MidLife Gamer Meet: Charles Cecil from Revolution Software

Midlife Gamer Podcast

MidLifeGamer.net

Games, Leisure, Video Games

4.9 • 618 Ratings

🗓️ 13 October 2009

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

We were lucky enough to catch up with Charles Cecil, founder of Revolution Software just days after the re-release of Beneath A Steel Sky on iPhone and iPod Touch. He tells MidLife Gamer that a new IP point and click adventure is still feasible in a modern market, and that he is aiming more for the 'casual market'. He argues that whilst core gamers will play casual games, casual gamers won't play core games, and that many casual gamers are yesterday's core gamers, very familiar with adventures of old. He admits though that the commercial model is different, 'we have to bring the price down'

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hello there and welcome to Midlife Gamer Podcast. We have a very special show to bring to you today.
0:06.2	One of our key contributors, 0-000 has done some fantastic work and has been able to get out and about
0:12.0	and speak to a leading industry legend and what would arguably be a national gaming treasure. He has
0:19.4	managed to secure an interview with none other than.
0:22.4	Charles Cecil. So who is Charles Cecil, you may be wondering? I will give you a brief insight right now.
0:28.5	His game development CV spans 28 years from early games written for the ZX81, Spectrum and
0:34.2	Amstrad formats in the early 80s. In 1990, Charles co-founded Revolution Software
0:39.6	with a clear goal to release innovative adventure games. The company developed their own engine
0:44.4	to this end called the Virtual Theatre Engine, which enabled game worlds to be more active
0:48.6	and dynamic than previously possible. Their first title, Lira the Temptress, was published
0:53.0	in 1992 and was followed in
0:55.2	1994 by the critically acclaimed beneath a steel sky, which hit the top of the charts in the
1:00.0	UK and most of Europe. Their success continued, with the launch of arguably their most memorable
1:04.8	adventure series, with Broken Sword Shadow of the Templars in 1996, and its sequel Broken Sword
1:10.3	2, The Smoking Mirror in 1997.
1:13.2	Both in turn received numerous awards such as the best adventure game of the year as well as
1:17.3	best adventure game to date. Between them these two games have sold over one million units each.
1:22.7	So here we are in 2009 and Charles joins us to talk about the release of Beneath the Steel
1:27.1	Sky on the iPhone.
1:28.8	Charles also gives us his insight into why direct distribution is often better than the
1:33.5	retail equivalent and also talks to us about why the transition of games to the silver screen
1:38.2	has yet to be truly successful, amongst other topics. But that's enough from me. Why don't you just kick back, relax?
	...

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