Posted by Greg on December 31, 2010
Here’s to a great 2011. Thanks again to all of you who are already excited about what we’re doing. Next year we will do everything we can to make it up to you.
That’s us up there, from left to right: Logan Cunningham, Darren Korb, Amir Rao, Jen Zee, Gavin Simon, and Greg Kasavin. […]
Read more
Posted by Greg on December 24, 2010
As the year draws to a close, we’re steeling ourselves for what promises to be an even more exciting 2011 for all of us at Supergiant Games. For now let me give you a quick update about what we’ve been up to and how our game’s coming along.
Bastion named a Top-5 Best Upcoming Indie of 2010 in Indie DB’s Editors’ Choice Awards: This was awesome. Out of all the independent games now in development (that have been announced), Indie DB’s editors named Bastion one of the five most promising ones. We’re humbled to be mentioned in the same breath as games like Fez, Overgrowth, Dustforce, and of course Monaco.
Bastion in the news: Also check out new previews of our latest build on GameSpot, G4TV.com, and even Multiplayer.it for all you Italian speakers out there. They’ve all had great things to say about how we’re doing so far. Plus you can check out new interviews with some of us on Dead Pixel Live and Big Download, with still more coming soon. There’s always a lot we want to say and show about our process and about our game, though of course there’s much more we intend never to show or talk about when it comes to the game content itself, since we don’t want to spoil it.
Bastion development update: Right now we’re putting the finishing touches on the last remaining game systems, including some of the later structures you’ll gain access to and creatures you’ll encounter, and forging ahead on the last third-or-so of the game’s content. Darren’s recently composed a bunch of great new music and Logan’s delivered an awesome performance on hundreds of new lines of narration we’ve since plugged into the game, so the game content has been growing at a good clip.
At the beginning of January, we’re planning to hunker down and polish up everything we’ve built in recent weeks, and stitch it all together, since our development process involves keeping the game in a stable, shippable state at all times. These kinds of milestones are intense, as the […]
Read more
Posted by Greg on December 24, 2010
To commemorate reaching more than a thousand followers on Twitter, or maybe by sheer coincidence, we’re releasing two new images of some of the environments from Bastion’s first chapter. Click for full-size and read on for more details.
Hardly anyone had ever heard of Supergiant Games until we announced Bastion just a few months ago. We wanted to take a moment to thank you for supporting us — I mean, we haven’t even released a game yet so we hardly deserve it. We’re better off for it, that’s for sure. One of the many important aspects of independent game development is having the courage of one’s convictions to keep pushing in directions that may not be proven or obvious, and having that courage all the time is easier knowing lots of people out there are interested in what we’re making here. We’ll continue doing everything in our power to make sure the game lives up to all the promise you see in it, and then some. For now, here’s a look at two new locations:
Top – The Workmen Ward: Even the industrial areas of the City of Caelondia were pristine, thanks to the windbags working the Workmen Ward. This is one of the first areas you’ll visit in Bastion, and it’s the first time the game starts to open up a lot more in terms of where you can go. You’ll learn more about the windbags and why they’re being none too social these days. Also here you can see the Kid wielding the War Machete, a weapon that’s faster and in some ways even more versatile than his trusty Cael Hammer.
Bottom – The Hanging Gardens: The Hanging Gardens used to be one of Caelondia’s most popular recreation areas, with its stunning views and colorful flora. But that was before the Calamity. Here we begin to learn more about the impact of what happened. As you can see the area contrasts sharply with a place like the Workmen Ward, though the areas are in relatively close proximity. Imagine where we’re going to take you from […]
Read more
Posted by Greg on December 3, 2010
UPDATE: Thanks to everyone who tuned in for the live show! In case you missed it, you can watch the episode on-demand right here. Witness the surpassing luxury of our workplace!
Be sure to tune in to GiantBomb.com today at 3:30pm Pacific and join Amir, Gavin, Jen, and Greg for the next installment of Building the Bastion, in which our team will take you behind the scenes of the game we’re working on and provide a rare glimpse into the world of game development.
This time around we’ll be showing the earliest version of Bastion’s story-driven campaign, back when it was basically stick figures, text screens, and scanned D&D monsters. Then we’ll be showing you a much more recent build, including a first look at a never-before-scene level and our overworld map. Let us know what you think after the show!
Also in case you missed it, Greg gave a live demo of Bastion’s prologue earlier this week on GameSpot, so check it out if you want to see the latest version of the game’s opening sequence.
Read more
[…]
Posted by Greg on November 20, 2010
We’re in the thick of production on the game, building lots of new environments, creatures, weapons, challenges, and stories. Here’s a quick glimpse at some of the new encounters we have in store. These are two never-before-released full-HD screenshots taken straight from our custom game engine.
Top Screenshot: If you’ve been following the game, you’ve probably seen the Kid pounding away at foes and obstacles alike using the mighty Cael Hammer he once used as a construction tool. The shot on the left is a first look at one of the other melee weapons in the gane, the War Machete. It’s much quicker than the hammer and can also be thrown so it doubles as a ranged weapon in a pinch!
Bottom Screenshot: This second shot shows the Sundown Path, one of the more precarious environments early on in the game. You’ll have to watch your step throughout Bastion, but even more so than usual in this deceptively pretty-looking locale.
We’ve got plenty more where these came from. We’ll never release screens containing spoilers though we’ll be showing you more locations, weapons, and creatures in the months to come. […]
Read more
Posted by Greg on November 20, 2010
Hey, here’s a rundown of the latest happenings on the good ship H.M.S. Supergiant Games, where the crew’s been hard at work building tons of new content for our game Bastion, which we’ll be excited to show you very soon.
Bastion Honored as a Top 10 Break Out Indie Game of 2011: We were thrilled to be hand-picked for DIY Gamer’s list of the most promising upcoming independent games from among all the inventive and amazing-looking titles now in development. Have a look at the full list, which includes several of our own most anticipated games.
Mark Your Calendars for Building the Bastion Episode 2: On Friday December 3 at 3:30pm Pacific, we’ll once again be live on GiantBomb.com showing you the inner workings of an independent game studio and the day-to-day madness that goes into the making of Bastion. This time we’re aiming to delve deeper into the narration aspect of the game, plus take you on a tour through our luxurious work environment… yeah. Discuss Bastion on Giant Bomb and let us know what you want to see!
Vote for Bastion as Indie of the Year: If you’re not sick of elections yet — and who isn’t?! — then we surely would appreciate your vote at Indie DB, which is pitting all new and upcoming independent games in a steel cage deathmatch that only popularity can decide.
Bastion Entered into the 2011 Independent Games Festival: About a month ago we submitted an updated version of the game for judging in the IGF, which each year brings us more and more-impressive indie games than ever before. We’re excited to be among the hundreds of promising games in the running this year, and whatever happens, we put our best effort into our submission build. Here’s our official IGF page. Wish us luck!
Now then, we’d better get back to it. Till next time! […]
Read more
Posted by Greg on October 26, 2010
UPDATE: Show’s over and we had a great time! If you tuned in, thanks for watching, and if you missed it, then you can watch it on-demand right here.
On behalf of all of us at Supergiant Games, we invite you to join us at Giant Bomb this Friday, October 29 at 3:30pm PST for the premiere episode of Building the Bastion. This live show will take you behind the scenes of our up-and-coming studio while providing an in-depth look at the making of Bastion and insight into life at a small independent game developer. This is a 30-minute live broadcast, available for free to all viewers!
The show will include a first look at never-before-seen new content for Bastion, as well as a first look at never-before-seen old content for Bastion in the form of early gameplay and narrative prototypes. A portion of the show will be dedicated to questions from the audience, which will be taken from Giant Bomb’s members-only chat room. […]
Read more
Posted by Supergiant Games on October 26, 2010
Occasionally we’re going to use this space to bring you insight into the thought process and development process behind our first game, Bastion. To kick things off, here’s a detailed look at how we’re using our reactive narration technique to give the game its specific tone. This article was first posted on Greg Kasavin’s personal blog and we’re reprinting it here.
On September 2, I officially joined the small team at Supergiant Games as their creative director, and together we showed our game Bastion for the first time at PAX in Seattle. The response was almost overwhelming, and on a personal level it was one of the most rewarding moments of my professional career. Part of the reason for this is that Bastion is a pure expression of many ideas that are close to my heart – ideas about games, stories, and other things that matter to me – so the enthusiastic response really meant a lot. Granted, my contributions to the project are only just beginning in earnest, but because I was involved in developing the original concept back when my colleagues and I parted ways with Electronic Arts in August of last year, I feel much closer to this game than any other thing I’ve worked on. For now, I wanted to explain how we’re approaching the game’s use of storytelling through narration.
Narration in Bastion
In film, narration is one of the most misused and mood-killing techniques out there, for its unique ability to eliminate the type of ambiguity that adds richness to scenes and characters. While I’ve often fantasized about being able to read people’s minds as a superpower, if movies have taught me anything it’s that knowing people’s inner monologue would make life far less interesting for someone as neurotic as me.
Nevertheless, Bastion uses real-time narration extensively. Its purpose is to deliver story and exposition, and to build atmosphere, investment, and immersion in close partnership with the gameplay. The narration wasn’t part of the original game concept. It was born in a flash of inspiration (through a development process that enables such happy accidents to occur), […]
Read more
Posted by Greg on September 9, 2010
We have returned safely from PAX in Seattle, which was an absolutely awesome event for us. In revealing Bastion in playable form at this show, we wanted to get the game into as many players’ hands as possible so that they could experience it for themselves. The response was everything we could have hoped for. We were already fired up to keep pushing forward in the particular direction of our game, and now we’re even more excited to build out the rest of it to the level that will live up to players’ highest expectations as well as our own. To those of you who played the game at PAX, thank you so much for your vote of confidence. The looks on many of your faces as you played has validated all the work leading up to this point.
The hand-painted artwork, the real-time narration, and the tight responsive feel of the combat stood out to many of you. To get an impression of what the show was like for us, visit our Facebook page and view our PAX 2010 photo gallery. There we have images of players flocking to our booth area as well as some of the special guests who showed up looking to play what we’ve been working on. We demoed the game for three days straight, and both of our demo stations were full pretty much at all times. For those of you who waited patiently for a chance to play, we hope you enjoyed our delicious home-made Scumbag Cookies (which taste better than they sound).
So thanks again to everyone who made PAX such an outstanding show for us. All of us on team agreed that the show was among the greatest experiences in our professional careers. We’re doing more than just hoping that this was a a sign of things to come: We will continue to do our absolute best to make Bastion live up to the potential that so many of you now have seen in it.
In addition to the incredible response we got from players, we were fortunate to receive […]
Read more
Posted by Supergiant Games on September 2, 2010
You’ve seen the game. Now… experience the press release. But seriously, here’s the official word on our first game. We’re so excited to finally raise the curtain on what we’ve been working on! Even if you’ve been following us closely thus far, you’ll want to read this for some exciting new details. Note: If you’d like a PDF copy of this announcement, you can download it here. For screenshots and our official trailer, check our media page.
. . . .
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Supergiant Games Unveils “Bastion”, an Original Action Role-Playing Game
Set in a lush imaginative world, the digitally-distributed title invites players to create and fight for civilization’s last refuge as a mysterious narrator marks their every move.
SAN JOSE, CA – September 2, 2010 – Supergiant Games, an independent start-up studio founded by ex-designers of the hit Command & Conquer franchise, announced today that it is developing Bastion for digital platforms. Featuring a unique interactive narrative style and hand-painted environments in dazzling full-HD, Bastion challenges players to build a new world from the broken remnants of the past.
The goal of the game is to construct a safe haven in the wake of the Calamity, a cataclysmic event that shattered the world into a series of floating islands. As players journey into the wild unknown in search of survivors and supplies, they will confront strange beasts, forge an array of customizable weapons, and gain new powers from specially-brewed spirits. The entire play experience of Bastion is dynamically narrated, gradually revealing a rich backstory as the narrator reacts to the player’s actions in real time.
“Our goal with Bastion is to hit players’ emotional chords in unexpected ways, in addition to delivering highly responsive gameplay that rewards finesse and experimentation,” said game industry veteran Greg Kasavin, Supergiant Games’ Creative Director. “We’re pushing to make it so that players become absorbed in the game’s distinctive setting and narrative tone from the first moments.”
Bastion will be shown in playable form at the PAX Prime event on September 3-5 in Seattle, where it is being […]
Read more
is a small developer with big ambitions: to make games that spark your
imagination like the games you played as a kid.
Supergiant Games is based out of San Jose, California. Email us for general inquiries or media inquiries.
