Tex Murphy Gets a Kickstart

[Andy Chalk]

Tex Murphy Gets a Kickstart

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The guys behind the old Tex Murphy adventure games are looking for a little bit of Kickstarter help to bring the series back.

It's been awhile since we last heard from ol' Tex Murphy, a private dick struggling to make a living in the mean streets of post-World War 3 San Francisco. He first turned up in the 1989 release Tex Murphy: Overseer [http://www.amazon.com/Mean-Streets/dp/B0007ZM1B4/ref=sr_1_1?s=videogames&ie=UTF8&qid=1332348908&sr=1-1]. But he may be on his way back: Big Finish Games, an indie studio founded by veterans of the defunct Tex Murphy originator Access Software, is getting ready to try its luck with Kickstarter.

It's all very preliminary right now, and in fact Big Finish isn't after your money at this point but your ideas for Kickstarter incentives, "Tex Murphy testimonials" and whatever else is on your mind - although suggestions about ditching the god-awful full-motion video are probably best left unsaid.

"Big Finish vows that this is their ninth and final attempt to revive the series," the pre-Kickstarter video says. "Help us get the word out so we can bring Tex back, or else it's the 'big sleep' for Tex!"

For those who missed out on the late and completely unlamented full-motion video era, it came and went mercifully quickly in the early to mid-90s era, hand-in-hand with the rise of the "multimedia PC," and is now seen primarily as an embarrassing cautionary tale about the dangers of over-reliance on new and immature technology. And hey, who wouldn't want to kick in money to bring that back, right?

A new Tex Murphy game is still a long way off, but you can get a heads-up on what the team has in mind at the Big Finish Games YouTube channel [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GodOPoyNIYg&context=C4b4aee2ADvjVQa1PpcFOa_YQbZQDklEZN3LXbPrISz-MWD9v0xZc=].


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[aeric90]

You have to admit that out of all the full motion video gaming experiences that came out in that era, the Tex Murphy games were probably some of the best and the few that could actually call themselves real games instead of interactive movies.

The thing I'm most concerned with is that Chris Jones has aged rather a lot in the some 15 years since filming Overseer. Ouch.

 

[omega247]

Sweet! Been a fan of these games since Under a Killing Moon, and it would be good to see him return for 'one last case before retirement'

I also recommend people pick up the games from GOG if you haven't played them

 

[Garfy]

While most of the old FMV games were complete garbage, the Tex Murphy games showed how to do it right.

This news post insults some very talented people.

 

[Daft Ghosty]

Sweet. I love me some Tex Murphy games! Hope this happens.

 

[AmzRigh]

Repeating what the above people have said: the end of this article is awfully dismissive, showing utter ignorance of the series being discussed. Granted, the majority of multimedia games of the era were horrible, but letting Night Trap inform your opinion of Tex Murphy is at best lazy, and at worst dishonest.

Under a Killing Moon and The Pandora Directive remain among my favorite games; they may not have aged well visually, but the writing and puzzle/adventure gameplay are still top-drawer. While I've been...less impressed with Big Finish's more recent 3 Cards series, even those have writing talent backing them up.

I think a return to the live-actor FMV style would be an improvement over the uncanny valley CG 3 Cards had, really.

 

[frago roc]

Repeating what the above people have said: the end of this article is awfully dismissive, showing utter ignorance of the series being discussed. Granted, the majority of multimedia games of the era were horrible, but letting Night Trap inform your opinion of Tex Murphy is at best lazy, and at worst dishonest.

Under a Killing Moon and The Pandora Directive remain among my favorite games; they may not have aged well visually, but the writing and puzzle/adventure gameplay are still top-drawer. While I've been...less impressed with Big Finish's more recent 3 Cards series, even those have writing talent backing them up.

I think a return to the live-actor FMV style would be an improvement over the uncanny valley CG 3 Cards had, really.

I completely agree. Tex Murphy is king. To call the full-motion videos in the last three games god-awful is silly; they added so much to the awesomeness that is Tex.

 

[SquidVicious]

I'm a little ambivalent on this news. On the one hand the Tex Murphy games were my favourite games of my childhood and actually really helped inspire my desire to become a detective, but on the other hand some things just need to end, and I think this series is one of them. It's a relic of a bygone age and just... ugh I dunno. I'll keep an eye on the meter, and if I start to see it rising I may give them some money.

 

[Callate]

I enjoyed Martian Memorandum, but the series always seemed as dependent on the "gee-whiz" factor of new technology as anything the games themselves had to offer. Without that, I'm not sure we aren't talking about more of a curio than a headliner.

Still, I don't wish them ill. If they can make it happen, and offer it at a price that doesn't invite eye-rolling, I might give it a look.

 

[evandy0]

The kickstarter is up and running. Head on over to texmurphy.com and help out!