Square Enix have announced their PAX Prime line up and events today.
The company has said these games will be shown or discussed at the Seattle event around August 28th to 31st:
Just Cause 3 – Lead VFX artist Fred Hooper and Lead AI Designer Niklas Norin from Avalanche Studios as well as Havok’s Cormac O’Brien will be discussing how the studio were able to make the destruction in the game’s 400 square mile area possible. The panel will be hosted by Kinda Funny Games personality Greg Miller. The panel will be taking place during 3 p.m to 4 p.m on August 28th at the Sphinx Theatre. The game will be playable at their booth.
Lara Croft GO! – Greg Miller once again will host a discussion between Daniel Lutz (Game Director), Antoine Routon (Lead Engineer), and Thierry Doizon (studio Art Director) on how they created mobile games from AAA franchises, and the challenges of this process. There will also be a launch party for the game. According to Square Enix, “there will be a launch party at the Hard Rock Café co-hosted by IGN on Friday, August 28 starting at 7 PM to celebrate the recent launch of Lara Croft GO. PAX Prime attendees can check out the game and chat with the Square Enix Montreal development team while visiting the Lara Croft GO fan art contest gallery, organized in collaboration with Child’s Play.” The party will also have poutine that is traditional to Montreal. This game will be playable at their booth.
Deus Ex: Mankind Divided – Jean Francois Dugas (Executive Game Director), Jonathan Jacques-Belletête (Executive Art Director), and Elias Toufexis (Voice actor for Adam Jensen) have a talk on how they realize the character of Adam Jensen with Greg Miller hosting. Toufexis will provide his insights on recording lines and doing mocap, and the developers will talk about the story and design. Fans can also give questions to the panel about the game and their careers. The panel will be taking place during 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. on August 28th at the Sphinx Theatre. The game will not be playable at PAX Prime this year.
HITMAN – Art Director Jonathan Rowe and Lead Writer Michael Vogt from the HITMAN development team discuss in this panel (via press release) the “visual and narrative universe of the world of assassination.” According to Square Enix, they will give “numerous insights and examples into the design process for visual and narrative storytelling in a world where the main character says very little.” The panel will end with a demonstration of the “Showstopper” mission and a Q&A. It will be hosted by Game Informer’s Mike Futter. The panel will be streamed on Twitch and YouTube from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. on August 28th. The panel will be at the Hydra Theatre. The game will not be playable at PAX Prime. Square Enix is also working with GameChanger “to put a hit on cancer.” There will be a pop-up barbers at Square Enix’s booth, so you can shave your head to look like Agent 47. With every shaved head, Square Enix will donate $47 to GameChanger, who support children against cancer. You can also make a donation to the charity and receive a Steam code of Hitman Absolution ($1 is the minimum contribution needed to get the code) if you don’t want to shave your hair or if you want to add to it as well as shaving your head. For those who aren’t at the event, you can also donate at www.47vsCancer.org and receive a Steam code (with a minimum $1 donation) for Hitman Absolution while PAX Prime is happening.
Final Fantasy XIV – Final Fantasy XIV Sound Director Masayoshi Soken and Localization Lead Michael-Christopher Koji Fox will discuss the music and lore of the game. Square Enix have also teased something from Soken, and they have said “you won’t want to miss out.” The event will be streamed live on Final Fantasy XIV’s Twitch channel at 12 p.m to 1 p.m. on August 29th. It will take place at the Grant Hyatt Seattle Hydra Room. Both music CD’s, Final Fantasy XIV: Before the Fall and Final Fantasy XIV: From Astral to Umbral will be available to purchase at the booth in limited qualities. The latest expansion, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward will be available to play at PAX Prime.
Final Fantasy XV – Like Gamescom, there will be an Active Time Report by Final Fantasy XV director Hajime Tabata. He will be talking about his personal stories with the development of the game and insights on the recently revealed trailer. It will be streamed on Twitch from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. on August 29th at the Grand Hyatt Seattle Hydra Room. Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae 2.0 will be available to play at PAX Prime.
In conclusion, the line up of games that are available to try are Just Cause 3, Lara Croft GO!, Life Is Strange, Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and the Blight Below, Final Fantasy Explorers, Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward, and Final Fantasy XV Episode Duscae 2.0.