11w ago - Sony Santa Monica Studio Lead Game Designer Seth Killian has shared some video footage today spotlighting the new PS All-Stars Zeus & Isaac, MediEvil + The Unfinished Swan level below.

To quote: Happy to be back to tell you about some new surprises from PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. More costumes? More minions? Well, okay, yes. But also more new characters!

Our newest challengers are Isaac Clarke from Electronic Arts' Dead Space, and Zeus from... well, from some of the foundational myths of Western society, but also from a little PlayStation game you might know called God of War by SCEA Santa Monica Studio.

How did these two emerge as All-Stars from the vast PlayStation multiverse? Synchronicity. We were talking with some friends over at EA who were hard at work on Dead Space 3, and with a lot of Dead Space fans on our team and all the cool tools at Isaac's disposal, some quick concepts emerged and we knew he'd be a great addition.

We've also wanted to add another "heavy," hard-hitting character into All-Stars (Big Daddy was getting lonely), and with all the work on God of War: Ascension around Sony Santa Monica, Zeus emerged as a perfect fit.

30w ago - Giant Sparrow Game Designer Ben Esposito has shared a video today spotlighting the art and design as part of their The Unfinished Swan developer diary.

To quote: Like a lot of folks, I first saw the tech demo for The Unfinished Swan when it made the rounds online in 2008. The idea stuck in the back of my head but it wasn't until later when Giant Sparrow put up a job posting that I decided: I had to make that game.

I had just graduated from college without much professional experience, so I did what I do best and made a game for them. You can check it out here if you'd like. The video cuts off because the end of the game says "Call me" and has my phone number on it.

It got the attention of the Giant Sparrow team, and I ended up flying out to Los Angeles to work on the game. I was elated and a little shocked, but I came to learn that at Giant Sparrow, the player experience always comes first - and my little game was designed to create a very specific experience.

Now, in October 2012, The Unfinished Swan is out in the wild (well, to PlayStation Plus members) and we're proud that we were able to make a truly experiential game.

31w ago - PlayStation Digital Platforms Community Manager Morgan Haro has announced today that PlayStation Plus members will be getting Payday: The Heist and The Unfinished Swan early access.

To quote: By now, you should have already tackled NFL Blitz which came in free for Plus members earlier this month.

You should also make sure to download one of the best fighters in the genre, King of Fighters XIII, which is also free for Plus members.

With tomorrow's PlayStation Store update, you'll want to get your blueprints out and cover up those fingerprints because you'll be robbing some banks (in video game form of course) courtesy of PAYDAY: The Heist, coming free to Plus members!

You'll also be able to get Unfinished Swan before anyone else this week. That said, there's much more so let's get to it.
Don't have PlayStation Plus? Go to the PlayStation Store on your PS3 or click here to get access.

October 16th PlayStation Plus Update





PAYDAY: The Heist
Free for PlayStation Plus Members

Dive full force into six heists of co-op madness, fighting off cops, stealing large sums of money and embarking on the ultimate high-intensity, first-person shooter adventure....

31w ago - Composer Joel Corelitz has shared a Developer Diary video today spotlighting The Unfinished Swan original music and sound alongside a list below of ten things fans should know!

To quote: At its core, The Unfinished Swan is about the joy of creation and self-discovery. These themes revolve around two central characters: one young, who has dealt with great loss and loneliness, and one old, who must reconcile his current stage of life as well as his fate.

One of the initial conversations I had with Peter Scaturro, music supervisor at the Santa Monica Studio involved using the key components of the score to offset the melancholy of the story. I consciously steered away from anything that felt too sad, stark or desolate. Instead,

I focused on crafting a mood that was lush, curious, and warm. We wanted the music to serve as a companion for Monroe and the player as they explored the world of the game. To achieve this, I chose to highlight certain instruments and sounds that were inspired by the characters themselves.

Monroe's signature sound is played by plucked and mallet instruments like marimba and harp - youthful, resonant sounds that highlight his innocence as well as the storybook-quality of the game. The bizarre, pompous King is heralded by gritty, electronic harpsichord...

32w ago - Giant Sparrow Creative Director Ian Dallas has announced today that The Unfinished Swan flies to PSN on October 23 and has confirmed early PS Plus access too.

To quote: When you make a game about something unusual like, say, throwing paint in an all-white world, you expect to get a lot of questions. But we were surprised that the question we got asked the most turned out to be "when can I buy it?"

Now we have an answer: you can buy The Unfinished Swan on October 23rd exclusively on PSN for $14.99. And if you're a PlayStation Plus member, you can get the game a week early - October 16th.

In the meantime, there's still a lot to learn about the game. You've met the King, now get to know us: the team behind it all.

In the first of a series of developer diaries, we'll lift the curtain and give you some background on Giant Sparrow, the beginning of The Unfinished Swan and how we landed on PlayStation Network.

Check it out:





Leading up to launch on October 23rd, we will be back to dive in and show you all you need to know about The Unfinished Swan. For more news about the game you can check out the Giant Sparrow company...