What ever happened to The City of Metronome?

We don’t know if you remember, but there’s this video game called City of Metronome. It was presented by developer Tarsier Studios back in E3 2005, and was the bastion of graphics and originality at the time. Since then, unfortunately, literally nothing was heard about this game. Until now.

According to Tarsier Studios’ Bjorn Sunesson, City of Metronome is not going to be the same exact title as the one revealed more than two years ago. He explained that the original title, where Metronome City is completely controlled by a single bureaucratic entity known as the Corporation, looked quite risky in the eyes of a publisher.

Anyway, the Corporation also owns all the lands, the entire infrastructure, and all the industries of the city. The game then puts players in the role of a young train conductor, where you have to search for proof around the city in order to discover the Corporation’s secret agenda. As players, you will use sound to fight enemies, solve problems, and confuse citizens.

The premise sounds promising and intriguing, but that is all in the past now as Sunesson mentioned that they put Metronome on the back burner about a year ago, meaning it’s in re-design stage. He elaborated,

So what we are doing now is basically building the needed track record, combined with re-designing gameplay to a state where it is still innovative and awesome, but not so unusual that publishers marketing people gets all confused and scared.

During the time the game was presented, Tarsier Studios was being considered as a new comer to the video game industry. When asked as to how the new game will look like and release details, Sunesson said,

It’s hard to say, especially considering there is not one single “The City of Metronome“-game anymore, but actually a couple of very different concepts all taking place within the city. Add to this platform considerations, new versions of distribution and what have you, it could be anywhere from Christmas 07 to Summer 2011.

Tarsier Studios is currently working on another title called The Desert Diner.

Thank you to Justin for the heads up!

Via PSU

We don’t know if you remember, but there’s this video game called City of Metronome. It was presented by developer Tarsier Studios back in E3 2005, and was the bastion of graphics and originality at the time. Since then, unfortunately, literally nothing was heard about this game. Until now.

According to Tarsier Studios’ Bjorn Sunesson, City of Metronome is not going to be the same exact title as the one revealed more than two years ago. He explained that the original title, where Metronome City is completely controlled by a single bureaucratic entity known as the Corporation, looked quite risky in the eyes of a publisher.

Anyway, the Corporation also owns all the lands, the entire infrastructure, and all the industries of the city. The game then puts players in the role of a young train conductor, where you have to search for proof around the city in order to discover the Corporation’s secret agenda. As players, you will use sound to fight enemies, solve problems, and confuse citizens.

The premise sounds promising and intriguing, but that is all in the past now as Sunesson mentioned that they put Metronome on the back burner about a year ago, meaning it’s in re-design stage. He elaborated,

So what we are doing now is basically building the needed track record, combined with re-designing gameplay to a state where it is still innovative and awesome, but not so unusual that publishers marketing people gets all confused and scared.

During the time the game was presented, Tarsier Studios was being considered as a new comer to the video game industry. When asked as to how the new game will look like and release details, Sunesson said,

It’s hard to say, especially considering there is not one single “The City of Metronome“-game anymore, but actually a couple of very different concepts all taking place within the city. Add to this platform considerations, new versions of distribution and what have you, it could be anywhere from Christmas 07 to Summer 2011.

Tarsier Studios is currently working on another title called The Desert Diner.

Thank you to Justin for the heads up!

Via PSU