Pratchetts Discworld - mobile phone game coming
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Written by maljonic
Saturday, 16 July 2005 |
Blue Sphere Games Ltd, a leading developer of mobile games and content, have joined forces with Terry Pratchett, the world famous author of fantasy fiction, and have announced a world-wide Licence Agreement for the creation of Discworld branded mobile phone games.
The Agreement grants a three-year, world-wide license to Blue Sphere Games for the creation and distribution of mobile games incorporating Rincewind, Twoflower, the Luggage and other characters from the Discworld series of novels.
"We feel that the Discworld is a great setting for games in general and the trick is making a fun game from it for the mobile phone," said Mark Faulkner, licensing director for Blue Sphere Games. "Compared to modern game consoles mobile phones are a far more limited in their capabilities. This doesn't mean you get a more limited game, it just means we have to be more creative with the way the game is programmed.
"The depth of the entire Discworld canon makes our job easier. There is more to call upon in terms of background and story with which we can make the game. Also Mr Pratchett's books have a hardcore fan base throughout the world, so there is a strong commercial argument for a mobile phone game as well."
To get the existing (and very discerning) Pratchett fans on board, any new Discworld product is going to have to maintain the atmosphere of the original. Blue Sphere seem to understand this already: "The majority of the developers at Blue Sphere Games are all avid Discworld fans," said Faulkner. "So we know the books and characters pretty well. The developers working on the games have copies of the relevant books to hand, and our personal libraries cover every Discworld novel written to date if we need to look something up.
"But if we were to design the games exactly to the plot of the books, the player wouldn't have that much of a challenge in completing the game. They would simply know what to do if they've read the book. As such we plan on bringing out certain aspects of the book and portraying them in more detail. This gives us the flexibility to produce an enjoyable game whilst being faithful to the original storyline."
Are there any aspects of Discworld that they won't be able to incorporate due to the restrictions of the mobile media? "Sound is always difficult on mobile devices," Faulkner admitted, "but then the sounds people associate with the characters are usually all a creation of their imagination anyway. Our license allows us to use Mr Pratchett's work in the book itself and does not extend to other works (such as artwork and audio) based on the book. The look and feel of our games will be unique accordingly."
The first game is well underway now and Faulkner is happy to share some of the details: "It's based on The Colour of Magic and will star Rincewind and Twoflower. It focuses on Twoflower's sight seeing expedition of Ankh Morpork, something that was written about in only two pages of the book. You play Rincewind and your task is to get Twoflower to all the sights he wants to see and prevent him from being waylaid and robbed by the more nefarious denizens of Ankh Morpork."
From the other side of the deal, Colin Smythe, who represents Terry Pratchett, commented: "This is uncharted territory for us, and we are much looking forward to seeing how this first game, involving Rincewind and the Discworld, is enjoyed by mobile phone users."
The first game is released in October 2005 in the UK.
by Sandy Auden.
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