Michael WilkinsFor anyone who the word Broken Sword inspires thought of nostalgic delight, I have three facts that just may interest you. Firstly, the wildly popular point and click game, to some the definitive example of the genre, was made in our own very city. That’s right, Charles Cecil’s team at Revolutions Studios made all 5 installments of the epic globetrotting series in York. Secondly, there is a new installment on the way. Thirdly, it’s being crowdfunded!
Now, for anyone for whom the name Broken Sword, means nothing then here is a brief description. The Broken Sword series began back in 1996 The Shadow of the Templars. The main protagonists of the series are George Stobbart, an American patent lawyer is holidaying in Paris, when a bomb planted by a clown leads him on an epic globetrotting adventure delving into the past an uncovering a Templar plot. And all before Dan Brown. It was, on its release, hugely success. Since then there have been four more installments, but as the popularity of the point and click genre has slowly declined in the face of action packs graphically superior ‘Triple A’ Shoot-Em-Ups like Call of Duty and Halo. A new Broken Sword game has not been released since 2006 as a consequence. No publisher was willing to take a risk on a game where you could not shoot forgeries and/or aliens in the head, but instead relied on narrative, intricate puzzle solving and dry humour.
Then the revolution of crowdfunding came along. We are no stranger to it here at One&Other (thank you to all those that have supported us), and know of its many benefits, especially to creatives. It grants the freedom from risk adverse publishers and the profit hungry system which usually pushes alters and sometimes downright ruins new and interesting ideas in order to churn out the same supposedly popular dross. With sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo it is now easier than ever for a company developing a game, a band launching an album, or even an individual to buy supplies that will allow them to make the art.
Revolutions Studios is a perfect example of how successful crowdfunding can be. Against a goal of $400,000 dollars, one day in, their current donations already amount to $145,256.
If you want to support their new project, Broken Sword – the Serpent’s Curse Adventure click here.
