Tex Murphy Tex Murphy: Tesla Effect

[trustno1code]

The Kickstarter craze might've finally kickstarted the Tex Murphy resurrection.
Attention! Attention! - Unofficial Tex Murphy

As enthusiastic as I am about everything that's going on, I don't know if devs aren't overestimating peoples wallet sizes. They better start spacing these Kickstarters out (if that's what's happening here).

Either way, mark the 20th of March on yer calendars.

... I probably should've posted this in that Random News thread instead of Necroing, right?

 

[Sceptic]

Awesome!

Can't wait to see more details about this. I've been generally wary of Kickstarters so far, but this may be the one to make me take out my wallet.

Now all we need is Tom Hall to start Anachronox 2 as well...

 

[MMXI]

The Kickstarter craze might've finally kickstarted the Tex Murphy resurrection.
Attention! Attention! - Unofficial Tex Murphy

As enthusiastic as I am about everything that's going on, I don't know if devs aren't overestimating peoples wallet sizes. They better start spacing these Kickstarters out (if that's what's happening here).

Either way, mark the 20th of March on yer calendars.

... I probably should've posted this in that Random News thread instead of Necroing, right?

I'd pay in an instant. The Tex Murphy series was awesome.

Awesome!

Can't wait to see more details about this. I've been generally wary of Kickstarters so far, but this may be the one to make me take out my wallet.

Now all we need is Tom Hall to start Anachronox 2 as well...

So you haven't pledged money to the Double Fine Adventure or Wasteland 2 Kickstarters? You're evil!

 

[Crooked Bee]

Another Kickstarter? For a Tex Murphy game? Where do I donate?


(All rhetorical quetions.)

 

[Aeschylus]

This would be cool, though my wallet is starting to get a little light from all these kickstarters.

As you might be able to guess from my avatar adventure games are my first love, so any effort to bring back the quality classic series is good in my book.

 

[Metro]

Yep, it's going to start getting problematic. The bulk of the funding isn't coming from people buying the $15-$50 standard copies it's from big spenders chucking in $1,000+ donations. People aren't going to be able to do that multiple times a year. Unless they're crazy rich like Notch but such people are few and far between.

 

[Aeschylus]

Yep, it's going to start getting problematic. The bulk of the funding isn't coming from people buying the $15-$50 standard copies it's from big spenders chucking in $1,000+ donations. People aren't going to be able to do that multiple times a year. Unless they're crazy rich like Notch but such people are few and far between.

Well, that's not entirely true. DFA got around $1.5 million from people backing in the $15-30 range. I think it depends on how good the stuff is they're willing to offer for the lower tiers.

 

[oldmanpaco]

Martian Memorandum was one of my favorite adventure games growing up. I would kick in $15 for a new Tex game.

 

[commie]

I'd give for Tex even though I'm still wondering how I'll pay for W2...Still, maybe it won't be for a while yet and this is just an attempt to get interest going, spread the word as it were with the actual Kickstarter thing(if it's even an option) and then go for it. I hope Chris is too smart to try and squeeze the adventure crowd and those of us who have multiple interests at this moment. Let's not burn everybody out on this or rush with a half-arsed project.


Also Sceptic not donating to W2? That is indeed strange. I'm as cynical and poor as anyone could be and I never even really played Wasteland in the first place, but I figure it's time to take a stand and stop just whining like a bitch.

Regarding adventures like DFA it's a different story. I can understand the cynicism as adventures of the point and click variety don't seem like a genre that really needs Kickstarter despite what Ron would lead you to believe. Krauts and other Euros are constantly turning out adventure games, some actually really good, on tiny budgets. A real Tex Murphy game would need more funding though, the mix of 3D locations and FMV would be harder to pitch to publishers and so may need extra funding.

 

[Sceptic]

Also Sceptic not donating to W2? That is indeed strange. I'm as cynical and poor as anyone could be and I never even really played Wasteland in the first place, but I figure it's time to take a stand and stop just whining like a bitch.

I missed the whole Kickstarter craze at first, only became aware of it after DFA funding closed. Wasteland 2 I haven't made my mind yet. I'm wary of any new internet craze, particularly one that asks for my money. Let's face it, we don't really know if this system works at all, or what the result would be, and in the case of both Fargo and Schafer their recent attempts at making games left me... unimpressed. And, well, just look at my username. I could put down my $10 or whatever the minimum is but that would be... wrong. I don't know. I'm still thinking about it, and I've got a month left to decide. I'll most probably end up going for the $50 option (cloth map!)

 

[MMXI]

Also Sceptic not donating to W2? That is indeed strange. I'm as cynical and poor as anyone could be and I never even really played Wasteland in the first place, but I figure it's time to take a stand and stop just whining like a bitch.

I missed the whole Kickstarter craze at first, only became aware of it after DFA funding closed. Wasteland 2 I haven't made my mind yet. I'm wary of any new internet craze, particularly one that asks for my money. Let's face it, we don't really know if this system works at all, or what the result would be, and in the case of both Fargo and Schafer their recent attempts at making games left me... unimpressed. And, well, just look at my username. I could put down my $10 or whatever the minimum is but that would be... wrong. I don't know. I'm still thinking about it, and I've got a month left to decide. I'll most probably end up going for the $50 option (cloth map!)

Well, look at it from a different perspective: if everyone were like you then both Fargo and Shaffer wouldn't get the opportunity to prove that a crowd funded game could work. This is why I'm chipping in. If it turns out to be a disaster then we've all learnt something. If it turns out great then we can hope for more games using this model of funding.

 

[trustno1code]

 

[Sceptic]

ohgodohgodohgodohgod

TAKE MY MONEY CHRIS. TAKE MY MONEY ALREADY!

... he is getting old though. Gonna be interesting to see if this gets weaved into the plot too.

 

[Aeschylus]

A... spectacularly awesome announcement video...


So, a Kickstarter campaign in about 2 months. They're asking for feedback on their forums.

 

[trustno1code]

Yep, it's official:

Project Fedora

Plan 9 - Finally! An Announcement!

Well, as many of you have suspected (or possibly read in “GamesTM”) we are working on a new Tex Murphy game. (Better late than never, right?... right? )
We made a decision within the past few months that now was the time to complete the Tex Storyline. We could not wait any longer. We agreed that we needed to finish the story, although it had to be a more "modest" game design since Big Finish Games is a small gaming studio.

However, with the recent Kickstarter success stories for other Adventure Games - Double Fine Adventure & Wasteland 2 - we saw an opportunity to create a game of a larger scale. So, with that in mind, we hope to bring the next Tex Murphy game to an a much bigger, dare I say, epic level - More actors, locations, broader stories and yes - even meaningful, varied story paths. With these elements, we have a better chance of expanding the audience and a better chance of commercial success and continuation. All of this would allow us to make a true Adventure game with Immersive 3D world, Full Motion Video, and longer game play.
On May 15, we are going to launch a Kickstarter page to help raise funding for the project. As we prepare to film the Kickstarter video, we’re interested in feedback from you guys about what fundraising incentives you would like to see. Old Games? New Games? Tote Bags? T-Shirts, Posters, Artwork, Autographs, dinner for two? Dinner for three? Carl Kasell’s voice on your home answering machine? Let us know!

We also to get you involved in making the video. We want “Tex Murphy Testimonials” – written or video testimonials about what you loved about the prior games. We will incorporate some of these testimonials into our video and post others on our website or YouTube page.
If you would like to send us feedback or get involved, please fill out the form on Big Finish’s contact page: http://bigfinishgames.com/contact

Thank you for sticking with us! We've really appreciated your patience and loyalty and hope to give you guys an awesome game!

Thanks,
Chris

 

[Alex]

I was going to type something, but instead I will just

 

[udm]

I've played UAKM and Overseer. Never played Pandora Directive, but I hear it triumphs all the other TM games. Anyway, it's just nostalgia talking, but I love both games. UAKM I played almost 20 years ago, so I really don't remember much about it other than being stuck in one part where the Chameleon keeps killing me and I don't know a way around it. Overseer I got stuck in some abandoned warehouse or something. I really gotta play these again. I don't think there's a lot of pixel hunting, but if I'm not remembering wrongly, there are many locales and you'll find a few occasions where you'll run about in circles for the next few hours just hunting for the next clue.

-edit- I just whipped out my UAKM box, and it's growing mouldy. Anyone know of a good way to clean up the mould without ruining the box art? I once tried cleaning my KQ5 box with an alcohol swab, and that caused a smudge. Should have known how strong it would be.

 

[taxalot]

Doing it with FMV takes about as much balls as doing a turn based isometric RPG. Chris Jones is a fucking hero if he can pull it off. Maybe this kickstarter thing is the start of a bigger general incline if those titles do decently. Maybe Kickstarter is ITZ.

 

[commie]

FUUUCKKKK YEEEEAAAAHHH!!!!!! AND WITH FMV TO BOOT!!!!!! A TRUE TEX MURPHY GAME CANNOT GO WITHOUT!!!!!

 

[Alex]

commie

I wouldn't want them to do it any other way, of course. But my favorite Tex Murphy game still is the first one, Mean Streets.

 

[commie]

commie

I wouldn't want them to do it any other way, of course. But my favorite Tex Murphy game still is the first one, Mean Streets.

It's good, and at the time playing on my XT it was fucking awesome, it wasn't all that different from other point and click games. With UAKM, PD and Overseer, Jones really nailed down what made Tex Murphy stand out; the mix of true 3D exploration and puzzle solving merged with FMV. Oh and the humor of course! Did this a lot better than static, soulless rivals of the Myst variety.

 

[Aeschylus]

The Tex Murphy games were definitely shining examples of how to make good FMV games, of which there are not many. I'd be interested to see how one would turn out today, since the style has basically been abandoned after a brief window of obsession in the games industry.

 

[ghostdog]

 

[Sceptic]

The Tex Murphy games were definitely shining examples of how to make good FMV games, of which there are not many. I'd be interested to see how one would turn out today, since the style has basically been abandoned after a brief window of obsession in the games industry.

I think commie tried the only recent one, Darkstar. Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of anyone who's played it. As for Tex, what made them FMV games stand out was that they were still games first. It's easy to compare Phantasmagoria and UKM for example, where the latter actually came out FIRST. Phantas is a movie through and through. UKM is more or less a standard adventure game that just happens to have a lot of FMV sequences. TPD managed to make full use of the 3D interface to make an excellent traditional adventure game, and made full use of the FMV to implement some very good C&C (better than most CRPG's, that's for sure), not to mention nail the atmosphere perfectly. I don't really like the humor that much to be honest, UKM failed at getting it to work with the supposedly serious plot. Though TPD managed to keep them separate enough to blend well (especially since the humor pretty much vanishes if you play along the Boulevard of Broken Dreams)

 

[commie]

The Tex Murphy games were definitely shining examples of how to make good FMV games, of which there are not many. I'd be interested to see how one would turn out today, since the style has basically been abandoned after a brief window of obsession in the games industry.

I think commie tried the only recent one, Darkstar. Would be interesting to hear the thoughts of anyone who's played it. As for Tex, what made them FMV games stand out was that they were still games first. It's easy to compare Phantasmagoria and UKM for example, where the latter actually came out FIRST. Phantas is a movie through and through. UKM is more or less a standard adventure game that just happens to have a lot of FMV sequences. TPD managed to make full use of the 3D interface to make an excellent traditional adventure game, and made full use of the FMV to implement some very good C&C (better than most CRPG's, that's for sure), not to mention nail the atmosphere perfectly. I don't really like the humor that much to be honest, UKM failed at getting it to work with the supposedly serious plot. Though TPD managed to keep them separate enough to blend well (especially since the humor pretty much vanishes if you play along the Boulevard of Broken Dreams)

Actually I also tried Conspiracies I and II and these are for all intents and purposes 'Tex Murphy' clones, albeit with a much lower budget. Similar setting: You are a down on his luck PI in the future that gets a straightforward case that snowballs into a massive conspiracy. Similar mix of 3D exploration and FMV. I liked them even though they are hampered at times with questionable design and in Conspiracies I the FMV English dubbing is so horribly bad that many cannot go past it. I could and it was a good ride. Conspiracies II thankfully has an option for having original Greek VO with English subtitles and it's leagues better.

I recommend giving them a go at least.


As for Darkstar, it had potential, I just ran out of HDD space back then, uninstalled it and forgot about it. Thanks for reminding me.