Morning Hangover: The Next Epic IP

BrownFangThump

Given the environmental enhancements they've recently demonstrated for the UDK, I'm guessing whatever the new IP is it will include landscapes that benefit from weather and lighting effects. I realize that isn't saying much. What I'd love to see from Epic is a game that focuses on vehicles; not because I love racing games (which is far from the case), rather, because so far, their engine handles vehicles poorly.

The addition of procedural buildings to the UDK engine doesn't really point to any specific game genre. Crytek and id both have made innovations to their engine technology that allows their shooters to take place in more detailed worlds. Given that Gears succeeded Unreal Tournament and now resides in Xbox exile, Epic's next IP should return the engine to a multiplatform dominance position. It's got to take advantage of the potential of iPad versions talking to consoles that can talk to PCs.

I'm sure a lot of Epic veterans would be ecstatic to have a chance to re-imagine the Unreal story with new tech and relaunch with something that preempts Valve's next salvo. That's the safe option. So: it seems most likely and least interesting (though it would look gorgeous and guarantee a high mindshare coming out the gate).

With the DC pantheon of superheroes spoken for and the success with other studios' Unreal engine Marvel superhero games (Wolverine/Batman), the proposition that Epic would devote their team to a partnership with Marvel seems like a waste of resources. Epic's already first in line for the cash coming from licensing the engine for Marvel properties and other movie titles. They can collect that cash while they work on what they love.

A great opportunity would be to make a shooter hybrid that showcases an engine that can handle the kind of platforming created for Uncharted while it advances the potential story telling mechanics used in Bioshock and Fallout. Although Fallout used a different engine, Uncharted and Bioshock both used Unreal (if I remember correctly) in highly customized forms to be able to deliver their work. The current engine can't deliver players running and shooting on moving trains in dynamic environments like Uncharted's engine now can. If the next version of Unreal can't handle those things and compete with Crytek's 3D capabilities it will be a huge disappointment to dreamy designers and Unreal engine licensees alike.

Epic needs to work with their strengths to improve their weaknesses and a solid shooter with innovative game mechanics can do that. Assuming that the Lead Designer of Prototype translates directly into a new superhero IP is like saying the director of Titanic is always going to produce sappy period melodramas and would never do greenwashed, heavy-handed space marine melodramas like Avatar. The only thing you can know for sure is that Cliff is busy with Gears and that leaves room for a new kid to pinch hit. Gears was born out of Cliff's ideas for how to improve on the Unreal Tournament paradigm after the failure of Unreal II. Epic's next IP will be an improvement on the Gears of War paradigm, renamed to avoid legal issues and featuring spiffy new designs for good guys and bad guys. It will be Unreal 3; not because the world has been dieing to play that game; but, because it can't be Gears of War Ultimate and Unreal Tournament is a zombie IP. It will aim to compete directly with id and Valve and Bungie. It will be 1990-something all over again and we will all love it (until Warcraft Supersequal comes out or Star Wars Cashin Universe follows SWTOR.