later. While I do agree with Jaffe, I'd like to see him extend his criticism to the hardware itself -- having Sony restrain its stupid PS3 Firmware updates would be lovely. 

Jaffe: Console make?rs should limit game updates to four per year [Joystiq]

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Twisted Metal director David Jaffe upset a number of our more mental Xbox 360 fanboys yesterday when we quoted his comments on console exclusivity. After earning a torrent of vitriol from various community members for flying the Sony colors, Jaffe hit back in n??o uncertain terms.

"Holy f**k, Destructoid Xbox-only owners out in full force against me," Jaffe said on Twitter. "WTF? I can't? have an opinion? It's not that we would not LOVE to have our games in every home in the world ... even the ones without electricity.

"F**k?? it -- we don't care! It??'s just that we value our relationship with Sony very, very much. They give us extra time to make the game great, lots of creative and marketing and business support. And we like the people over there tons; they are like family. Why is it so hard to understand we'd like to stay in that kind of working relationship?"

Speaking as somebody who has taken a battering from fanboys on both side of the fence, I'll give Jaffe a thumbs up here. Especially since he also stated he loves Destructoid as a site and said nice?? things about a certain British editor ...

"While I was somewhat bummed and surprised by the jbsgame.commenter hate, I got nothing but love for the site itself. And Sterling is actually a great voice of no bullshit game jour??nalism that I really respect a lot. He calls BS on a lot of hyperbolistic crap and I love that about his work."

I guess those people trying to curry favor with Jaffe by slag?ging me off winded up with a lil' egg on their faces. Now to fashion a little badge that says "Jaffe Approved" and we??ar it to parties!

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