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== Gameplay ==
== Gameplay ==
''Armada of the Damned'' is a [[Third person (video games)|third-person]] [[Action-adventure game|action-adventure]] [[Role-playing video game|role-playing]] game set in an [[Open world|open world]] environment resembling the ''Pirates of the Caribbean'' universe. The player takes the role of James Sterling, an extensively customizable pirate character whose main mission is to travel across the Caribbean to make a reputation for himself. The gameplay in ''Armada of the Damned'' is centered around a choice system that affects the character's appearance, personality, weapons, attacks, quests and story developments through the player's choice.

Although most of the character's specifications can be customized, some elements are attached to one of the two main types designed in the game: Legendary or Dreaded. After choosing one of these at the beginning of the game, several gameplay and story elements are predefined to fit the player's pirate type. Each type has several unique default sets that shape the way the game is experienced, including how the environment and [[non-playable characters]] interact with the player. However, most of the character's specifications can be customized, regardless of the type of pirate selected.

== Plot ==
== Plot ==
Although not much information was revealed about ''Armada of the Damned''{{'s}} plot during its development stage, it is known that the game was set to follow the story of James Sterling, a pirate captain who must travel across the [[Caribbean Sea]] to make a reputation for himself. Sterling does not belong to, or has any connection with the [[List of Pirates of the Caribbean characters|characters]] and story arcs explored in the film series. ''Armada of the Damned'' and the films share only the same universe, and the former takes place before the events developed in the latter.<ref name="ignfirstlook">{{cite web|last=Clements|first=Ryan|title=First Look at Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/05/10/first-look-at-pirates-of-the-caribbean-armada-of-the-damned|work=''IGN''|publisher=News Corporation|accessdate=29 June 2013|date=May 10, 2010}}</ref> Sterling, the only playable character in the game, was designed to bear a default appearance that would suffer changes according to the player choices.<ref name="e32009"/>
Although not much information was revealed about ''Armada of the Damned''{{'s}} plot during its development stage, it is known that the game was set to follow the story of James Sterling, a pirate captain who must travel across the [[Caribbean Sea]] to make a reputation for himself. Sterling does not belong to, or has any connection with the [[List of Pirates of the Caribbean characters|characters]] and story arcs explored in the film series. ''Armada of the Damned'' and the films share only the same universe, and the former takes place before the events developed in the latter.<ref name="ignfirstlook">{{cite web|last=Clements|first=Ryan|title=First Look at Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned|url=http://www.ign.com/articles/2010/05/10/first-look-at-pirates-of-the-caribbean-armada-of-the-damned|work=''IGN''|publisher=News Corporation|accessdate=29 June 2013|date=May 10, 2010}}</ref> Sterling, the only playable character in the game, was designed to bear a default appearance that would suffer changes according to the player choices.<ref name="e32009"/>

Revision as of 15:44, 29 June 2013

Pirates of the Caribbean:
Armada of the Damned
Developer(s)Propaganda Games
Publisher(s)Disney Interactive Studios
SeriesPirates of the Caribbean
Platform(s)Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Microsoft Windows
ReleaseCancelled
Genre(s)Action, RPG, Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned was an action role-playing video game, developed by Propaganda Games for the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Windows platforms, and originally set to be published by Disney Interactive Studios. The game was based on the Pirates of the Caribbean film franchise, and was set to take place before the events showcased in the films. Armada of the Damned was the first attempt to create an open-world game based on the franchise, and was cancelled in October 2010, soon before the closure of Propaganda Games.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned followed the story of James Sterling, a pirate captain who must travel across the Caribbean to make a reputation for himself. Although little was unveiled about the game's story, it was supposed to be independent from the films' main story arc, and included new characters that didn't appear in the films. It's gameplay was mostly based on role-playing elements, and was set to include real-time combat and weapon customization.

Since it's announcement at 2009's Electronic Entertainment Expo, the game received positive response from most video game journalists. Daemon Hatfield from IGN named it "a promising action RPG", while GamesRadar praised its gameplay, comparing it with Assassin’s Creed. However, journalists felt dissapointed when Disney decided to close Propaganda Games, which also meant the cancellation of the game several months before its planned release date.

Gameplay

Armada of the Damned is a third-person action-adventure role-playing game set in an open world environment resembling the Pirates of the Caribbean universe. The player takes the role of James Sterling, an extensively customizable pirate character whose main mission is to travel across the Caribbean to make a reputation for himself. The gameplay in Armada of the Damned is centered around a choice system that affects the character's appearance, personality, weapons, attacks, quests and story developments through the player's choice.

Although most of the character's specifications can be customized, some elements are attached to one of the two main types designed in the game: Legendary or Dreaded. After choosing one of these at the beginning of the game, several gameplay and story elements are predefined to fit the player's pirate type. Each type has several unique default sets that shape the way the game is experienced, including how the environment and non-playable characters interact with the player. However, most of the character's specifications can be customized, regardless of the type of pirate selected.

Plot

Although not much information was revealed about Armada of the Damned's plot during its development stage, it is known that the game was set to follow the story of James Sterling, a pirate captain who must travel across the Caribbean Sea to make a reputation for himself. Sterling does not belong to, or has any connection with the characters and story arcs explored in the film series. Armada of the Damned and the films share only the same universe, and the former takes place before the events developed in the latter.[1] Sterling, the only playable character in the game, was designed to bear a default appearance that would suffer changes according to the player choices.[2]

Sterling, raised in a poor family, is a young adventurer full of dreams of fame and fortune who decides to become a pirate. Although he is killed after embarking on his first voyage across the sea, Sterling is revived by supernatural fources which give him a second chance to fulfill his fate.[1] After these events, the player had the option to follow two paths: to become either a "Legendary" or a "Dreaded" pirate. The "Legendary" path encompassed the notion of being a well-respected, good-faithed pirate, while the "Dreaded" path followed the notion of being a dark, feared one.[3] Although only one path could be chosen, both were tied together by the comprehensive choice system developed for the game, which would allow Sterling to be extensively customized by the player.[3]

Development

Who doesn't want to be a pirate? I think with the pirates adventure you're able to live that fantasy of being just a little bit lawless and I think that really is appealing to everybody.

—Dan Tudge, Propaganda Games' vice president and general manager.[4]

Development of Armada of the Damned was handled by Propaganda Games, a studio founded in 2005 and owned by Disney Interactive Studios. The studio was focused in the development of action-adventure and role-playing games for Disney, and was formed with former employees of EA Canada.[5] Propaganda's first game, Turok (2008), became a commercial success with more than one million copies sold.[6] After Turok's release, the studio began searching for a new intellectual property to work on, and selected the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise because "it is a universe fans will be dying to explore," as Propaganda's vice president and general manager Dan Tudge said in a interview.[4]

Although the studio used Epic Games's Unreal Engine 3 to develop Turok, it is unknown if the same engine was used for Armada of the Damned. However, the studio revealed that they worked on several scripts that were aimed to improve the gameplay focus designed for the game. Armada of the Damned was supposed to include an interactive "choice system" that would shape the way the player experienced the game, thus making choices an important feature.[2] The game world was designed to include land and sea locations across an open world environment, and was technically enhanced for standard third-person combat, as well as naval combat.[7]

According to game director Alex Peters, Armada of the Damned's character development was set to be shaped as far from the film series as possible. "We were very clear that we didn’t want to be associated with being a movie game," he commented. This led to the creation of James Sterling, a new character that would fit into the studio's needs and feel familiar to the characters featured in the films.[8] An original music score was written for Armada of the Damned, and the musical themes from the films were "treated tastefully and only used on occasion," according to the studio. The tracks would transition from one to another thanks to special markers built into the game system.[1] Armada of the Damned's music was later used in the development of Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game, released in 2011.[9]

Cancellation

Disney Interactive Studios confirms the cancellation of the Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned video game which was scheduled to be released in 2011

—Angela Emery, Disney Interactive Studios' vice president of communication to Kotaku.[10]

At the time of Armada of the Damned's development cicle, Propaganda Games was also working on Tron: Evolution, which was released in December 2010.[11] Several months before Tron: Evolution went gold, Disney Interactive Studios announced that lay offs took place at the studio as part of a restructuring program that affected Armada of the Damned's development team. Disney also announced that Propaganda would still finish development of Tron: Evolution and its subsequent planned downloadable content (DLC) releases, while Armada of the Damned, scheduled for a 2011 release, was set to be cancelled.[10]

The restructuring, which reduced the studio's staff by more than 100 people, led to the cancellation of Armada of the Damned, and its remaining development team then shifted over to finish Tron: Evolution, which team was also affected by the lay offs.[10] However, after Tron: Evolution failed to attain critical and commercial success, Disney cancelled Tron: Evolution's planned post-launch downloadable content releases, and closed Propaganda Games.[12]

Reception

References

  1. ^ a b c Clements, Ryan (May 10, 2010). "First Look at Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 29 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  2. ^ a b Goldstein, Hilary (May 26, 2009). "Pre-E3 2009: Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned Unveiled". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  3. ^ a b Hatfield, Daemon (May 18, 2010). "E3 2010: Pirates of the Caribbean -- Armada of the Damned Update". IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved 29 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  4. ^ a b Pfister, Andrew. "Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned Interview: Propaganda Games' Alex Peters". G4. G4 Media, LLC. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  5. ^ Kawamoto, Dawn (April 19, 2005). "Disney scoops up Avalanche, founds new studio". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  6. ^ "Turok's Dinosaurs Run Rampant with More Than 1 Million Units Shipped Worldwide". IGN. News Corporation. March 26, 2008. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  7. ^ Antista, Chris (May 13, 2010). "5 ways Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned is avoiding the movie-licensed shitstorm". GamesRadar. Future Publishing. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  8. ^ Talbot, Ben (February 11, 2010). "Pirates of the Caribbean: Armada of the Damned". GamesRadar. Future Publishing. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  9. ^ Citizen, Jessica (May 13, 2011). "LEGO Pirates uses music from axed Armada of the Damned". VG247. Videogaming247 Ltd. Retrieved 29 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  10. ^ a b c Crecente, Brian. "Pirates of the Caribbean Game Canned as Layoffs Hit Propaganda CONFIRMED". Kotaku. Gawker Media. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  11. ^ Magrino, Tom. "Tron: Evolution begins Dec. 7". GameSpot. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
  12. ^ Gilbert, Ben. "Propaganda Games shuttered". Joystiq. AOL Inc. Retrieved 27 June 2013. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
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