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What's Incog Working on Next?

M

Musashi Wins!

FLAWLESS VICTOLY!
Sorry, this sort of relates to a previous thread, but I can't really find any info on this online. Maybe that's because there isn't any pre-E3 and they just finished the PSP game. Anyhow, they've really become a developer that I'm interested in watching. I find that they tend to make really solid, slick games that have a lot of care in presentation. Their also the sorts of titles that I tend to revisit.

My favorite of the bunch. Probably the greatest arcade/extreme sports game after Tony Hawk 2 or SSX3. Utterly fantastic, and cheap. Get it if you don't have it.

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Just been playing this one for a short while, but I love it. Single player seems a bit punishing, but beating up on one another with several greatly designed creatures in destructible environments is a load of fun. Really worth finding new (though it's become a little rare) and getting the fantastic booklet and poster that come inside. Another beautifully produced game.

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I'm actually so-so on this title. It's single player seems brutally unfair to me at times, but I still love the fast pace and presentation of the game. It's the closest thing on a console to ye olde Car Wars car RPG as well, so I dig that.

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There for the launch of Sony's sexy new machine with their most popular franchise. Not a stunning entry, but it is online and portable car chaos, so I can't say I'm unhappy about it.

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Excellent development team. Sony is lucky to have them.
 
I view what Incog's been doing much the same way, Musashi. When they were prepping Downhill Domination for release I was a little concerned that they were phoning in the game because it seemed an odd choice for them to target a popular genre like extreme sports but, upon playing it, it had all the character typical of their games with a distinct take on the genre that didn't seem simply photocopied from anywhere else. With that they cemented themselves as a mainstay for me this gen.

Lack of response to this thread seems telling - you could easily drum up 2-3 pages of bitching about SCEA milking franchises like Jak, R&C and Sly, but when they have a developer for whom half their projects this gen have been original IP, nobody cares. You'd almost think that people's professed interest in original content and disgust with milking is feigned...nah ;)
 
kaching said:
I view what Incog's been doing much the same way, Musashi. When they were prepping Downhill Domination for release I was a little concerned that they were phoning in the game because it seemed an odd choice for them to target a popular genre like extreme sports but, upon playing it, it had all the character typical of their games with a distinct take on the genre that didn't seem simply photocopied from anywhere else. With that they cemented themselves as a mainstay for me this gen.

Lack of response to this thread seems telling - you could easily drum up 2-3 pages of bitching about SCEA milking franchises like Jak, R&C and Sly, but when they have a developer for whom half their projects this gen have been original IP, nobody cares. You'd almost think that people's professed interest in original content and disgust with milking is feigned...nah ;)
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Nail on the head. ;) I guess the grass is always greener.

"Jak X? Jesus they are milking this shit to death why don't think make an original game for once?"

"Downhill what? Sounds gay. Stick with what you are good at guys! Where is Twisted Metal Black 2?"


:lol
 
sonycowboy said:
I would love to see a new Warhawk and I keep hearing such rumors over and over again. Probably just wishful thinking.
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Ditto. I've been waiting for Warhawk 2 since 1996. :(
 
I've known very few people who have played Downhill Domination, but those that have are always shocked at what a good game it is. I worked at a game shop for a short while and at one point they got a new HD tv from Sony for displaying games. For whatever reason, the only demo the tech guy brought with him that day was a full version of Downhill which at that point had been out for well over a year. For as long as that game remained in there, that title sold out as fast as the store could get them, new or used. It only takes a few minutes to get sucked in.
 
Musashi Wins! said:
I'm actually so-so on this title. It's single player seems brutally unfair to me at times, but I still love the fast pace and presentation of the game. It's the closest thing on a console to ye olde Car Wars car RPG as well, so I dig that.
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The fast pace of TM:B ruined the game for me. Almost all strategy went out the window. The cars have a turning radius of a Wellcraft and everybody is zipping around the stages, big or small. One of the most overrated games this gen, largely because it was one of the first big deal titles for the PS2, I think. It still bugs me how wrong this game was and especially bugs me how much praise it gets. I'm as big a Twisted Metal fanboy as they come, and Black can't hold a candle to TM2. Twisted Metal = SingleTrac.

But, yeah, big thumbs up for Monsters and Downhill Domination. They just gotta step off the TM.
 
Sorry to say it, but Black is easily my favorite game in the TM series. Absolutely love the game.
 
VALIS said:
Twisted Metal = SingleTrac.

But, yeah, big thumbs up for Monsters and Downhill Domination. They just gotta step off the TM.
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Isn't Incog made up of the old SingleTrac staff after GT Interactive fell apart?
 
I'm a huge TM fan, and I love Black. It's true, the game is a bit spazzier than TM2, btu the skill-based weapons (swarm, reticle, satellite) more than make up for it. And the huge levels and level design in general is awesome.

And, as stated above, Singletrack *is* Ingoc, basically.

If you prefer TM2, check out Head On, which is somewhere between TM2 and Black.
 
I thought SingleTrac were bought by Sony and became SCEA Santa Monica, the God of War (and Kinetica) team. No? I don't keep the closest track of these things.
 
I thought that too, but apparently not.

Ingoc *is* owned by Sony, I believe. I don;t know what the relationship (if any) between Incog and SCEA-Santa Monica is.
 
VALIS said:
The fast pace of TM:B ruined the game for me. Almost all strategy went out the window. The cars have a turning radius of a Wellcraft and everybody is zipping around the stages, big or small. One of the most overrated games this gen, largely because it was one of the first big deal titles for the PS2, I think. It still bugs me how wrong this game was and especially bugs me how much praise it gets. I'm as big a Twisted Metal fanboy as they come, and Black can't hold a candle to TM2.
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Agreed. Over and over, I tried to get into TM: Black, but really, like you said, the lack of breathing room for strategy all but eliminated the tension that made TM1&2 work so well in a well-designed level. The same thing happened to the Battletanx series...when the game moves too quickly all of the time, the strategic depth and tension goes out the window in a move 'n' shoot maze-game design, FPS's included.
 
VALIS said:
I thought SingleTrac were bought by Sony and became SCEA Santa Monica, the God of War (and Kinetica) team. No? I don't keep the closest track of these things.
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Nope, GT Interactive bought them in 1997 iirc. I'm not sure what exactly happened to GTI (they might've been bought out) but in 1999 the old SingleTrac staff left and formed Incog Inc. They might've been funded by SCEA from the start or just bought out later then, I can't remember which.
 
Anybody with some game manuals nearby care to check out the credits?

I do remember hearing that SCEA-SM was Singletrack folks also, but that may have been an error. Or, perhaps, there are two camps of ex-Singletrack people working for Sony?
 
jarrod said:
Nope, GT Interactive bought them in 1997 iirc. I'm not sure what exactly happened to GTI (they might've been bought out) but in 1999 the old SingleTrac staff left and formed Incog Inc. They might've been funded by SCEA from the start or just bought out later then, I can't remember which.
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Hmm. I guess the key for me is David Jaffe more than SingleTrac then. He produced TM's 1 and 2, had nothing to do with the unfortunate 3, 4, Small Brawl and Black (which, even though I don't like it, is MUCH better than those other three disasters), and went to SCEA Santa Monica instead of Incog.

So change my statement from "Twisted Metal = SingleTrac" to "Twisted Metal = David Jaffe." :)
 
VALIS said:
Hmm. I guess the key for me is David Jaffe more than SingleTrac then. He produced TM's 1 and 2, had nothing to do with the unfortunate 3, 4, Small Brawl and Black (which, even though I don't like it, is MUCH better than those other three disasters), and went to SCEA Santa Monica instead of Incog.
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Jaffe directed Twisted Metal Black

When Sony bought INCOG (after TMBlack was released) they just went under Sony's Santa Monica wing.
 
SolidSnakex said:
Jaffe directed Twisted Metal Black

When Sony bought INCOG (after TMBlack was released) they just went under Sony's Santa Monica wing.
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<checks manual> So he did. Damnit! :lol
 
I just want to chime in with my support for Incog. War of the Monsters and Downhill Domination are both fantastic titles. Shit, I think I even had Downhill Domination preordered.
 
MassiveAttack said:
They have 2 teams. Next PSP project is undecided at the moment. As for their other project, all I will say is...

warhawk3.jpg
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I hope you aren't kidding, especially considering how rabid certain people are for that game.
 
MassiveAttack, you've hinted at a Warhawk followup before. Months ago, at this point. Can we expect to see it at E3?
 
Black isn't as good as TM2, but it's still a great game. Second best of the console series.

Here's the history of GTI, according to mobygames, http://www.mobygames.com/company/gt-interactive-software-corp/history

GT Interactive Software Corp.

Historical Events

1993:

* Company founded.

Jun, 1995:

* Company acquires Slash Corporation.

Jun, 1996:

* Company acquires Candel, Inc., parent company of FormGen.
* Company acquires WizardWorks Software & MacSoft.

Jul, 1996:

* Company acquires Humongous Entertainment.

Oct, 1997:

* Company acquires SingleTrac Entertainment Technologies.

1999:

* Company bought by Infogrames.
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List time!

SingleTrac Entertainment
-Twisted Metal (PS) 1995 SCEA
-Warhawk (PS) 1995 SCEA
-Jet Moto (PS/PC) 1996 SCEA
-Twisted Metal 2 (PS/PC) 1996 SCEA
-Jet Moto 2 (PS) 1997 SCEA
-Critical Depth (PS) 1997 GT Interactive
-Outwars (PC) 1998 MGS
-Streak: Hoverboard Racing (PS) 1998 GT Interactive
-Rogue Trip (PS) 1998 GT Interactive
-Animorphs: Shattered Reality (PS) 2000 Atari

Incog Inc
-Twisted Metal: Black (PS2) 2001 SCEA
-Twisted Metal: Small Brawl (PS) 2001 SCEA
-Twisted Metal: Black Online (PS2) 2002 SCEA
-War of the Monsters (PS2) 2003 SCEA
-Downhill Domination (PS2) 2003 SCEA
-Twisted Metal: Head On (PSP) 2005 SCEA
 
Ignatz Mouse said:
Do have any listing for SCEA-SM?
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Yep.

-Kinetica (PS2) 2001 SCEA
-God of War (PS2) 2005 SCEA

...are they just a small team or has GOW just eaten a lot of resources? :/
 
jarrod said:
Yep.

-Kietica (PS2) 2001 SCEA
-God of War (PS2) 2005 SCEA

...are they just a small team or has GOW just eaten a lot of resources? :/
Click to expand...

GOW swallowed a TON of resources. The game took 3 years to develop with an average staff of about 50-60.
 
Kinetica wasn't that terrible of a game actually. If they just threw out that retarded trick system and focused on the racing, it probably would have been a great game.
 
War of the Monsters on the PSP would suck major ass. Disk launching errors ahoy, as people try to mash their way out of a dizzy and twist up the unit like a pretzel.

Give me WotM2 on the PS3 with eight player on-line battles.

Twisted Metal Black Online was infinitely superior to TMB simply due to the fact it wasn't CPU pile-on. Most fucking annoying A.I. this generation so far as I'm concerned. TM2 > TMB, and I'm really hot to play TM:HO. That looks like all sorts of hotness.

Downhill Dumbination didn't do anything for me. Then again, I'm biased against games that have me going downhill. Bike, board, whatever - fuck downhill racing.
 
MightyHedgehog said:
Warhawk 2 on PS3? Please?
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Yes, please.

Anyway, I think TM2 is the best of the series gameplay-wise, but Black is just on such another level in it's style and presentation and atmosphere, that I hold it right there with TM2.
 
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