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Moebius: Empire Rising out April 15 from Phoenix Online Publishing
Pinkerton Road's crowdfunded point-and-click adventure game Moebius: Empire Rising will make its debut on April 15 for WIndows and Mac platforms via newly formed publisher Phoenix Online Publishing. Phoenix Online Publishing is the indie-focused publishing arm of Phoenix Online Studios, developer of Cognition and The Silver Lining. Moebius, indie RPG Quest for Infamy, horror adventure game The Last Door: Collector's Edition, and mobile puzzler Lost Civilization are the first games slated for release under Phoenix Online's new label, as additional projects for PC, mobile platforms, and consoles loom on the horizon. Revealed in 2012, Moebius was one of many point-and-click adventure games that turned to Kickstarter for funding, surpassing its goal of $300,000 and earning more than $435,000 in backer pledges. Developer Pinkerton Road also plans to produce a remake of designer Jane Jensen's Gabriel Knight later this year. [Image: Pinkerton Road]
Jane Jensen's Moebius gets mysteriously murderous in new trailer
Pinkerton Road Studios leaks its first story details in this newly launched trailer for Moebius, an upcoming point-and-click adventure game in which attempt to piece together the circumstances surrounding a high-profile murder in Venice. Helmed by Gabriel Knight series creator Jane Jensen, Moebius was funded last year as the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign. In the game, players control Malachi Rector, a genius antique dealer whose eye for detail lands him in the middle of a secret government conspiracy. Moebius is set to launch for Windows, Mac, and Linux in early 2014. Ports for Android and iOS are also in development.
Gabriel Knight remake headed to PC, Mac, mobile in 2014
As it approaches the 20th anniversary of its original release, the classic point-and-click adventure game Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers will soon see a remake helmed by its original designer, Jane Jensen. Sins of the Fathers tracks book store owner Gabriel Knight and his quest to solve a series of ritual murders in the swamps of New Orleans. The remake was initially revealed during Jensen's Pinkerton Road Kickstarter campaign, though the project has since acquired funding independent of Kickstarter. The Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers 20th anniversary edition is set to premiere in mid-2014 for Windows, Mac, iPad, and Android platforms, featuring 3D retina display-quality graphics, voiced dialogue, and a remastered soundtrack from composer Robert Holmes.
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller launches episode 3, The Oracle
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller, the Kickstarted adventure game from Phoenix Online Studios and Gabriel Knight writer Jane Jensen, is now on its third episode and things are really heating up. Watch the trailer and that line is funny, we promise. Well, funnier. Episode three is subtitled The Oracle, and it continues the tale of Erica, a psychic FBI agent, as she tracks down a serial killer. "Cognition's third episode picks up right where the last left off, with a body hurtling down the Enthon Towers' 33 stories to smash onto a parked police cruiser," the press release describes. Players are able to control Erica and the serial killer as the (gruesome) story unfolds. Cognition will have four parts in total, with the final called The Cain Killer. Grab The Oracle and any previous episodes via Phoenix Online – with sales live through tomorrow, May 17 at 3 p.m. ET – and if you like the series, vote for Cognition on Steam Greenlight.%Gallery-188646%
Explore the mysteries of Cognition in this new trailer
Now that Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller from indie dev Phoenix Online Studios has a publisher, it's time to get the promotion train going! Here's a new trailer for the adventure game's first episode, 'The Hangman.'
Reverb Publishing adds its touch to Jane Jensen's Cognition
Cognition: An Erica Reed Thriller, designed by Gabriel Knight's Jane Jensen in cooperation with Silver Lining developer Phoenix Online Studios, sought its initial funding via Kickstarter last year. Now, it's acquired a more traditional partner: an actual publisher, in the form of Dungeon Defenders' Reverb Publishing. Reverb doesn't offer a specific date or platform information for the adventure game in its announcement, merely declaring its intent to bring it to "digital download platforms."Cognition is about a police detective who uses "post-cognition," an ability to touch objects and learn about their pasts, in her search for a serial killer.
Pinkerton Road reveals second title, uses traditional publisher model
Pinkerton Road Studios, founded by former Gabriel Knight designer Jane Jensen, has raised more than $300,000 in its Kickstarter campaign, insuring work on its first title, Moebius, can move forward. Pinkerton Road is also working on a second adventure title this year, but is using the traditional publishing model, Jensen revealed in the above update.The new game is called "Mystery Game X" for now and Jensen has revealed just three details: It's a third-person adventure; it's a dark mystery; she thinks you will be excited about it. That last one is less of a detail and more of "wishful thinking" or "early marketing," but hey, we figure she's probably right anyway.
'Moebius' could be first adventure game from Jane Jensen's new studio
Described as a "metaphysical sci-fi thriller in the vein of Fringe," Moebius is set to be the first adventure game from Pinkerton Road Studios, pending a successful outcome on its ongoing Kickstarter campaign. Early project backers pushed Moebius through the gate first, and have contributed nearly $174,000 out of the requested $300,000.The publicity surrounding the project is hinged on Jensen's prior work as designer and author for Sierra's celebrated Gabriel Knight series, in which a long-haired occult expert and demon hunter solved dark mysteries in-between sarcastic quips.In Moebius, we get an antiquities dealer named Malachi Rector, who's gifted with an ability to sense "the soul" of an object. (So, think of him as having a knack for explaining any nicks on your knick-knacks.) Rector seeks to identify the significance of a woman's suspicious death in Venice, and how that connects to a shifty millionaire named Amber Dexter.Moebius, as currently envisioned, should arrive sporting a "graphic novel look" in March 2013. Project backers have until then to fund the project and provide feedback throughout its development, possibly starting with an even-handed request to have the name "Amber Dexter" stricken from the game.%Gallery-153268%
Gabriel Knight writer Jane Jensen opens new studio Pinkerton Road
It's a good time to be a classic adventure game fan, in case you hadn't noticed. Between Double Fine's recent success story and this week's announcement of a brand new adventure studio from Gabriel Knight writer Jane Jensen, the next few years are gonna be rife with pun-laden puzzles.Jensen's new studio, Pinkerton Road, is being co-opened with composer Robert Holmes (also of Gabriel Knight fame) and will focus on "third-person adventure games for PC and tablet with rich stories, gorgeous art, and seamlessly fun play." Rather than following the traditional developer model of seeking funding via publishers, Pinkerton Road will be using a model based on community supported agriculture. Yes, really.Jensen's calling it "Community Supported Gaming," and says fans will essentially pay for year-long seasons of access to the studio's games (a la CSAs). A smattering of ideas are already in the works for the studio's first year, and Kickstarter is facilitating the funding. If you'd like to support the project, there are still 42 days to go on the funding goal.
Jane Jensen and Silver Lining devs reveal new adventure game, Cognition
Here's some awesome news for adventure fans: Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen is working on another project, with King's Quest: The Silver Lining dev Phoenix Online Studios, along with Titan Quest developer Khaeon Gamestudio and comic artist Roman Molenaar! Even better news: Phoenix's new game won't use any IP that Activision owns! Cognition is an episodic detective adventure about an FBI agent who gains the power to see past events related to any object she touches. Agent Erica Reed uses these abilities – and, hopefully, some traditional investigative methods as well – to hunt down a serial killer, and attempt to solve the murder of her brother. It's coming to PC, with mobile and console versions "also under consideration." Phoenix plans to release four episodes of Cognition, but needs your help to fund development. It's set up a Kickstarter seeking $25,000 for initial development costs. As always, there are bonuses associated with various Kickstarter tears, not the least of which is this game actually happening.
Gray Matter confirmed for February launch on PC in North America
Gray Matter, the first adventure game by Jane Jensen since Gabriel Knight 3, is set for a PC launch in North America for $29.99 in February, which should finally end years of the game pulling a delay out of its hat. We can't currently point and click you toward a stateside launch for the Xbox 360 version. The full game (with a heftier Euro price) and demo for the PC version have been available across the Atlantic for a few months now. Thankfully, despite the game's German launch, that version comes with English voiceovers.
Gray Matter demo now available in European Xbox Live regions
And now, for its next trick, Gray Matter will release an Xbox Live demo to several European regions. The long-awaited adventure game -- which you may have classified as "that new thing from Gabriel Knight author and designer, Jane Jensen" -- follows a young magician as she uncovers a puzzling paranormal situation near an English university. According to Major Nelson, the demo is available in the following regions: United Kingdom, Austria, Belgium, Ireland, Netherlands, Portugal, Switzerland, Germany, Spain and France. If you're quite tolerant of mice and keyboards, you can also grab a demo of the PC version from Big Download. The German release of Gray Matter (including English voiceovers) is already available, if a bit on the pricey side, and the English version is currently set to arrive in shops in February 2011. By then, there should be quite a few walkthroughs available to help those who struggle with point-and-click conundrums -- after all, how does a magician cope without an assistant?
Jane Jensen's Gray Matter PC demo available now
Look, we weren't going to say anything, but it's obvious that your brain isn't operating at maximum capacity today. You've probably got some residual tryptophan slurry sloshing around in there -- what you need is to really flex your cerebral muscles. There's really no better way for you to do so than to check out a recently released PC demo for Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen's long-in-development mystery/adventure title, Gray Matter. See, it's got the name of your brain goop right there in the title, so you know it's a thinking person's game. The game was actually released in Germany earlier this month, and will arrive in the rest of Europe next February -- however, no US release plans for the full title have been announced. To unravel the full mystery therein, you're going to have to pony up for the German version of the game (which includes a full English voice track) or import the game, which is, in and of itself, kind of a mystery. Oh, Jane Jensen. You got us again.
Gray Matter slips to February 2011
UK-based adventure game publisher Lace Mamba Global has announced another unfortunate "slippage" of Gray Matter. As developer WizarBox and co-publisher dtp entertainment work to get the hard-to-handle contents of Jane Jensen's game in order, Lace Mamba has "no alternative but to delay the release until the chosen date," according to an announcement. (Prior to today's delay, the game was scheduled for release this month.) The latest chosen date for both the PC and Xbox 360 versions? February 25, 2011 in the UK (which, by the standard retail calendar, would put Gray Matter in North America on February 22.) "[W]e now know for certain that the date we have is the date Gray Matter will be available," declared Lace Mamba's Jason Codd, perhaps jinxing the project again. "[D]ue to the tight time frames, and the need for more polishing of the game we had no alternative but to make a quick decision and delay the product until February," Codd explained. "This will give the development team more time in ensuring that the game measures up to the standards that have been set" -- now, are those the original 2004 standards, or ...?
Gray Matter has its mind set on October release
We got an extensive demo with Jane Jensen's oft-delayed adventure game Gray Matter at E3 (more on that soon) but she did give us one item we couldn't wait to share: Publisher DTP Entertainment is currently targeting an October release for the PC/360 title. Considering we've previously heard March of 2010, 2009 and 2008, well ... let's just say we're writing the date on our calendar in pencil. Maybe not even that. Maybe sidewalk chalk. %Gallery-95686%
Jane Jensen's Gray Matter confirmed for Xbox 360
Gray Matter, Jane Jensen's long overdue adventure game, is also making its way to the Xbox 360 when the game finally launches later this year (... allegedly). Originally announced for PC years ago, there had been talk of a console version -- but for the Wii. Publisher dtp entertainment states the controls have been adjusted for Microsoft's console, but "other than that, Gray Matter's PC and Xbox 360 versions are absolutely identical." Jensen was the mind behind the acclaimed Gabriel Knight adventure series during the 90s. Hopefully, this'll be the year we finally get to wrap our brains around Gray Matter.
March is the latest release date for Gray Matter
The last release date given for Jane Jensen's comeback adventure game, Gray Matter, was "2009," following delays in 2007 and 2008. However, the hot new trend for games coming out in 2009 is not coming out in 2009, and publisher dtp entertainment has adjusted its schedule accordingly.According to a new press release, the publisher now plans to release Gray Matter in March. Eventually, we suppose, one of these release dates is going to be the real one, but we have no way of knowing which until the game comes out. At least progress is being made: dtp announced that voice work for the English version is complete.[Via Eurogamer]
Jane Jensen's Gray Matter may puzzle Wii owners
Jane Jensen's Gabriel Knight games were rare commodities: mid-'90s FMV-based games that weren't amazingly terrible (okay, so just the second one was FMV-based). While Vivendi has the rights to that series, Jensen has been working on a new adventure game, Gray Matter, for a few years. Gray Matter is the story of a neurobiologist and his assistant, who must investigate both his reappearing dead wife and his history of creepy experiments. And also solve puzzles, obviously.In a retrospective Gabriel Knight interview with Edge, Jensen said that Wii fans may have reason to watch the constant delays of the point-and-click adventure game: "There are plans for a Wii port of Gray Matter, and I hope it happens." The website currently says it's "coming soon 2009", so, barring further delays, we can expect to hear more about this purported Wii version ... sometime this year.[Via Cubed3]
Jane Jensen teases Gray Matter with Christmas tale
Jane Jensen has gift wrapped a bone and tossed it to fans waiting patiently for her next adventure game, Gray Matter. The Gabriel Knight author has released a short Christmas story that serves as a prequel to her oft-delayed project, offering an early look at what the characters have been up to while waiting for their upcoming adventures in pointing and clicking.As of now, Gray Matter, which was handed over to French developer Wizarbox last September, is still on track for release in 2009. While you continue to wait, check out the story on Jensen's blog, which is available for download in PDF format.
Jane Jensen's Gray Matter delayed once more
Adventure game fans looking for signs of life in their dwindling genre of choice have a bitter pill to swallow today as Gray Matter, the next adventure game from iconic Gabriel Knight scribe Jane Jensen, has once again been pushed back. She explains on her newly launched Gray Matter blog that the game is bring retooled after changing developers last year, a shift that, according to Jensen, set the project back some 9 months.Jensen writes that the new developer, Wizarbox, is "raising the quality bar" on the project, the devs having worked in various capacities on a number of titles already, from Nightmare Creatures and Arx Fatalis, to handling programming duties on Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2. Numbing the sting left by the delay somewhat, Jensen also put up some nifty Gray Matter concept art up on the blog as well, adding that going forward she plans to use the site to keep those of us with an itch for pointing and clicking up to speed on the game's progress.
