Tigon Lend a Hand with Riddick Game

   
You may already know that Enclave developer Starbreeze are currently working away on the interactive version of Vin Diesel's The Chronicles of Riddick film, however what you may not know is that Vin himself is lending a hand with the project, through his own games development firm Tigon Games.

    Tigon head Cos Lazouras confirmed his firm's involvement thusly: "Tigon has worked closely with VU Games and Starbreeze in all aspects of the game's development from the beginning. Aside from Vin lending his face and voice to the game, some other areas we were involved in include story creation, writing of dialogue, directing cinematics, character design, and overseeing the game development from a creative standpoint."

    What's more, The Chronicles of Riddick actually seems to be coming along rather nicely, and as a long-time gamer, Diesel's involvement at least means his interests include playability, as well as adding a little Hollywood 'muscle' (haha), to the proceedings: "I have been very fortunate in that I have the ability to get other incredible artists from the film and music worlds to lend their voices, talent and excitement to these games", he commented.

    Thanks to Eurogamer.net for this interesting report.

    By Luke Guttridge

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Diesel roars into vid games


Chris Marlowe
The Hollywood Reporter
Feb. 24, 2004 05:05 PM

    Vin Diesel has taken the wraps off his video game company Tigon Studios, the enterprise he first hinted at more than a year ago.

    Fans of the actor-producer grabbed on to a tidbit of news he let slip during a promotional tour for the DVD release of "XXX," when Diesel also acknowledged being a lifelong gamer. At the time, he said he was thinking of establishing his own studio and releasing an action-adventure game using the working title of "Perrone."

    But nothing more was revealed except that Tigon was named after biologists' moniker for the offspring of a male tiger and a female lion.

    On Monday, it was confirmed that Diesel had established Tigon under CEO Cos Lazouras, who was previously known as the producer of Fox Interactive's "Planet of the Apes" and other games. Tigon will work with outside development teams to create the actual titles. It is self-financed, with an established panel of strategic investors available.

    Diesel said he wanted to "embrace the medium of our generation" and will be very hands-on.

    Rob Sebastian, managing director of Endeavor's games and technology group, created Tigon's business plan with Diesel and his team. "The value of Tigon is that it's not a vanity vehicle," Sebastian said. "Vin has a legitimate and passionate interest in creating for this medium. He wants to create another entertainment experience beyond the 120 minutes available on a movie screen."

    Diesel's personal involvement will be important, according to analysts, since the actor's connection will boost Tigon's chances but will not provide any guarantees. "Having Vin Diesel's name attached to the game will certainly help generate awareness for this Hollywood-licensed movie, but at the end of the day, this game's success relies on the success of the movie," said P.J. McNealy, senior analyst, American Technology Research.

    Diesel believes that any game needs to stand on its own merits, regardless of whether it has a movie tie-in.

    "As a producer, I am very involved in all of the creative aspects of the game, looking for innovative game play, developing story lines, writing dialogue, attaching actors, designing visuals and directing cinematics," Diesel said. "I also have been very fortunate in that I have the ability to get other incredible artists from the film and music worlds to lend their voices, talent and excitement to these games."

    He is contributing his own likeness and voice talents to the first game from the young company, "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay." Other stars from the movie are involved as well, but Diesel declined to say who.

    "Chronicles" is being created by Swedish developer Starbreeze, best known for the popular first-person shooter game "Enclave."

    The game is a prequel to 2000's sci-fi thriller "Pitch Black" and incorporates characters from both that movie and the upcoming "Chronicles of Riddick" film, due out June 11.

    It relates the back story of antihero Riddick and explains how he obtained his special abilities, which include a power called "eyeshine" that allows him to see in pitch-black darkness.

Article @ AZ Central

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THESP REVS VIDGAME

   
Mon Feb 23, 7:00 PM ET
   

BEN FRITZ

(Variety) Vin Diesel (news)'s Tigon Studios, a vidgame production company the action star founded in 2002, will have its first release this summer in the adaptation of "The Chronicles of Riddick," which it is co-publishing with Vivendi Universal Games.

     

Diesel signed a separate deal for the "Riddick" game on top of his $11 million payday for the film. While no information on the game payday was available, similar deals for top stars to provide extensive voiceover work, as well as physical likeness rights, have reached low seven figures.

Tigon is the only production company devoted to games to be founded by a major thesp, and release of "Riddick" marks one of the most in-depth collaborations between Hollywood talent and a vidgame developer to date.

Titled "The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay," vidgame is a prequel to both "Chronicles of Riddick" and 2000's "Pitch Black," in which the Riddick character first appeared.

Game, which provides an origin for Riddick, was conceived in part by David Twohy, writer and helmer of both films, and Diesel, who provided a number of suggestions for his character. Tigon also had a producer working with the staff of VU Games and developer Starbreeze throughout game production.

"This is the first time we've co-published with an actor's own production company," noted Nicholas Longano, VP of group marketing at VU Games. "It brings about a high level of credibility. People playing know it's a vision that's been laid out by Vin Diesel."

Development on the game first began nearly two years ago, before a script for "Riddick" had been approved --- a primary reason it is based on an entirely original story. But according to Bill Kispert, VP of interactive for U's consumer products group, developing original stories is part of the studio's plan for future vidgame adaptations.

"More and more we're not just doing beat-for-beat adaptations," he explained. "Seeing the movie and playing the game should be different but complementary experiences so fans have incentives to enjoy them both."

Tigon Studios' first announced project, action-adventure title "Perrone," hasn't yet been released. But Tigon is in development on a number of other titles, according to a source close to the company.

"The Chronicles of Riddick: Escape From Butcher Bay" will be released exclusively for Xbox (news - web sites) several days before the pic opens on June 11.

Copyright © 2003 Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. Variety is a registered trademark of Reed Elsevier Properties Inc. and used under license. All Rights Reserved.

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