Giant Sparrow’s What Remains of Edith Finch, the unconventionally named game with an unusual structure – it is is a collection of short stories focusing on the death of a different member of the Finch family, so it’s basically an anthology novel in video game form – just got a new trailer today, which you can see above. The developer has promised more information will come at E3.

Speaking about the game, the developer said, “It’s hard to sum up the game in a screenshot because the game is a collection of short stories. Each of those stories is about the death of a different Finch family member and each is meant to look and feel different from the others, the way no two people in any family are alike.”

He added that the game is “a surreal experience that’s grounded in a familiar world. The deaths in each of the stories are a little bizarre but the really strange thing is death itself.”

What Remains of Edith Finch is a PlayStation 4 exclusive being developed by the makers of The Unfinished Swan. Stay tuned to GamingBolt for more coverage and information.

The developers of The Unfinished Swan are at it again, creating a beautiful, artistic looking game that looks spiritually very close to their debut game, but very different otherwise. We were shown some of the game at Sony’s PlayStation Experience keynote conference earlier today, and while there isn’t a whole lot to go on, you can color me intrigued. That, along with the fact that we know that this developer has a good track record, gives me some confidence in being (at least) cautiously hyped for this title.

You can check out the trailer for yourself, and tell us what you think of it in the comments, even though, like I said, there really isn’t much to go on right now. And you can stay tuned to GamingBolt, because we will bring you all the latest and greatest information from the PlayStation Experience, throughout the weekend, as it happens.

The game was ported across to the PlayStation 4 and PS Vita, continuing the exclusivity towards Sony owned systems. The game was previously published by Sony Computer Entertainment and they are likely going to be the publishers for the PS4 and PS Vita builds as well. The game, which is running on the Gamebryo engine that has seen use by multiple AAA developers, did not see a retail release and is instead only available via digital download through the PlayStation store and is sometimes discounted through the PlayStation Plus scheme.

Originally released on the PlayStation 3 on October 16th of 2012 and then made available via PlayStation Plus on October 23rd of 2012, the games re-release on 8th generation and portable hardware has been officially confirmed and the game launched on October 31st on PS4.

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

Development

The development cycle for The Unfinished Swan began at some time during February of 2008. The initial demo build of the game was very much a prototype and was built and managed in the Microsoft XNA toolset, this prototype build of the game took somewhere in the region of 2 months to complete. This prototype was the foundations of a project that was later submitted to the IGF (Independent Game Festival) in the same year. The title was well received and made it as far as the finals where it was pitted against other independently developed games.

In the end, the prototype lost to another game that was entered in the same category by the name of Tag: The Power of Paint. The developers of Tag: The Power of Paint, Tag Team, went on to be hired by the powerhouse Valve Corporation who incorporated their gameplay mechanics into their smash hit game Portal 2 where the game mechanics served as a puzzle solving element.

Despite losing out to Tag Team at the Independent Game Festival, Sony expressed interest in the game and went into talks with The Unfinished Swan developers, Giant Sparrow. Soon after, the two signed an “incubation deal”. What this means is that Sony where willing to “incubate” the title, and see if it grew into something worth investing in.

Following this, Giant Sparrow’s prototype grew over a period of four years from a basic functioning prototype build to what is now known as the well received, First Person Painter, The Unfinished Swan. Since the game was such a success, Giant Sparrow have moved onto their next project, a game that is currently called Edith Finch, continuing the trend of naming their products and company after varying types of birds.

Story

The story of The Unfinished Swan is a divisive subject. The tale unfolds thusly; a young boy has lost both of his parents, one was the loving and attentive mother, the other was a father that wasn’t often there. Upon losing them, the young boy Monroe is sent to an orphanage and he can bring only one item with him. He chooses to bring one of his mother’s unfinished paintings, a swan. When he goes to bed that night, he discovers that the Swan has made off and so he gives chase. From there, you follow a story that is tied to Monroe.

Gameplay

The Unfinished Swan is advertised and marketed as a “first person painter”, a genre that doesn’t really exist, but one could argue its existence having been allocated to this game. Such is the semantical nature of the term, “genre”. Fittingly enough, the ambiguity of the term “genre”, ties in nicely to the abstract and very art-house vibe of The Unfinished Swan.

The game is centred on a theme of adventure and “exploring the unknown”. The game starts off with a young boy named Monroe chasing after a swan that has somehow escaped from the painting that housed it, the boy and the swan are in a completely white space that resembles a blank void. The world is revealed by throwing blobs of black paint into the open space in front of you which, upon contact with a surface, will splatter against it, revealing its size and shape to the player. This is the game’s sole gameplay mechanic and is the driving force of the game.

Characters

The Unfinished Swan is technically a tale of 4 characters, despite this only one is of importance to the player.

Monroe – Monroe is a young orphaned lad that recently lost his parents and now lives in an Orphanage with only his only possession, his mothers unfinished painting.

Mother – Monroe’s mother was lost in an accident and was the creator of The Unfinished Swan painting.

Father – Monroe’s father “wasn’t there” a lot and it’s assumed that the lad knew little of him.

The Unfinished Swan – The Unfinished Swan is the catalyst for the story and sparks Monroe’s adventure into life.

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

The Unfinished Swan was a pretty damn good game when it originally launched on PSN for the PlayStation 3 a few years ago. Its unique artistic flavor, that applied not just to how the game looked and sounded (and it looked and sounded very artistic indeed), but also to how it played, made it a standout game, and indeed, it was one of the first notable digital game successes on the PSN at a time when Xbox Live still led the charge with ‘arcade’ indie games.

Well, now the game is returning- today, it is launching for Sony’s newest systems on the market, the PlayStation 4 and the PlayStation Vita on the PSN. It’s going to be pretty much the exact same game that you’ve already played on the PS3 before, except it will be in 1080p this time around (at least on the PS4).

Sony’s streak of re-releasing old games for the PS4 and PS Vita continues.

Sony got on the indie game train late with the PS3, but when it did, it struck back with some amazing games- games like The Unfinished Swan, and of course, thatgamecompany’s 2012 magnum opus, Journey. Now, Sony is bringing them (like so many other PS3 games have been brought over, at this point) to the PlayStation 4. Sony announced that Journey will be available on the PS4 later this year, and will be in glorious 1080p. That’s all we know, and we were told to wait for more details.

The other game is The Unfinished Swan, which, while not as acclaimed as Journey was, was still a pretty well received title that developed quite a cult following. It, too, will be coming to the PS4 later this year, and it too will be running in 1080p.

Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love that these games are being made available to a wider audience, but hey, Sony? Some new games would be greatly appreciated at this point.

Amid many high profile departures in several game companies, such as Uncharted creator Amy Hennig leaving Naughty Dog to work on Visceral Games’ new Star Wars title, it seems that The Last of Us lead artist Nate Wells is currently working at Giant Sparrow as its art director. This is the same developer behind The Unfinished Swan which released for PS3 last year.

It’s currently indicated Wells’ Twitter page that he now works at the indie studio though his LinkedIn page still says he’s at Naughty Dog. It could be that his LinkedIn hasn’t been updated yet, especially since Wells is more active on Twitter. Regardless, there’s been no official word from Naughty Dog on Wells’ departure. Unlike Amy Hennig, Wells was working at Naughty Dog since 2012.

It’s certainly interesting that Wells left considering that The Last of Us: Remastered will be out for PS4 this June. What are your thoughts on what could’ve prompted his leaving? Let us know in the comments.

Earlier today developers Giant Sparrow, the team behind PS3 title The Unfinished Swan, posted two job postings searching for team members to work on an as yet unannounced upcoming project. The two positions posted were for that of Lead Artist and Game Designer.

According to the posting, the lead artist is expected to be well versed in 3D modeling, texturing, lighting and animation. Additionally, applicants should have experience with game engine tools and pipelines, and should expect to be building multiple in-game assets. Finally, applicants should have been in the role of senior or lead artist on at least one completed non-student game previously.

The game designer role, which will not be hired until the Spring of 2014, should be well-versed in Maya, and will hopefully have some sort of programming or scripting experience. Additionally, game designer applicants should come equipped with a portfolio that shows of the diversity of their skill set.

Stay tuned to Gamingbolt for more details on what this unnamed project will start to shape into.

Via the official site, the developer states that, “Our last game took us a little over 3 years to make so as you can imagine we’re still in a very early phase on this new one. We’re pretty excited about it though and wanted to share some of that enthusiasm along with a piece of concept art.

“It’s not a sequel to The Unfinished Swan but it’s not a million miles away either. If you like surreal experiences and games that aren’t much like anything you’ve ever played before then you’ll probably like it.

“Mostly, we just wanted to answer all the fans who have been asking us if we’re working on anything new. The answer is ‘yes,’ by the way. The working title is ‘Edith Finch’ and there’s no release date or platforms announced.”

With such “broad strokes” being used to define the experience, all we can say is: Stay tuned for more details.

Music supervisor Peter Scutarro and composer Joel Corelitz talk about how the music is more about the two main characters of the game and what it means to the story.

Have a look above.

The Unfinished Swan releases on October 23 for PSN and October 16 for PS Plus subscribers. Stay tuned for more info.

Enter the surreal world of The Unfinished Swan and explore a mysterious, hidden kingdom. Your journey will be led by a runaway swan who guides you through strange levels filled with bizarre creatures. Discover the land through innovative new game mechanics such as splatting paint on a white surface to uncover your surroundings. Each level will bring new twists, challenges, and puzzles until you eventually come face-to-face with the eccentric King that built this realm.