Support NeoGAF

[Nirolak]

So, this was technically announced last week, but I couldn't help but notice we never had a thread outside of the one about Sony no longer publishing Edith Finch, and it definitely deserves one.

...

Annapurna Interactive will focus on developing “personal, emotional and original games” that will push the boundaries of interactive content, according to the production house. Megan Ellison, Annapurna’s founder and CEO, said she’s long had a passion for video games and cited Nintendo’s 1998 “The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time” as one of her all-time favorites.

“The artistry and diversity of interactive storytelling is exciting, and we look forward to exploring the limitless possibilities in gaming,” said Ellison, who is the daughter of Oracle founder and billionaire Larry Ellison. “We want to empower artists across this medium to make Annapurna Interactive their home, and I believe we’ve assembled the perfect team to make that happen.”

Annapurna Interactive is set to publish two games with release dates targeted for spring 2017: Jason Roberts’ “Gorogoa,” a hand-illustrated story inside a puzzle game in which players move panels on a grid as though arranging framed drawings on a wall; and Giant Sparrow’s “What Remains of Edith Finch,” described as a playable collection of short stories, each with different art styles and gameplay mechanics centered around the cursed Finch family.

In addition, Annapurna Interactive plans to release games from industry talent including San Francisco-based developer Funomena and creative director Keita Takahashi, creator of the “Katamari Damacy” franchise, and Mountains, which is led by Ken Wong, best known for his work on puzzle game “Monument Valley.”

...

The company also has hired four execs specifically for Annapurna Interactive: Nathan Gary and Deborah Mars, who both hail from Sony Computer Entertainment America’s PlayStation group; and Hector Sanchez, former producer at PlayStation and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment; and Jeff Legaspi, previously with Santa Monica Studio. Collectively, the team’s credits include “Journey,” “God of War,” “Mortal Kombat,” “Everybody’s Gone to the Rapture,” “Flower” and “Fat Princess.”

Source: http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/annapurna-pictures-video-game-megan-ellison-1201931131/

And the first games are...

Gorogoa (iOS/Steam, Releasing Q1 2017):

Designed, developed, and illustrated by Jason Roberts, Gorogoa is a beautiful hand-drawn story suspended inside a completely unique puzzle. Arrange and combine lavishly illustrated panels, each one a separate interactive window into a living game world. Navigate the scene inside each panel. Align the images in adjacent panels. Solve puzzles and advance the story by stacking and connecting panels. Imagine pictures on a wall escaping their frames and joining together to create new impossible scenes. Elegantly simple and yet astonishing.

What Remains of Edith Finch (PC/PS4, Releasing Q1 2017):

What Remains of Edith Finch is a collection of short stories about a family in Washington state. Follow Edith Finch as she explores her family history and tries to figure out why she's the last one in her family left alive. Experience the life of various family members with stories plucked out of different periods of time. The gameplay and tone of the stories are as varied as the Finches themselves. The only constants are that each is played from a first-person perspective and that each story ends with that family member's death. Ultimately, it's a game about what it feels like to be humbled and astonished by the vast and unknowable world around us. The developers are Giant Sparrow, the team behind the surreal first-person painting game The Unfinished Swan.

 

[FelipeMGM]

That 'Edith Finch trailer for PSX was awesome, glad its coming out soon

Would love to know what happened tho, especially since it looks like a bunch of people working at Annapurna Interactive use to work at Sony Santa Monica

 

[Nirolak]

That 'Edith Finch trailer for PSX was awesome, glad its coming out soon

Would love to know what happened tho, especially since it looks like a bunch of people working at Annapurna Interactive use to work at Sony Santa Monica

They're also notably the people who did indie publishing/development aid through Sony Santa Monica.

Like Nathan Gary is listed there as one of the major executives and here are some of the games he worked on: http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,76063/

Design
Bound (2016) (Sr. Designers)
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (2015) (Creative Director)
The Order: 1886 (2015) (Creative Director)
Sound Shapes (2013) (Creative Director)
Journey (2012) (Design Director)
The Unfinished Swan (2012) (Creative Director)
Flower (2009) (Designer)

Please note those are his positions at the Santa Monica external team.

I suspect Sony decided they were less interested in working with indie developers directly, and this publisher came about. That, or Megan Ellison decided she liked their worked and directly poached.

 

[Dan]

I suspect Sony decided they were less interested in working with indie developers directly, and this publisher came about. That, or Megan Ellison decided she liked their worked and directly poached.

I'd be real curious to know the story here, but either way, I hope Annapurna can find success by focusing on “personal, emotional and original games.”

 

[FelipeMGM]

They're also notably the people who did indie publishing/development aid through Sony Santa Monica.

Like Nathan Gary is listed there as one of the major executives and here are some of the games he worked on: http://www.mobygames.com/developer/sheet/view/developerId,76063/

Design
Bound (2016) (Sr. Designers)
Everybody's Gone to the Rapture (2015) (Creative Director)
The Order: 1886 (2015) (Creative Director)
Sound Shapes (2013) (Creative Director)
Journey (2012) (Design Director)
The Unfinished Swan (2012) (Creative Director)
Flower (2009) (Designer)

Please note those are his positions at the Santa Monica external team.

I suspect Sony decided they were less interested in working with indie developers directly, and this publisher came about. That, or Megan Ellison decided she liked their worked and directly poached.

Woah, I had no idea Nathan Gary had left SMS. He was the main guy of their ex dev projects indeed. Them dropping all these projects makes more sense now

It looks like that Santa Monica has dropped all of their external projects, and only kept what was closer to release and going to be shipped by the end of 2016.

 

[jon bones]

Annapurna? Sounds super familiar - I think it is my late grandmothers maiden name.

 

[androvsky]

Annapurna? Sounds super familiar - I think it is my late grandmothers maiden name.

I recognize the name from Dominion Tank Police, would be a lot more interesting if it's someone's real name.

Edit: *squints real hard* Ah, that's an 'r' and an 'n', looked like an 'm'. Never mind. >_>

 

[Zukkoyaki]

A lot of new publishers emerging recently: These folks, Techland, Gearbox, Amazon, etc.

We usually see publishers go under or bail from this industry so it's refreshing to see some new players emerge. Best of luck to Annapurna! They have some good people helming the project and seem to have a good eye for talent.

 

[Nirolak]

A lot of new publishers emerging recently: These folks, Techland, Gearbox, Amazon, etc.

We usually see publishers go under or bail from this industry so it's refreshing to see some new players emerge. Best of luck to Annapurna! They have some good people helming the project and seem to have a good eye for talent.

With the digital market, there are a lot of projects out there that make good money, but aren't profitable enough to be worth it to a $1-$4+ billion revenue company.

This leaves a lot of space to pick up games that would otherwise have to try to scrounge together cash on Kickstarter and make a healthy profit.

 

[Zukkoyaki]

With the digital market, there are a lot of projects out there that make good money, but aren't profitable enough to be worth it to a $1-$4+ billion revenue company.

This leaves a lot of space to pick up games that would otherwise have to try to scrounge together cash on Kickstarter and make a healthy profit.

Yup. The digital marketplace seems to have revived the A and AA development/publishing scenes albeit in a different form from what they used to be. We should see a ton of great stuff emerge in the next few years as a result.

 

[Parsnip]

Can't wait for Gorogoa.
It's been a long time coming too, I feel like I played a web demo of it like 10 years ago or something, but I guess it was more like 4-5 years.