One of the first point-and-click games to hit the markets and one that shaped the entire genre for decades to come, Shadowgate is finally able to make a reappearance through the Kickstarter platform. Massively updating the graphics and UI with current-gen capabilities, the new Shadowgate looks amazing compared to other point-and-click adventures, and absolutely blows its predecessors out of the water. The dev team is careful to mention that they did everything they could to respect the original, but do not intend to make another port for the game and went to painstaking lengths to get the rights to the original game and soundtrack—something that shows that they care deeply for the series, and have already went to their own lengths to revamp it.
Although the game has seen a few ports and remakes in the past, this new game will feature a new plot, new features, entirely new graphics, and an improved soundtrack—all while keeping some of the characteristic items of its past. The lead developers, Karl Roelofs and Dave Marsh, have always participated in the development of past games and spinoffs, and hope to provide a new experience for Shadowgate fans and new players alike by providing new puzzles and riddles for players to solve. Although they have been absent from the video game development scene for almost two decades, this Kickstarter shows that they still know exactly what it takes to make a quality game and intend to make a new Shadowgate game comparable to current-gen games.
The graphics have seen an incredible boost, and if it manages to get funded, it would be one of the industry’s prettiest point-and-click games to date. The backgrounds and animations alone show that they’ve put an incredible amount of time into rendering the game already. While the UI could certainly use an improvement (it presently looks like one of those late 90s educational games), it still vastly outclasses its predecessors and shows that the game has an improved usability. The game will provide both a cinematic score and an 8-bit score, though whether they will appear as sound options or get unlocked at the end of the game is still unknown.
As with all point-and-click games, you will mainly play the game by picking up objects and interacting with the environment through your mouse in order to solve puzzles. However, ‘commands’ are also listed in the features as a way to extensively interact with the game—so hopefully we’ll get something like a point-and-click game combined with a rogue-like. Commands in any shape or form (typed, clicked, or otherwise) would set it apart from modern point-and-click games, which usually give very little insight to the world beyond its graphics and perhaps a few sentences of dialogue when interacting with objects.
Overall, the Kickstarter preview of the game is incredibly impressive, and the fact that the developers have already secured rights to the original soundtrack and game show that they’ve already heavily invested in the game. Although $120,000 is a lot to ask for a point-and-click game, the amount of care they portrayed in their video shows that they will use every last cent of that to develop the game. The Kickstarter is already halfway to its goal, so if you’re interested in any of the limited physical rewards, be sure to give the campaign a browse!
Hi there! Thank you very much for the coverage! However, there are a few corrections I want to point out (I’m the Official Unofficial Community Manager of sorts)
1) The plot WILL still be the same as previous games. The “Seed of Prophecy”, “Last in the Line of Hero Kings” is still the main character, going into Castle Shadowgate to stop the Warlock Lord from summoning the Behemoth. However, the plot will be EXPANDED to give more details about the world of Shadowgate, its history, its geography, and all that good stuff. What IS being revised are rooms and puzzles. Some rooms may be familiar to veteran Shadowgate fans, but the solution to solve the puzzles in those rooms might be different. Along with the brand new rooms and puzzles, that makes Shadowgate a challenge for players new and old.
2) Dave Marsh & Karl Roelofs ARE the original creators of Shadowgate. They were the lead designers and guys in charge of the 10 person team that made the original for the Apple Macintosh 128K (the old black and white box!). The NES port was developed by Kemco, and they owned the license to the soundtrack, but not the game. Dave & Karl talked to them and worked out a deal to license the soundtrack for use in this game.
3) Dave & Karl have NOT been absent from game development for the last 20 years. They’ve been in game development non-stop since 1985! While you may recognize their names or know what games they worked on, that doesn’t mean they were AWOL this entire time and twiddling their thumbs. You can see their respective Gameographies over on Zojoi’s website under “Who We Are”. These guys are not rusty at all, and know what they are doing! 🙂
4) The music will be changeable in the options. You can have either the classic 8-Bit NES music, or an orchestral version of the original chiptunes. Whichever you like best! 🙂
That’s all I really had to mention there. Thank you very much for the kind words on the artwork! The game is currently in pre-production, so what you see isn’t actual game footage yet, but rather “concept animation”; i.e. what the animation will probably look like as development goes on. Just figured I’d mention that so as to be all “Full-Disclosure” and what not. 🙂
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask! I’d be happy to answer them. 🙂