Warren Spector teams with John Woo on movie-game project

[funcroc]

http://www.reuters.com/article/filmNews/id...839762520070528

 

Action filmmaker John Woo is attached to direct and produce "Ninja Gold," a new property from the creator of such video games as "Deus Ex," "Thief: Deadly Shadows" and "System Shock."

 

Fox Atomic, the nascent genre arm of 20th Century Fox, will release the eventual film; Warren Spector, the video game creator, will executive produce.

 

"Ninja" centers on a ninja warrior, part of a centuries-old legacy and bloodline, forced to confront the reality of covert warfare in the modern world.

 

"The game concept is actually based on facts that the Yakuza and the Russian mob are involved in tons of gold being stolen in South Africa," said Terrence Chang, Woo's production partner.

 

Added Spector: "The idea actually started with John Woo. He wanted to do something involving traditional ninjas in a modern-day setting, and the idea just resonated with me. I was intrigued with the idea of what happens when the traditional and the contemporary come into conflict."

 

Spector said Woo was intimately involved in the creation of the "Ninja" cast of characters, especially the hero. He said Woo's input on the basic situations and thematic underpinnings of the story puts him in a great position to develop the film property without a lot of assistance from the game creators.

 

Chang said the film will be more reality-based but still will have fantastic elements from the game. He said the hope is to put the film into production next year, but that requires a script to be completed by then. No timetable or publisher has been announced for the game.

Edited May 29, 2007 by funcroc

[Pop]

This is either going to suck terribly or rule supremely. Leaning towards the former.

 

Here I was hoping for a Gary Busey / Warren Spector collabo.

[Morgoth]

While Ninjas are cool, I really wonder.... I mean Woo is a movie guru, I don't like games being turned into interactive movies. Warren != cinematic games.

[Musopticon?]

Eh, gritty ninja rumble knee deep in mob blood? I wish.

[Morgoth]

Hopefully that doesn't end up like Stranglehold where you fly around in the air and shoot the bad guys....Warren wouldn't want to insult my good taste. No he wouldn't... :'(

[Musopticon?]

Surely not.

[Morgoth]

Only unclarity right now is whether Junction Point will develop the game or just some nobody. If it is the latter, I won't care anyways.

[Morgoth]

ZOMG it's true!!!!111 Warren himself will slip into the main role!

 

[funcroc]

I think JPS is developing the game.

 

So how are things going at Junction Point in general?

 

Things are going really well. We're up to 24 people now, and we've got two IPs that we've worked on, with several months of work on each of them. One of them we're working in collaboration with a fellow you would have heard of out of Hollywood, and one of them is based on a game-world that I created about 15 years ago with my wife. I've been waiting for the technology to catch up with the ideas in there.

 

So we've been developing those, and we've got another four or five smaller things that we've been working on; concept development stuff.

[Morgoth]

"Collaboration". I figure they'd co-develop it with Woo's company, Tiger Hills. Warren also said he's working on some fantasy game...probably that's the one mnetioned above. And then he also said he's recently re-acquired the rights of a Comic style game from Majesco..... hmmm hmm hmmm. E3 will hopefully unveil the MYSTARY!

[funcroc]

Junction Point Studios official site redesigned

 

Ninja Gold

 

Unnamed Title

[Pop]

Color me interested. Warren Spector talks like Steve Jobs, but he doesn't wipe his ass with his employees (hopefully)

Edited June 5, 2007 by Pop

[metadigital]

Junction Point Studios official site redesigned

 

Ninja Gold

 

Unnamed Title

That third one looks like stone, rather than metal. I hope it's metal, though.

[Morgoth]

The last one looks very Star War'sish (?), but without being Star Wars. The first one is a flying Ninja, because Ninjas don't walk. (duh)

Well, let's wait and see and drink some tea until we get decent infos (E3?).

 

 

NERD ALERT!!!!1111 OHHH WAIT!

[Sand]

Could be cool.

 

Um... Who's Warren Spector again?

[Morgoth]

Could be cool.

 

Um... Who's Warren Spector again?

"Warren Spector received a BS in Speech from Northwestern and an MA in Radio-TV-Film from the University of Texas. In 1983, just shy of his PhD in Communication, Warren worked on a variety of boardgames, RPGs, choose-your-own-adventure books and novels, with Steve Jackson Games (where he rose to Editor-in-Chief) and at TSR which he joined in 1987.

 

Warren entered the world of electronic games with ORIGIN in 1989, co-producing Ultima VI and Wing Commander and producing Ultima Underworld and Ultima Underworld 2, Ultima VII: Serpent Isle, System Shock, Wings of Glory, Bad Blood, Martian Dreams and others. In 1997, after a year as General Manager of Looking Glass Austin and producer on Thief: The Dark Project, Warren started Ion Storm Austin. He was project director on Ion's award-winning action/RPG, Deus Ex, published in June 2000 before being reissued in a 2001 Game of the Year edition. A year later, he released Deus Ex: The Conspiracy on PS2. As Ion Storm's Studio Director, he oversaw development of Deus Ex: Invisible War, released in December 2003, and Thief: Deadly Shadows, released in June 2004.

 

He left Ion Storm in November 2004 to start a new, independent game development company

[Sand]

Oh, he helped make some of my favorite games. Okay, well then I hope this new game kicks ass.

 

Thanks, Morgoth.

Edited June 6, 2007 by Sand

[Musopticon?]

Wait, who was the main lead in the original Thief: The Dark Project again? Anyone remember? I don't have the credits at hand right now(not home).

[Morgoth]

Wait, who was the main lead in the original Thief: The Dark Project again? Anyone remember? I don't have the credits at hand right now(not home).

Thief credits.

 

Seems like Warren only assisted with some initial gameplay ideas before leaving LG. Ken Levine wrote the story, while some Greg LoPiccolo dude is credited as Project Leader. Randy Smith (the Project Lead on Thief DS) was Leveldesigner back then for Thief1 and is now working at EA with some super secret Steven Spielberg project(s).

 

Well, lot of familiar names from the Origin/LG legacy pop up here and there at Junction Point, too. I'm glad they have Sheldon Pacotti back.

[Musopticon?]

Ok, Levine just became even more awesome.

 

I had wholly forgotten who did what, except that almost everyone was designing levels. Sweatshop-mentality on the go.

 

Thanks, Morgy.

Edited June 6, 2007 by Musopticon?

[metadigital]

Hmmm, I might install and play the first two Thiefs, next ...

[funcroc]

other concept arts

 

 

 

Since its creation, JPS has developed a variety of original concepts, ranging from an epic fantasy game designed to bust genre boundaries wide open to a modern-day action adventure developed in partnership with a noted Hollywood director. (We own both properties outright and expect both will see the light of day, someday

[metadigital]

So, between the first of these latest two pictures (of a flying dragon), "epic fantasy" and "modern-day action adventure" I see no whisper of "post-apoc", "cyberpunk" or even "Gibsonesque future-thriller". So my excitement is bound to a lower strata, though certainly not completely extinguished.

[Musopticon?]

Hmmm, I might install and play the first two Thiefs, next ...

You should, definetly. The athmosphere and narrative, and especially gameplay, of both games has withstood the test of time admirably. Get ready for sprawling, massive levels and weird, steampunk-hued dark fantasy and practically a robbing simulator.

 

Sorry for the ad campaign speech, but they really are that good.

[Xard]

I remember playing demo of Thief II with my friend hours after hours, days after days

 

And I never got full game :sad: