Mac and More–Darcy’s News from E3
Mac and More–Darcy’s News from E3
I went to the E3 with only one burning question: “Well? Is it ported to Mac?” And the answer from some of our favorite developers and publishers was a resounding yes!
The biggest Mac news at E3 is the upcoming release of Arxel Tribe’s Hitchcock, which will be published by Universal. We were able to get a preview of the game, and it looks absolutely phenomenal. The developers are using sets from Hitchcock’s movies as inspiration for the background game areas, and extracts from Hitchcock’s films are used as flashbacks. JA was told that the biggest reference used in design if one were to look at others in the genre was Blade Runner. There’s no difficulty level, but the player gets a “psychic flash” if he/she is stuck in a gameplay area for a certain amount of time, which looks as though it will be a very clever built-in hint system. The best news of all for Mac players is that the anticipated release date of the Mac port is only two weeks after the PC release (what a relief if this pans out–can anybody say Beyond Atlantis?). Arxel also plans a Mac port of their upcoming game Casanova.
Speaking of which, the Mac report from Dreamcatcher is that the Beyond Atlantis Mac version will be ready in about a month. Hallelujah, I’m cured, throw down the crutches! I don’t know about you, but I’ve been waiting impatiently for this release. Kudos to Dreamcatcher for continuing to get Mac releases out the door and for not forgetting this market.
Even bigger Cryo/Dreamcatcher news for Mac gamers is that the upcoming title in the ever-popular Atlantis series, Atlantis: The New World, is definitely being ported to Mac. Atlantis: The New World is a classic point-and-click adventure game, and the graphics are stunning. We were shown several game areas, including an Arabian Nights scene that I thought was particularly beautiful. Keep an eye out for this one!
We also visited Pan Interactive and spoke to Anders Signell, Executive Producer, and Adam Shaikah, Lead Designer, about their upcoming Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy game. Adam tells JA that the elements from the books that make the best transition to game have been incorporated. We were shown the game–it looks like it’s going to be an action/adventure with that Tomb Raider look, except, of course, that the main character is Arthur Dent and he’s wearing a bathrobe. Adam also tells us that the game keeps Douglas Adams’s humor, which anyone who is at all familiar with the Hitchhiker series will greatly appreciate. The best news of all for the Mac players is that the Mac release of this will occur, as we were told, “pretty close to the same time” as the PC release. Pan Interactive is also looking at X-Box and Game Cube ports in the future. Adam told us that they have “lots of attention on delivering to (the Mac) market.”
Jenny and I visited with Susan Weyer, Presto Interactive’s Public Relations Manager, and two of the artists from Myst III: Exile, Tracy Koering and Kelly Standard, incredibly talented women. Look for a future interview with these ladies as part of our upcoming Myst III series. While with the Presto folk, we did ask some pointed questions regarding rumors of Myst IV and Myst V being in the pipeline, and while at first we didn’t get much other than a couple of suspiciously furrowed brows, Susan was able to say definitively that there is a Myst IV already in production, to be published by Ubisoft, and no word on Myst V. She also told us that Exile will be on the X-Box in Japan and will be a possible release title there, and that they were able to do the port in two weeks, which must be some kind of record. Presto is currently working on an upcoming title that is supposed to be action/comedy for the X-Box; no word on the publisher yet. Look for a spring 2002 release for this.
We also visited our friends at LucasArts and got an up-close-and-personal demo of Escape from Monkey Island on Playstation 2. We were told that it was a very smooth port, and because of the low learning curve, it’s a great game for a newer female audience. We were also told that if EFMI finds a PS2 audience, it’s likely they will do more console games, so as console demographics begin to broaden so most likely will the releases begin to broaden.
We spoke to Tom Sarris, the director of Public Relations at LucasArts, who told us that they have “some plans for adventure games” on the order of a combination of something already done–a sequel–and something new. Both are projected for late 2002 and probably into 2003. One is in its infancy, with a team is still being built, concept sketches being drawn, etc. He told us that George Lucas sees everything in development (although he does not comment for Mr. Lucas). He also commented on the success of the EFMI Mac port done by Aspyr and told us LucasArts was able to give Aspyr the code and have them do all the conversion. It worked, so they are looking at doing more. Tom said that, “The future is looking more positive … we are not going to abandon the adventure genre. Adventure games are part of our core legacy.” He also noted that at the next E3 or two, we will see more adventure titles.
I was actually surprised at the number of upcoming Mac ports of some of these major upcoming games and was invigorated by the degree of attention developers are putting on the Mac market. Stay tuned for further developments.
