"Mirror's Edge Catalyst" : Faith...no more?

[Lucas]

Or "See what Rasix ate during lunch" :P

Coming out when it's ready (both the game and the lunch, yeah :D).

Trailer ("all footage from game engine", the trailer proclaims): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6PXba8X6N8

Official site: http://www.mirrorsedge.com/

Letter from the Senior Producer, Sara Jansson:

Mirror’s Edge™ and its heroine Faith have always been dear to us at DICE. That is why we are very excited to announce an all-new next generation Mirror’s Edge is in development. In this introductory blog post, Senior Producer Sara Jansson shares her personal thoughts on spearheading this new project.

Hi, my name is Sara Jansson, and I have the honor of working as Senior Producer for Mirror’s Edge.

Wow, it feels great to finally be able to type those words. Ever since we introduced the world to Mirror’s Edge in 2008, we have been waiting for the right moment to bring Faith back -- and we know you have been waiting as well. We’re taking Mirror’s Edge to a new era of entertainment delivering unique gameplay only possible today with our newly developed Frostbite engine and the arrival of the next generation platforms. You can get a glimpse of what I’m talking about in the official Mirror’s Edge E3 Teaser Trailer above.

Like so many fans I fell in love with the original Mirror’s Edge. I think it’s because it did things in a brave new way from the first-person parkour inspired movement in a vertical environment to the unique art direction; all of this based in at stark dystopian setting that still feels too close for comfort. But perhaps the strongest element in Mirror’s Edge is its iconic heroine, Faith. In 2008, I was one of the millions of fans who connected with Faith. Today, I feel privileged to be leading the charge on a new Mirror’s Edge featuring one of gaming’s most inspiring and true heroines.

So there you have it. The stake is in the ground, this new game will be a first-person action adventure starring Faith and I am here to tell you that we will stay true to Mirror’s Edge.

As we embark on this new adventure, I ask that you be patient as we explore the best way to make Faith’s return as memorable and impactful as the original game. We are still in early stages of development and we don’t want to rush anything. We want to make sure we create an experience that lives up to high expectations and fully takes advantage of the next generation of systems.

Finally, I want to extend a sincere thank you to all of our fans. Every time you have asked us about the future of Faith, we have felt your support. Without you, the new Mirror’s Edge wouldn’t be happening.

Can't wait, the art direction and the immersiveness of the first chapter were second to none, and the main reasons I fell in love with the game, no matter that it was undoubtedly far from my normal gaming tastes.

Hopefully they will stay true to the "core" experience of the game: amazing, dystopian urban vistas, exploration, alternate routes (more open areas please?), kickass soundtrack.

[Fabricated]

Well I guess at least she wasn't punching a dude out then having a really clumsy looking shootout like the worst parts of Mirror's Edge 1. I wonder if they "got" the reason the people who liked Mirror's Edge 1 actually liked it?

[Lucas]

I think I could stand some hand-to-hand fights with some good coreography. Just provide alternate routes if you want to avoid fights (especially with guns, ugh) altogether.

In Mirror's Edge case, I think it's VERY, very hard (at least for a development team) to misunderstand what the fans liked about the first game. Just go to Youtube or other forums and it's basically a universal praise  to the aspects I listed in my above message, nothing is left to interpretation.

Now, of course, if marketing and EA want to attract a portion of the Battlefield/Call of Duty crowd, that's another story, and a major fuck-up :P
---

Judging from the official website and this article on Eurogamer, they're aiming at some sort of a more structured "reboot" of the franchise, with a more solid story and gameplay elements. After all, it has often been said that the first title was an experiment that met an unexpected success.

[rk47]

I'm sure they'll get this right. Just let people hold down the button to auto-jump like ass creed. 

[Malakili]

I'll be all about this if they can find a way to do this game that doesn't give me motion sickness.  I couldn't play the first for more than 20-30 minutes at a time without getting a major headache and feeling nauseous. 

[Surlyboi]

Yeah, sign me up.

[Samwise]

Loved the first game.  Hope I can play the new one on the Steambox.  

[Sir T]

Yeah the first game looked cool, but I could see that it would make me ill so I had to bow out. :(

[Samwise]

I found that it made me a little carsick the first time I watched somebody else play it, and then about fifteen minutes after I got my hands on the controls my brain recalibrated from "my tummy feels weird" to "holy shit I can feel the breeze."

[Lucas]

Sigh, pity to hear that a lot of people had to bow out because of motion sickness :( , you can really "feel the breeze" when you finally get "into" the game 

[UnSub]

Having heard all the praise that Mirror's Edge got, I bought it and finished it not too long ago. I couldn't finish it quickly enough so that I could dump it. First person platforming is still terrible, the narrative was a joke and it was yet another title that had me standing around in lifts.

Great visual design though and when you could pull off the moves smoothly to get through a level, there was a great flow to the game.

[Rasix]

Or "See what Rasix ate during lunch" :P

Yep, can't do it.  File this away with Diablo clones in the bucket of games I can't play due to physical limitations. I'm such a wuss.

[MrHat]

I can't believe Mirror's Edge is a game I skipped.

Waiting for summer sale!

[Samwise]

Or "See what Rasix ate during lunch" :P

Yep, can't do it.  File this away with Diablo clones in the bucket of games I can't play due to physical limitations. I'm such a wuss.

What does Diablo do to you physiologically?  The only problem I had with Diablo was it being repetitive and boring as shit.   

[Lucas]

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/413684/mirrors-edge-2-is-open-world-says-ea-exec/ (the relevant part about Mirror's Edge is enclosed in just the initial sentence of the news blurb, really)

Now, I almost cower in fear when I think about what "open-world" could mean to the "EA Labels president Frank Gibeau"  

Anyways, a "what we want to see" article from the same website:
http://www.computerandvideogames.com/278714/features/mirrors-edge-2-what-we-want-to-see/  ADDENDUM:...article that was actually published back in 2010. My bad :P

[Rasix]

Or "See what Rasix ate during lunch" :P

Yep, can't do it.  File this away with Diablo clones in the bucket of games I can't play due to physical limitations. I'm such a wuss.

What does Diablo do to you physiologically?  The only problem I had with Diablo was it being repetitive and boring as shit.   

click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click

Makes my arm hurt like hell.  Tennis elbow, I think. Holding down the button is worse.   

I made it a lot longer with this iteration of Diablo than other ARPGs.  But eventually, I just hit a point where I have to put the game down.  For like.. a year.

[Samwise]

What does Diablo do to you physiologically?  The only problem I had with Diablo was it being repetitive and boring as shit.  

click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click

Ahhhh yes.  That pretty much sums up my complaints as well, although it didn't cause me physical pain.

[Goreschach]

http://www.autohotkey.com/

[Fabricated]

Mirror's Edge 2 being open world is fine really so long as they keep with the flowing movement and visual aesthetic. I mean the game's main selling point is first person parkour which was kinda stymied by really linear stages.

[Lucas]

Some more info:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2013-06-12-open-world-mirrors-edge-isnt-a-shooter-but-its-very-different-compared-to-the-original-ea-says

EA won't turn Mirror's Edge into a shooter - but it has vowed to create a "very different" experience compared to the original with the just-announced game.

As expected, during its press conference EA announced a new Mirror's Edge game - not called Mirror's Edge 2 - that's a reboot of sorts. It tells the origin story of Parkour expert Faith and is set for release on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.

EA Games Label boss Patrick Söderlund, who gave the game the go-ahead, declined to go into specifics about the gameplay we'll see in the new Mirror's Edge in an interview with Eurogamer, but did encourage fans to get excited.

"I can tell you one thing," he said. "It's a very different Mirror's Edge experience than the first game.

"Obviously as you saw in the trailer there are some things that will clearly remain the same. We're not going to break what the game was good at. But in general, though, there are some changes, which are for the better I think."


Speaking of the trailer, some have expressed concern that it suggests the new Mirror's Edge will be more action-orientated than the first game, which focused more on escaping enemies than it did killing them.

Söderlund promised developer DICE won't turn Mirror's Edge into a shooter, but did confirm that Faith will be a more powerful character than she was in the first game.

"The first game was a lot about running away from things," he said. "And, even though you want to have sections with that, you also want Faith... she's a powerful character and you want her to take control. You'll see a little bit more of that in this game.

"Again, we're not going to turn this into a shooter. On the contrary, in fact. But we are going to evolve Faith and the story. Once we show more of this people will be genuinely excited. I am personally extremely excited about it."

Today EA executive Frank Gibeau described the new Mirror's Edge as an "open-world action adventure game".It's built using DICE's own Frostbite engine and is still in early development.

It had been rumoured to be in development for years prior to the announcement, with its existence somewhat of an open secret.

Söderlund said DICE has had a small team working on concepts for some time, but it wasn't until senior producer Sarah Jansson's eye-catching pitch that it was greenlit.

"Mirror's Edge is a game that's been very close to my heart and to DICE's heart for a long time," he said. "It was a new IP we made in 2008. It's a game that was loved by many. It's a game that frustrated some, to be fair.

"We knew we were going to come back to it one day, and we've had a small team on it on and off in conceptual mode. Not until Sarah approached me and [General Manager] Karl-Magnus Troedsson and said, 'I have something I want to pitch to you guys,' - we got that pitch and I was amazed by what she showed us. I said, 'yes, this is it. We're now going to do it.'

"We were waiting for the right idea. I'm so excited that the idea itself is so different and spectacular that it can only work on future machines, like the Xbox One and PS4 and PC. That's when I knew we had the right idea."

"But in general, though, there are some changes, which are for the better I think."

YOU think . Ready to



(please don't go vomit, Rasix  )

[Rasix]

[Samwise]

Is it wrong that I hear "open world action adventure with a powerful character but it's not a shooter we promise" and I think "go find ten rats, punch them to death, and bring me their tails"?

[Furiously]

Something good from EA? I still have not broken my decision to not buy anything on origin. I doubt this will be the title to make me. And I loved the first one.

[Sir T]

"very different experience to the first one" is coder for "yet another FPS like you have seen 100 times before now give us money"

[Goreschach]

"very different experience to the first one" is coder for "yet another FPS like you have seen 100 times before now give us money"

I remain cautiously hopeful that they mean the focus has shifted from time trials through linear areas to exploration and finding a pathway through an open area. Sort of a Super Parkour 64.

[Megrim]

Personally, I enjoy it when Marketing Dipshit #487351 tells me what I want my video game character to do.

[rk47]

I'm disinterested. First person jumping is never my cup of tea.

[Lucas]

Here's another article from Joystiq:

http://www.joystiq.com/2013/06/24/eas-soderlund-discusses-star-wars-battlefront-mirrors-edge-r/#continued

Responding to questions about DICE's recently announced Mirror's Edge reboot, Söderlund reveals that the project is the result of extensive prototyping, and notes the game in its current state is "not possible on the current generation."

"I'll be honest with you: we've been looking at Mirror's Edge for many years and had small prototype teams and incubations around what it could be," Söderlund explained. "But it wasn't until Sara Jansson, who is now the producer on it, came to me and called Karl-Magnus Troedsson and said, 'listen, I have an idea for what this could be'. She presented a vision so inspiring that we were like, 'we have to build this now'."

Söderlund notes that the reboot will address gameplay issues players cited in the original Mirror's Edge, and will focus more on story. "What I can say is we're taking more of an action adventure approach on it than maybe before," Söderlund said. "First-person, running predominantly... This will be more of an action adventure game, but true to what the first one was to a large extent."

"[Mirror's Edge] feels old compared to what's out there today, in design approach and everything," Söderlund admits. "There are still some fresh things in the way that it looks and feels – it still looks really good, actually. But it still feels a little bit old school on its game design and compulsion loops. So we have to bring that forward and change that format. I think the story is another part that could've been a lot better. We didn't deliver upon the fantastic world that we created and the story is a big part in a world like that."

Please, can anyone translate what this douchebag is trying to say?

[Trippy]

Sounds more like canned set pieces with fixed paths (i.e. less freedom) rather than a free-running experience like the first.

[rk47]

More shooting, less jumping. 

[UnSub]

More flipping to third person view while you're doing a jump / stunt.

[Margalis]

Söderlund notes that the reboot will address gameplay issues players cited in the original Mirror's Edge, and will focus more on story. "What I can say is we're taking more of an action adventure approach on it than maybe before," Söderlund said. "First-person, running predominantly... This will be more of an action adventure game, but true to what the first one was to a large extent."

"[Mirror's Edge] feels old compared to what's out there today, in design approach and everything," Söderlund admits. "There are still some fresh things in the way that it looks and feels – it still looks really good, actually. But it still feels a little bit old school on its game design and compulsion loops. So we have to bring that forward and change that format. I think the story is another part that could've been a lot better. We didn't deliver upon the fantastic world that we created and the story is a big part in a world like that."

This reads like a parody of modern design dogma. COMPULSION LOOPS!

Quick rule of thumb: the more a designer uses the word "loop" to describe their game the worse it will be.

[Megrim]

To me it looks like they are angling into "Press X for AWESOME!" territory. QTE spam, and IMMERSIVE EMOSHUNAL ENGAGEMENT aplenty.

[Fabricated]

Eh? The impression I got was that they were saying the original game was too linear and blocked out and that they might be going for a more actual free-running kinda deal.

I imagine the execution will suck; it'll probably be big self-contained parkour sandboxes you run around in completing stuff until you have completed enough stuff to go onto the next one, but it'd still be a lot less of the A---->B linearity of the first one.

[rk47]

Whatever they're planning their game won't be a success; not with the kind of sales number they're expecting in EA.