ESRB Reveals Spectral Force Genesis

According to a listing on the Entertainment Software Ratings Board’s web site, Ignition Entertainment will be publishing IDEA Factory’s Spectral Force Genesis for the DS. The DS tactical RPG was released in Japan in June 2008. What’s more telling than the fact that it is coming to North America is how is publishing it. NIS America publishes most of IDEA Factory’s other RPGs in North America. Perhaps the Japanese development studio responsible for 75 percent of NIS America’s non-Disgaea titles is experimenting a little.

Not too much info on if there will be any stark differences between the North American and Japanese versions beyond localization - all we know is that it is coming and that’s it will be rated “T” for “TEEN” by the ESRB.

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Animator’s Resume Leaks New LEGO Games Info

While it’s a given that the job market is pretty rough right now and it’s a smart move to update that dusty old resume, it probably not the best idea to tell everyone with an internet connection that you’re working on a couple of top secret projects for your current employer. Still, as discovered this morning by GamesIndustry.biz, that seems to be exactly what an animator with developer Traveler’s Tales has done, unintentionally blowing the whistle on a number of upcoming releases from the company.

Charlotte Parker, the animator in question, maintains a portfolio of her work online and recently updated the Curriculum Vitae portion of her site to include her most recent works. Unfortunately for Traveler’s Tales, a number of the games she’s listed herself as currently working on have not yet been announced by the developer or its parent company, Warner Bros. Interactive. Oops.

According to the CV, Parker has apparently been working at TT Games since March of 2007, working as a cutscene animator for LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga, LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures, and LEGO Batman: The Videogame. The CV also lists her credits as “currently working as a Cutscene Animator on LEGO Harry Potter & LEGO Indiana Jones 2: The Kingdom of the Crystal Skull which are both in the early stages of production.” Of course, until now, neither of these two games has existed as anything more than rumor outside of the walls to TT Games or Warner Bros.

Even more interesting than the leak of the two games currently in development, though, is Parker’s claim that she has “also recently been working on In-Game animation for the upcoming Hobbit Demo using Motion Capture Data in Motionbuilder, to be presented to Peter Jackson as a pitch for obtaining the license to the upcoming Hobbit films.” With the news this morning that the video game rights to Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies has reverted back to Warner from EA, it’s hard to imagine Warner and Traveler’s Tales passing up the chance to give Frodo, Gandalf, and the rest of the Fellowship the LEGO treatment.

While gamers might be happy to get some sort of confirmation about the forthcoming games, it’s probably safe to assume that Warner and Traveler’s Tales are probably none too happy about having their big, secret games leaked online. While direct links to the CV have since been removed from Parker’s front page, the actual CV itself was still live on the site as of this morning. Hopefully, her posting of the resume online won’t lead to Parker needing it sooner than she anticipated.

[UPDATE: As of around 10:30a EST Friday, the CV Section of Parker's site has been edited, removing all mention of the projects in development and the pitch presentation to Peter Jackson.]