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‘Human Element’ Finds a Worldwide Publisher in Nexon
Last February, MapleStory publisher Nexon invested an undisclosed sum in Robotoki, the developer behind the upcoming post-apocalyptic zombie ARG Human Element. It seems their relationship will extend further than simply being a “strategic partner”, as the company announced today that they’ve secured the worldwide publishing rights to the game.
Human Element isn’t due until 2015, so details on it are scarce. What we do know is it will be powered by CryEngine, because according to Robotoki studio head Robert Bowling, 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.”
And don’t let its undead presence fool you — Human Element may have them, but it’s more of a human drama. Think The Last of Us or Telltale’s The Walking Dead. The episodic prequel, a planned Ouya exclusive, has been dropped since its announcement so Robotoki can focus their efforts on the PC, PS4 and Xbox One versions.
In the grim darkness of the far future there is only war, but it was a cheerful illustrator from England who helped to define the terrifying war-torn imagery that inspired what we now know as Grimdark (a hybrid genre combining horror with sci-fi/fantasy).
Unfortunately for fans of Warhammer 40,000, Trench Crusade and countless other sources of Grimdark thrills, veteran artist John Blanche passed away this week after struggling with health issues for the past few years.
While the artist retired back in 2023, he leaves us with an enormous legacy of iconic artwork that continues to inspire gamers and storytellers around the world to this very day.
The news is especially gloomy as it was only last year that Daniel Lowman and Napoleon Dynamite himself Jon Heder released The Grim & the Dark: The Search for John Blanche, a documentary following Heder’s exploration of the Grimdark genre culminating in a heartwarming encounter with Blanche in his own home.
Below is one of my favorite pieces by Blanche, his highly influential depiction of Warhammer 40k’s God-Emperor of Mankind on his Golden Throne.
We send our deepest condolences to John Blanche’s family, friends, and fans.
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