David Jaffe

God of War creator David Jaffe has always worn the signs of a mad genius. After all, who could forget his customary curse-laden rants or that weird Twisted Metal trailer where he started shooting a machine gun at a replica of Sweet Tooth’s famous ice cream truck – in the middle of a bleepin’ desert? But each of those moments pale into insignificance compared to the industry legend’s latest endeavour: he claims that his next game is being partially funded by an 80-year-old ghost hunter who’s supposedly mastered the art of curing werewolves.

“He's a real person,” said the former Sony employee of the colourful character in an extensive, and somewhat surreal, interview with Polygon. According to the development legend, he and former Sony alum Nick Kononelos were discussing a hypothetical ghost hunting title in a San Diego bar, when a mysterious man by the name of Bartlet Jones mistook the conversation to be related to real ghosts. The trio got talking, and decided to setup a game development and ghost hunting company named The Bartlet Jones Supernatural Detective Agency.

When not performing séances and curing hairy gentlemen by moonlight, the studio is supposedly working on a brand new game, which is apparently being funded by the aforementioned Bartlet Jones and a major publisher. The latter organisation is rumoured to be – surprise, surprise – Sony, but Jaffe refuses to say. “I can't tell you where it’s going to end up,” he said. “I can tell you that it’s designed from the ground up to be a franchise with legs, and a brand that we think has a lot of potential.”

The release, according to the developer, is not a “small arcadey game” like the underrated PlayStation Network exclusive Calling All Cars, but something with a little more meat on its bones. “There are plans and potential for us to do in scope the level of God of War-style experiences, and that may be the first thing that we launch the brand with, but I don't know yet." For the time being, the mysterious publisher is willing to allow the newly formed studio to experiment. “When you're [making a game] in a genre with a lot of competition, you need that time to find the voice and spirit of the game that you're making,” he continued.

Unfortunately, that’s all that the industry luminary is willing to give away at this stage. The abovementioned Bartlet Jones has since created a Twitter account, where the presumably fictional character’s been posting about creature hunts and other such bizarre activities. Jaffe insists that it’s not a ruse – but he also claimed that there wasn’t a new Twisted Metal game in production multiple times before it was unveiled at E3. Whatever the real truth, it’s nice to know that the development legend’s still absolutely off his rocker.

[source polygon.com]