Happy Star Wars day everybody!

OK guys, I’m putting the question to you. As most of you probably know, A. C. Crispin has recently laid out Han Solo’s life adventures from a very young age all the way through to his fateful meeting with Obi-Wan and Luke in the Cantina in his Han Solo trilogy of novels.  Unlike the earlier Han Solo trilogy by Brian Daley, the new series covers pretty much every inch of his life and leaves little to the imagination (save his stint in the Imperial Navy).

So here’s my question to those of you who’ve read the new books: would you prefer my adventure game stick to Crispin’s canon like glue, or would you rather see a new take on Han’s formative years?  Just so you know, I have no intention of depicting anything that actually occurred in the novels.  I’m not making “The Paradise Snare: The Game.”  That would violate my definition of “fan fiction,” and cross more into some sort of “remake” category.  The game storyline will be original, the only question is should the story fit snugly into the Crispin novels, or does it really matter to anyone?

The reason I ask is, although it’s easy enough to accommodate the Corporate Sector history of the Brian Daley novels and details about Nar Shada from Dark Empire, the Crispin novels basically carpet his entire life and cover all the fun stuff so completely that it’s difficult to write around them.  Normally I’m sympathetic to the canon, but when we’re talking about a world where no one can seem to agree on whether this bounty hunter was killed inside the Pit of Carkoon, or that bounty hunter shot first, I figure what’s “canon” is up for debate.

I’m just sayin’.

Found a nice article with Casey Pugh, creator of Star Wars: Uncut, the project originally responsible for The Han Solo Adventures.  Casey talks about his inspiration for the project, his dealings with Lucasfilm on the matter, and his future plans.

Check it out on NewTeeVee!

For a while now, I’ve been working with a team of artists and writer/artist Mike Oliver to visualize what will be my first commercial graphic adventure game.  We’re getting heavy into the design, so I wanted to take the opportunity to give you guys a peek at it on my new website WarbirdGames.com!

The genre doesn’t stray far from Han Solo Adventures.  The setting is a universe of space fantasy, in a very retro “Buck Rogers” style.  The player character is Jack Houston, a salty test pilot curmudgeon who would be right at home in a heated game of Sabacc with Han himself.  The artwork will be cell animation style with painted backgrounds, and it will feature a full cast of voice actors.

Now for a little rumor control:

Q: How much effect does this have on your commitment to the Han Solo Adventures project?

A: Zero.  I started the Han Solo game on paper when I was a kid, and I will finish the game no matter what.  If LucasArts came down on me like a ton of bricks tomorrow, I would still finish the game for my own satisfaction, even if I were legally restricted from releasing it to the public.  It’s a passion project.

Q: Will this game have the same SCUMM interface as Han?

A: No, the interface will be original, but familiar to Sierra and LucasArts gamers.

Q: Are you sticking with classic, low res graphics and midi music?

A: Not on your life.  While I love the look and feel of classic DOS games for Han Solo, Jack Houston is a 100% modern game with modern graphics and sound.

Q: When will we have a demo?  When can we see the gameplay?

A: Hard to say.  We’re still in the design phase, so don’t expect to be playing it soon.

I’ve released a few concept art images on the Warbird Games site, and later this week I will be releasing a short teaser video to give you an idea for the feel of the game.  Of course, the game is still somewhat on the horizon, but I like to remain transparent and include you guys in everything I’m doing when possible.

So check out the full story on the Warbird site, enjoy, and stay tuned both here and there for more updates on the adventures of Han Solo and Jack Houston!

Viva Adventure Games!

-s

Yes, it’s true. There are a few other cats out there doing some truly amazing stuff with the old school adventure game genre, and even shaking it up a bit! My January 1st announcement will in fact be along those lines, but…

While we all wait, I wanted to show you guys a couple of videos I made on the side for some very cool adventure game developers out there who recently had their work featured in the IGF (Independent Games Festival… basically Sundance for gamedev!)

The first was Vince Twelve, creator of two of the most bizarre and innovative adventure games I’ve ever seen, Anna and What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed. Vince has a new game in the works called Resonance. I’ve played the beta, and it is simply one of the most amazing adventure games ever. Period. Here’s part of the video I cut for his IGF entry:

And be sure to visit the official site: http://xiigames.com/resonance/.

The second game I wanted to bring to you guys’ attention is Puzzle Bots! It’s another totally innovative adventure game created by Erin Robinson and produced by Dave Gilbert of WadjetEye Games (The Shivah, the Blackwell series, more awesome new adventure games). I cut Erin’s IGF video as well:

Official site here: http://www.wadjeteyegames.com/puzzlebots.htm

I’m really jazzed by all this action on the adventure game genre front. Be sure to check out these developers and support them if you want to see more games like these surface! Thanks guys, and hang loose for the January 1st announcement along with more screenshots from Han Solo!

-s

Keep your eyes peeled right here: www.WarbirdGames.com

Big announcement January 1st.

Pass it on…

Wow, there was a little write up about the game in the October issue of Play Magazine! It sure warms my heart to see that SCUMM screen in a game mag once again.

They got a few things wrong, so here’s a quick errata: 1) I am using the AGS engine, not the actual SCUMM engine. Also, I’m a dude.

But other than that… thanks Play Magazine! You guys rock!

Lots of boring coding going on in the background. Had to turn to some more cool creature artwork to uncross my eyes! (click to see it a little bigger!)

-s

Are there jawas about?