Gamer's Lot

[strakasan]

Being an old time game designer, why hasn't anyone tried to develop a really good Gunslinger game?

Surely there are some high end developers (schedules probably full) that could do this very well. Whenever I play gears of War, Modern Warfare 2, etc., I think this is great tech. Gunslinger is a great mate...

[Bryan James]

I agree. Clive Barker had a few playable games under his brand, and don't even get me started on Tom Clancy's series.

I helped out on UO and extensively on EQ...and I started writing If/Then text games in BASIC when I was five.

Without trying too hard, I can imagine a mission-based RPG shooter for "The Gunslinger."

Come up with your idea and pitch it! I'd probably buy it just for the brand.

~BJS

[Nutty Bavarian]

Heck yeah! I'd love a Gunslinger RPG! I'd also buy for the genre if nothing else :D

[strakasan]

Sanitarium (PC-adventure game) was my last hurrah. It's been almost 9 years since I've been in games. Did a lot of work with SSI and some original properties (Anvil of Dawn, that's an oldie).

Not much of King's work would translate into a good game, but Gunslinger has it all. I hate to say it but I see action. Chapter/mission based, but seamless as possible. Cinematics blending right into the game action between missions.

Big question? Recreate the story in the novels, or move forward with a new chapter written by King himself.

Not sure why SK hasn't created his own label in the game market yet. AKA Clancy and Red Storm Entertainment. All you need is a triple AAA seller and he could sell the company to one of the major players. Of course, the market is soft right now, and games are tough to begin with. As with all entertainment, 10% of the product makes 90% of the money. Hit driven business.

To be honest Gunslinger is perfect for a game, but not much of his other material is. That doesn't mean there's not the room for him to create original game material.

Just so damn surprised nobody, as far as I know, has tried. I'm sure you could get EA or MS to at least bite on the idea.

[JRM]

I think it would be pretty good in the right hands, but it's sooo risky.

[coolambindang]

You guys better check out Discordia, it is the new game, it rocks so far. There is now a new social group for it too. It is linked through SK's website. It just makes me think how awesome a movie might be or a full blown game for xbox or something.

[strakasan]

Absolutely. The Game business is risky. PERIOD.

It's not too different than writing or Hollywood. Gunslinger is not something you simply do because you can draw a market share from the name. Short sell. It screams great, cool, game; there's a franchise here. Easily said. If you don't do it right, don't do it at all. And there's very few people in the industry that could do it right.

Last thing you want is a big publisher buying the rights, creating a crappy game, and "short selling" it for timely revenues. They did it with Harry Potter. I love the Gunslinger mythology and would be pissed if this ever happened.

Of course the last fictional property I thought would make a great game was Starship Troopers :}.

Not to mention, a triple AAA, multi-platform title costs tens of millions of dollars. Money's not the only issue, you have got to put together a really good team of designers, artist, programmers, and managers and maintain a vision for at least 2-21/2 years.

I haven't lost all my hair for nothing, and I was in the biz when things were simple. Damn, I miss it. Somebody should do it.

Hell, I'd love to see it though.

[strakasan]

You worked on UO and EQ. That is cool. I have to admit, though, MMP wasn't my boat, but that is cool.

[costanza]

To warm you up and get you started they have you shoot a bunch of targets that pop up. Then you start the game, which is only once chapter playable at the moment, and you never shoot anything.
Found all the orbs and items, gave the password to Fedic, and the credits roll.

It's a nice little teaser but shouldn't take more than an hour to finish, unless you're a slow reader.

[Bogdan]

There's a new horror game coming out next year, called Alan Wake which seems to have elements and themes that we frequently find in Steve's books. The troubled writer looking for lost inspiration, small town nice on the outside but rotten on the inside, demons, etc... Add to that that it's made by the same team that gave us the superb Max Payne games and this looks like it's going to be a great experience. There are a lot of trailers and gameplay samples on youtube. Check them out.