Beyond Shadowgate Update

[zojoi]

Hi everyone,

I know that many of you have been asking about the status of Beyond Shadowgate, the sequel to Shadowgate. I had been meaning to post on this for some time but I was hesitant to do so until we could announce what we've been working on. Unfortunately, everything in this industry takes longer than I want and we're still a number of months away from doing that as we work to not only get the game into beta but finalize a publisher/PR firm. So, for this lack of communication, I very much apologize. That said, I'll give you the scoop on what's going on with Beyond Shadowgate.

The short answer is that the project was set aside about a year and a half after Shadowgate shipped on Steam. Yes, we are still planning on making the game but, no, I don't know when that will be.

The long answer is a bit more complicated (and revealing) so if you would humor me for a few minutes, perhaps grab a cup of coffee and a comfy seat, I'll explain...

Zojoi is a very small company mostly comprised of contractors/friends that I have known for a long time. Shadowgate Reimagined had a team of ten people working on developing the title for all platforms. Even though I had ported the original Shadowgate nearly a dozen times, developing THIS version of Shadowgate was a dream come true. Everything came together wonderfully and we added as many cool things (and nods to the NES game) as we could!

As soon as we launched the game on Steam, four things happened within a few months of each other:

1. Karl and I started developing the design for Beyond Shadowgate and the artwork for the first dozen or so rooms was being created.
   
2. The programmers were working on a new, more streamlined Command Wheel to the Shadowgate UI as well as a fun quest for Halloween.
   
3. Once that was complete, they moved on to the iOS and Android versions of the game (as promised to our Kickstarter backers). Since we were using Unity, we had hoped this would be straightforward. It wasn't. It took us quite some time to get the iPad version out and even longer to launch on Android devices. By the time this was done, the team had been on Shadowgate for over three years and key members of the team had decided to move on. That's not to say that they don't jump in now and then to look at any issues but that’s about the extent of their time.
   
4. A new team of friends/contractors formed with the desire to make a new 3D first-person adventure. The design for this title happened quickly and soon became the most ambitious project I had ever worked on. We hope to release the trailer for that in a few months, go into Beta in the fall and release at the beginning of next year on PC and then on consoles by years end.

Even though we had to temporarily set aside Beyond Shadowgate, I felt very strongly about supporting the Shadowgate brand (as well as the older MacVenture titles.) After all, Shadowgate has been a part of my life since I helped design it in 1985! So, a while back I worked with my publisher (Reverb) to find a good suitor for bringing Shadowgate and the original 8bit games to consoles. A company called Abstraction Games really impressed me and I signed a deal with them to bring Shadowgate to PS4, XB1 and Switch (out this summer) and the original 8bit games to PS4 and XB1 (out late last year.)

So, that’s where things stand. Again, I apologize for the lack of updates and will definitely be more diligent in the future with those. I very much appreciate y’all being on this journey with us and supporting Zojoi. Finding people as passionate about Shadowgate as much as I am and offering encouragement has meant the world to me!
Yours,

Dave Marsh

P.S. As I mentioned, we’re some months away but if you are interested in Beta testing our new game, please send an email to [e-mail] and let me know if you’ve been a part of a beta test before. It would be good to have some quality testing friends on board when we find ourselves washed up on strange shores as a lilting song carries from one dark wave to the next…

[zojoi]

Check out the new pinned thread on Beyond Shadowgate!

[MaxxGold]

Why not update the graphics like the ShadoGate remake? This would have been perfect with the NES graphics in the background like the remake.

[X E N O B U S S Y]

Първоначално публикувано от Jack Sparrow's Vindication:

Първоначално публикувано от cbrinkmann1981:

Cool story bro. Here, I'll put you in this room with all the other people who care about you.

Why yes, you're right - you *are* the only person standing in the room. It *is* otherwise empty.

That's likely the most ridiculous retort I've ever read. Thanks for the chuckle. :thesheep:

Both of you sound ridiculous. I understand your frustration, but you didn’t need to say it like a character within the game and the other guy’s equally cringey response is just

[Hina]

Glad to see this is still coming :)