|
Digital
Media FX News Archives
Wednesday
- August 1, 2001
- Activision Nails Minority
Report
- Samurai Jack Premieres
in August on Cartoon Network
- Virtual UK Who Wants to be
a Millionaire Host
- News Link of the Day
- Nascar Internet Cartoon Coming
Activision
Nails Minority Report
(by digitalmediafx.com) Activision has successfully
negotiated a licensing deal to distribute titles based on Steven
Spielberg's 2002 Minority Report movie. Through an agreement
with Fox Interactive and DreamWorks, Activision has signed a five
year deal for the worldwide rights to develop games based on Minority
Report for all current and next generation consoles, the PC
and handheld platforms.
Slated for
release in summer 2002 Minority Report stars Tom Cruise,
Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton and Kathryn Morris.
Minority Report is set in the future when crimes can be
detected before they happen leaving some yet-to-be murderers to
become the hunted.
"Minority
Report lends itself well to a wide variety of gameplay elements
with intense futuristic storylines and gripping action-packed
sequences," states Ron Doornink, President and COO, Activision,
Inc. "As a multi-platform publisher, we intend to leverage
this property across all of the major gaming systems including
the PlayStation2 computer entertainment system, Xbox video game
system from Microsoft, Nintendo GameCube, Game Boy Advance and
the PC. We are very excited to work with Steven Spielberg, Fox
Interactive and DreamWorks Pictures on what is expected to be
one of the most anticipated films of 2002."
> Return
to the top of page
Samurai
Jack Premieres this Month on Cartoon Network
(by digitalmediafx.com) The Cartoon Network is set to premiere
a new animated action series, called Samurai Jack, on August 10.
The series was created by Genndy Tartakovsky. The first episode
will be 90 minutes long. The Cartoon Network has ordered an additional
26 half hour shows.
Samurai Jack
is the story of a "great warrior" displaced to the distant
future by an evil wizard named Aku. Samurai Jack must then find
a time portal to return to the past and vanquish the evil wizard.
The Cartoon
Network is marketing the series through AOL, which has created
a special advance look at the production (including behind-the
scenes character model sheets) via the AOL Keyword Samurai Jack.
Click
here to see an animation test from Samurai Jack.
> Return
to the top of page
Virtual
UK Who Wants to Be a Millionaire Host
(edited press release) Eidos Interactive is using Eyetronics'
ShapeSnatcher Suite to create a virtual version of British TV
host Chris Tarrant for the video game Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?
2nd Edition.
ShapeSnatcher
Suite is an integrated software package that transforms an average
slide projector and digital camera into a sophisticated 3D scanning
and modeling system.
Eidos Interactive
used the software to create a realistic 3D model of Tarrant's
face that could be animated. The lip-synched virtual host will
be made up of more than 20,000 polygons, enabling him to ask questions,
give answers and utter the now-famous phrase, "Is that your
final answer?"
The game also
includes a 3D audience and more than 1,000 new questions.
The first
version of the game, which is the UK's biggest selling game of
all time, did not include a graphical representation of Tarrant.
ShapeSnatcher made it possible for the upcoming PlayStation 2
version to include the virtual host. "ShapeSnatcher allowed
us to transform the original PlayStation title into a showcase
next-generation console game," Alltimes says.
Who Wants
To Be A Millionaire? 2nd Edition will be available in the U.K.
this November. ShapeSnatcher is also being used to scan Jean-Pierre
Foucault, the host of the French version of the game.
> Return
to the top of page
News Link
of the Day - Nascar Internet Cartoon Coming
According
to USA Today:
"In September,
nascar.com will premiere the first NASCAR cartoon show created
for the Internet. The Kellys will revolve around an (obviously
fictional) fun-loving family roaming the NASCAR circuit..."
Click
here for the full story.
> Return
to the Top of the Page
> Click
Here for a Printable Version of this Page
> Return
to August News Archives
> Return to Today's
News
> Return to
the Digital Media FX Front Page
|
