Preview Quest for Utopia Developer: Mark Killey Publisher: N/A Release Date: Q4 2005 Platform: Preview by Ugur Sener February 25, 2005

Take three animal characters. Let them stir with a healthy dose of science fiction, fantasy, and horror elements. Add time travel, memorable characters, interesting locations, and lots of dialogue to the mix. And you’ve got the recipe for what could be a very engaging and entertaining adventure game.

Quest for Utopia is a traditional point and click adventure game that is currently being developed under the leadership of Mark Killey. Despite the small size of the team working on the game, the early screenshots and the information available on the Quest for Utopia Web site promise that this could easily be a solid title worthy of joining the collection of any adventure game enthusiast.

What immediately distinguishes Quest for Utopia from other adventure games is that the main characters are not human. Instead, the protagonists are a genetically altered mouse, cat, and dog. The Web site does not reveal detailed information about exactly why humans conducted genetic experiments to create intelligent animals. However, the idea of intelligent animals embarking on an adventure in a predominantly human world creates potential for lots of humor and rather unique dialogues.

The story of intelligent animals discovering their origins could have easily made an interesting adventure game. Yet Quest for Utopia casts these characters into the midst of a conflict over the integrity of the time stream. At the moment, details are not available as to the exact nature of this conflict. However, the Web site does promise that players will meet characters trying to alter the world’s past as well as characters who are struggling to maintain history. Games like the critically acclaimed The Journeyman Project series and Chrono Trigger have already proved that time travel elements can add a great degree of plot depth to a game, not to mention the potential for very unique puzzles that challenge players to consider how their actions in the past might affect the future. Even if the main characters do not directly engage in time travel, the conflict over the time stream promises interesting plot elements for Quest for Utopia.

At the moment, Quest for Utopia is being conceived as a traditional, pure adventure game with many clues to discover and puzzles to solve. The game will be primarily played from a third-person perspective. The screenshots that are currently available promise charming cartoon-like 3D graphics. The game will also be heavy on voice-acted dialogue and feature a diverse soundtrack. As the protagonists discover clues leading to the secret location of the perfect land amidst a conflict that can change the past, present and the future, players can expect to visit a number of interesting locations, meet a host of memorable characters, and discover many subplots. Project leader Mark Killey expressed that he is working on player choices that can affect the outcome of the game. Thus, players can expect significant replay value as they unlock all available endings.

If you are up for a traditional adventure game with a rather unique concept mixing science fiction, fantasy, and horror elements with an unusual cast of characters, keep an eye out for Quest for Utopia. Killey is hoping for a Christmas release.