black-rock-studios posts

Publisher Disney Interactive Studios has been going through a lot lately. The division of Disney shut down a major game development studio, Propaganda Games, earlier this month and this week a large amount of the company's team was laid off. Now comes word that there is a new person in charge of Disney's internal game studios.

The Los Angeles Times reports that Alex Seropian, who previously founded Bungie, will now oversee Disney Interactive's game development as well as be in charge of its many internal developers, including Junction Point Studios and Black Rock Studios. Seropian came into the Disney Interactive family when the division acquired Seropain's Wideload game development studio in 2009. Meanwhile the article claims that the many layoffs at Disney Interactive are just the first wave in a series. Disney Interactive's execs are looking to cut costs and that may mean more people could lose their jobs in the coming months.

Split/Second puts a unique twist on racing games. As stunt drivers on an action TV show, players can activate power plays, which are events placed all over the studio lot set to go off. These events can range from exploding objects to dropping gigantic structures on opponents, and they're key to winning. So it's not enough to race well and memorize tracks... drivers will also have to keep an eye out for potential power plays and try to evade them as they go off. This all builds up to some very intense racing, where a player can be knocked from first to last place in a blink of an eye. We just wish a little more thought went into the PC port.

Download the Split/Second Demo
Check out all Split/Second downloads

This is the playable demo for Split/Second, the racing game where players compete as stunt drivers on an action movie set. Racers build up power to trigger explosive events to delay opponents. The demo includes the tutorial and Airport Terminal level. System requirements are shown after the jump.

Download Split/Second Demo (1 GB)
Check out all Split/Second downloads

Black Rock Studio provides an in-depth behind the scenes look at the development of Split/Second, the racing game where players drive on the set of a stunt movie and can trigger explosive events to slow down the competition. This developer video focuses specifically on design decisions in creating the special effects and cars. The game is available now for consoles and the PC.

Download HD The Making of Split/Second Part 5 (134 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 4 (97 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 3 (104 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 2 (89 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 1 (244 MB)
Check out all Split/Second downloads

This fourth video in a series that goes behind-the-scenes in developing the unique racing game Split/Second describes the thought process behind the audio design. In Split/Second, players take the role of stunt movie race car drivers with the ability to trigger on-set disasters to take out the competition. The game releases on May 18th.

Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 4 (97 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 3 (104 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 2 (89 MB)
Download HD The Making of Split/Second, Part 1 (244 MB)
Check out all Split/Second downloads

We've already seen one of the land based challenges that will be included in Split/Second, but a game that includes this much destruction is bound to kick things up even further. In flies an attack chopper that will launch missiles at the race track as you try to dodge them. Rounds increase in difficulty as players beat them, which leads to the Air Revenge mode, where players build up energy to trigger a chopper sabotage. Players will have a chance to prove their skills when the game releases on May 18th.

Download HD Split/Second 'Air Strike / Air Revenge' Mode Trailer (58 MB)
Check out all Split/Second downloads

Those aiming to get hold of Split/Second through the internet, take heed. You only have one place to pre-order the game, at least for now. Direct2Drive is the first outlet to offer the new racing game for pre-order, and while we're not sure if it is exclusive or not, it's certainly a possibility. The game is currently going for $40 for the pre-order, which puts it a good $10 below most games, and it drops to your hard drive on May 18th (about a week).

Split/Second is a racing game that aims to tweak the fast-paced action of Burnout to fit a more destructive style. Appropriately, you can cause massive environmental collapses to screw over your enemies or give you the advantage. High-octane races with lots of destruction are the name of the game.

After displaying games like BioShock 2, God Of War 3 and others on GameStop's NASCAR ride, the number 20 Toyota driven by Joey Logano got an actual racing game for Friday night's race at the Richmond Motor Speedway placed on the vehicle. It was Split/Second, the upcoming action-racing game from developer Black Rock Studios and publisher Disney Interactive.

While Friday night's Bubba Burger 250 race in the Nationwide series didn't have things like gas stations exploding or airplanes falling out of the sky, it looks like having Split/Second on the car didn't hurt Logano too much; he finished sixth in the race.

The fact that players can trigger disasters and drop buildings on each other is incentive enough to play Split/Second, but this video introduces the survival mode that will also be included in the game. Players will be competing in a scenario where objects will be constantly dropped onto the road. Things start easy enough, until the explosive barrels start rolling onto the streets. It's up to the player to dodge as many as possible and make it through the race. Players will have a chance to dodge devastating obstacles when the game releases on May 18th.

Download HD Split/Second 'Survival Mode' Trailer (115 MB)
Check out all Split/Second downloads