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How Hello Games Went From Joe Danger To No Man’s Sky

Ben-Dutka 8 Comments

How exactly did Hello Games go from the playful, relatively simple Joe Danger to the hugely ambitious No Man's Sky ?

That was on tap for discussion during the latest PlayStation Blog interview featuring Hello Games co-founder Sean Murray. In the new video, Murray talks about the inspiration behind the new PS4 exclusive, along with a variety of other topics.

For instance, remember when a New Year's flood totally ruined the studio ? Murray chats about that, and also adds that No Man's Sky – originally dubbed "Project Skyscraper" – was the ultimate goal for the team from the beginning:

"We always knew the type of game we wanted to make, and we'd known it before we even started at Hello Games, and we had talked about it at that point. And we knew that Joe Danger was going to be a stepping stone toward that."

No Man's Sky has received plenty of positive press since its impressive E3 showing, and it's undoubtedly one of the more anticipated titles of the new generation. Here's hoping Hello Games can pull it off!

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Joe Danger On Vita Will Welcome Three Familiar Faces

Ben-Dutka 2 Comments

If you missed out on the Joe Danger games on PS3, now's the time to remedy that awful mistake.

Hello Games will bring Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie to the PlayStation Vita in August and as they announced at the PlayStation Blog , they're tossing in three familiar faces.

There's the iconic Sackboy from the acclaimed LittleBigPlanet franchise, as well as Atoi and Iota from Media Molecule's other gem, the Vita-exclusive Tearaway . As for the games, we'll get all the available DLC (including the Undead Movie Pack DLC, which added 15 levels to the PS3 version of Joe Danger 2: The Movie ) and online leaderboards. And you know, these games really fit extremely well on Sony's portable.

What better way to pass the time when out and about?

Related Game(s): Joe Danger, Joe Danger 2: The Movie

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Joe Danger Brings His High-Flying Stunt Acts To The Vita

Ben-Dutka 5 Comments

It's one of the very best downloadable games of the generation, and it's a perfect fit for the PlayStation Vita.

It has been confirmed that both Joe Danger and Joe Danger 2: The Movie are headed to Sony's portable in 2014. The team at Hello Games says the Vita is essential for "keeping the quality of the Joe Danger console games' graphics, and having them run at 60 frames a second."

They're "pretty much obsessed" with making sure the upcoming Vita installments look and play the same as their PS3 counterparts did. They say another reason the portable is a great option is because it can mirror the Dual Shock controls pretty well. Further, the developer promises that they won't be trying to "shoehorn in waggle controls and touch QTEs," which we definitely appreciate. Don't use it if it doesn't make your game better! Too many developers fall prey to the, "oooh, fancy new tech, let's just use it for the sake of using it!" ploy.

You'll even have access to the level editor, so both games in question should be complete experiences when played on the Vita. Can't wait to give 'em a try! Joe Danger is always cool!

Related Game(s): Joe Danger

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Joe Danger: The Movie Debuts On XBLA…That’s Gratitude For Ya

Ben-Dutka 25 Comments

Before everyone pops up explaining why this happened, please save your breath. I get it. I do.

Joe Danger: The Movie has been revealed and this anticipated downloadable sequel will debut on Xbox Live and come to other platforms at a later date. Well, all right, same thing happened with Limbo , which was well worth the wait.

I get that Microsoft probably offered you a bagful of cash for the timed exclusivity. I get that Hello Games is tiny and such a deal was a bad-ass, dream-come-true boon. I understand, I swear, and I probably would've taken such a deal, too. But I mean…come on. The original title was a PSN exclusive and it was the PlayStation crowd that made it successful; critics (like me for instance) applauded like mad and told everyone to go buy the game.

Now, if you had brought the new JD to XBLA as well as the PSN and they both launched at the same time, fine. The more gamers who get to experience the guaranteed awesome fun, the better. I have no problem with that whatsoever. It would even make a little more sense if the first was on both platforms. But we're talking about a game that basically helped solidify the developer's future, and it was exclusive to the PlayStation world. And then you turn around and say, "yeah great, thanks, we'll get back to you." What the hell is that ?

I dunno, this isn't a huge deal, I suppose, but it just rubs me the wrong way. It really, really does.

Related Game(s): Joe Danger: The Movie

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Joe Danger Goes Hollywood In Joe Danger: The Movie

Ben-Dutka 6 Comments

In our estimation, Joe Danger may be the single best downloadable game of the generation.

And that's why we're totally psyched to hear about the new project at Hello Games; we wanted a sequel, and that's basically what we're getting:

As revealed at TheSixthAxis , it's Joe Danger: The Movie . That's only a working title but the studio's Sean Murray expounds a bit. This follow-up effort is something "entirely new" and yet, it should be similar to the gameplay experience we loved before. Essentially, he said to compare the entire first game to "one short scene" of the new "film." Said Murray:

"If you liked Joe Danger, then I think it’s going to rock your world. Even if you didn’t like it though, this is different enough that we might just win you over. That’s the idea, but like I say who knows, no one but us has seen it yet."

So we're not sure of the differences yet, but we do know the inspiration behind the new, larger concept. Apparently, after viewing old '80s classics ("Robocop" and "Short Circuit" among them), they got a bunch of ideas, so the new game starts with our buddy Joe Danger being discovered by a Hollywood film director. Added Murray:

"It’s really just an excuse for us to take every film you’ve ever loved as a kid, cut them together into some crazy montage, and basically that’s the script for our game."

Now, they're not talking platforms yet and something about the phrasing in Murray's responses make us think this could be a full Blu-Ray release. But with a team of only four, we're not sure if that's realistic…who knows? All we do know is that we absolutely cannot wait to learn more about the new Joe Danger .

It'll be at GamesCom next week so expect a full unveiling then.

Related Game(s): Joe Danger

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If You “Kick Ass,” Apply To The Joe Danger Team

Ben-Dutka 7 Comments

After Joe Danger , we'll be interested in anything Hello Games produces.

And if you want to join this small yet talented team, check out their official site : you will find a Call to Arms, where the studio invites you to "make fun games, drink tea, win awards and talk nonsense." …God, if only I lived in the UK. Don't like tea, though. But they're not about to let you slack off; they're looking for someone who is "willing to walk on hot coals and climb vast mountains (at the same time), just for the chance to make the games they love." They're basically looking for a tester of some sort; someone that will ensure "optimal levels of funkiness are maintained on a daily basis." That person might also be involved in the actual development process, though, and they have to have a "proven dedication to gaming." So, what's that? The Contra invincibility code? The skill to hop on that one turtle on the stairs and get 99 1Ups? Well, either way, you'd be part of a growing team with loads of potential.

And of course, this begs the question: what is Hello Games currently working on? It's probably not Joe Danger 2 , as much as we might want that. No, it's likely something new and original, an we can't wait to see it…

Related Game(s): Joe Danger

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