Peter Jackson studio developing 'original' game

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpotPosted Jul 28, 2009 3:42 pm PT

[UPDATE] Lord of the Rings director's manager says Wingnut Interactive is working on an all-new IP; Microsoft belatedly admits Halo Chronicles "on hold."

Amongst a flurry of other news, last week's Comic-Con revealed the fate of Halo Chronicles, the mystery-shrouded interactive entertainment project from filmmaker Peter Jackson. After being revealed with great fanfare at the X06 Conference, the reportedly episodic game-movie hybrid disappeared from public view.

Jackson (l.) and Del Toro.

Though Jackson said Halo Chronicles "collapsed" when the Halo film entered development limbo nearly three years ago, its ultimate fate was apparently sealed more recently. Speaking to the Los Angeles Times yesterday, Jackson's manager Ken Kamins said the final plug wasn't pulled until just this past January as part of Microsoft's companywide downsizing. The still-officially-unacknowledged Halo massively multiplayer game was also an apparent casualty of the cuts--as was its rumored developer, Ensemble Studios.

[UPDATE] On Tuesday, Microsoft belatedly acknowledged that work on the project, which it referred to as Halo Chronicles for the first time publicly, was at a standstill. "Microsoft Game Studios is deeply committed to supporting and strategically growing the Halo franchise, and our relationship with Peter and his team is something that we greatly value," read its statement. "Given the bandwidth of both of our companies we’ve decided to put this joint effort on hold and prioritize resources against other projects like Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo Legends."

Luckily, Kamins had some good news--namely, that Jackson hasn't abandoned game development. In fact, Wingnut Interactive, the game-centric offshoot of his Wingnut Films production company, is actively crafting some new, unannounced IP.

"It was born out of this [Halo deal], but now Peter has people in Wingnut Interactive working on original intellectual property," Kamins told the Times.

The nature of the new Wingnut game entails anyone's guess. Jackson's next directorial project, The Lovely Bones (due 2010) is an unlikely suspect. Based on the Alice Sebold novel of the same name, it is a downbeat supernatural drama about the teenage victim of a serial rapist-murderer who follows her family and killer's fates from heaven.

Though the reference to "original" likely precludes any licensed IPs, Jackson is also executive-producing the two-part film adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's book The Hobbit, directed by Guillermo del Toro (Hellboy II, Pan's Labyrinth). Currently, Warner Bros., which is distributing both films domestically, holds the rights to make games based on the Lord of the Rings films. Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment reps had not confirmed the publisher will be making a Hobbit game as of press time. The last game based on the book was Sierra and Inevitable Entertainment's poorly received 2003 multiplatform adventure title.

Jackson is also executive-producing the computer-generated film based on the classic Tintin comics. At the Electronic Entertainment Expo last month, Ubisoft announced it was developing games based on the project.

67 Comments

  • Ryguy4738

    Posted Aug 13, 2009 2:04 pm PT

    Yeah Del Toro!

  • RonTorque

    Posted Jul 30, 2009 1:25 pm PT

    Can't wait for the lovely bones.

  • joeborg14

    Posted Jul 30, 2009 12:40 pm PT

    I'm sure he does a lot in design and directing the progress of the game, though not much in the way of engineering. He also loves to write screenplay, so he could be designing the story as well.

    I'm wondering how original this "original" IP is going to be. You know what I'd really like to see? PJ and Bethesda get together and do an LOTR RPG as expansive as, say, the ES series. Wouldn't that be amazing? Spending hundreds of hours exploring the Mines of Moria, riding the plains of Edoras, or even seeing the dwarves in the Lonely Mountain years after Bilbo left?

    But, this is quite unrealistic, especially since Bethesda wasn't even mentioned in the article. I'm just dreaming.

  • Intrakitt

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 10:02 pm PT

    What does Peter Jackson actually do in the development of a videogame? Does he have anything to do with the entire development process or is his name just going to appear on the box? I don't get it?!

  • zeniftan

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:02 pm PT

    @BenBenBen93: I Originaly thought you were talking about his reputation as a director lol. I was going to say: "After watching lord of the ring's you think THIS guy has lost his reputation as a director! He'll NEVER lose his reputation, they were just too well done for that to happen."
    But I must admit, I did have to take a second glance at that picture to realise it was him. I gotta give it to him. Good work Peter, you lost a lot extra poundage!

  • Sagacious_Tien

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 1:31 pm PT

    I guess it won't be based on any intellectual property than, film or book. An original story could be a good idea here MS...

  • kavadias1981

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 1:10 pm PT

    What? In the way that Lord of the Rings and King Kong were original ideas from Peter? (oh no you just didn't! oh yes he did!)

  • gardneed

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 12:20 pm PT

    How about District 9? That seems to be a compelling option.

  • BenBenBen93

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 11:22 am PT

    peter has lost a lot of weight. since LOTR

  • redskinStu

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:54 am PT

    TinTin, huh?

    Score!

  • Raeldor

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:42 am PT

    Knowing someone as talented as Peter Jackson is working in the video games arena makes me hopeful we can push the boundaries of the artform even further.

  • shadowkiller11

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:34 am PT

    Is it multiplatform? or exclusive to a console? as i'm curious though i can buy it for any system anyway.

  • Zoomer30

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:32 am PT

    AT LAST the 360 fans have to deal with a little gaming angst. Seems like the past few years that has all been directed at the PS3 (waaa the PS3 is to hard to code for waaaah it does not have as big an installed base waaaah I want my mommy). This is all its gonna take: A few speed bumps for the 360 and Agent coming out for the PS3 and people will be saying "360? Whats that? A new band?"

  • bled4days616

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 9:22 am PT

    Peter Jackson is a pimp and a half. and @ Yokuz1166, Peter Jackson has always been able to make impressive movies with a relatively low budget. maybe if everyone making video game movies would go to him for advice, they would get finished when they're supposed to.

  • Yokuz1166

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 8:51 am PT

    Peter Jackson is the man! If anyone can bring Halo to new heights, it's this guy. The only solid storytelling of any Halo game was the original. I'll tell you what, most experts agree that Half-Life is the greatest shooter of all time mostly because of it's storyline. IMO, the last two Halo's were bare-bones shooters. Peter Jackson can fix this. But that's not the focus of this article. If Wingnut Interactive does indeed develop an IP, this is some very exciting news. But, either way you look at it, it'll be difficult for them to get an easy start. If they don't make a shooter, then it would probably be an RPG. Two genres that are difficult to make a successful game for. But I have confidence.

    BTW, District 9 only cost $30 million to make yet the special effects are absolutely stunning. Peter Jackson = genius.

  • stalepretzels

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 8:30 am PT

    Man, Peter Jackson's lost a lot of weight. District 9 looks freaking amazing btw!

  • swamptick

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:54 am PT

    I like Peter Jackson.

  • taylormadederek

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:45 am PT

    I don't really have high expectations for this game but I hope it is very creative and very good.

  • TheLothario

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:19 am PT

    Does Jackson still have rights to Naomi Novik's "Temeraire" books? I know he bought them early on supposedly for a potential movie; I can easily see that series being told in game format. For those who haven't read any of the books, imagine European war in the early 1800s ... with giant dragons that crews of people ride on like a ship.

  • baystatethrashr

    Posted Jul 29, 2009 7:17 am PT

    @payne6705

    why not? youre basically making the same thing. Its not like he programming the game all by himself

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