Free Doctor Who episodic adventure game announced by the BBC

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Graxer
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Free Doctor Who episodic adventure game announced by the BBC

Post by Graxer »

A Doctor Who episodic adventure game series has been announced and the episodes will be free! Here is the report from the BBC Press Office:
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The Doctor, Amy and some of Doctor Who's most iconic monsters will be making a journey from TV to home computers, as the BBC unveils Doctor Who – The Adventure Games, four original "interactive episodes", which will be made available for free from bbc.co.uk/doctorwho.

These four new adventures will take the form of downloadable computer games available for PC and Mac, in which players assume control of The Doctor and Amy as they embark on new adventures which complement the new TV series.

Doctor Who – The Adventure Games has been produced by a team drawing on the very best talent from TV and gaming. The interactive episodes are executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden (BBC Wales Interactive), alongside Charles Cecil, one of videogaming's most revered creators.

The games are being developed by Sumo Digital, one of the UK's best game designers. Stories and scripts are by Phil Ford (co-writer Doctor Who – Waters Of Mars) and James Moran (Severance, Torchwood Children Of Earth).

The project has been commissioned for BBC Online by the Vision Multiplatform team, headed up by Simon Nelson, and is being driven by BBC Wales Interactive.

Matt Smith and Karen Gillan have been digitally recreated in-game, and have provided full voice-overs. Music has been provided by TV series composer Murray Gold. An additional cast will portray original characters and classic enemies.

"Children don't just watch Doctor Who, they join in. They make up games, invent their monsters, create their own stories," says Steven Moffat, executive producer, Doctor Who. "Now, there's something else – now, they can be The Doctor in brand-new episodes. Doctor Who – The Adventure Games will offer fans of The Doctor a unique opportunity to enter his world, face his challenges and grapple with his deadliest foes.

"By developing these games alongside the new TV series, we've been able to weave exciting narrative strands with the very finest game design to create a new kind of Doctor Who, which can be enjoyed by the whole family."

Piers Wenger, Head of Drama, BBC Wales, and executive producer, Doctor Who, adds: "There aren't 13 episodes of Doctor Who this year, there are 17 – four of which are interactive. Everything you see and experience within the game is part of the Doctor Who universe. We'll be taking you to places you've only ever dreamed about seeing – including locations impossible to create on television."

Simon Nelson, head of BBC multiplatform in Vision, continues: "A few years ago, we couldn't have dreamt of commissioning such an innovative form of drama. By integrating the creation of these 'interactive episodes' with the development of the TV series, we've been able to create amazing two-hour dramas, in which you control the action.

"We've all imagined what it would be like to come face to face with some of the universe's most terrifying monsters – now, viewers can find out for themselves.

"Establishing new forms of drama is exactly what the BBC should be doing. By aiming these 'interactive episodes' at the broad audience of the TV show – unique in British television, in that it encompasses at least three generations – we're aiming to encourage the family to gather round the PC or Mac in the same way they do the television. Driving computer literacy is a keystone of the BBC's public service remit and we expect Doctor Who – The Adventure Games to be hugely popular in the homes of Britain this year.

"Only the BBC could produce such an innovative slice of new drama. We're offering two-hour original Doctor Who episodes to production standards on a par with the TV series, working with the very best creatives within the UK. We're hugely proud of Doctor Who – The Adventure Games, which will establish new standards in interactive drama and allow families the country over to enjoy Doctor Who stories in unique and innovative ways."

Anwen Aspden, executive producer, BBC Wales Online, concludes: "Doctor Who – The Adventure Games will offer the chance for Doctor Who fans to visit places they've only dreamed of, facing off against monsters they've previously had to imagine.

"Players will visit places which have never been shown on television – and these will go on to define the look and feel of future TV episodes."

The exact titles of the four episodes are being kept secret for the time being, but the four original stories will take players on a journey throughout time and space, including one location from the Doctor Who series which has never been seen before on screen. Players will encounter new and original monsters, in stories which form part of the overall Doctor Who canon.

The first episode of Doctor Who – The Adventure Games will be available to download for PC and Mac from bbc.co.uk/doctorwho in June 2010. Its title will be revealed at a special press event on 21 April in Sheffield.
And here are some screenshots from Doctor Who Online:
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It looks good with what few pictures there are. It would have been cool if Telltale Games made it though!

Here is a link to the source BBC press office article:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/pressoffice/pressr ... _who.shtml
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LogicDeLuxe
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Post by LogicDeLuxe »

Sounds great. I hope, they make it available outside the UK.
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Graxer
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Post by Graxer »

There are now plenty more screenshots here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/ ... _announced
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MeddlingMonk
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Post by MeddlingMonk »

LogicDeLuxe wrote:Sounds great. I hope, they make it available outside the UK.
They may not, considering these games are paid for by license fees. On the other hand, it probably won't really matter. I'm sure I don't have to spell it out. :wink:
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Post by Red_Breast »

I've never really got into the modern Dr. Who. I used to enjoy it when I was younger in the Pertwee and Tom baker days.

I noticed Charles Cecil's name. Indeed the developers, Sumo Digital, worked on the last Broken Sword game as well as console versions of the 3rd game.
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Graxer
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Post by Graxer »

Red_Breast wrote:I've never really got into the modern Dr. Who. I used to enjoy it when I was younger in the Pertwee and Tom baker days.
You should give the new series a go. The director has changed as of this series and it's meant to be quite different.
Red_Breast wrote:I noticed Charles Cecil's name. Indeed the developers, Sumo Digital, worked on the last Broken Sword game as well as console versions of the 3rd game.
It is indeed good the Charles Cecil is in charge. I didn't know that Sumo Digital worked on the last two Broken Sword games. Though to be honest, I only have the first to the third. It didnt feel enough like Broken Sword in 3D.
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Graxer
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Post by Graxer »

The BBC have released a video preview of the games:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/ ... the_Daleks

It looks very promising! :D
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garrythefish
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Post by garrythefish »

That's some good advertisement. Compliments to the people that got the idea. :)
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MeddlingMonk
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Post by MeddlingMonk »

The first of the Doctor Who games is available...but only if you are in the UK. And, yes, there are ways around that but apparently from what I've seen elsewhere the game checks to see whether or not you're in the UK when you try to install; of course, there are ways around that, too. But like I sort of hinted at above, these games are free in the UK because the money for making them comes out of the license fee. The good but vague news for everyone outside the UK who wants to be legal about it, the games will be available for purchase at some as-yet unannounced date at some as-yet unannounced price.

I hope that makes everything clear. :roll:
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Red_Breast
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Post by Red_Breast »

I feel spoilt and that I should give up my qualified spot.
I'm in the UK but don't like Dr. Who. (Yes I did try watching the new episodes Graxer)
I've just started to download it. It might be a good game in itself. I wonder how it takes to Wine. If not I'll fire up my old Win XP service pack 3 PC but I read it just meets the minimum requirements. A 1.6 Ghz P4 with a DX9 pixel shader 2.0 card. Hmmm...could be a slideshow me thinks.
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Morden
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Post by Morden »

Now that's what I call fair. Some people can just download it, some have to buy it. I'm not a fan or Dr. Who, so I don't really mind. I'm not the one to say no to a good adventure game, though. I'm a nice guy, so I won't try to proxy my way around the IP filter. It would be nice if someone [Red Breast, perhaps?] could tell us a bit more about how it plays.
hippy dave
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Post by hippy dave »

mac version available june 15th.

i might not be able to play it anyway tho, what with my rubbish old onboard graphics. we'll see.
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Mataku
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Post by Mataku »

haven't played it, but from the trailer, it doesn't even look like any sort of adventure. seems more like a stealth\action thing.
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Graxer
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Post by Graxer »

I have now completed it, and it feels very much like playing an episode of the TV series. I would say that gamepley-wise this game is like Broken Sword 3, but with stealth parts added in which feel somewhat like Metal Gear Solid.

I think that this is a great game, especially for free, and would definitely recommend that fans from the UK download it. Possibly even that American fans buy it, especially if the rest of the series is as good as or better than this episode.

Also, for Linux users, this game works in WINE. The only problem compared to Windows is that the because camera is controlled by mouse movement, when the mouse reaches the boundaries of the screen in WINE the camera stops moving. Since I also have Windows 7 on my laptop I chose to play it on that, though the camera problem can get annoying. (If you are stuck with Linux, moving the mouse at different speeds can help as you can move the camera further within the boundaries.
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Post by Red_Breast »

I tried it with Wine after googling 'Dr. Who game Wine' and making sure Wine was emulating a virtual desktop like suggested on the Ubuntu forums but I have the problem of a black screen but OK sound. It seemed like a 50/50 mixture on the forum of either working OK with the other half in the same position as me.
That was yesterday. I haven't checked it today for further developments.
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