MediEvil (PS4)

[Ferris]

Shit like this does actually fuck me right off, though:




Like, for fuck's sake. This really does just look full out worse in every way.

In fairness, the 2019 version does look nicer. Doesn't look like a PS1 game any more, though it doesn't look like a very modern age either. Basically, if MediEvil was on PS2, it'd look like that.

Fair enough

[H-O-W-L]

Really what upsets me about those images is that the super-harsh orange glow was a part of Medievil's hyper-cartoony but dark style, sort of Burtonesque, if you'll forgive the incredible throbber that makes me out to be. It being reduced to just a dull dynamic glow in the remake is just sort of sad. Same for the permanently-illuminated spikes. I guess you can't make everything perfect, but fucking hell that put a knife in my gut.

Seems like such a tiny moment (and really it is) but that's a very iconic use of lighting for me that I noticed at a very young age long before I got interested in art and game design. The slow build-up as you make the darkness fade more and more by pushing the block was always very tense as a nipper (especially since I didn't have a memory card.)

[Darles Chickens]

I worked on the original series back in the day and am incredibly proud of what we did back then.  I think the reason the new release looks sterile and lacking some love is because basically none of the original creative team were involved in the remake, with exception of the composers Bob & Barn who updated and re-recorded their original soundtrack.  It's basically third-person platformer by numbers.

I agree that the lighting is a particularly iconic part of the Medievil 'look' on the PS1, and the warmness and softness of the CRT displays back then also helped to make it what it was.  We couldn't even really reproduce that on Resurrection on the PSP with its crisp LCD screen.

I'm happy that they chose to remake it and give a new generation a chance to experience it, but it's a shame that it doesn't quite live up to expectations.

[Glebe]

Nice one, Darles Chickens! The original is definitely an all-time fave of mine. The second one hinted at the return of Zarok, pity the series didn't continue.

[madhair60]

I worked on the original series back in the day and am incredibly proud of what we did back then.  I think the reason the new release looks sterile and lacking some love is because basically none of the original creative team were involved in the remake, with exception of the composers Bob & Barn who updated and re-recorded their original soundtrack.  It's basically third-person platformer by numbers.

I agree that the lighting is a particularly iconic part of the Medievil 'look' on the PS1, and the warmness and softness of the CRT displays back then also helped to make it what it was.  We couldn't even really reproduce that on Resurrection on the PSP with its crisp LCD screen.

I'm happy that they chose to remake it and give a new generation a chance to experience it, but it's a shame that it doesn't quite live up to expectations.

The original game is actually included in the remake as an unlockable, so the legacy version has at least been represented. I'm a fan of the remake to the point that it's made me want to revisit the original, and I doubt I'm the only one.

[Darles Chickens]

When we were working on Medievil 1 and 2, we had offices in the countryside just outside Cambridge.  The art team used to like to work in near darkness, blinds down on the windows, the room barely lit by light from the monitors and the occasional anglepoise lamp.  The result of this was that all of our games were incredibly dark, both in mood and in actual graphics terms.  We actually had to do a brightening pass on some of our graphics at one point because, under normal home lighting conditions, you could barely make out some of the details.

We pushed the upper management for months to release a Medievil title on the PS2, and even had what eventually became the PSP release running on the PS2, at a beautiful frame rate.  It would have been the best version as it combined the retro simplicity of the original with a higher performance machine, and could have had nearly the entire original team involved, but, alas, it was not to be.

Happy to answer any Medievil questions if I can.  It was more than 20 years ago though, so... y'know...

[Ferris]

What was Sir Daniel like in real life?

[Darles Chickens]

Surprisingly like Keanu Reeves.

[MojoJojo]

When we were working on Medievil 1 and 2, we had offices in the countryside just outside Cambridge.

Where in Cambridge were these offices? I've worked in offices in the countryside just outside of Cambridge.

[H-O-W-L]

Happy to answer any Medievil questions if I can.  It was more than 20 years ago though, so... y'know...

Was Dan's voice really accomplished via bucket-on-head and fingers-in-mouth?

[Darles Chickens]

Where in Cambridge were these offices? I've worked in offices in the countryside just outside of Cambridge.

They were in Great Shelford, right next to the railway station.  A sleepy Cambridgeshire village livened up by porn models occasionally walking around with their boobs virtually hanging out, thanks to the company across the other side of the railway.

Was Dan's voice really accomplished via bucket-on-head and fingers-in-mouth?

Yeah!  Dunno about fingers-in-mouth, but Keanu-alike Jason definitely tried recording the audio with a bucket to create the right kind of muffled sound.  There were loads of takes, I have no idea if the bucket ones made the final cut in the end.  It was all very hands-on back then - we didn't have a vast pre-recorded audio library like games companies these days.  Every sound you heard in the game had been created by the audio guys going outside and smashing glass into a wall, or hitting the wheelie bins with poles, with a bit of post-prod in the studio.

[H-O-W-L]

Yeah!  Dunno about fingers-in-mouth, but Keanu-alike Jason definitely tried recording the audio with a bucket to create the right kind of muffled sound.  There were loads of takes, I have no idea if the bucket ones made the final cut in the end.  It was all very hands-on back then - we didn't have a vast pre-recorded audio library like games companies these days.  Every sound you heard in the game had been created by the audio guys going outside and smashing glass into a wall, or hitting the wheelie bins with poles, with a bit of post-prod in the studio.

Oh man, fantastic. I never thought I'd be able to speak to someone who actually worked on Medievil. Like I say, it was a very influential game for me in my childhood. Almost every male knight-character I make in games is inevitably called Sir Dan as a result of its simple yet satisfying sword-and-shield gameplay.

[Thursday]

Bought this. It's good.

Ant level was a bit shit though.

[Thursday]

It's so nice having levels that are short and simple, not stuffed with collectables and sidequests. You've got a few hidden areas for power-ups and obviously the chalice. That's all you need, boom and done.

[madhair60]

It's so nice having levels that are short and simple, not stuffed with collectables and sidequests. You've got a few hidden areas for power-ups and obviously the chalice. That's all you need, boom and done.

Yeah this. Its just a fucking pleasure.