# 'Eisenhorn: XENOS' made into a game?



## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

So I'm not certain if I posted at the right place, but Dan Abnett linked this earlier, and apparently the famous novel by the same author is being made into a game for phones. More description is in the link. It is set to be released 2015. Thoughts about it?


Source: http://pixelherogames.com/xenos-announced/


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## Adramalech (Nov 10, 2009)

This is what happens when you trust Sega with your IP. You get a SLOUGH of low-quality games from undistinguished developers who, rather than developing good content for respectable platforms, only want to cash in on your ideas.

Granted, GW are assholes and probably had this IP nightmare coming for trying to trademark "Space Marine."

I'm -almost- willing to bet that this is just angry birds, but instead of birds and pigs, you have bolter bullets and genestealers.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

_That_ is supposed to be Eisenhorn....?


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## Mossy Toes (Jun 8, 2009)

Tawa said:


> _That_ is supposed to be Eisenhorn....?


Young Eisenhorn, I imagine, before he gets all scarred up and gathers his various corrupted paraphernalia he's on the Eisenhorn Omnibus cover with...

Not too impressive, admittedly, but I see what they're aiming for. If they get to Hereticus and Malleus, I imagine that future covers will be the same image morphing into the Omnibus cover.


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

Thoroughly unimpressed to be honest.


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## darkreever (Apr 3, 2008)

Tawa said:


> _That_ is supposed to be Eisenhorn....?


Personally the only thing that I don't like about that image is his hairline, everything else looks pretty good when compared to how he's otherwise been drawn:


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)

Whilst I appreciate it's a "Young Greg" the face just doesn't look at all right to me.....


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## Jacobite (Jan 26, 2007)

Well this is a fucking scary thing to wake up too! I hope Abnett is being paid handsomely for this!


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

He's obviously going to look at a little different between drawings and being animated for a mobile game.

I for one am pumped. The Eisenhorn trilogy are my favourite books ever and I'm going to get excited about this until given a damn good reason not to.


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## Doelago (Nov 29, 2009)

First off, I hope Dan Abnett gets paid handsomely for this. 
Secondly, I hope it does not suck.
And third on the agenda, GW, could you please fucking stop licensing mobile stuff for a while and give us at least one or two _*real*_ games on next gen platforms by a _*real*_ developer? Thank you. (Seriously, we have five WH40k mobile games inbound and not a single PC or next gen game except for Eternal Crusade by _*Behaviour Interactive*_ of all the fucking devs on this planet. Wtf.)


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

Coming soon:
Warhammer - Angry Orks
and 
Bolter Crush Saga
followed by
Inquisitor Nukem


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Bindi Baji said:


> followed by
> Inquisitor Nukem


That's not a bad idea actually. :grin:


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

Hi guys,

My name is Nader, and I'm one of the developers at Pixel Hero games. I just wanted to pop in and say hello to you guys and give you a better sense of who we are and what kind of game ' Eisenhorn: XENOS' is going to be. 

Firstly let me say that whilst our first game 'Spiral' was a mobile and tablet game, our team is actually made up exclusively of experienced console developers, bringing experience from studios such as Bullfrog, Criterion, Codemasters, Argonaut, and Kuju to name a few.

We make console style games but on mobile, such as 'Spiral', which was a mix of games like Devil May Cry, Zelda, and a dash of Final Fantasy. The game featured full 3D exploration, exploration, puzzles and real time combat, and as first game as a new studio was well received:

77 Metacritic
80 Quality Index

For 'Eisenhorn: XENOS' we are taking all the elements we had in Spiral and improving them further, as well as adding new ones. We are empowering the player a lot more. On another forum a gentleman mentioned Deus Ex... Well let's just say that's not far away from what we're talking about. We're also investing heavily into Eisenhorn's retinue, so during missions you will have two members of the retinue following Eisenhorn around, and gameplay elements, abilities and loot will all be different.

On a side note the image for the announcement is the highest detail model of Eisenhorn captured directly from our Engine (Unreal Engine), so that should give you a sense for the level of detail and visual style we will be going for









Feel free to ask any other questions!

So to the gent who thinks this is just angry birds re-skinned... well.. er... it's definitely not that!


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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

Nader said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> My name is Nader, and I'm one of the developers at Pixel Hero games. I just wanted to pop in and say hello to you guys and give you a better sense of who we are and what kind of game ' Eisenhorn: XENOS' is going to be.
> 
> ...


So it is a mobile/tablet format? Sorry, not interested. If you all have console experience why not shoot higher? The Eisenhorn IP is perfect for bringing 40k to consoles, even more so than button bashers involving space marines.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Nader said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> My name is Nader, and I'm one of the developers at Pixel Hero games. I just wanted to pop in and say hello to you guys and give you a better sense of who we are and what kind of game ' Eisenhorn: XENOS' is going to be.
> 
> ...


Well I would have to say thank you for taking the time to reply here with information! As a 40k-enthusiast, I would want things to turn out good! I wish you good luck with the project and I shall return if any questions do appear to me!


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## Gret79 (May 11, 2012)

Does this mean no angry birds with a 40k re skin? booo.... (I kid :grin

Is this going to be available on all mobiles or just Iphone and android?

(speaking as the owner of a windows phone...)


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

Was wondering if you'd appear here, saw your over at B&C yesterday. I appreciate the time you're taking to try to connect with the community.


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

Nader said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> My name is Nader, and I'm one of the developers at Pixel Hero games. I just wanted to pop in and say hello to you guys and give you a better sense of who we are and what kind of game ' Eisenhorn: XENOS' is going to be.


Well thank you for popping in




Nader said:


> So to the gent who thinks this is just angry birds re-skinned... well.. er... it's definitely not that!



Git would be more appropriate:grin:,
wasn't inferring this was an angry birds re-skin, I just half expect an angry birds re-skin at some point


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## Adramalech (Nov 10, 2009)

Nader said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> My name is Nader, and I'm one of the developers at Pixel Hero games. I just wanted to pop in and say hello to you guys and give you a better sense of who we are and what kind of game ' Eisenhorn: XENOS' is going to be.
> 
> ...


I'm sure you understand my cynicism about the 40k franchise's future in video games following the "beta release" of storm of vengeance. I apologize for my harshness, though.


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## Varakir (Sep 2, 2009)

Nader said:


> made up exclusively of experienced console developers, bringing experience from studios such as Bullfrog, Criterion, Codemasters


go on.......


I have had a look at Spiral and it looks interesting. I'm not overly enamored about playing games on my phone or tablet but if you have good designers working on it, i could definitely be swayed if the game is good enough.

As the others have said, thanks for taking the time to comment, now make sure you deliver the goods :wink:


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

It's cool, I can understand the disenchantment due to what else has been going on recently... All I can say is that there will be more news, and we'll be making all the efforts we can to make this awesome!


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

Hi Guys,

Here's a little update in the form of an interview I did for Starburst http://www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/288255-new-eisenhorn-game/page-3# Magazine

http://www.starburstmagazine.com/features/interviews/10356-nader-alikhani--pixel-hero-games-xenos


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## Vaz (Mar 19, 2008)

You guys are from Bullfrog? Why are you not making Theme Hospital 2 or Dungeon Keeper 3? Those were the absolute shit back in the day. So much so I'm off to GOG to buy Theme Hospital I'm reminiscing about it that much.

As to the game idea, eh, I'll watch, but'll unlikely get.


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## Scrad (Apr 4, 2014)

My interest is piqued much more than if it were a simple skin rip such as Storm of Vengeance. 
I just hope the scope isn't aiming too high for a mobile game. Then again, my experience with phone games pretty much ends with Clash of Clans...soo.


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

Hi guys... with GDC looming we're getting a bunch of stuff ready to show, which we are super excited about!

But the first thing I am happy to announce is that we have Mark Strong as the voice for Eisenhorn!









http://pixelherogames.com/mark-strong-is-eisenhorn/


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

Awesome. Mark Strong seems to love him some 40k.


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

Hi guys, here are the first batch of screenshots for the game!


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## Tawa (Jan 10, 2010)




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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Quite good graphics, especially for a mobile game. Almost sad it's not coming for any other platforms.


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

It's going to be released on PC via STEAM as well


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)




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## Khorne's Fist (Jul 18, 2008)

As much as I want to play this game, that footage looks like it's a generation or two behind where we are now when comparing it to the likes of _Destiny_.


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

No it's not a PS4 or XBONE game (but that would never run on mobile). It's more like a PS3 or 360 game (with better shaders and more resolution in textures than Space Marine for example).

Here are some more screens:


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## Mellow_ (Aug 5, 2012)

It looks awful, it also looks like a rehash of the engine used for the game Space Marine. Whilst that was good for its time, times have changed and technology has moved on. The character movement and combat looks terrible. Why GW encourage developers to make terrible titles with no longevity is beyond me. 

Quite frankly it's not good enough. GW need to look to long term developers to make more RTS and MMO style games. Things that can immerse players with the rich lore the GW is famous for.


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

I love how you have no idea what you are talking about


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## morfangdakka (Dec 31, 2006)

I am just trying figure out why it is called Xenos and everything he was killing were humans? I was expecting orks, eldar, nids or something. It doesn't look bad for mobile but still not enough to make me play it.


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

It's based on the book Xenos... You know, where he Saruthi are the only aliens, and they appear near the end of the book... While the rest of the time it's human heretics... Obvious no?


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## Mellow_ (Aug 5, 2012)

Nader said:


> I love how you have no idea what you are talking about


I understand you'd feel the need to defend the game as you're associated with it. However I may be wrong in that it doesn't use the Space Marine game engine, although I didn't say it was, I said it looks like it uses the same engine. The same character swagger when it walks and the same slow motion close combat to make things more "dramatic". 

My opinion is still that the game looks awful for something made in this day and age. Regardless of you stating I don't know what I'm talking about.


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

Sarcasm and rudeness may not be the most productive tools to win people over to your side and help sell your product.........


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## Nader (Mar 18, 2014)

Hi! I completely agree, but to be fair, looking at the general tone of posts on this forum I think that should go both ways no?

Also to clarify:
This game uses a modded version of UE3, and everything is bespoke. If it gives off any similarity to Space Marine that's just co-incidental. 

It's also an adaptation of the first eisenhorn book, which means the story and progression and content seen are in line with what appears in that story, which is why it's not an MMO. 

I understand there is a lot of passion from fans, but I do believe some reactions and expectations are unrealistic. 

For example, regarding the graphical fidelity... Complaints that a game looks like the tech of last generation, which less than two years ago was the universal standard (and only this year have REAL next gem games shown up) just sounds odd. Especially considering that it also runs on mobile devices. Considering the spread of platforms the game is on, it looks as good as it can possibly look. 

Anyway, I digress... The main thing should be that the game is fun and conveys the characters and story from the book well


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## Asamodai (Oct 19, 2008)

Well personally I think it looks great, surprisingly so for a game being made for mobile devices. Trying to compare it to a next gen AAA title is ridiculous. Of course it's not going to look the same but I expect it'll also cost about 1/4 of the price, tops. Judging and writing a game off based on graphics too is absurd. It is frankly one of the least important elements of a good game, hence why Minecraft, a game with the graphical level roughly equal to the original NES, is one of the biggest games in the world. Graphics are far behind behind gameplay, storyline, even audio. I think two of those elements are looking good what with it being an adaptation of Xenos (The Eisenhorn trilogy are my favourite books to date and if you haven't read them I highly recommend them, they've even been recently rereleased) and having Mark Strong in to play the lead.

I've been looking forward to this since the original announcement and I enjoyed the trailer. Looking forward to further updates too.

Can I ask, is that Fischig in the background of the third screenshot?


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## Bindi Baji (Apr 23, 2009)

Nader said:


> Hi! I completely agree, but to be fair, looking at the general tone of posts on this forum I think that should go both ways no?


No not really, 
they are your potential audience/customers, not the other way around.


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## forkmaster (Jan 2, 2010)

Asamodai said:


> Well personally I think it looks great, surprisingly so for a game being made for mobile devices. Trying to compare it to a next gen AAA title is ridiculous. Of course it's not going to look the same but I expect it'll also cost about 1/4 of the price, tops. Judging and writing a game off based on graphics too is absurd. It is frankly one of the least important elements of a good game, hence why Minecraft, a game with the graphical level roughly equal to the original NES, is one of the biggest games in the world. Graphics are far behind behind gameplay, storyline, even audio. I think two of those elements are looking good what with it being an adaptation of Xenos (The Eisenhorn trilogy are my favourite books to date and if you haven't read them I highly recommend them, they've even been recently rereleased) and having Mark Strong in to play the lead.
> 
> I've been looking forward to this since the original announcement and I enjoyed the trailer. Looking forward to further updates too.


That is more or less how I thought as well. It's unnecessary to piss out on a game like that, especially one that isn't meant for consoles primarily.

And I would Nader the sarcastic remark was unnecessary. Other than that I'm on your side and hope the game will turn out good.


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