By Kieron Gillen on April 29th, 2010 at 10:54 am.
After reading Jane Jensen’s exciti-fan Robert Buurman’s splendid mail, I realised we’ve never actually mentioned the Gabriel Knight creator’s new adventure game. Let’s sort that out now. It’s been in development for a while, but it should actually be released this year. The site’s just been updated, and seems to reveal a fairly traditional adventure game, with a Jensen-standard supernatural twist. Also, two leads. The press-release is here, for the JUST THE FACTS, though it does mention a non-keyboard computer version. I spit on non-keyboard computer versions! Trailer follows…
Well, it’s from last year’s game-fair, and is one of those concept-art heavy ones…
Here’s the debut trailer in 2007, which is very fuzzy and very old, but at least appears to show a videogame…
So… any Jane Jensen fans in the house?
29/04/2010 at 11:02 Russian Drink says:
I can’t wait for this game to come out. To anyone who hasn’t played Gabriel Knight yet: it’s finally on GOG.com and Jane Jensen is going to kick-ass with Gray Matter. Yay for adventure gaming.
29/04/2010 at 11:27 Ninja Dodo says:
I haven’t been much excited about point & click the last few years but am enough of a fan of Jensen’s previous work to be intrigued.
29/04/2010 at 11:30 Rich says:
Yay sinister experiments! Non of my experiments are ever sinister. I don’t know how I can possibly call myself a scientist.
29/04/2010 at 11:37 Typos! says:
READ MY NAME.
YOU HAVE FALLEN VICTIM TO I! THE NEWLY DECLARED SUPERHERO/VILLAIN, Typos!
29/04/2010 at 11:41 Typos! says:
MY GOD! Typos! HAS FALLEN VICTIM TO Typos! THAT “!” SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COMMA! MY GOD!
Typos! YOU HAVE FAILED ME, YOURSELF, Typos! I DO BELIEVE YOU HAVE DOOMED THIS THREAD TO DEATH WITH YOUR FAILURE. I DEMAND YOU COMMIT RITUALISTIC SUICIDE!
29/04/2010 at 11:44 Typos! says:
MY GOD! Typos! HAS FALLEN VICTIM TO Typos! THAT EXCLAMATION POINT SHOULD HAVE BEEN A COMMA, WHAT EVER SHALL WE DO?
WITHOUT Typos! WE ALL SHALL PERISH!
HOWEVER, BECAUSE OF THIS OBVIOUS EXAMPLE OF Typos! BEING A FAILURE, I DEMAND THAT Typos! COMMIT RITUALISTIC SUICIDE!
29/04/2010 at 11:45 Typos! says:
MY GOD! Typos! HAS DOUBLE POSTED! EVEN MORE APPALLING!
29/04/2010 at 11:48 neems says:
Thanks Typos!. You have a nice day now.
29/04/2010 at 11:49 Rich says:
I find your comments to be both confusing and loud.
I’m not sure if you’re aware of it, but that button on the left, below the tab key and above the shift key, marked ‘Caps Lock’, allows you to switch between writing in upper and lower case letters. If you type with ‘Caps Lock’ switched on; often indicated by a small light on your keyboard being illuminated, all the letters you type will be in upper case. Many people find all upper case writing to be more aggressive and it often seems as if the writer is shouting. I’m afraid it’s also regarded as rather immature, within certain circles.
Just something you might like to be aware of.
29/04/2010 at 11:58 Typos! says:
ALTHOUGH I FIND IT INTERESTING THAT YOU ARE HERE TO INFORM ME OF THE NATURE OF CAPS LOCK, IF YOU ARE LOOKING YOU WILL NOTICE THAT Typos!’ NAME IS, IN FACT, LACKING CAPS. THIS IS A CLEAR SIGN OF Typos!’ KNOWLEDGE OF THE EXISTENCE OF THAT BUTTON.
MY GOAL, IN FACT, IS TO SEEM LIKE I AM SHOUTING. YOU SEE, IF I AM SHOUTING YOU HERE ME BETTER! THEN, MAYBE, YOU *andthewriter* WILL PERHAPS LOOK FOR TYPOS TO AVOID ATTACK BY THE HERO/VILLAIN Typos!
29/04/2010 at 12:04 Rich says:
Nurse! He’s got out again!
29/04/2010 at 16:39 Berzee says:
“YOU HERE ME BETTER”
here here!
29/04/2010 at 11:34 Typos! says:
ALSO COULD YOU POSSIBLY LINK TO SOME INFORMATION ABOUT THIS PERSON’S OLDER WORKS, AS I HAVE NOT HEARD OF THEM AND I’M UNSURE OF MY INTEREST.
29/04/2010 at 11:50 Kieron Gillen says:
Not after you were so mean about my typos, no. Google it yourself.
And take it down a notch, sir.
KG
29/04/2010 at 12:04 Typos! says:
THE GOAL WAS NOT TO BE MEAN BUT TO BE HELPFUL!
MY GOD! IS Typos! BEING DECLARED A VILLAIN AFTER ALL?
(I will turn it down a notch due to your request. Though I am wondering how you know Typos! is a he?)
29/04/2010 at 12:57 Kieron Gillen says:
It’s because of my high regard for women I assume 100% of their sex would have better things to do.
KG
29/04/2010 at 15:17 AbyssUK says:
oh snap!
29/04/2010 at 16:44 Berzee says:
This is a lie. He thinks women cannot spell. I also call his patriotism into question.
29/04/2010 at 16:45 Berzee says:
Naturally this is a response to the antagonistic Kieron Gillen.
29/04/2010 at 23:23 Frankie The Patrician[PF] says:
Naturally…
29/04/2010 at 11:47 Typos! says:
BUT MY FELLOW Typos!ES I AM YOUR FRIEND, Typos! YOU CANNOT POSSIBLY EXPECT ME TO COMMIT RITUALISTIC SUICIDE!
29/04/2010 at 11:49 Colthor says:
I think Typos! needs to sit down, take a deep breath, and have a nice cup of tea. ALLCAPS! and Doublepost! will be here soon, and it will all be OK.
29/04/2010 at 12:14 Typos! says:
Typos! thanks you for your concern. Typos! is calm now.
29/04/2010 at 11:49 neems says:
Is there acid in the water supply again? Is anybody else seeing this?
29/04/2010 at 12:16 Typos! says:
If there is, I believe that is the problem of “Acid in the Water Man.”
He’s nice, but usually disconnected from reality.
29/04/2010 at 11:51 neems says:
YOU COULD PERHAPS GOOGLE THEM, OR USE ANOTHER SEARCH ENGINE OF YOUR PREFERENCE.
29/04/2010 at 11:56 Rich says:
“I’M UNSURE OF MY INTEREST”
Well, far be it from me to tell you what you should be interested in.
You might want to try and make up your own mind.
29/04/2010 at 12:01 Typos! says:
I WOULD BUT MY MIND IS FAR TOO CONCENTRATED ON THE WORK OF Typos! TO MAKE UP MY OWN OPINIONS!
THAT IS WHAT I DEPEND ON RPS FOR!
29/04/2010 at 12:08 Rich says:
Well, I suppose it’s better you’re in here, shouting at us, and not on some clock tower with a rifle.
29/04/2010 at 12:08 Typos! says:
Also, I had been looking for more information about the works, not an opinion on them. Sadly, though, you discovered a flaw in Typos!, that being Typos!’ lack of opinion making ability.
29/04/2010 at 12:11 Typos! says:
Typos! agrees as shooting at typos would be a silly thing for Typos! to do.
Also Typos! is afraid of heights.
29/04/2010 at 12:09 TheApologist says:
As I read this thread, I am feeling increasingly disconnected from reality.
29/04/2010 at 12:18 Typos! says:
My god! It’s Acid in the Water Man!
29/04/2010 at 12:10 James G says:
Is it just me, or do the ‘sinister experiments’ look somewhat akin to sleep studies? I hadn’t realised that such experiments were deemed sinister. Perhaps it is just the wearing of the phantom of the opera style mask that makes the experiment sinister.
Never played any of the Gabrial Knight games, my understanding of them is that they were very much of the ‘walkthrough required’ school of adventure games, with completely illogical puzzles? (On example I saw mentioned was a convoluted means of fashioning a moustache disguise to attempt to look like someone who didn’t even have a moustache.)
Moustache… what a silly word.
29/04/2010 at 12:12 James G says:
What the? Is the comments system playing up? The comments by Kieron and the glorious insanity that is Typos! that are below mine were there when I posted. Or have I managed to send a comment back in time?
29/04/2010 at 12:24 Typos! says:
Perhaps you have some form of super power? Though Typos! believes that is quite common on this particular site, so perhaps not.
Also, your original post appears to have been attempting to get Typos!’ attention. Typos! does not appreciate such behavior, good sir.
Unless of course your behavior did not have that intention, in which case: Typos! has noticed Typos! in your post.
29/04/2010 at 12:26 Rich says:
So, all I need is half a white face-mask and maybe a manacle laugh and my scripts to generate association rules from mountains of binary fingerprints suddenly becomes ‘sinister’. Cool.
When my script prints ‘Done.’ to the terminal, I’ll try to remember to shout “It’s… ALIVE!!!”.
Also, I think Typos insanity is somehow warping the fabric of the comment system.
29/04/2010 at 12:35 Typos! says:
Typos! is sorry to bother you once again, but Typos! sees a typo.
Also Typos! is sad that you spelled Typos!’ name incorrectly.
29/04/2010 at 14:01 tikey says:
The first one is one of the best adventure games of all times. Difficult but not “impossible without a walktrough”, and it has nothing to do with the crap that are the other two Gabriel Knight games, (your example comes from GK3, particulary Old Man Murray article about the death of adventure gaming I presume)
29/04/2010 at 12:22 BooleanBob says:
Absurd belt and absurd collar to go with her absurd cleavage. Videogame fashion is a thing unto its own, and a wretched thing at that.
Perhaps, though, I’m just hanging around the wrong parts of London.
(Regarding JJ herself, I’m afraid she’ll probably never live down the cat-hair moustache that OMM brought so unswervingly to our collective attention. And, you could argue, nor should she).
29/04/2010 at 13:50 phlebas says:
The OMM article always annoys me. The last stage of the puzzle is inexcusably silly, but the rest made perfect sense playing through the game – it’s only if you go straight to a walkthrough that it sounds daft. Game puzzles should be designed to play well, not just so that the walkthrough will sound sensible.
29/04/2010 at 23:49 RedFred says:
Agreed. I can understand emphasising the cleavage because we all know that EVERY gamer is a no-sex nerd. However the collar and belt? It’s just confusing.
29/04/2010 at 12:25 Berto says:
Gabriel Knight had a few obscure puzzles like that one with the moustache. But most of them are pretty good. GK3 had the best puzzle ever made in a video game (google serpent rouge).
29/04/2010 at 12:28 Dan says:
Typos!, are you the demented love child of Tei and Brian Blessed?
29/04/2010 at 12:38 Typos! says:
Typos! does not know his parents.
So the answer is an undeniable “possibly.”
29/04/2010 at 12:34 Nurse Ratched says:
Bugger. Honestly, who’d have thought eye-test charts could have such an effect?
Ho hum, best get the electroshock generator fired up.
29/04/2010 at 12:45 Jules says:
The mere mention of GK II: The Beast Within still elicits swooning sighs from me and all my female gamer friends. It has that nostalgic memory of a perfect gaming experience that’s by now mostly unrelated to the actual game. Still, one can’t help being very excited for Grey Matter.
29/04/2010 at 12:50 int says:
The still pictures look an awful lot like the ‘barely animated’ cut scenes in Thief: Deadly Shadows.
29/04/2010 at 12:56 Rich says:
Always liked those cut scenes. Nice and moody.
Painting them also allowed the story to be told in a much prettier way than the game engine could manage.
29/04/2010 at 12:50 Cinnamon says:
I remember quite liking Sins of the Father so I am cautiously optimistic about this game. Apart from that Jane Jensen is indeed the “cat moustache” designer from Gabriel Knight 3. Gabriel Knight 2 had a lot of that FMV stuff that some people seem to like but for me, not with a barge pole.
I have been burnt too much by modern adventure games and games that have been due “soon” for more than a couple of years are not normally quality enterprises of the highest order.
29/04/2010 at 12:59 Robert says:
Oh yes, this indeed gets me happy. Though, I probably will be disappointed, teaches me for getting my hopes up. It might be too much of the same schtick, and it does not have Tim Curry in it. Then again, I enjoy the music, part of the artwork, and the writing should be good – as far as videogames go.
And. It won’t be able to beat this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hkdNt8yVz0&
29/04/2010 at 13:53 Flint says:
Blimey, I remember reading about this back when Gabriel Knight 3 was out.
29/04/2010 at 14:19 Alistair says:
Big fan of Gabriels 2 and 3. That moustache example is trotted out, but it was a bit of a comic interlude as I recall. They were nothing like as walkthrough-based as, say, Grim Fandango. Will pick this up.
29/04/2010 at 14:23 jon_hill987 says:
@Typos!: You should never refer to yourself in the third person (unless you are updating your Facebook status), it shows insanity doesn’t it presssiouss.
29/04/2010 at 15:19 Gavigan says:
and you had to fashion the moustache by removing fur from a wandering cat, although it was a long time ago. Best moment was getting caught stealing from someone’s hotel room, and shoving whatever you’d stolen inside your trousers to try to get away with it.
29/04/2010 at 15:40 Typos! says:
Typos! actually did have something better to do which was study for the exam he just took. Typos! did okay if anyone is wondering.
(Anyway, I would actually like to apologize for Typos! and his silliness, because I was actually studying, and this was my “I’ve officially gone insane because of finals and no sleep” outlet. So, I hope at least one or two people enjoyed my plunge into the depths of insanity as much as I enjoyed it. I’m not usually quite this insane, honestly. At least not openly.
Also that is probably the greatest comeback you could have presented given that response. Very impressive. I also think you should probably show it to your significant other, as I’m sure they will be both amused and appreciative.
Anyway…thanks for dealing with my silliness and hopefully somebody enjoyed it.)
29/04/2010 at 15:43 Typos! says:
(Oh no the response failed. Well, that was supposed to respond to Kieron down below.
Either way I wanted to add an apology for being an unwilling(?) victim.)
29/04/2010 at 15:59 Typos! says:
(Oh god I meant to say: “Either way I wanted to add an apology to Rich for his being an unwilling(?) victim.” Well good job Typos!)
29/04/2010 at 16:43 Berzee says:
Apologies make you retroactively fail. Take it back.
29/04/2010 at 16:48 Typos! says:
(Oh, okay then. I apologize for apologizing.)
29/04/2010 at 16:45 Typos! says:
(Yes I am aware. Just noticed it recently, though. Nice catch.)
29/04/2010 at 16:49 Typos! says:
Typos! believes there is a typo in the response system.
29/04/2010 at 17:02 Dan says:
Which other Kieron Gillens are there?
There’s Sunday Papers post-electro-pop-club-hangover KG obviously.
Gotta catch ‘em all!
29/04/2010 at 17:02 sfury says:
don’t feed the trolls
Trailers look intersting, even the blurry old one looks nice to me (except the wooden moovements of the characters). Of course I still have to play all the Gabriel Knights first because that’s a huge gap in my adventure gaming eeer… gaming.
29/04/2010 at 17:36 Typos! says:
Typos! sees a typo! You’re feeding the trolls through your lack of ability to type! Excellent job!
29/04/2010 at 18:14 sfury says:
By Jove, you’re right about that Typos! Got a lot of free time today, ah?
29/04/2010 at 21:47 Typos! says:
Typos! does not have that much free time. It does not take much time to catch individual typos…
29/04/2010 at 18:27 Dean says:
Wow, I thought RPS readers had even better taste than I’d envisioned when I saw there were 63 comments on a story about the new Jane Jenson game.
But no, it’s just some twat.
I can’t wait for this game, hopefully it’ll do for the ‘serious’ adventure genre what ToMI has done for the funny ones.
29/04/2010 at 21:16 Quests says:
Thank god the second trailer is even older than the 1st one.
I hated those animations, robotic, unnaturally constant, i always thought she is like on somekind of automatic catwalk.
GIVE ME some bobbing!
29/04/2010 at 21:45 Typos! says:
Typos! is hoping that “better taste” is a typo because basing the quality of other peoples taste off your own seems like a silly thing to do.
But I guess Typos! wouldn’t have any idea about doing silly things.
29/04/2010 at 21:48 Typos! says:
Of course this was aimed at Dean.
29/04/2010 at 22:18 Jason Moyer says:
Please tell me I’m not the only person who read “Jane Jensen” and initially thought “wait, that terrible ‘musician’ makes videogames?”
30/04/2010 at 00:12 Alastayr says:
It’s threads like this that make me proud to be a member of the RPS community.
30/04/2010 at 00:34 Raum says:
“I spit on non-keyboard computer versions!”
Somehow, this makes me feel you like keyboard-controlled adventures.
I don’t like that.
30/04/2010 at 16:26 Reverend Speed says:
WANT!
01/05/2010 at 13:47 adonf says:
i think wizarbox started working on the game in 2008 or something. so the 2007 trailer is from the previous developer that got dropped by the publisher, in case anyone cares…