The game was being developed on CryEngine 4 for launch on PC, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Robotoki closed down on January 20th 2015 due to the premium version lacking a publishing deal and the lack of self-funding to continue development.

• 1. Development
• 2. Story
• 3. Gameplay
• 4. Characters

Development

Robtooki was founded by an former Infinity Ward employee, Robert Bowling who found massive acclaim with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Bowling resigned from his post in 2012 on March 26th. Explaining his reasoning on Twitter, he said he was unhappy with the series’ slow evolution and said, “Too much ‘pew pew’ not enough new new”.

The fundamental driving concept of the game was “What is the greatest threat in a zombie apocalypse?” According to Bowling, the greatest threat in a post zombie apocalypse world is fear, and what it makes other human beings do. This is what’s known as the Human Element.

First announced to the public on June 1st of 2012, the game was given coverage by Game Informer which provided details on the game’s setting.

But it was on the 19th of July of 2012 that Bowling, who founded indie studio Robotoki for development, revealed that the game would have an episodic series of prequel stories that would be released exclusively on the Ouya, the now mostly forgotten Android console.

Not long after, these prequel episodes were announced to have been cancelled. This cancellation happened “very early on” and was done to focus more on the game.

The game was cancelled on January 20th with the closure of Robotoki and is currently facing an indefinite hiatus.

Story

Human Element was to be set roughly 35 years after a zombie apocalypse as humanity deals with the aftermath.

Gameplay

Not much is actually known about the gameplay specifics of Human Element other than that the gameplay premise was semi-strategic PvP.

Players would choose a class and a faction and from there they would attack player factions in an ongoing conflict. A gameplay trailer, which you can view above, was released though no real-time footage has ever been revealed.

Bowling further confirmed via Twitter that the trailer was, “Scripted gameplay in-engine. No CGI. Those were the mechanics and the assets from the game just scripted for trailer.”

What we do know is that the game made use of a capture the resource style set-up. Capturing these resources gives your team a buff:

• Food – This will boost your entire teams health.
• Guns – All the AI guards of your base gain increased weapon damage.
• Generator – This will help power your defences.
• Reinforcement Radio – This lets your fellow survivors respawn.

Characters

Information on the classes and character types have not been revealed till now.

Note: This wiki will be updated once we have more information about the game.

Remember Human Element? The class-based, zombie apocalypse game from Robert Bowling who served as the creative strategist and community manager for Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty franchise? As it turns out, Bowling’s studio Robotoki has shut down.

Speaking to Joystiq, Bowling stated that, “This week we have ceased operations at Robotoki and the development of Human Element is on hiatus. We were actively negotiating a new publishing deal for the premium version of Human Element but unfortunately I was unable to continue to self-fund development until a deal was finalized.”

The last update for Human Element came two months ago and it was on track to release for PC in November 2015. It was originally meant to be a free to play title but plans changed. What are your thoughts on Robotoki shutting down? What’s Bowling’s next move? Stay tuned for more information on the same and let us know what you think in the comments.

Robotoki have finally shown off their latest game, Human Element in action. The trailer was revealed during The Game Awards which you can check out here. The studio’s founder Robert Bowling has revealed new information about the game. First of all, the trailer was running on the game’s engine however the sequences were all scripted.

@PaulLiebrand Scripted gameplay in engine. No CGI. Those were the mechanics and the assets from the game just scripted for trailer.

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) December 6, 2014

Robert also confirmed the game will have aim down sights [ADS] since it’s important for long to mid range combat but there are a lot of tactical and melee weapons as well. He also revealed that the title has greatly changed from the original vision but they are happy with the current direction.

@froes_guilherme Yes, you can ADS it's essential to long to mid range combat but there are lots of melee and thrown weapon options / tactics

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) December 6, 2014

@MikeNimator Greatly changed from the original vision. I love where we're heading with this, but it is a specific style.

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) December 6, 2014

He further revealed that zombies won’t be playable and the game will be all about team work and strategies. The game will be broken into a number of maps, situated across the game’s world.

@Gunnplay_Sway very large broken up across multiple maps which represent areas all over the world.

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) December 6, 2014

@AnimeSisters Its all about team work, plus you can position AI guards and fortifications in key locations to fulfill strategies.

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) December 6, 2014

@michaelswales1 All zombies are AI controlled. Any player not killed by a headshot will turn into a fast zombie.

— Robert Bowling (@fourzerotwo) December 6, 2014

Human Element  will release in 2015 across the PlayStation 4, Xbox One and PC.

Developer Robotoki have revealed the first trailer for its upcoming online multiplayer title Human Element. Along with the new trailer, it was also revealed that the game will release on the PS4, Xbox One and PC in 2015. Judging by the trailer, Human Element will most likely focus on fast paced action and shooting.

The game will apparently have crazy enemies which reminds us of the ones that we saw in Borderlands, although the ones in Human Element will be zombies. The game will most likely mashup MMO elements along with survival mechanics and it will be interesting to see how it all pans out.

Unfortunately that is all we know about Human Element as Robotoki really did not said anything about the gameplay. Let us know your thoughts about the trailer above in the comments section below and stay tuned for more news and updates from The Game Awards.

A lot of the times, we are quick to jump on game developers and criticize them from incorporating free to play game elements in all their video games as a cash grab that wreak havoc on the game mechanics, exist mostly as a cynical cash in from an audience for whom apparently there is no respect, and generally just degrade the value of the game. But if this newest account is anything to go by, then it appears that developers often might not really have a choice.

Take Robotoki Games, and their upcoming title, Human Element. It was supposed to be their first game, and originally meant to be a free to play game. However, Robotoki decided that they wanted to make it a traditional ‘premium’ experience. The result? They lost their contract with their publisher, Nexon, and ended up having to lay off a portion of their staff.

“As the game evolved we realized that the elements that make Human Element the most fun would be hindered by keeping it a free-to-play experience,” wrote Robotoki founder Robert Bowling in an email to Gamasutra.

“Therefore, we made the decision to switch to a premium experience for our players; which also meant that working with the premier publisher in free-to-play was no longer the best partnership fit for the game we were creating.”

As for Nexon, they appear to be holding no grudges either.

“Nexon and Robotoki have come to a mutual decision to end their publishing agreement for the gameHuman Element,” stated a Nexon America representative. “As development of the project progressed the direction of the game naturally evolved, and it no longer aligns with the Nexon portfolio.”

Robotoki have apparently already found a new publisher for their game, and they hope to make a formal announcement next month.

Robotoki’s open world CryEngine-powered title Human Element was originally announced to be heading to PS4, Xbox One and PC with a prequel series to arrive for the Android-based Ouya. However, Robotoki president Robert Bowling revealed that the Ouya prequel was cancelled fairly quickly. Speaking to Polygon, Human Element is now confirmed to be on next gen consoles and PC, with the mobile experience to hinted second screen functionality.

Bowling recently stated that, “The ambitious narrative and gameplay of Human Element required an innovative set of features in order to achieve our vision. CryEngine is the perfect fit for us because it delivers so many powerful features straight out of the box such as the physical-based shading system and the infinite terrain from segmented worlds to create a massive open-world experience but still allow the visual fidelity and detail our players expect from a first-person experience from our team.”

Human Element is scheduled to release on November 2015 for PC, with other versions slated to release later. Stay tuned for more information.

Robert Bowling, ex-Call of Duty man, has announced that the first game developed by his new firm, called Robotoki, is called Human Element and will be released in 2015. It’s a zombie apocalypse game.

“Their greatest strength is the fear that [zombies] instill in us, the survivors, that unreasonable fear. Unreasonable fear that leads us to do unreasonable things to survive,” he said while talking to Game Informer.

The game is built on a class based system. Players will chose one of the three classes- Action, Intelligence and Stealth- for their character, while also choosing an identity- Survive Alone, Survive with a Partner, or Survive with a Young Child.

“How you choose to start in the world will determine how you can engage and impacts the scenarios you will be presented with on a physical and morality level,” he explained.

“[Zampella and the Respawn Entertainment crew] were my role models, friends, and partners for many, many years,” Bowling said when he was asked why he didn’t join Respawn instead of creating his own company. “

However, for me, it felt important to strike out and really create something completely different that I felt no one else was doing yet.

“That takes a lot of risk and a true creative clean slate, which Robotoki has allowed me to accomplish.”

Human Element will come come out in 2015 on next-gen systems, the PC, mobile and tablets.

Remember Robert Bowling? Yes, the man who had a job at Infinity Ward as CoD creative strategist, has created a new studio called Robotoki.

He’s developing a game for the next-gen consoles and mobiles. The studio has started hiring.

He wants to produce experiences “that transcend platforms and genres and allow our players to connect to our world, their characters, and gameplay via any medium”.

“However, how they experience the world is unique to their device. The mobile / tablet experience should not mimic the console or PC experience, it should be additive to it, not supplemental. Allowing them to support their console and PC experience, continue their progression, but by experiencing the world in a meaningful and unique way,” he said to GameInformer.

“Our focus is creating an experience that is no longer strictly single player, strictly co-op, or strictly multiplayer, but adapting the strengths of each of these into a unique experience that is fueled by the actions and contributions in each.”

Tell us what you think in the comments section below.