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Interactive murder mystery game 'Erica' gets a surprise release
Flavourworks' interactive game/movie hybrid Erica flew under the radar for a long time while its developers spent years working on the underlying technology. But following the launch of the new trailer at Gamescom this week, the studio made the surprise announcement that the game is available now.
Night Trap creator planning re-release for current platforms
Full-motion video game pioneer James Riley is seeking a re-release of the infamous Sega CD launch title Night Trap for modern platforms, CVG reports. "I do plan to re-release Night Trap and have been talking with a number of interested parties to do so," Riley revealed in a comment at the game's closed-access Facebook fan page. "However, the specific platform(s) have not been confirmed (including online) and I will let you know once we have a definite plan and release schedule." Riley continued: "Night Trap will come back, in better resolution and game play than before, we just want to be sure it's the best strategy for all involved." Released alongside the 16-bit Sega CD add-on in 1992, Night Trap is an interactive B-movie that challenges players to switch between multiple security camera feeds to capture vampiric creatures stalking a slumber party. Despite featuring little in the way of objectionable content, Night Trap caused a stir in the U.S. Senate soon after its release, resulting in the game's temporary removal from store shelves and the introduction of a content ratings system for video games. [Video: Digital Pictures / hassel2000]
Project Fedora hits funding goal with one week left
The next live-action adventure title in the Tex Murphy series, Project Fedora, has been fully funded with a week left in its Kickstarter campaign. After raising almost $500k from over 5,000 fans, creators Chris Jones and Aaron Conners are turning their attention to the project's stretch goals in the event they raise even more money for the project.Stretch goals include porting the game to additional platforms in more languages as well as expansions on the game's story. Jones discusses the team's "big finish manifesto" in the video above.[Thanks, Shaun!]
Tex Murphy gets a Kickstarter page for Project Fedora
The rumored Tex Murphy Kickstarter has been confirmed, to the tune of $216,000 (out of $450k as of this writing). That's how much creators Chris Jones and Aaron Conners have put together already to make the long-awaited "Project Fedora," the next in the cult classic series of full motion video sci-fi noir titles.You can get a copy of the (eventual) game just by backing at the price of $15, and there are lots of other rewards for higher payments, including a collector's edition, new commentary for the old Tex Murphy games, and even the chance to beta test and be in the game itself. The creators say that the game will have full-motion video, but it will also include a 3D game world, with branching paths of story to follow. As Tex says in the wild Kickstarter video, "it's hat-in-hand time," so go over and give if you want to get in early.
Watch the first 15 minutes of The Gunstringer's FMV DLC, 'Wavy Tubeman Chronicles'
Twisted Pixel's foray into the motion-tracking, depth-sensing world of Kinect may not be out until tomorrow, but The Gunstringer's first batch of DLC is already locked and loaded, waiting patiently in the wings for its chance to shine. And oh, how it shines; glinting in the sun like a sheriff's badge at high-noon. Wavy Tubeman Chronicles is an entirely FMV experience, the first fifteen minutes of which you can watch above via G4TV. To the more ancient astute of you, Twisted Pixel's masterwork may seem a bit familiar, and for good reason: The full-motion adventure was inspired in no small part by Mad Dog McCree, an FMV laserdisc/arcade/3DO/Sega CD western from 1990. We had hoped that watching would somehow satiate our unquenchable thirst for FMV games, but it ended up having the opposite effect.
E Ink dashes hopes of a next gen display in 2011, but pencils in full-motion video for 2012
E Ink Holdings is brazenly making us wait until 2012 before producing a successor to its popular Pearl electronic paper display. One of the company's VPs dropped into CNET's offices to spill the bad news: developing and testing a next-generation display "takes some time", apparently, and it is sticking to a two year product cycle. Perhaps E Ink has shifted its focus to the LCD screen in Amazon's rumoured tablet. Or maybe it's still working on the Triton color e-ink display that left us so underwhelmed at CES. Either way, the monochrome Pearl has been knocking around in the Kindle and other e-readers for a while now and although it has better contrast than earlier iterations, it is still ripe for a revamp -- especially a faster refresh rate. But the E Ink VP did hint at some brighter news: the next-gen display, when it does finally arrive, could sport full-motion video. So far e-ink video has failed to go beyond a slightly jittery 10-15fps, so full-motion 24fps or 30fps could definitely be worth the wait.
TUAW's Daily App: The 7th Guest
You might have missed the fact that this classic adventure game was released on iOS, but just in case, here you go: it's available now for iPhone and iPad. According to reviews on the store, this is a faithful recreation of the old full-motion video game from back in 1993. The game has you wandering around a mansion trying to solve puzzles, with a story slowly displayed through video clips featuring real actors in a real setting. The game was quite innovative for its time, being one of the first games to be distributed on CD-ROM. Unfortunately, the main reason for that was because the videos took up so much memory, and weirdly, iOS device owners are currently facing that same problem -- the game needs 623 MB free on your device to install. But it is an interesting game from the start of the modern PC gaming era, and if you're already a fan of The 7th Guest, you'll definitely want to pick this up and play it on Apple's platform. The game is US$2.99 on the iPhone and $5.99 on the iPad. Andy Williams actually sings about "spooky ghost stories" for Christmas, so if you need one of those to play through this holiday week, try your turn at being the 7th Guest at Old Man Stauf's house.
