Yet another one boards the "hate E3" wagon. David Perry, founder of Shiny Entertainment and chief creative officer at Acclaim, has called the event "broken," "stupid," and an "embarrassment." More after the "read more" link.

Look out - it's a classic one-two! Interplay Entertainment has just wired in the news that it is finally pushing through with the development of a new Earthworm Jim title, and this one's got official support from the original creator himself. Douglas TenNapel, the mind behind the run-and-gun worm in a robotic suit, will be collaborating with Interplay to jump start the video game, TV, and toy legacy that was Earthworm Jim. Just a little bit more to reveal at the full story.

Game publisher Atari US has revealed yesterday that they've experienced a loss of US$ 7.7 million for the second quarter of the fiscal year, adding to their woes from Q1 losses.

Addressing these financial issues, they have taken a number of steps for a long-term strategy (details in the full article) but they aren't confident that these are sufficient footholds.

Young talents Dakota Blue Richards and Freddie Highmore will grace the upcoming multi-platform video game The Golden Compass by sharing their voices to breathe life into the game's main characters. Richards plays as protagonist Lyra and Highmore assumes the role of Pentalaimon, Lyra's Daemon.

This is Dakota's first major voice-over acting job, while Freddie has prior experience in similar roles before. "I do find it quite difficult, but I also find it fun," comments the young star as she compares the challenge to acting in front of the green screen for the film tie-in.

On the other hand, Freddie says "I have performed voice over work in the past," and shares "to convey the essence of a character you've got to believe in it and I think you have to get into the character, because if you don't believe in it no one else will."

The Golden Compass from Sega and Shiny Entertainment is a game based on the upcoming film of the same name which tells the story of a girl named Lyra who sets out on a quest to rescue her kidnapped friend. Along the way, she must use her wits to elude enemies and get past obstacles. She must also befriend strange creatures who can help her in her cause.

Just about every gamer will have a chance to join Lyra in her journey when it becomes available on the PC, Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation Portable, and Nintendo DS.

Buy: [ The Golden Compass (PS3) ]

Buy: [ The Golden Compass (360) ]

Buy: [ The Golden Compass (Wii) ]

Buy: [ The Golden Compass (PSP) ]

Many authors of children's and young adult's fiction found their claim to fame when their books gave way to adaptations, either on the big screen or on the console platform. Phillip Pullman is no exception with the His Dark Materials trilogy. With a game based on the first book of the series, you can now keep yourselves updated on the status of The Golden Compass game on their new blog.

David Allen, Sega's official "Asset Wrangler" for the game, will be writing periodical blog entries on some of the cool stuff regarding the game. This is a job he considers "the best job in the world" as he tells his background and the reason behind his role in enticing readers in anticipation for the game's release.

For instance, he had this to write about why Sega thought him as the best candidate for this job:

I think they asked me to do this job because I’ve worked in TV so I’m used to working on sets and I know you need to turn your mobile phone off before they shout "action." I must have done something right somewhere because I secured the gig and was packed off to the set to meet producer Deborah Forte.... When I wasn’t stuffing my face with a beautifully prepared three course meal or buffet, I was there to make sure SEGA received what it needed from the film production team for The Golden Compass video game. It’s really about acting as the on-set eyes and ears for the developer, Shiny Entertainment.

The Golden Compass is set to be released alongside the movie this December and will be coming out for the PC, Xbox 360, PS2, PS3, PSP, Wii and DS.

 

A new batch of screenshots for Sega's The Golden Compass is out. Faithfully created to match the feel and sensibility of the movie, The Golden Compass is about Lyra Belaque and her quest to rescue her uncle in prison and her kidnapped best friend. Travelling with her on her quest is Pantalaimon, a daemon, and Iorek, the armored bear. The Golden Compass is her one true way to lead her on her journey.

The Golden Compass will be released in time with the movie on December 2007 for the PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and PC.

PS3 Screenshots:

Wii Screenshots:

 

After having recently announced his community-driven MMO, Dave Perry, the former Shiny Entertainment boss, has announced that he has another project for the developer community. Develop Magazine reports that over at the Game Developers Conference 2007 Dave Perry has invited everyone in the games industry to submit markers to the Google Maps powered Gameindustrymap.com.

Just so you aren't left clueless, Game Industry Map is a wiki-style Map of  of the videogame industry. The map is set to include studios, colleges, outsourcing companies, freelancers, publishers, and even the gaming press. Perry calls this self-funded project a "gift to the industry." Perry had this to say about the community-powered endeavor:

This site picks up on two fast-growing trends – community and user generated content – the videogame industry is still relatively young and we already have a great community spirit which we hope to nurture for the benefit of industry as a whole. Plus we get to show the rest of the world just how widespread we are, employing creative talent all over the planet.

The result is that it immediately becomes the most accurate information available in the world, it will grow daily, and it’s shared to all. We expect to see everyone using it, job hunters, press, gamers, college students, investors, even agencies that would like to see just how prolific this industry is.

...As the Internet has proved, businesses grow when you connect people, and my goal is to simply help drive that growth. I’m not looking for any donations, not looking for any sponsorship, I am looking for teams (especially new ones) to just put themselves on the map.

The project currently has a team that has put up the first 1,000 markers. It is expected that the community itself will eventually fill in the blanks.

Ah, if only the user-generated, homebrew-ed world of those entrenched in web 2.0 could spread to the rest of the world. If only.

Anyhow, feel free to fill Perry's map in yourself if you wish. Our read-link below should lead to the the map. It's important to note that the thing is free and it's still in beta.

A video game based on a movie that is based on a book doesn't have to be disappointing. Many have been successful and amazing adaptations. And being avid readers as well as gamers, we have to admit our bias for this upcoming adaptation: "The Golden Compass" is going to be a video game.

The image below is of Lyra and Iorek Byrnison, a huge Panserbjorne or armored bear.

 

About the game. Sega of America Inc. and Sega Europe Ltd. announced that a "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" game is under development by Shiny Entertainment (acquired last year as another subsidiary of the very busy Foundation 9 Entertainment). This big, multi-platform project is based on the movie adaptation (out later this year) of Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy of books.

• The game lets you assume the role of Lyra (we're not sure if you can also take the role of the daemon Pantalaimon).
• You can also assume the role of Iorek Byrnison.
• You travel to the north to beat The Gobblers (we assume the so-called "anti-Christian" sections of the trilogy will not be very relevant to the game and the movie in order to appeal to a wider audience).
• Release date is around Christmas 2007. Consoles: Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3), Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360. Handhelds: Nintendo DS and Sony PlayStation Portable (PSP). There is also going to be a PC version.

Shiny Entertainment created Earthworm Jim, MDK, and Sacrifice; those three games sold well, were critically acclaimed, and continue to be critically acclaimed. Shiny Entertainment also brought us the often-maligned Enter The Matrix - which got mixed reviews because it looked unpolished and rushed, so let us hope that the "His Dark Materials" game will follow in the footsteps of Sacrifice instead of Enter The Matrix.

About the movie. "His Dark Materials: The Golden Compass" will be released December 2007 by New Line Cinema.

About the books. If you like reading books (even those that don't have pictures), Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" trilogy is worth considering. Reviews of the award-winning trilogy (Whitbread, Carnegie, Astrid Lindgren) are available online.