• New Horizons on Maelstrom
    Maelstrom New Horizons


    Visit our website www.piratehorizons.com to quickly find download links for the newest versions of our New Horizons mods Beyond New Horizons and Maelstrom New Horizons!

Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned

N

News Crew

Guest
As much as it pains me to post anything having to do with Disney on the front page, they have unveiled a new pirate game they may be showcasing at the upcoming E3, June 2-4 2009 at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned is being developed as a multi-platform game (Hmmm... this sounds vaguely familiar!) for the PC, Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3. <a href="http://games.ign.com/objects/025/025022.html" target="_blank">Disney Interactive Studios</a> and <a href="http://games.ign.com/objects/747/747922.html" target="_blank">Propaganda Games</a> are teaming up on this latest pirate game. <a href="http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/986/986415p1.html" target="_blank">IGN</a> has an terview up they conducted with Alex Peters, Game Director for Armada of the Damned.

<blockquote>  

<b>IGN: Can you tell us a little bit about the plot? Who do you play as and what is the overall goal of the game?

Alex Peters:</b> The story of Armada of the Damned takes place before the events of the Pirates of the Caribbean films, so we have a great opportunity to expand on the rich and diverse history and mythology that already exists in the universe. The character at the start of the game is a young pirate setting out on his maiden voyage with the goal of becoming the most respected -- or feared -- pirate captain in the Caribbean.



<a href="http://media.xbox360.ign.com/media/143/14352180/imgs_1.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://xbox360media.ign.com/xbox360/image/article/986/986415/pre-e3-2009-pirates-of-the-caribbean-armada-of-the-damned-unveiled-20090526112603132-000.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" /></a>Behold, the first screenshot. <b>IGN: Are you set to play as a specific character with a predetermined look or is there going to be a character creation system so that I can make my own unique pirate?

Alex Peters:</b> The current plan is that the character initially has a predetermined look, but throughout the game the choices the player makes during gameplay will change the character's appearance. Some of these changes will be story-related and quite drastic and some will be much less serious, allowing the player to create a more unique character.

<b>IGN: This takes place before any of the films, but it exists within the same world. So will any characters from the movies make appearances in the game?

Alex Peters:</b> The original story takes place before and separate from the films, but being part of the universe means anything is possible.</blockquote>  


<b>
</b>
You can read the full interview <a href="http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/986/986415p1.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>

<a href="http://piratesahoy.net/game-news/other-games/368-pirates-of-the-caribbean-armada-of-the-damned.html" target="_blank">View the full article</a>
 
Somehow, I think that screen shot is pre-rendered. Since when can anybody's computer make a game look like that? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
Does pre-rendered = concept art? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />
 
Sounds possibly interesting. Skimming through it, I didn't see much that suggests something vastly different to the original PotC game though.
 
<!--quoteo(post=323017:date=May 27 2009, 10:39 AM:name=Fred Bob)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Fred Bob @ May 27 2009, 10:39 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=323017"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Does pre-rendered = concept art? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" /><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

From what I've seen of how these developers and publishers use the term "pre-rendered", it can mean just about anything. I'd say this is concept art, though. Looks vaguely similar to what you'd think the next instalment of Sid's Pirates ought to look like (meaning the bizarrely small islands and the ship that seems to dwarf everything else).
 
Hopefully E3 will produce some actual in game footage. If their game engine is capable of rendering water with waves that look like that, I would be truly impressed!

I really hope that interviewer is referring to the original version of Sid's Pirates..... or maybe they just REALLY like ballroom dancing! <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/unsure.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":?" border="0" alt="unsure.gif" />

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->IGN: Though not an RPG, clearly Sid Meier's Pirates! is the best pirate game ever made. How would you compare your RPG to some of the elements seen in Sid Meier's game?

Alex Peters: I think that Sid Meier's Pirates is great. Similarly, we want to make sure our game creates a sense a freedom in how you decide to live your pirate life. We are trying to make experiences in the Caribbean similar to those featured in the movies so you can expect to see some supernatural elements mixed in with realism.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

Here is the full press release posted on <a href="http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/986/986929p1.html" target="_blank">IGN</a>.

<!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Disney Interactive Studios Announces Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned
New action role-playing game featuring open world exploration and an original story in development at propaganda games.

May 27, 2009 - BURBANK, Calif. - Live to tell the tale of becoming a notorious pirate captain or suffer a fate of eternal damnation. Disney Interactive Studios today announced the development of Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned, an epic, action role-playing game (RPG) from Propaganda Games, Disney's video game development studio in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Armada of the Damned is an entirely new experience within the Pirates of the Caribbean universe. The game takes place before the events of the blockbuster films. Players will take on the role of a pirate and embark on epic land and sea adventures. Numerous moral and character choices will need to be made that affect their character and the original story within the world. Players will explore a massive open world while fighting enemies, mystical creatures and Mother Nature, both to gain experience and stay alive. Supernatural elements familiar to the Pirates of the Caribbean world will also affect their character's story and influence their choices.

"Armada of the Damned is a dynamic action role-playing game that captures all of the franchise's excitement, unpredictability and action while delving into narrative elements never before explored within this unique universe," said Dan Tudge, vice president and general manager, Propaganda Games. "Our team's collective experience with industry-leading RPGs and action titles provides a strong foundation for us to create and build a compelling action role-playing title."

Armada of the Damned is scheduled to be released in Fall 2010 for next-generation consoles and Windows PC.

Armada of the Damned is an extension of the globally successful Pirates of the Caribbean franchise, which began more than 40 years ago as a theme park attraction at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif. The franchise continues to excite park goers with millions of visitors experiencing the four current theme park attractions at Disney parks around the world. The three blockbuster films grossed more than $2.6 billion worldwide in theaters and have continued to be successful on home video. Disney Interactive Studios has shipped more than 6 million units worldwide of self-published multiplatform Pirates of the Caribbean video games, which were inspired by the "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" and "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" films.

About Disney Interactive Studios
Disney Interactive Studios, part of Disney Interactive Media Group, is the interactive entertainment affiliate of The Walt Disney Company (NYSE: DIS). Disney Interactive Studios self publishes and distributes a broad portfolio of multi-platform video games, mobile games and interactive entertainment worldwide. The company also licenses properties and works directly with other interactive game publishers to bring products for all ages to market. Disney Interactive Studios is based in Glendale, Calif., and has internal development studios around the world. For more information, log on to <a href="http://www.disneyinteractivestudios.com" target="_blank">http://www.disneyinteractivestudios.com</a>.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->

*EDIT* Added press release.
 
Since when is "industry-leading" and "Disney" allowed in the same article? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
I'll be interested to see how this one plays out. The press release doesn't sound particularly impressive, because "New Horizons" does pretty much the same.
Except you get to play the movies too. For now at least the first one.
 
More screen shots, apparently from the Xbox 360 version.

<img src="http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/2282/1244136051.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

<img src="http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/2282/1244136050.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />

<img src="http://media.teamxbox.com/games/ss/2282/1244136111.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />


You can see them all here :
<a href="http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/87604/Pirates-of-the-Caribbean-Armada-of-the-Damned/" target="_blank">http://screenshots.teamxbox.com/screen/876...-of-the-Damned/</a>
 
I'm guessing those are artists renderings and not actual in-game screen shots.

Cap'n Drow
 
That's what I am thinking too Cap'n Drow. Disney is good at propaganda. That's one reason I didn't go ahead and post them on the front page. But if they do have a game engine that will render graphics like that, I will indeed be impressed! I was hoping for some actual game footage to come out of E3, but there was just these "screenshots."
 
I can't see any of those pictures. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/mybad.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":facepalm" border="0" alt="mybad.gif" />
 
The ones in the post? Or the ones in the link Pieter?
 
I can see them now; very interesting. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wacko.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":wacko:" border="0" alt="wacko.gif" />
Those shots look pretty but <i>waaay</i> too cartoony! And they can't possibly be ingame shots. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/no.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":no" border="0" alt="no.gif" />
 
Propoganda? <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
The second one could be real - doubt it though. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/laugh.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid="xD:" border="0" alt="laugh.gif" />
 
I'm interested in this one too. Hopefully the rpg element will be strong. I don't mind a more kid-friendly, Disney type of character rendering as long as its not too cartoony. Its good to have variety. Those are nice pictures but they do look like conceptual art or at least heavily touched up screen shots.

But boy if they can get the ocean to render like that with those billowing clouds on the horizon I'll be a happy sailor.
 
I hate to be a nay-sayer, but I just can't seen a game engine being able to produce images like that. YET, that is.

Cap'n Drow
 
I like that cartoonish style and hope, they will continue doing the actual game using that. It resembles the Pirates! style.

Lots of developers throw expensive and "realistic" graphics at us gamers these days.
But they can never succeed for good reasons, as nature does not allow for being reproduced on a screen.
Remember, how art gave up on nature long time ago and you can only call something "art" if it is the opposite <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/smile.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":)" border="0" alt="smile.gif" />
That is why I think "imitating the real world" is not a style, its just gets plain blank and boring in the long run.

However, if the devs admit being a company that creates games for nerds like us - admitting we are trying to escape the real world, who wants to have fun - it just may result in a fruit-basket of wonderfull colours that gives us comfort in something reckognizable. It makes us want to play it again and again <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/wink.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=";)" border="0" alt="wink.gif" />

EDIT: I promise one day, that I'll learn how to spell "recognize"
 
I suppose I prefer this cartooney look over the AoP anime look, but I'd rather it look somewhat believable.
OUR PotC game got it right as far as I'm concerned. <img src="style_emoticons/<#EMO_DIR#>/icon_mrgreen1.gif" style="vertical-align:middle" emoid=":cheeky" border="0" alt="icon_mrgreen1.gif" />
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top