Sony gets new episodic content

by: Chuck - posted: 10/17/2007 11:21:00 PM

Sony is getting their first ever episodic game in the form of Rat Race from Super-Ego Games.  The game will have you taking the role of Tina Brooks, a brand manager at BiggCo, a ginormous consumer products company and the game will have you struggling to deal with your co-workers as you try to work your way up the company ladder.  It sounds a bit like an interactive version of The Office  I guess we'll find out more about the game when it hits this Winter.  Personally I'm interested to see if they'll be able to keep pace with other episodic content like the Sam and Max games or if we're going to get an episode a year like a certain other company that rhymes with Shalve. 

Super-Ego Games Unveils Rat Race

First-Ever Episodic Game for the PLAYSTATION®3 Set to Deliver New, Innovative Comedy Adventure Experience for the Next Generation Audience

New York, NY -- October 17, 2007 – Super-Ego Games today announces the company’s first title, Rat Race, an original comedy adventure franchise. Rat Race will be the first-ever episodic game for the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) and will be distributed as individual episodes that can be purchased and downloaded via the PlayStation®Network.

“We believe that next-gen gamers seek new and innovative game titles, and Rat Race is just that,” says Greg Easley, Co-founder and President, Super-Ego Games. “Rat Race represents a completely new take on the adventure genre, combining it with living, breathing characters and TV-quality comedy writing. The game delivers what action gamers want, but it also has funny, engaging dialogue, well-conceived characters and a comedic story that really hooks people.”

Rat Race drops players in the shoes of Tina Brooks, an ambitious brand manager at BiggCo, the massive consumer products company whose slogan, “Making the world a better place,” couldn’t be any more cynical. Tina quickly discovers that “business as usual” means an unending series of wacky, over-the-top, and wildly inappropriate situations. It’s up to the player to outsmart, outwit, and sometime outrun co-workers and upper-management in a set of hilarious scenarios created by some of New York City’s best comedy writers.

Super-Ego Games has developed a series of innovative proprietary technologies to bring the Rat Race world to life. From dynamic conversations to non-linear scripting to advanced character AI systems, Rat Race represents a rethinking of how videos games are developed; with its distinct sense of story and character development, the title will help establish episodic games as a new form of interactive entertainment.

Players will explore an array of highly detailed environments, from the cube farm to the animal testing lab to the happy hour bar. Through a combination of quick wit and action skills, players will diffuse political bombs and steer through outrageous situations scripted and voiced by NYC-based comedians with credits on Saturday Night Live, Chappelle’s Show, Late Night with Conan O’Brian, Flight of the Concords, Ugly Betty, Sex in the City, My Name Is Earl, and more. Each episode will introduce new characters and locations, as well as new storylines and gameplay mechanics.

Rat Race is currently in development by Super-Ego Games. The first episode is scheduled for release this Winter.

About Super-Ego Games
Super-Ego Games, founded in 2001, has offices in San Francisco and New York City, with 35 employees. The company’s mission is to create a new generation of character-driven interactive entertainment products across game consoles, television and the Internet. Super-Ego is currently working on Rat Race, an original property that will be the first episodic game available for the Sony PLAYSTATION®3 Entertainment System. Rat Race will feature carefully conceived storylines and lifelike, fully interactive characters. Super-Ego has previously worked with Mattel and Activision prior to working with Sony. The official homepage of Super Ego is www.superegogames.com.