Upcoming Shmup from the Sina Mora Lead Developer

[Pharos]

Former Digital Reality creative director Theodore Reiker - best known for his work on the shockingly sophisticated shmup, Sine Mora - has left to start a new studio, Prior Games, where he'll be working on another Japanese-Hungarian co-developed shmup for 2014.

Codenamed Project Verona, little is known about it, but Reiker said in an interview with Joystiq that it would be "more conservative in its gameplay and less ambiguous in its storytelling," and that it will branch out of the genre's conventions.

Reiker also noted that he'll be working on a series of mobile "microgames" in the meantime in the vein of Nintendo's minimalist bit.Generations and Art Style series.

The first of these, Rotolla, is described as "a hybrid of Tetris' gameplay and our mad love of hexagons since Super Hexagon." It will feature a soundtrack by legendary Silent Hill and Sine Mora composer Akira Yamaoka.

"Our plan is to release four microgames this year and a second wave of three titles next year," Reiker explained. "We are a small company and we do not want to grow beyond 15 persons... We would like to keep the 'manufacture' feeling even if the company size is limiting the scope of our output."

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013- ... p-for-2014

[KAI]

Code: Select all

shockinglysophisticatedshmup

Where?

[Squire Grooktook]

Unless by "conservative" he means better designed, I don't like the sound of that.

I liked the games time based concept, made a good change of pace from traditional gameplay. The game and it's mechanics just needed more polish and better design imo.

[DJ Incompetent]

I dunno. Mahou 1 'n DonPachi aren't the most wonderful things.

Fuck it. Let the guy make another.

[newguns]

Japanese-Hungarian co-developed shmup

Japanese-Hungarian co-developed shmup

co-developed

[AntiFritz]

Code: Select all

shockinglysophisticatedshmup

Where?

That's just what's so shocking about it.

[Hagane]

Mahou 1 'n DonPachi aren't the most wonderful things.

Mahou Daisakusen is very good. Sine Mora is terrible.

co-developed

Co-developed with Treasure for maximum casual review multiplier.

[gs68]

Needs more falling pianos.

[ciox]

branch out of the genre's conventions.

I have no idea what they even know about the genre, so can't tell what this entails, probably something good.

[Drachenherz]

Hmm, could somebody ban this Reiker-guy from these forums? I mean, before the release of Sine Merda, he was gouging the forum for shmups-advices - and didn't give jack shit about the input given, as we all can see in this POS that is SM.

He's behaviour borders on psychological cruelty, so a ban should be more than justified, considering he's probably going to do the same with this new POS that he helps developing. Kind of a pro active ban in order to protect the frail hearts of our community...

[Cagar]

Could this possibly mean new well-developed CAVE-style bullet hell?

[Squire Grooktook]

Hmm, could somebody ban this Reiker-guy from these forums? I mean, before the release of Sine Merda, he was gouging the forum for shmups-advices - and didn't give jack shit about the input given, as we all can see in this POS that is SM.

He's behaviour borders on psychological cruelty, so a ban should be more than justified, considering he's probably going to do the same with this new POS that he helps developing. Kind of a pro active ban in order to protect the frail hearts of our community...

Hey, people can change. Sometimes people get stuck on certain ideas of how games should play or be played, and need experience to teach them why or why not.

I remember back when I was new to fighting games and had really shitty ideas about how they should be designed. I shudder to think what a game I would have made at that time would have been like.

[BareKnuckleRoo]

Ugh.

sophisticated shmup, Sine Mora

No autofire, no customizeable controls, the scoring system is boring as hell, the reflect and slowdown mechanics were done better in the games they were ripped off from, and the slowdown effect doesn't give you that nice over-the-character timeout meter it does in Espgaluda, forcing you to look all the way at the top right (?!) to see the special meter, the hit mechanics are wonky, the powerups system is annoying as hell, there's the piano...

Sine Mora actually took the genre back several steps, and yet it gets called 'shockingly sophisticated'. For fuck's sake, really? but let's face it, all the mainstream cares about is that it looks pretty

[Skykid]

but let's face it, all the mainstream cares about is that it looks pretty

Welcome to videogaming 2013.

[Squire Grooktook]

I think besides the graphics, too many people get hyped because a developer like Grasshopper was going to make a shmup and was talking big about how much they loved Einhander and wanted to make a game that lives up to that kind of heritage.

[NTSC-J]

it will branch out of the genre's conventions

Is there a euroshmup that doesn't take this approach? Just make a regular goddamn shmup. It's as if they're ashamed of these games.

[Squire Grooktook]

Only branching out I honestly want to see is for someone to make The Guardian Legend 2 (not under that name obviously). But only from a competent developer that has proven they know what they're doing.

just make a regular goddamn shmup. It's as if they're ashamed of these games.

I think it's more the attitude these days that in order to not be shit, every new game has to be wildly innovative for innovations sake.

[Zaarock]

Cool, now he has a chance to prove he can make something better than sine mora. Hopefully the japanese side won't just be working on the visuals/audio.

[AntiFritz]

So it seems what Reiker was talking about in this thread, really has become a reality. I wonder who the japanese dev is.

[Ed Oscuro]

Mahou Daisakusen is very good.

this, how could anyone think otherwise

I think "conservative" is code here for "not shit with a healthbar." However I wouldn't call shmups with engaging scoring systems "conservative."

Mega Drive sophistication level prediction: Twinkle Tale. Maaaybe Undead Line if we're lucky.

Rotolla looks "refreshingly conservative" but I'm really curious how Akira Yamaoka ended up being the choice for music - and accepted the job. Interesting.

But anyhow - Go, Reiker, Go!

[Kollision]

Good.
It's always great to see new shmups being developed and released.

[ciox]

I think "conservative" is code here for "not shit with a healthbar." However I wouldn't call shmups with engaging scoring systems "conservative."

Mega Drive sophistication level prediction: Twinkle Tale. Maaaybe Undead Line if we're lucky.

Hm, I would hope for Bio-Hazard Battle myself.

[Observer]

"Branch out from genre conventions"

Confirmed for top-down, free roaming, inertia-filled, twin-stick controlled "action" with shop mechanics and achievement stimulation. Dozens and dozens of boring pre-fabricated stages with unengaging enemies, or whatever it takes to disguise the genre as something else because god forbids if you are not Ikaruga or Radiant Silvergun or, worse, you are stuck with the press comparing you to the outdated CAVE games.

All the guy needs is to name drop Sine Mora and the game will be accepted as good no matter what. Remember, kids: nothing exists outside Ikaruga/RSG/Sine Mora.

[Special World]

Sine Mora's pretty blegh, but this whole "he didn't listen to our input" line is really, really tired.

If I was making a game I would very probably not listen to any forum's input. I would try to find some people who I thought had great taste and some other, random people and get them to play the game and listen to them if their points had merit. Forums are really not a good place to get productive input. And if he listened to people about the problems his game had, likely the mainstream would hate it and wouldn't call it "shockingly sophisticated." Sine Mora was very likely not made for us.

(Also I'm sad to see that it's Eurogamer praising the game, but what are you gonna do. They praise Cave games too, at least.)

[Ebbo]

And if he listened to people about the problems his game had, likely the mainstream would hate it and wouldn't call it "shockingly sophisticated." Sine Mora was very likely not made for us.

I find it hard to believe addressing some of the Sine Mora's more prominent problems would've affected the mainstream appeal at all. Reiker also made it rather clear they were going to listen forums' feedback.

I'm still giving this new project of his a benefit of doubt. Atleast we should know how to adjust our expectations this time.

[psoslayer]

Not looking forward to this...

[Weak Boson]

Sine Mora wasn't the best shmup ever but I'm glad to see that they're following it up. As long as they improve on it then that's OK. And fair play to Reiker, he has all the mainstream reviewers in his pocket - of course it annoys me when they ignore/attack other shmups and unquestionably praise Sine Mora, but as much as we like to complain about autofire and pianos (which is clearly just a joke) the game was a success and I'd rather see that built upon than swept away in a tide of shitposts.

The big question is who it's co-developed with. There's an Under Defeat character in the Vita version of Mora, right?

[Teufel_in_Blau]

Meh, it was their first try in this genre, wasn't it?

Remember guys, neither Espgaluda II nor Battle Garegga were Ikedas or Yagawas first shmups.

[Kaiser]

Meh, it was their first try in this genre, wasn't it?

Remember guys, neither Espgaluda II nor Battle Garegga were Ikedas or Yagawas first shmups.

This doesn't excuse the poor decisions they did, Yagawa's first IIRC was Recca and that was kickass, so your point is moot.

[Teufel_in_Blau]

Point taken.

What I mean is that it also took a guy like Yakawa some time until he could create masterpieces. So I see no reason why a developer team can't grow and go from making a supposedly "bad" shmup to making a decent or good one.