f13.net

Project Grey Company (http://www.ea.com/official/projectgraycompany/) (WARNING! Flash site!)

(http://www.pandadesigns.com/games/grey_company_500.jpg)

Eh, they have the money and resources to make a fine RPG.

They just need to use their money for the good more often than evil.

Edit: On the other hand, I don't believe Chris Tremmel is capable of making an interesting game.

Well they certainly have the money and resources but when was the last time EA developed a good RPG in house (i.e. not just published)?

Maybe this is one of the "two new franchises per year" thang. RPG lines do develop a good following when they're decent games.

It looks like another fantasy game from the little info they have posted.  That doesn't really excite me.

They tried to create an original fighting game with Marvel Superheroes: Rise of the Imperfects.

I'm going to look into my crystal ball and predict crap. The best predictor of future results is past resuts.

Creating a new RPG market is impossible with Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest still running around here. Oh, and fucking pokemon also. Atlus has been trying their damnedest with the Megaten franchise and all of it's offshoots. (the 3rd biggest RPG series in Japan - bigger than the Pokemon stuff). It's entirely possible that they'll suceed when they release Devil Summoner and errr uhh  :nda: , but EA? Nah, they aren't going to be able to "create" a new series. Competing with the other new company (Mistwalker) will be impossible for them. Particularly with the "talent" their putting at the helm.

To a degree, sales for a reasonable but subpar game can be bought. And EA has deep pockets when they want to.

Fable, anyone?

What does a picture of Mordor have to do with EA?

Mordor? I thought that was a photograph of their working conditions.

 :rimshot:

So that's why it rained over a month non-stop here in the Bay Area!

I agree. EA is not capable of anything more than pushing regurgitated crap time after time. The only way this title going to be popular is if they include anti-DRM with it, where the game pirates itself and sends itself to all your friends.

Disagree. Some of EA's games are actually fun. The company itself may be run by Darth Satan but I disagree on a number of their games. Regurgitated, yes. Crap, sometimes.

If you click on the "Creators" link, they have pictures of all the employees sorted by division/skillset.

What's interesting is it looks like all aspects of the art are handled by Asians. I mean, it looks like it's being done in Japan (or Korea/China... whatever. I can't tell by just looking at them obviosuly). And their writers, coders, and gamey-bits folks are here in the US. Veeeeeeery interesting. However this game turns out, this model of development is really interesting. Compartmentalized departments, not constrained by being in the same location. I'd really love to see if this works out for them or not. Large Japanese studios like Square have been developing their games like this for awhile. And it's exactly how the modern film studios work (or so I've been told). I've always thought the industry was going to start heading down this road sooner or later as product complexity and costs get higher and higher.

So the opening copy on the web page makes it sound like they got all jealous when Oblivion was a success. And the monster faces on their art page look like direct rip-offs of the Uruk-Hai in the LOTOR movies.

Color me uninterested in anything but mocking this project.

Let's have a moment of silent prayer that they don't buy up Bethesda.

Nvidia should buy Bethesda- they are the reason I bought 2 of my last 3 video cards!

Considering that mocking probably will be a lot more fun than actually playing we are getting good deal.

mmm.. looking through their art, I saw Barad-Dur (Mordor), a Rohirrim town, a Moria Goblin, the Mines of Moria, a couple of Uruk-Hai and a Warhammer Orc, a LoTR cave troll with droopy shoulders, and some more generic Mordor landscapes. Looks awesome. Now I know what EA means when they say "original" franchses..

"Grey Company" is also used in LotR.  In that case, it references Aragorn's rangers.  That one hit me first time I saw the link, although I had to dig for the reference.

Not suprising since the Exec Producer just finished up Battle for Middle Earth II and I would assume a large part of that team is also from that game.