Jim Cojones
Prophet
I do have most of the screenshots for the next update and all the text I will need in .txt file but before I will be able to make an update out of it...
Let's meet the devs
Metropolis Software is definitely one of the most important companies in the history of Polish gaming. It was found around 1992 by three people Adrian Chmielarz, Grzegorz Miechowski and Andrzej Michalak (yeah, try to read it). The first title they have developed, Tajemnica statuetki (Mystery of a Statuette) was a brief of a fresh air - the first Polish point-and-click adventure, and quite a good one at the same time - and sold in amazing number of 5000 copies (yes, it was considered huge then). Later, the company continued producing adventures, like Teenagent and The Prince and the Coward but also tried different genres. Without success - the only other title worth mention I can think of is Gorky 17, also known as Odium. After producing Infernal, a mediocre shooter, they were bought by CD Projekt in 2008 and hoped this transaction will allow them to take their newest FPS project to a new level:
Sadly, CD Projekt decided to close this studio a couple months ago although it will probably be reopened.
Out of the three co-founders two were also working also on Teenagent while Andrzej Michalak left the company:
Adrian Chmielarz (script) - widely acknowledged as the mastermind behind success of Metropolis and the first star of Polish gaming as a man with vision of making games that we wouldn't be ashamed to show abroad and a columnist for one of Polish gaming magazines. He left Metropolis in 2002 to find People Can Fly and create Painkiller.
Grzegorz Miechowski (script, animations) - the only person who were with the company from the beginning to the end but far less famous than Chmielarz. I think he's still working for CD Projekt.
The last of the men responsible for script was Andrzej Sawicki - fantasy/sci-fi books translator who got his nickname General (or El General Maginifico/EGM) from friends because they were sure the rank he got serving in army was not enough for such a great man. But it wasn't translating or his work on Teenagent which made him known by all the fans of computer games around here. He became recognised as the expert on adventure games and one of the best reviewers in Poland for his work in CD-Action. While his reviews probably wouldn't satisfy Codex criterions of perfect articles as they were often overly enthusiastic (even his co-workers from a mainstream gaming mag thought the ratings were too high) they were informative enough and were written with exceptionally vivid language. He quit from CD-Action last year. The official reason were health problems but it wasn't long before the real ones (mostly chief editor's huge changes in his reviews and money) were shown public thanks to his son's whining on a message board which evolved in an epic drama of argue between EGM and the chief editor.
Adam 'Scorpik' Skorupa (music) - his involvement in creating music for computer games started because of becoming famous on local Amiga demoscene. Created music for most of the important Polish games, including Metropolis Software's titles, Painkiller and The Witcher. What's interesting, he's also responsible for the intro music played in Avernum 5.
Gulash, Martinez, Wicik and Alex - "voice actors" and editors from Secret Service, the best gaming magazine we had here (in before Gambler/Top Secret fanboys). Let's say I like version without voice acting better although at its time it was something that impressed players in Poland.
Let's meet the devs
Metropolis Software is definitely one of the most important companies in the history of Polish gaming. It was found around 1992 by three people Adrian Chmielarz, Grzegorz Miechowski and Andrzej Michalak (yeah, try to read it). The first title they have developed, Tajemnica statuetki (Mystery of a Statuette) was a brief of a fresh air - the first Polish point-and-click adventure, and quite a good one at the same time - and sold in amazing number of 5000 copies (yes, it was considered huge then). Later, the company continued producing adventures, like Teenagent and The Prince and the Coward but also tried different genres. Without success - the only other title worth mention I can think of is Gorky 17, also known as Odium. After producing Infernal, a mediocre shooter, they were bought by CD Projekt in 2008 and hoped this transaction will allow them to take their newest FPS project to a new level:
Grzegorz Miechowski said:This deal is great news or Metropolis. Thanks to this fusion, we have come together to become the developer with the biggest potential in this part of Europe. We will develop our future games on a grand scale - a scale which, in Poland, was previously only available for The Witcher. I believe that thanks to CD Projekt's support, THEY will have the chance to take the FPS genre by storm, just as The Witcher did in the RPG genre.
Sadly, CD Projekt decided to close this studio a couple months ago although it will probably be reopened.
Out of the three co-founders two were also working also on Teenagent while Andrzej Michalak left the company:
Adrian Chmielarz (script) - widely acknowledged as the mastermind behind success of Metropolis and the first star of Polish gaming as a man with vision of making games that we wouldn't be ashamed to show abroad and a columnist for one of Polish gaming magazines. He left Metropolis in 2002 to find People Can Fly and create Painkiller.
Grzegorz Miechowski (script, animations) - the only person who were with the company from the beginning to the end but far less famous than Chmielarz. I think he's still working for CD Projekt.
The last of the men responsible for script was Andrzej Sawicki - fantasy/sci-fi books translator who got his nickname General (or El General Maginifico/EGM) from friends because they were sure the rank he got serving in army was not enough for such a great man. But it wasn't translating or his work on Teenagent which made him known by all the fans of computer games around here. He became recognised as the expert on adventure games and one of the best reviewers in Poland for his work in CD-Action. While his reviews probably wouldn't satisfy Codex criterions of perfect articles as they were often overly enthusiastic (even his co-workers from a mainstream gaming mag thought the ratings were too high) they were informative enough and were written with exceptionally vivid language. He quit from CD-Action last year. The official reason were health problems but it wasn't long before the real ones (mostly chief editor's huge changes in his reviews and money) were shown public thanks to his son's whining on a message board which evolved in an epic drama of argue between EGM and the chief editor.
Adam 'Scorpik' Skorupa (music) - his involvement in creating music for computer games started because of becoming famous on local Amiga demoscene. Created music for most of the important Polish games, including Metropolis Software's titles, Painkiller and The Witcher. What's interesting, he's also responsible for the intro music played in Avernum 5.
Gulash, Martinez, Wicik and Alex - "voice actors" and editors from Secret Service, the best gaming magazine we had here (in before Gambler/Top Secret fanboys). Let's say I like version without voice acting better although at its time it was something that impressed players in Poland.