Studio Focus - Revolution Games

For a while now I've been thinking about writing about some UK game developers, and I thought I'd start here...  I have a happy place in my heart for Revolution Games.  One of my favourite games of all time is Beneath a Steel Sky, and I've bought Broken Sword games numerous times in different formats.  (Who doesn't love an evil templar mystery?!)  Admittedly, I didn't like the 3D adventures so much.  It seems like it was a case of new technology being adopted just for the sake of it - it's a joy to me that traditional point and click adventures are having a bit of a comeback.

The studio came to mind again this week with the announcement that they were making a new game called Beyond a Steel Sky.  The original game was created with Dave Gibbons, a comicbook artist famous for his work with Alan Moore on Watchmen, and he'll be working on the new game too.

Revolution Games is based in York, UK, and was set up in 1990 by Charles Cecil, Tony Warriner, David Sykes and Noirin Carmody, all of whom still work for the company.  Their first game was Lure of the Temptress, which was released in 1992.  You can download the original version of the game for FREE on GOG.com.  Their second game was my beloved Beneath a Steel Sky, in 1994, also available for FREE on GOG.com.  The game follows Robert Foster and his lovable (and offensive) robot Joey.  I love a good sci-fi yarn, and this is a great game, without too many impossible puzzles!

And then, of course, in 1996 Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars was released.  Not only was this an atmospheric puzzler set in Paris, with possible romance on the cards between George and Nico, it was responsible for a puzzle so annoying that it has its own Wikipedia page: The Infamous Goat Puzzle!  1997's Broken Sword II: The Smoking Mirror was great fun too, but for me things went a little downhill after that, when things went 3D.

The Infamous Goat of Lochmarne Castle

In 2000 they released In Cold Blood on the PlayStation (their first 3D game), a game that I never managed to get very far in (I seem to recall that since it's the protagonist's memories, every time you die he says "no, it can't have happened like that", or something similar).  They also released Gold and Glory: The Road to El Dorado.  Following this Broken Sword hiatus, things went 3D for George Stobbart in 2003's Broken Sword III: The Sleeping Dragon. According to Wikipedia, the switch to 3D was the only way Revolution could get publishers for their games.  Suffice it to say, this doesn't sound like a super happy time in the studio's history.

In 2004 Revolution changed from being a designer and producer of video games to being purely game designers.  Staff were let go.  Changes in the market had made times bad for independent developers.  Using this new model, a number of former Revolution staff were taken on by Sumo Digital to make 2006's Broken Sword IV: Angel of Death.

What Revolution moved to a couple of years ago, because it was difficult to survive as an independent developer with a team of 15-20 people, was move to a freelance model, which some call the Hollywood model. We'd pull people together for a team project, then everybody would dissipate and either get together for the next one or not. Clearly that suits us, in that our overheads are lower, but it also creates a wonderfully dynamic working environment.

When people join it means that they really care about the project. They know that they're going to work with us for an X number of months and for X fee, and everybody really wants to make sure, from a personal and professional level, that the project is good as it possibly can be. It's a very exciting and very interesting dynamic. Personally I much prefer it to staff, where there are much more complex dynamics going on in the relationships between people. Some of the people that used to work at Revolution before we downsized a few years ago got jobs, while some of them decided to work with us again on a freelance basis and I'm delighted to have them back.

- Charles Cecil speaking to Mark Walton (Gamespot) in 2012

Thankfully, the dark times were not to continue forever.  By the end of the decade, with digital distribution, it was possible to self-publish.  Also, with the rise in mobile gaming, in 2009 Revolution was asked to produce some versions of Broken Sword for iOS.  This relationship with Apple continues with Beyond a Steel Sky, and the new versions brought Broken Sword to a new audience.

Broken Sword V was announced in August 2012, with a Kickstarter campaign.  New methods of funding meant that Revolution could control everything themselves, instead of being under the mantle of a big publisher.  The game returns the series to its original 2D roots, hooray! Broken Sword V: The Serpent's Curse was released in 2013.

And that brings us up to today, with the recent announcement of Beyond a Steel Sky.  The game looks gorgeous, from the images on their website.  It's due to be one of the launch titles of Apple's new "Apple Arcade" subscription gaming service, though apparently there will be a concurrent PC launch.

I just hope Joey's in it!  :-D

Revolution, then, a brilliant UK game developer - I hope they have many years of creativity to come!

Follow them on twitter @revbot.

Ramble - 23 great PS4 games for kids..?

So, this popped up from PlayStation on my twitter feed the other day: 23 great PS4 games for kids available right now.  Since this is the very thing that this blog is about (family friendly gaming), of course I clicked on it!  But were there any fun surprises waiting for me?  Have they missed some obvious family friendly games?  Hmm, well, no.  And to be honest, it's a sort of disappointing list.  And why are there 23?  They could have just made it the 20 best.  It's like they were trying for 25 and they ran out of ideas!  Anyway...

I should say here that I'm not totally clear what PlayStation were thinking with "kids" - little kids, or teenagers?  Because though a lot of  games on here have low certificates, they're not really fun for little kids. Like their number 1 game on the list - FIFA 19 (PEGI-3), also NBA 2K Playgrounds 2 (PEGI-3), Everybody's Golf (PEGI-3), even Rocket League (PEGI-3).  By their nature, sports games don't have a lot in them that's offensive, hence the low certificates.  But that doesn't mean they're good games for kids.  (If you have a teenage boy chances are he's heavily into FIFA, but he's probably not going to want to play with his family...)

Gang Beasts (PEGI-3) is a crazy party game, so we'll go with that (admittedly I haven't played it).  As is Overcooked! 2 (PEGI-3). 

There are some PlayLink games like Chimparty (PEGI-3) and the card game classic Uno (PEGI-3).  I don't know how I feel about playing Uno on the PS4.  I think part of its charm lies in the physical act of playing with cards.  Hmm.  Also, Melbit's World (PEGI-3), which I have never heard of!  (So I will not comment further.)

There are lots of LEGO games on the list - Lego Movie 2 (PEGI-7), Lego Marvel's The Avengers (PEGI-7), Lego Harry Potter Collection (PEGI-7), Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens (PEGI-7).  Fair enough, Lego games are fun, but they're all pretty similar just with different stories.

There are some classic platformers, like Crash Bandicoot N-Sane Collection (PEGI-7), Spyro Reignited Trilogy (PEGI-7), Ratchet & Clank (PEGI-7).  Good fun, sure.  :-)

LittleBigPlanet 3 - one of the best games on this list...

Then there's Yooka Laylee (PEGI-7), which has co-op mode and some multiplayer games for four players, so truly a family game that everyone can get involved with.  And LittleBigPlanet 3 (PEGI-7) has a fun multiplayer (though I have to say the third game is not my favourite).  And Tearaway (PEGI-7) is awesome, though single player.

Minecraft (PEGI-7), don't really need to say much about Minecraft!  You know what Minecraft is, surely?!  Unless you've been living under a rock or something for years.  I believe the list's Dragon Quest Builders (PEGI-3) is "Minecraft inspired" but I haven't played it.  Single player though.

Bringing up the rear of the list is Singstar Celebration (PEGI-12), which is ok, but hey, it's karaoke.  I'm not sure it's a fun game for little kids.  And no. 23 is, terrifyingly, Monopoly Plus (PEGI-3).  I would like to see a three year old play Monopoly.  (Perhaps the PS4 version is very different..?)

The more I think about this list the more disappointed I feel.  Some truly great games are not on here, and some rather poor games have made the cut.  For instance, you could buy Hollow Knight: Voidheart Edition (PEGI-7) for only £5.79 at the moment.  You could get the charming Unravel Yarny Bundle (PEGI-7) for only £9.99.  How about Rayman Legends (PEGI-7)?  Or one of our family multiplayer favourites, Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime (PEGI-7)?

I'm thinking that maybe PlayStation had some sort of agenda when putting this list together.  Perhaps we shall have a family think and put together our top ten games for kids.  Hmm....!

My final word on the subject - probably best not to get FIFA for your 3 year old.  ;-)

Still watching - Stampy!! He's BACK!!! w/ Dreams

Yesterday was an exciting day in our house - Stampy was back, with a 'Let's Play' video about the Early Access release of Dreams!

There hasn't been a Stampy video since Christmas, so we ordered Chinese and all sat down in front of our telly to watch it.  Hooray!

Dreams (PEGI-12) is a perfect Stampy 'game', if indeed it is a game, and the Early Access version launched on 16th April.  It costs £24.99, if you're interested in trying it out.  I've talked about it briefly before, but it's sort of a game maker, more than a game.  You can create incredibly complex things in it, graphically, musically - just awesome stuff.  So you can either surf other people's 'Dreams', or make your own.  Or both!

Stampy's big idea for this series is that he'll think of a simple theme or word, and everyone can try and make a Dreams creation about it.  Tag it with the word/theme and 'Stampy', and he'll make a video showing his creation and other people's.  Sounds like fun!  In his video he gives us the word 'spoon', so if you make something to do with spoons, tag it with 'Spoon' and 'Stampy' and maybe he'll look at your work.

I'm using too many exclamation marks, but I'm excited!!!

Seb's keen to try it, but I worry that it will be too complex for him.  (Seb, however, vehemently denies this.)  He has big ideas, but rarely has the patience to learn how to do things.  Perhaps this time it will be different, since he's such a huge Media Molecule fan.  (HUGE fan of 'Little Big Planet' and 'Tearaway'.)  I guess we shall see!

:-D