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Ninja Theory, the developer behind Heavenly Sword, Enslaved: Odyssey to the West, and DMC, gave a presentation at Gamescom this year entitled, "The Independent AAA Proposition." The speech detailed the history of the studio as well as the ups and downs they've had with major publishers. While they were grateful for the opportunities publishers allowed them, the past loss of creative rights and freedom had Ninja Theory unhappy with their position in the marketplace. Then one failed project led them to change it all, coin the phrase "Independent AAA" and start work on Hellblade, That project was Razer. According to Ninja Theory, Razer, "was going to be a mix of melee and gunplay,' where players would be, "fighting an ever adapting enemy that required you to collaborate in squads and constantly adapt and change your attack pattern." They called it "the world“s biggest boss fight." The game would revolve around a "Beast" that had invaded and taken over the Earth. From a technical standpoint, "the creature was a beast that lived in the cloud driven by a complex adaptive AI server. Tens of thousands of players would take part in taking down this monster over the course of months and years. The game relied on procedural techniques to create millions of missions all over the planet." So how could such an awesome concept not go into full development? Destiny. When Destiny was announced by Bungie, no publisher wanted to challenge it outright. It stopped Razer cold in its tracks. Looking on the bright side, perhaps it truly was destiny for Ninja Theory to get halted in the publisher pipeline. To be forced to create a new niche of self-published AAA games. Hellblade may be the answer to that. Stay locked on Game Podunk to find out. Source: Ninja Theory

Earlier today, Ninja Theory answered fan's questions on Twitter regarding their recently announced title, Hellblade. They discussed everything from exclusivity, to gameplay, to its connection to Heavenly Sword. Here is a recap of the information gathered from the #NinjaQuery. Hellblade is what Ninja Theory is calling an "independent AAA" game. This means it will fall somewhere in between a traditional indie game and a AAA title from a major publisher. Expect high quality but shorter in length and at a lower price. The development team is currently very small at only 12 people and it is unlikely to grow to more than 15. The group has been hard at work for about four months and is currently optimizing combat and general gameplay using Unreal Engine 4. Hellblade is a third person hack and slash with a focus on story and combat. There will be no multiplayer and it is not open world. The story revolves around Senua, the tribal looking female from the Gamescom teaser, and will draw on Celtic mythology. Lastly, the game has absolutely no connection to Heavenly Sword. Hellblade is a completely new IP with new ideas and new characters. Sorry, Nariko fan club. Ninja Theory's new project and approach to publishing will be beneficial to gamers in the long run because they expand creativity and diversity in video games. Expect to hear and see more on Hellblade sometime next week. Until then stay tuned to Game Podunk for updates. http://vimeo.com/102969072 Source: Twitter What are your initial impressions of Hellblade and what questions might you want answered in the next #NinjaQuery?