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Too Human developer Silicon Knights 'definitely alive'

Silicon Knights says it is still working despite downsizing, closing its offices, and selling equipment.

40 Comments

Too Human developer Silicon Knights says it is "definitely alive" despite the studio's former president Denis Dyack's departure to form Precursor Games.

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Talking to Polygon, Silicon Knights chief financial officer Mike Mays declared that the studio was still alive. Despite the assurances, Mays would not say where Silicon Knights is currently located, what projects it's working on, or how many employees the studio currently has.

However, the studio did confirm it has closed its offices, downsized its staff, and sold some of its equipment. Some computers were even sold to Precursor Games, the new studio founded by ex-Silicon Knights staff.

"Silicon Knights was selling off extra assets to laid-off employees and we, along with others, purchased some of them," said Precursor Games CEO Paul Caporicci when asked. "Like so many others who have been laid off in this difficult economy, we are simply trying to turn a tough situation into something positive. This helps give us an opportunity with Shadow of the Eternals to give the gamers something that they have been wanting."

A $4.45 million lawsuit between Silicon Knights and Epic Games ruled in favour of the latter in May 2012, and in November 2012, the studio was ordered to destroy all copies of its ill-fated Xbox 360 action role-playing game Too Human and X-Men: Destiny.

Precursor Games is currently working on Shadow of the Eternals, a spiritual successor to cult survival horror title Eternal Darkness.

Caporicci also asserted that Precursor Games hasn't inherited any of the Silicon Knights technology currently tangled up in a lawsuit with Epic Games. "We are a completely separate and independent entity and always have been," he said.

"Precursor is not and never has been a party to that case, and is not involved in it whatsoever. We purchased completely wiped clean machines, that is all. There is no basis for any liability or any claim against Precursor Games."

"We wish Silicon Knights the best of luck in their future," concluded Caporicci.

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commanderxp90

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They should re-make Too Human for PS3/4. I don't like the XBox 360. -_-

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Ahiru-San

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Edited By Ahiru-San

I loved Too Human, even bought a 2nd copy years later just to finish up the achievements and play with a friend at home

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xSaulxTighx

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Do a cyber empires remake! do it and do it now!

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eva02langley

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@magicalclick They are working with CryEngine 3 now and Denis is loving it. I really believe SK was right in this lawsuit. That whole Epic lawsuit ruined everything.

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OneStrong2

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Nice!

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mdboomer

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Denis is probably living in his moms basement hiding from creditors.

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pleasurengineer

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I swear I am not kidding. Too Human is in my Top 10 games of the last 15 years in which I have been gaming.

1. Ninja Gaiden

2. God of War 2

3. Uncharted 2

4. Infamous 1&2

5. Vanquish

6. Diablo 2

7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine

8. Too Human

9. Starcraft 2

10. Battle for Middle Earth 2

11. FIFA, NHL, HALO franchise tied for 11th spot

I know about people being offput by Denis Dyack but personally I am more pre-occupied with a game and it's gameplay than any one person's unpopularity. That sliding ax bashing mechanic never gets tired. I wish people woul focus on the good instead of the weaker sub elements of the game.

I am rather offended that people disproportionately do not give this game and Vanquish it's due. Anyone who did not experience substantial fun playing those games are joyless troglodytes.

Gamer tag: Pleasurengineer --> hate me there

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Uri-Z

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@pleasurengineer You preferred BFME2 over 1?

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pleasurengineer

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Edited By pleasurengineer

Nice points Ryozo. Best tag team ever: Baldur and Sam would win the Kumité every time (obscure 80's reference)

Uri-Z, I thought i was going to be mocked about my choices, BFME2 in particular. Alas, I never got around to playing BFME1. BFME2 and apparently 1 were another under-appreciated set of games, I think. Felt like gold when I built walls connecting my castles. It made fortification feel so badass! Also liked setting my armies in neat formation. Nice little details that made a huge impact for me.

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Ryozo

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@pleasurengineer Agreed; both are quite fun (was kind of surprised Platinum didn't have Sam as a secret character in Max Anarchy; him and Bayonetta on a tag team would be hilarious).


TH's sliding mechanic just.. works; you have to think ahead a bit to get the most out of it... and know when -not- to slide into things *ahem*light-polarity tangos*cough*. And the backstory deserves points for being original... the Norse pantheon has been used as game backdrop, albeit rarely, and to my knowledge not quite like this.


And yes, human alignment (for those fire- and reload-rate and combo-meter bonuses) and plasma spec on a commando makes things melt... just wish there was a quick-swap for weapons ala D2/PoE/TL2, because when you need to smack missiles out of the air, the lasers are king.


And since both games involve lots of high-speed sliding, just imagine the chaos Baldur and Sam could unleash as a tag team...

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digi-demon

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Twin snakes was cool tho' :-)

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tim1935

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No office, no staff, no equipment, but still alive? Ok...

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Sevenizz

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Edited By Sevenizz

Most indie developers work within this model - your point?

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dr_jashugan

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With NO equipment?

Do they use magnetic drawing boards to make their games? XD

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Roland3710

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This article kind of reminds me about the one where THQ said that their bankruptcy was an opportunity for restructuring.

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ziproy

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You can try and make Too Human cult success, but you'll fail. Too Human sucked and just because it's old and forgotten doesn't make it good.

Stop being hipsters and saying it's good just to seem interesting

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TruthSerum808

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@ziproy Too Human is already a cult success. Just because you don't like it doesn't make it so. Back when it was still new there were a ton of people on the SK website user forums exchanging information and pleading for a follow up to the cliffhanger ending. There are literally thousands of us out here that would pay full price day one for a Too Human: Rise of the Giants.

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Sevenizz

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@ziproy I enjoyed it - who are you to say others didn't?

I bet you've never even played it and you're just bandwagoning.

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arc_salvo

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@ziproy The Demo for Too Human was cool, it fooled me into buying the game. Too bad the actual game was much much worse. The only good thing about it for me was the storyline, but I had to PLAY that damn awful game to see it, which was a dealbreaker for me.

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Duckynevada

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The only game developer in St.Catharines Ontario (My city). Too bad these guys don't have any idea what their doing besides eternal darkness.

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Sevenizz

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@Duckynevada I'm from Niagara Falls Ontario. But I'll tell you what else this developer knew what to do - milk the Ontario government and taxpayers.

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Gamer-Geek

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Edited By Gamer-Geek

All they need is a new, up-to-date version of Eternal Darkness and they'll be set.

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vannacut

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the stupid control layout killed too human, otherwise it looked like a great game

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6nips

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Get Konami to make metal gear solid HD collection for wii u including twin snakes. profit

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BlackBaldwin

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Edited By BlackBaldwin

Silicon Knights was one of those studios I really wanted to become sucessful the beginning of this gen! I loved Too Human and I still say they were just ahead of their time and released the game on the wrong platform I hope the studio gains some steam in the future and returns to a triple A developer. Oh by the way I'm glad to hear Denis is no longer with them I couldn't stand that clown!

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Sevenizz

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@BlackBaldwin I liked Too Human too. But how was it released on the wrong platform? 360 was blowing the competition away when Too Human came out.

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BlackBaldwin

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@Sevenizz

It was released on a platform that was on the verge of having tunnel vision only for shooters and barely anything else at the time really mattered. Sure there was a little thing called GTA4 at the time but other then that the first gears of war hit a feverish pitch of popularity and COD modern warfare just came out not to mention Halo3 was making its presence felt as well. Releasing a game like too human on amoung those games was a bad move in my opinion maybe if the game was placed on a different platform like the ps3 it would've made a more positive fanbase compared to that line up it faced in 08;

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BlackBaldwin

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Edited By BlackBaldwin

@Sevenizz

I would agree with you if I didn't know prior that Too Human was originally suppose to be made for sony and their console but unfortunately the game had some trouble within development which led to microsoft buying the rights for the game to be released on the 360 instead of the ps3. But oh well not a whole lot that can be done now but just hope for the best for the studio.

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Sevenizz

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@BlackBaldwin In a perfect world where they can judge the gaming landscape days prior to release and change their minds on a whim, perhaps - but licenses are agreed upon months or years prior. They had no idea what would be a hit or not on a specific console. Besides, Sony was a struggling console when Too Human came out so that would've been a bigger gamble to make this title an exclusive there.

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kakotan

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Edited By kakotan

Really think its stupid of the judgement to have all their games destroyed, Epic is cruel , I truly hope that SK can bounce back and give us the next Too Human , cause that world and story could really be built up with the right kind of gameplay. I have Too Human, and I pray it never gets messed up now.


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ccgod

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I wanted another too-human lame

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Sevenizz

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Edited By Sevenizz

@ccgod The odds of a continuation of the Too Human franchise are about as great as Ford releasing a new Edsel.

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smtgfx

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Its good to hear that they are still kicking. Props...

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brian_13un

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Still alive . . . . .

This was a triumph.
I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS
It's hard to overstate my satisfaction.


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Hurvl

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Edited By Hurvl

I guess it's good that it's not (K)nighty-night for them, but I haven't been interested in any of their games.

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Deadly_Nemesis

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It's like a chicken with its head cut off saying it's still alive, kind of sad and adorable all at the same time.

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Ladiesman17

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@Deadly_Nemesis

and it's kind of creepy too.

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amaneuvering

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Edited By amaneuvering

I'm pretty sure that at this point Silicon Knights is nothing more than the smallest possible skeleton crew that needs to be around to deal with all the legal crap.

I really don't care about all that stuff anyway.

All I care about is seeing Shadow of the Eternals get made.

Good luck to Precursor Games I say.

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Daian

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Well good luck to them, hate seeing people losing their jobs due to poor management.

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