Meeting n-Space
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So does the n-Space team enjoy working on original IPs more than licensed IPs? According to Erick, it all depends on you point of view. [One] angle to look at it from is that original IPs are a lot more challenging and a lot more risky financially, describes Mr. Dyke. Knowing that you are doing a Duke or a Rugrats lets you focus more on the games, and less on the world. [When creating an original IP] you have to make everything, which is more of a challenge. You cant just focus on the gameplay. But its more fun, theres more freedom. So I guess from where Im sitting is that, both have their ups and downs. An original IP is more risky and harder.

Geist producer Ted Newman

n-Space did have several more licensed titles under development after Danger Girl in 2000 and Mary-Kate & Ashley: Sweet Sixteen in 2002. Nonetheless, for one reason or another, all those titles got the axe. In fact, according to Dan OLeary, n-Space did have a total of five projects in production concurrently at one point around this time. Two of those titles were yet more additions to the Duke franchise, titled Duke Nukem: D-Day and a port of Duke Nukem Forever. Originally announced in February 1999 for the PS2 and designed to be played in the third-person perspective, D-Day was eventually cancelled for unknown reasons. Speculation has indicated that financial troubles at n-Space during this time played a central role in the termination of the project. At the moment we haven't severed any links with n-Space," Paul Eibler, president of Take-Two Interactive, stated in a 2001 conference call. "We've always planned a Duke Nukem Forever game for the PlayStation 2, as well as Duke Nukem: D-Day for that console. We're expecting n-Space to produce Duke Nukem Forever for us at some stage."

Another movie-based title that n-Space was developing, around the dawn of the 21st century, was an Austin Powers third-person action adventure game. Originally designed to serve as a connecting bridge for all three films, the title was first delayed by a year in order to correspond with the theatrical release of the third Austin Powers movie, Goldmember (2002). For reasons never disclosed, Austin Powers was eventually cancelled by Rockstar Games and n-Space before the movies release.

Also in-development by the n-Kids team was a Dexter's Laboratory title called Extreme Robot Rumble for the Nintendo GameCube. To be published by BAM! Entertainment, the game placed players in the role of child genius Dexter suited in his giant mechanical armor, fighting off characters featured in the popular Cartoon Network TV show. Extreme Robot Rumble was also quietly cancelled in late 2003 with no formal explanation.

The fifth and final title in-development at n-Space that was cancelled before completion was a fourth edition of the Mary-Kate and Ashley series for the PS2: Mary-Kate & Ashley in Action! Unfortunately, in April 2004 the Olsen twins filed suit against Acclaim, holder of the Mary-Kate & Ashley videogame rights at the time, for failing to pay over $177,966.32 in game royalties to the Olsen-owned Dualstar Entertainment company. Also included in the legal suit was $300,000 in back royalties and a settlement fees from the Dualstar-Acclaim breakup in September 2003. According to a letter from Dualstar attorney Martin D. Singer to Acclaim chairman Greg Fischback, "The abandonment of the Mary-Kate and Ashley brand videogame franchise by Acclaim is the single dark spot on the otherwise unblemished success story." In August 2004, only four months after the Dualstar lawsuit, Acclaim closed its office doors in Glen Cove, New York; Austin, Texas and Manchester, UK. Shortly after, Acclaim filed for bankruptcy.

After wrapping up on Danger Girl for THQ in 2000, n-Space began shifting its resources for the next-generation hardware: PS2, GameCube, and Xbox. In keeping with n-Spaces established philosophy that new hardware allows for more original ideas in the beginning, n-Space began to form original game concepts. Hope was a prototype we developed while we were still working on, I think, Danger Girl, recalls Ted Newman. That team began working on that prototype, and it was a lot of fun to get back into something that we had complete freedom over. Then Geist also came around the same time. So after doing all these licenses back-to-back, it was nice to be able to create a whole new universe on your own again. At this time, Geist was being developed under the codename Fear.

Unfortunately since Geist is a Nintendo funded project, n-Space was very limited in the responses they could give N-Sider in relation to it. When questioned on whom originally came up with the idea of playing as a ghost in Geist, Erick and Ted refused to answer, but did give us a rough idea of how the title came into existence. You usually sit down with a team a SMALL team of people that includes somebody from the programming side, a designer, artists, a concept artist, and a producer and mix them together, explains Ted. You pass around ideas. Usually, when you are trying to come up with a concept, you meet every day for hours on end just throwing ideas back and forth. People go back to their desks and develop individual parts of that or develop their own ideas and then come back to the table and say, I have this variation on it. Ted continues, Thats the start of it, and we definitely learned that the most important thing is to have a prototype. Once you have a solid idea, it seems you just cant sell it on paper anymore. You need a prototype that people can see and play, so that they can see what this game is about.

With development chugging along on both Hope, still a very mysterious title, and Geist, a full year into development, n-Space needed to start shopping for a publisher if it ever hoped for the titles to hit the fast track to becoming real games. So who is the best publisher for each game? The one with money. [all laugh] No. No. Please dont print that, jokes Erick. We have agents that help represent us and identify with us. Were a developer; we work with publishers, and publishers fund us. Its the business following pretty much.

So how did Nintendo get thrown into the mix? Well, Erick and Ted both admit that they had no prior knowledge of any Nintendo development funds, such as the Q-Fund, and they freely admit that n-Space had no friendships or people on the inside at Nintendo to help them. Im trying to think if there is something else we can say [laughs], considers Ted. Can we say that we knew they were looking for a. No! interrupted Erick. We were pitching ideas to publishers, and Nintendo was one of them.

Once Nintendo picked up Geist, it was time to unveil it to the world. During E3 2003, Nintendo and n-Space announced their publishing agreement and surprised video game enthusiasts with a unique new perspective on the first-person genre. According to n-Spaces cooperate website, Geist is a hybrid title that combines the fast-paced action of a traditional first-person shooter with stealth-based game play and a unique new mechanic: ghostly possession of a variety of different character types.

Along with publishing Geist, Nintendo also gained a considerable amount of power over the newly created franchise. Due to the intricacies of the agreement and because Nintendo is the sole financer of the project, it now has full control of the property. What exactly does this mean? For starters, if Nintendo were to decide to develop a sequel for Geist without the assistance of n-Space, this would be entirely possible. Nintendo owns the franchise, explains Erick. I dont know if all of their deals are like that, but a lot of them are. Once they fully fund you like that, part of the contract is that they gain control.

Nintendo also makes all decisions relating to the release of information, screenshots, and publicity of Geist. Were fine with letting them handle when they want to release information and what the information is going to be, expresses Ted. Its been kind of funny, because we get to just focus on the game and not worry about all the other promotions and marketing. Its always interesting after something like E3 when people are just calling you left and right asking you different questions and you just say, I really cant say anything.

With development of Geist quickly approaching three years, many gamers across message boards have expressed frustration about the fact that n-Space had originally planned Geist as a 2003 holiday release. Why the long delay? We have regular reviews and regular meetings with small sections of the team to go over individual events or entire levels at a time, explains Ted. We [also] have regular task lists and due dates on things that track back to an overall completion chart we have. We write comments as we go as to what events need more polish or this one is where it should be for now. We sort of have a multi-pass system.

Since Nintendo is notorious for delays, I went ahead and asked the obvious question of whether or not Nintendo had any influence on their scheduling. Erick; however, provided a surprisingly different answer. Its our way, because if it wasnt our way, we couldnt talk about it. [all laugh]

With Geist now shipping to stores around the nation, you have to be asking yourself: what does n-Space have in store for the future? Outside of further development on Hope and their mystery Nintendo DS title, we really dont have any idea what n-Space could be working on after Geist. We do know that GBA development is out of the question, according to Erick. There are just people that can do Game Boy games so much better right now. So braking into that market would be incredibly difficult for us.

n-Space President Erick S. Dyke

Though we are not entirely sure what n-Spaces plans are for the Sony PSP, we do know that they dont think it will wipe the floor with the Nintendo DS. Like most realistic industry analysts, both Ted and Erick see more than enough room for both platforms to stretch their legs and grow over the next few years. Like with all these things, its a juggling act. They will balance each other out, explains Ted. The DS will have things the PSP wont have and vice versa. I think that is the politically correct answer? [all laugh] The PSP is going to have some games that look amazing and it has a lot of multimedia capabilities, which we are excited about, but the DS is going to have Nintendo only properties; plus all the games I have played on it, thus far, look great.

We also know that n-Space is very interested in continuing its professional relationship with Nintendo. When asked about their desire to develop a new adventure from one of Nintendos existing franchises, Erick and Ted seemed very interested in the possibility. Both our experiences with NOA and NCL have been really good, expresses Mr. Newman. There is always the bit of fan factor, so if they offer you a game that were personal big fans of, then yes. It would be really exciting. Erick added, We evaluate and look at every opportunity.