Eternity's Child has traveled a long and troubled road to get to where it currently resides as an upcoming Nintendo WiiWare release. Loosely based on a mobile phone game, it actually started development as an Xbox Live Arcade title, but after a was later moved over to Nintendo's DS and Wii systems. Not long after that the DS version was cancelled and the game was officially announced for release on Nintendo's new WiiWare service. The game is probably best known for its unique art style - no surprise considering it's the product of eccentric Anglo-French artist and independent game designer Luc Bernard.
Bernard was kind enough to send us a preview build of the game and after several hours of playing time on the game, one thing is completely clear: Eternity's Child is one of the most unique platformers ever created.
It's difficult to describe the insanely quirky art style the game employs. Imagine if Tim Burton was put in charge of designing and creating the artwork for a brand new Rayman title. The end result would probably end up looking a lot like the visuals in Eternity's child. There's just a very "artsy" look to all of the graphics in the game and the contrast in colors used makes them stand out even more. The animation of the characters and enemies does look unusual (Bernard has stated that he wanted to use hundreds of frames of hand-drawn animation, but lack of funds meant he had to go with the 'rag doll' technique, where each character is constructed of limbs that move independently), but it somehow fits in with the over-the-top theme the game incorporates.
Read more here (http://www.wiiware-world.com/news/2008/06/hands_on_with_eternitys_child).
Here are some music samples as well (http://seanbeeson.com/Eternitys_Child/Eternitys_Child_The_Official_Soundtrack.htm)
This is the perfect compliment to Lost Winds it seems. And who can argue with only 5 Wii points!?
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: ShyGuy on June 10, 2008, 12:01:01 PM
Great art style. What was the other game he did? or is going to do?
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: vudu on June 10, 2008, 02:44:16 PM
He's working on two other games. One's called The Rose Princess (http://kotaku.com/gaming/indie-games/luc-bernards-the-rose-princess-298850.php) (no platform announced). The other is Imagination Is The Only Escape (http://kotaku.com/360003/exclusive-eternitys-child-creator-attempts-to-tackle-the-holocaust) (DS), which is based on the Holocaust.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Dasmos on June 11, 2008, 06:03:33 AM
ugh, i hate those character models.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: D_Average on June 11, 2008, 04:21:58 PM
I like that style, but all videos I've seen of the game in motion are pretty lackluster.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: BeautifulShy on June 13, 2008, 11:56:05 PM
Here is some more information about this title. http://n-europe.com/news.php?nid=11946
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: BeautifulShy on July 31, 2008, 06:44:29 PM
For everybody that is interested in this game This game is on Steam for $5. Here (http://Http://gonintendo.com/?p=51178) is the info
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: D_Average on July 31, 2008, 07:08:12 PM
Cool, let us know how it plays!
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Ian Sane on July 31, 2008, 07:25:06 PM
The guy is trying to make a game based on the Holocaust? Man, if done right that would be a huge step in establishing videogames as an artform. I admire him just for attempting it.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on July 31, 2008, 09:40:18 PM
Apparently the Steam version sucks, some people on CAG bought it and the game features floaty controls, while the graphics are good they get in the way of the game play the game in general is slow.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: AV on July 31, 2008, 10:38:08 PM
looks nice and if cheap game I might buy it blindly. Hope its coming SOONER not later
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: BeautifulShy on July 31, 2008, 11:14:52 PM
Flames that is regretable to hear. From what I know the Steam version is the same as the wiiware version. Hopefully they will fix it before release.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: NWR_pap64 on July 31, 2008, 11:21:11 PM
Apparently the Steam version sucks, some people on CAG bought it and the game features floaty controls, while the graphics are good they get in the way of the game play the game in general is slow.
People shouldn't be hard on it. Remember, Luc Bernard didn't have the money and resources to make the best game ever.
I heard that the Steam version has a lot more options, like a level editor.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: BeautifulShy on August 01, 2008, 02:03:48 AM
If you have a cell phone you can try it for free! Http://ec.silverspherestudios.com It is down at the bottom.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 01, 2008, 03:24:02 AM
Apparently the guy who made it is completely oblivious on what platforms it's coming out on.
Quote from: wiiwareworld
Speaking exclusively to WiiWare World, Bernard had this to say:
Well as of right now Eternity's Child is coming out on PC at the end of the month, I am not handling the Wiiware version, I am just having to translate it to 7 languages (so fun...). Eternity’s Child is currently only coming out in Europe on WiiWare for the moment.
Alten8 have the Wiiware version and it's their decision when or where to release it, and from what I know europe is their priority. At this point I think Eternity's Child Wiiware might come out in europe at the end of Q3, but I don't control when or where it comes out.
I hope for my next games to release first on Wiiware and be more in charge. I would like to defend World Of Goo though, since I saw alot of people got angry about them going retail, the title looks good enough to go retail and I will probably buy it if I'm still in Europe rather than Call Of Duty. I got offered to do EC as a retail title at one point.
The problem I would say in this industry, is that when I go up to publishers all they want is EC and won't look at any other of my games because there is no press around them, which is kind of sad. These are the phrases that I often get "great game design but art style is not mainstream enough", "art style does not appeal to hardcore gamers", "we have not seen results of Wiiware sales so we'll pass", "there is no press surrounding this game we don't know if people will want it". Maybe I should just put in a space marine with a gun that is defending earth from space nazis for them to be interested!
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: vudu on August 01, 2008, 02:48:05 PM
Apparently the guy who posted above me is completely oblivious to this follow-up article released a few days after the one he posted.
Quote from: wiiwareworld
EC is in the porting stage - Luc is an artist and concept creator, who under contract to us has licensed 5 game concepts across DS and Wii formats with EC being one of them.
Luc had the original EC PC version commissioned by a coder external to Alten8. Alten8 is now porting to Wii the PC version code as supplied recently to us. We could not do this till the PC version was nearer completion. This game will be ported by Alten8's in-house coders based in the Luton UK office, then rated for the various regions and put through the Nintendo system before going out on WiiWare, as always intended by us.
It will subject to actual rating and go out as closely as possible in Europe and NA regions. We aim to ultimately have it out in all regions, but realistically those two will be first.
We do not want to give specific time scales on its release other than to say now it is being ported from the supplied code. We are as a company working as fast as we can to do this porting and get it through the Nintendo system once done.
The versions Luc puts out himself on PC should not be confused with the Wii versions we will put out, and may differ in terms of final levels and game play. We aim again to bring the best game we can to Wii players and enhance it and make use of the Wii's unique features.
Luc is an independent artist, not an employee or directly working for Alten8, and his views do not always reflect our own and of course do not always reflect actual business facts. Luc is highly talented and we look forward to working with him on future products, but the public should not confuse Luc’s public statements with the view and realities of Alten8's actual actions.
I hope this helps make clear where EC is currently…it will be coming to as many people as want it and as quickly as possible whilst staying true to Luc's original game and concepts.
As a company we hope to be able to confirm on various DS and Wii projects coming out through us and other third party publishers we are currently working with soon.
;)
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Smash_Brother on August 01, 2008, 03:20:33 PM
I didn't know he wasn't part of the dev house, but the relationship between Luc and the developer sounds...tenuous, and sounds like there should be a bit more communication involved.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on August 01, 2008, 05:48:33 PM
To summarize: the graphics are bad, the story is irrelevant, the level design is horrendous, the shooting is sloppy and the platforming mechanics are even worse. Yeah, there's a level editor, but saying the level editor makes the game better is like giving someone a crudely-drawn picture of a penis along with a pencil, and saying the pencil makes the picture itself better because you could hypothetically improve it. There is nothing good about this game.
Score: 1.0
Quote from: Destructoid reviewer 2
When all is said and done, this is a horrible excuse for a commercial release. Nothing could possibly redeem the full product, but there is one positive that I can lend to this review: the soundtrack is excellent. It is too good for this. The best experience you can possibly have with Eternity's Child is to look at screenshots and listen to the score. And, at around nine and a half minutes, this activity would be enjoyable for a longer period of time.
Whatever you do, don't buy this game. In fact, don't even say its name, for that might give its already unholy form power. Final Verdict: 1.0 (Practically unplayable. An exercise in absolute madness.)
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: vudu on August 01, 2008, 05:56:23 PM
That review makes me sad.
Quote from: Reviewer #1
There is nothing good about this game.
Quote from: Reviewer #2
Whatever you do, don't buy this game. In fact, don't even say its name, for that might give its already unholy form power.
However, the press release I quoted above gives me a little hope:
Quote
The versions Luc puts out himself on PC should not be confused with the Wii versions we will put out, and may differ in terms of final levels and game play. We aim again to bring the best game we can to Wii players and enhance it and make use of the Wii's unique features.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on August 01, 2008, 06:03:11 PM
If the game creator admits that one of the control schemes is UNPLAYABLE why the hell is this game released!!
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 02, 2008, 03:39:44 AM
Because he's an artist :P
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Gorgonian on August 02, 2008, 03:07:45 PM
The music does seem to be very well done and fun to listen to (at least the samples that were provided above, at http://seanbeeson.com/Eternitys_Child/Eternitys_Child_The_Official_Soundtrack.htm)
very much Danny Elfman.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Smash_Brother on August 02, 2008, 05:20:02 PM
I read that entire comment list on Destructiod last night. I see this as a cautionary tale more than anything.
I'm surprised at the sheer number of people who are still defending him after how he has behaved.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on August 02, 2008, 07:17:42 PM
Next time Luc and dev team should make sure that the game is at the very least playable before it actually came out. I bet if they submitted it to Nintendo in this form, the game would be in Q&A limbo.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: D_Average on August 02, 2008, 07:24:34 PM
Wow....just wow.
P.S. I knew the controls on this game would be unbearable after watching the first video months ago. Pity, as I really dig the art n sounds.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 03, 2008, 02:36:20 AM
That happens when you go all "artistic", you focus so much on being high art or different that you forget the basics. Or when you go into game making as an artist of another medium and fail to adjust.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Flames_of_chaos on August 06, 2008, 07:07:06 PM
Apparently in the Kotaku review Luc Bernard is going to remove Mr. Destructoid in one of the updates
Quote from: kotaku.com
It's important to note that Eternity's Child is still very much a work in progress, despite its status as a Steam release. Just yesterday the game was patched to make the giant bird enemies die a little easier, and Luc has informed me that more changes are on the way – removing the Destructoid robot, adding new achievements, and possibly getting rid of the particularly sadistic roller coaster level, which had me shouting curse words I hadn't used in years. It's nice to see the team actively tweaking the title, though I'm not sure it will be enough to reconcile the clashing of excellent artistic design versus sub-par gameplay.
Eternity's Child does have a lot to offer for $5 – beautiful graphics, enchanting music, and a level editor to muck about with – all it's lacking is solid gameplay to complete the package.
No offense to Luc Bernard but once you ship a game it has to be done and not be a "work in progress". And if Luc is removing Mr. Destructoid because of the dual 1.0 review then he's being a big baby.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 07, 2008, 01:43:41 AM
There's some leeway for MMORPGs but not singleplayer games...
Luc Bernard is a lot like a Phoenix Wright witness, trying to hide his flaws by saying things that expose even bigger flaws...
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: LuigiHann on August 07, 2008, 01:54:04 AM
Hey, if big corporations can ship incomplete games, so can this guy.
That said, it's a shame the gameplay is bad. Gonna take more than a few tweaks to fix that.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 07, 2008, 05:11:19 AM
Since the game sucks, not sure why it's still getting attention.
Because the creator doesn't shut up.
I guarantee you that the game would be forgotten in an instant if it wasn't for Bernard's comments, ramblings and agitations.
Its what make the game's failure so enjoyable.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Mario on August 07, 2008, 05:48:20 PM
Always had a bad feeling about it
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 08, 2008, 03:44:12 AM
The new Derek Smart or John Romero?
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Infernal Monkey on August 08, 2008, 05:14:06 AM
A game developed by an teen emo prostitute turns out ****, what a shock!
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: BeautifulShy on August 11, 2008, 06:25:21 PM
Hey guess what Luc plans on leaving the industry after he is done with Eternity's child. He plans on doing graphic novels. Here (http://Http://wiiware-world.com/news/2008/08/luc_bernards_pitch_for_the_star_thief) was one of his ideas he was bringing to publishers before this whole Destructoid fiasco.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: NWR_pap64 on August 12, 2008, 02:54:49 AM
What I find funny is that some people are blaming the reviews and trollers for his decision, as if he had nothing to do with it.
The truth of the matter is that Luc was no angel. He placed the blame on his programmer, kept fighting with his potential customers and had a rotten attitude about the development. He DID say he wasn't happy with the game till he was forced to change his views to reflect otherwise.
I'm well aware that many developers have this sort of attitude. The thing is that many of them are already big time developers whose games sell millions in weeks. They could be the biggest jerks ever and it wouldn't matter because their games are good and they sell.
Luc and his team on the other hand are nothing but unknowns. Their first impression is already ruined, and instead of being remembered as arrogant developments with some credit under their belts they'll be remembered as the jackasses who made one terrible game and quit afterwards.
This should be a lesson to all indie devs.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 12, 2008, 06:09:23 AM
Gah, that star thief design is VERY questionable. Using the system clock to determine which time of the day it is in the game and making that affect what you see? Hello? Most people don't have the time to play at any arbitrary hour just to trigger certain things. Real-life time limits are even worse, forcing the player to play a game regularly is not a good idea. People don't live your game, they live their life and put a bit of your game in it! Also he's putting more stuff in than Peter Molyneaux, that game would never get finished with all that intact. Wasting dev time on making daily schedules for the characters and monthly changes and whatnot makes sure the core game either suffers or the extras must be stripped and the game ends up overhyped.
The vehicle building will be done in Banjo 3 anyway and probably much better than this "I don't concern myself with details" guy could.
Seriously, when you make a game design don't think "this is realistic" or "this sounds cool", think "what will this do to the game?". Think about what the player experiences and add things that affect his experience positively, don't add things because they make nice bullet points on the back of the box! Day and night cycles sound cool on paper but in practice it just means people will have to wait until the right time of the day for whatever they want to do comes. Obviously games with a day-style turn system (e.g. Pikmin, Harvest Moon, MLaaK) are different because the time of the day things can be done at dictates their order within a turn as well but without a real turn structure to the days it's just a stupid chore.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: Smash_Brother on August 12, 2008, 01:50:16 PM
Animal Crossing gets away with the day/night cycle, but I think that's because you don't NEED to do anything, really. Everything is optional.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on August 12, 2008, 03:02:22 PM
I disagree. I played ACWW for weeks before I realized the daily turnip prices weren't just some esoteric joke, and even then I only found out because I read someone talking about it on here. I never once played the game at the right time to buy turnips until I did so intentionally. Come to think of it, I never saw K.K. Slider play even after I found out when that happened, nor have I seen him play in Brawl. I don't play video games on Saturday nights.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: NWR_pap64 on August 12, 2008, 03:10:43 PM
Pokemon is also another franchises in which the day and night cycle determines the outcome of gameplay. In other words, you can catch some Pokemon during the morning or at night. Some Pokemon even evolve according to the time of day.
Title: Re: Awesome new Wiiware title - Eternity's Child
Post by: KDR_11k on August 13, 2008, 04:42:17 AM
Pokemon is aimed primarily at kids who have a lot more time than adults.
Boktai did something similar but that game is pretty much an unplayable ball of features (hell, its playability depends on the freaking WEATHER, you can almost forget about it in the winter and you need to sit in direct sunlight in the summer, that's so not going to be healthy!).
Generally realtime clocks mean the game dictates your schedule, not you. If you don't have a schedule that's flexible enough to redesign it around the game or are just unwilling to do that for one freaking game, well, the game's not going to refuse buying YOU.
