David Jaffe. The man is a legend. If I could have lunch with one game developer, it would be him. Not only was he a creative force behind “Twisted Metal” and “God of War,” but he also has a propensity to say whatever is on his mind. The dude doesn’t pull his punches.

Jaffe has his own blog, which he uses to share his thoughts and to provide updates on his current projects. He recently posted some crude concept art for Eat Sleep Play’s (Jaffe’s independent studio) newest game, which has been confirmed to be a “Twisted Metal” game for the Playstation 3.

Hit the jump for some potentially exciting speculation.

Those of you who grabbed a copy of “Twisted Metal: Head-On: Extra Twisted Edition,” which was a port of the PSP game, know that there was a hidden message that revealed the studio’s next project for the PS3. Some resourceful gamers were able to crack the code in the “Twisted Metal” documentary, which translated to “METAL IS COMING ON PSTHREE.”

Little has been said about the game since, but Jaffe recently provided fans with a tiny nugget of information.

“But I figured I’d share a bit of what’s up with the work on my end,” Jaffe said. “Out in Utah I know the team is scrambling to get a nice, sexy build of the game going for a Sony Dog and Pony next week.”

What is this “Dog and Pony” he refers to. I assume that it is a show, but does it involve a petting zoo? Is Sony Computer Entertainment President Kaz Hirai going to don his best cowboy hat and boots?

Unfortunately, for those with the power of sight, my guess would be no. Some have suggested that “next week” would coincide with Sony’s press conference (Aug. 20) at the industry show in Germany. That would certainly be true if the post was written within the past few days. However, the posting was made on Aug. 7. Therefore, “next week” would actually be referring to this week.

With that in mind, I imagine that the build is being prepared for Sony executives. Hey, Hirai and his collection of pink shirts need to be kept in the loop too.

A post on the NeoGAF forums this morning seemed to confirm this assumption.

An individual with the username “davidjaffe” wrote:

Hey ya’ll- as for our new game, no, we re not showing it next week. Or next month. Or the month after that.

We’re prob. a good 6-10 months away from letting anyone outside of Sony see it. And at that point, I have no clue if they will give it its own showing to the press or make it’s unveiling a part of something like GDC or E3.

At this point, it has not been confirmed that Jaffe was the author.

The optimist in me wants to believe that the game could make an appearance at Leipzig, but it appears unlikely at this juncture.

Regardless, in my eyes, any progress is good. I have been dying for a follow-up to 2001’s “Twisted Metal: Black.” A sequel was started, but was never completed due to the tragic deaths of some of the title’s staff. Luckily, the game was not completely trashed. Four of the “Lost Levels” from the game made their way into the recent PS2 port of “Head-On.”

As someone who enjoyed the dark, grittiness of “Black,” I was extremely disappointed that the sequel was canceled. “Extra Twisted Edition” was awesome, but it was more in the vein of “Twisted Metal 2.” That is certainly not a bad thing. In fact, it’s part of the reason that the game was so awesome.

However, I found that the combination of great characters, stellar writing and addictive combat elevated “Black” above all other games in the franchise. The original, sequel and “Extra Twisted Edition” were all great games, but they lacked the emotional attachment that is created through tremendous storytelling.

Since “Extra Twisted Edition” was released in February, I wouldn’t expect Eat Sleep Play’s next game to ship before the 2009 holiday season. In preparation, I have started compiling a list of features that should be included. Chief among the features is a car creation system. I also hope that the online play from “Twisted Metal: Black Online” returns. Now all that is left is the waiting game.  I always hate this part.

Source: David Jaffe’s blog

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