Everywhere
The next game from GTA's ex-producer Leslie Benzies is the mysterious, Everywhere. Not a lot has been released about the game yet but here's what we know so far:
Everywhere is being made by some former GTA leads…
Rockstar North is the studio we know best for creating the
Grand Theft Auto series, with Leslie Benzies at the helm. After an extended
sabbatical in late 2014, Benzies filed a lawsuit against Rockstar for alleged
unpaid royalties. Whether or not these accusations were paid out, Benzies was
not the only one to jump ship. Lead programmer Colin Entwistle and audio
director Matthew Smith followed Benzies to his new, as yet unnamed studio. So
we know theres some strong talent at the top. Add to that the 30 plus employees
and more than a dozen job listings across three locations and it’s hard not to
get excited about what might be in store for these hard hitters. I mean…let’s
just look as Benzies’ resume for a second….
Seamless transitions from single to multiplayer…
“That’s nothing new” I hear you say. Maybe, but generally we
find that between our single and multi worlds there are heavy load screens
required to compensate for the massive amount of data required to be streamed
in. And while games such as Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon: Wildlands are making this
transition better than ever, we have yet to achieve a truly seamless transition
between the two. Will Benzies achieve this for us? He believes so:
"I see a future where we don’t reference single or
multiplayer - we just choose when we play and if we want to hang out with
others or we want to be alone," Benzies told Polygon. "Just like real
life - sometimes I want to be with people, sometimes I don’t, or I want them
around but I don’t want to interact with them. We’re making Everywhere as
seamless as possible so players won’t have to think about jumping from mode to
mode - except when it helps the gameplay."
Everywhere has a "rich and varied ambient" open
world…
“Everywhere has a lot of traditional game mechanics but
we’re going for something more that draws inspiration from, well, everywhere,”
Benzies told VentureBeat earlier this year. “Players are getting smarter and
require more from their games, and we want players to have the real freedom to
live in our worlds in the ways they want to."
Looking at the criterion for a job listing for AI programmer
fills in a bit more detail, saying that "a rich and varied ambient world
is essential to our game". There is a big promise here that the void will
not be so desolate, but fill and interesting. Always a positive step!
You could have more options than an "ambitious
criminal"…
“We’re aiming to offer a huge variety of game modes and
styles that not only tell our stories but also enable players to live in the
identities and adventures they most want to explore.”
Everywhere is looking like it will bring a truly unique
player experience, instead of a pre-set character arch much like GTA and games
of its genre tend to offer. That old adage of an “ambitious criminal” with a ludicrous
amount of weaponry and very little flexibility to player will could be done
aside with and more. It’s such an open ended goal, so ambitious, with so many
possibilities. But we won’t truly know what this means until it’s available to
play.
Everywhere could be an unending game…
Benzies has a long-term vision for Everywhere "with the
capacity to develop and grow forever". The team's goal is to create a
platform "where players can be entertained, and also entertain others
while blurring the lines between reality, and a simulated world".
We are getting used to this blurb, for sure. Everyone aims
to make their game a “platform” now with options to enhance, increase and
modify the players experience. The ever elusive success that game like WoW enjoy,
for example. While you may cringe at the idea of an endless string of DLC, who
knows what this really will be. But what we can absolutely understand from this
is that Everywhere will not just be a set experience with a finite beginning
and end. Instead it speaks to a character evolution that will continue to grow
over time. Just look at some of the open world games we have now with years of
growth behind them…how much further could Everywhere go?
Possible Metal Gear Solid influence…
When Polygon asked Benzies about his influences for
Everywhere, he said most of them come from the outside world beyond video
games. However, "one that really resonated with [him] was Hideo Kojima’s
Metal Gear Solid - he has a great eye for detail".
Who doesn’t love high detailed vehicles, clever Easter Eggs
and interactive environments! If Everywhere can achieve and exceed the level of
intricacy of Rockstar North or MGS without the same bankroll, it would be a
truly impressive feat indeed! And Benzies seems determined!
Everywhere to use the beefy servers of Amazon…
Everywhere is being built on Amazon's Lumberyard Engine. Based
on the established CryEngine, it's a relatively new tool for creating games but
it has deep, built-in integration to Amazon Web Services. AWS already powers a
massive amount of our internet, and its power and speed could make for a much
more fundamentally-connected game experience than we're used to. One thing that
can safely be boasted however is that with all this talk of seamless play and
engaging with other players, it’s unlikely that Everywhere will offer an
offline experience.
When will Everywhere will come out?...
We have no idea! There’s the short answer…
If Benzies and his power team are true to their Rockstar
North roots we probably wont hear much of anything until Everywhere is ready
for launch. Even a guestimate at when that will be is difficult sufficed to
say: far….far away. But we can always cross our fingers, right?
Perhaps they will follow in the footsteps of many developers
and follow an open development plan, offering alphas and betas, catering to its
player driven focus.
And if they do- will you play along?