You are hearing us talk
March 2, 2010

Erin and I were recently interviewed by Andrea of the Chronic Rift podcast about our work on Puzzle Bots.  So if you're interested in listening to us answer questions instead of reading them, you can check it out here!

-Dave

Hardy Dev interview!

February 25, 2010

Another interview!  This time by Martin Mulroony of the Hardy Developer's Journal.  It's pretty in-depth, so if you're interested in behind-the-scenes tidbits you should definitely check this interview out.

-Dave

Hail the robot army!

This was sent to us anonymously today:



I laughed so hard when I saw this I scared my dog.  Thanks to whomever sent this in!

-Dave

More aggies
February 23, 2010

Forgot to mention that we scored another Aggie!  This one was for "Best Setting" and Emerald City Confidential was the lucky recipient.  Thanks to the staff at Adventure Gamers for giving this award to us!

-Dave

Congr-aggie-lations to Convergence! Feb 17, 2010

Well, wow.  Blackwell Convergence was awarded an Aggie award by Adventure Gamers, in the category of Best Dramatic Writing! 

The write up is over here.  It won the Staff Award as well as the Player's Choice award, which means I owe the award to all of you great fans who voted for it.  So thank you!

In other news, Puzzle Bots is crawling towards a final beta, and I'm going to GDC again this year!  If anyone else is going and wants to hang out, drop me a line.

Thanks again!

-Dave

---

Puzzle Bots on the Electric Playground
February 5. 2010

Hey everybody!  Erin Robinson was recently interviewed by Montreal's "Electric Playground" about Puzzle Bots.  It's the first time a "real" TV show has ever done a piece about one of our games, and its got the slick techno music and whooshy special effects and everything, so it makes us feel like big shots knowing it's out there.  You can check it out yourself right over here.

In other news, Puzzle Bots is dutifully being worked on and we are crawling our way towards a final beta build.  It's always hard to know what to post about during these final stages, because while we're working our butts off it's not terribly interesting to talk about.  In lieu of exciting things to say, how about a new screenshot instead?

-Dave

2009 Roundup!

Jan 19, 2009

Some of our games have made their way onto various top 10 lists of 2009...

-Blackwell Convergence was named the #2 indie game of 2009, according to Alternative Magazine Online.

-Both Blackwell Convergence and Emerald City Confidential made the Way too Casual top games of 2009 list.

-Emerald City Confidential is rated one of the top five faves of 2009 by The Escapist!

-Emerald City Confidential is listed as one of the best games of 2009 by GameZebo. Not only that, but it's on the list twice!

-The entire Blackwell series was given a mention on HardyDev's "Games of the decade" list.


Puzzle Bots testing is well underway.  More news as it comes!

-Dave

---

Emerald City Confidential fanart
Just discovered this nifty fanart of Petra and Cutter, by Kibkibe.



---

A new blog and a new game!
Jan 6, 2009

Hello everyone and happy new year!  The recommended games are back.  This time around, it's Aztaka - a gorgeous side-scrolling RPG that sucked up a good chunk of my holiday.  Check it out over here.

I've also joined the ranks of other indie game developers and started up an indie game development blog!  It's called NY Game Dev and it stands proud over on this corner of the internet.  I plan on using it to talk about game development, the game scene in New York City, as well as anything else that I think people might be interested in.

Anyway, that's all from me for now.  Those of you who took part in the holiday sale should have received an email from me about the Puzzle Bots beta.  If not, let me know.

Till next time,

-Dave

Tis the season...

December 27, 2009

As we big adieu to 2009, I want to take the opportunity to wish everyone a happy belated holidays and happy new year.  It's been quite an eventful year.  We saw Emerald City Confidential and Blackwell Convergence released, Puzzle Bots is a few months away from being finished, and another game for PlayFirst is well underway.  Bring it on, 2010!

In other news, the holiday sale has been a great success!  Thank you everyone for participating.  Those of you who signed up for the Puzzle Bots beta will be getting an email after the New Year.

See you next year,

-Dave

The return of the vidcast!

December 12, 2009

About a month ago I gave a presentation on Puzzle Bots at an event hosted by NYCgameindustry.com.  I have been asked to make a vidcast version of the presentation to show everyone, and at long last I have done so.

Check it out here:




-Dave
--

December holiday deals, and more!

The press releases have already gone out about this, but to reiterate... we're having a holiday sale!

From now until the end of the month, ALL our exclusive gaems (Shivah, the Blackwell series) are discounted at 50% off.  Just make your purchases and enter the coupon code "HOLIDAY" to get your discount  (Note: this discount can not be used in conjunction with the Blackwell Bundle discount).

In addition, 10% of the proceeds are going to the GetWellGamers.org foundation, a California-based public charity dedicated to bringing electronic entertainment to children in healthcare facilities.  I feel extremely fortunate that - with all the economic strife in the world - my little company is still here.  When I heard about this charity it seemed like a nice way to give a little something back.

I hope everyone has a happy and healthy holiday season!

-Dave

Puzzle Bots goodness!

December 1, 2009

Hello, all!  First things first: Erin Robinson has been interviewed by our friends at Bytejacker. She talks mostly about Puzzle Bots and her experiences working on the game.

Speaking of Puzzle Bots, you might have noticed our updated graphic at the top of the screen.  The poster has been updated by Heriberto Valle Martinez, creator of some truly awesome fanart.  Thanks Heriberto! 

Though the game might not be out yet, you can have the bots grace your screen with some snazzy desktop wallpaper.

Till next time!

-Dave

--

Puzzle Bots interview

Erin Robinson, the developer and creative mind behind Puzzle Bots, has just been interviewed over on Adventure Gamers. If you're curious to learn more about the game, check it out! 

-Dave

---

Blackwell Convergence post mortem!

A few weeks ago I wrote a long post-mortem of Blackwell Convergenge for Gamasutra, where I rambled on about the pitfalls during production and what went right and what went wrong.  The article has now been posted, so be sure to check it out here!

Puzzle Bots has been progressing in leaps and bounds lately.  If you are interested in following the production process, be sure to follow my twitter account.

More soon!

-Dave

--

More Puzzle Bots love

Puzzle Bots has been named by DIYgames as one of the top 10 break out indie games of 2010! 

-Dave

--

New news!
A few bits of news!

1- So apparently Asian girl gamers like Blackwell.  Or rather, the website AsianGirlGamer.com does. They have reviewed the whole trilogy (so far!) in one retrospective.

2 - We have submitted both Puzzle Bots and Blackwell Convergence to the Independent Game Festival!  Cross your fingers and hope to see you in San Francisco for the festivities. 

You can watch Erin and I talk about the game - as well as some neat in-game footage - in this video here:



Thanks go to Stacy Davidson for putting this wonderful video together. 

3 - I also got married last weekend.  Congratulate us by buying lots of games!

-Dave

No "recommended games" this week
Sorry for the lack of recommended games this past week.  My only excuse is that I'm getting married. :) 

In the meantime, enjoy these brief videos of Puzzle Bots voiceover recording sessions:




Shelly Smith-Shenoy voices "Hero", a robot from Puzzle Bots.



Abe Goldfarb voices "Zander", a brilliant but naive inventor.



Rebecca Whittaker voices "Astrid", an inventor with a mean streak.



Daryl Lathon voices "Kelvin", a sarcastic robot with a flamethrower!

-Dave

---

Live in NYC? Come see Puzzle Bots!
I've been slow with updating this site with news.  Last week I was interviewed by The Trappings.  We discussed writing for the casual market, narrative in adventure games, and the upcoming Puzzle Bots.

Speaking of Puzzle Bots, I am going to be giving a 6 minute presentation on the game tonight at the IGDA's annual Pecha Kucha night!  If you live in the New York area, RSVP here and check it out!  There will be pizza.  And later, drinks!

-Dave
 

CD versions temporarily removed
October 23, 2009




A number of you have been reporting corrupt CDs for Blackwell Convergence.  Plimus, the folks who handle this kind of thing, is looking into it.  In the meantime, I have temporarily removed the CD version of the game until it is sorted.  The download version, on the other hand, works totally fine.

Sorry for the tech trouble!

-Dave

Save on Blackwell with the Blackwell Bundle!

Oct 15, 2009

This has been available for awhile but I figured it was time to give it a formal announcement.  By popular demand, you can now purchase all three Blackwell games for a discounted price!  So if you plan on playing all three games, the Blackwell Bundle is definitely the deal for you!

More new soon.  Thanks, all.

-Dave

Come and see a preview of Puzzle Bots!
October 12, 2009

Attention New Yorkers!  If you live in (or near) the city and are interested in seeing Puzzle Bots in action, I am giving a short demo at the NYC Gaming Meetup tomorrow.  Here is the info:

Place: Gallery bar
Address: 120 Orchard Street, between Delancey & Rivington
Date: Tuesday, Oct 13th
Time: 7pm

Hope to see you there!

-Dave

Good morning, wrath!

October 6, 2009

It's recommended game day!  Today, I'm putting up something a bit different.  Who remembers the good old days of story-driven RPGs?  I do.  And so does Ethereal Darkness Interactive, the makers of Morning's Wrath.

Princess Morning wakes up one morning to find her kingdom on the brink of disaster.  Her parents are dead and her fiance has betrayed her.  What else is there to do but don the magical armor worn by her ancestors and set things right?  Times have changed.  So must you.

More details on the Morning's Wrath page!

-Dave

--

Idle Shivah
October 5, 2009

The Shivah was recently discussed on the Idle Thumbs podcast.  They give it quite an in-depth analysis!  I have to admit, it's very gratifying to see that this game is still being talked about three years after it was released.  Thanks, Idle Thumbs!

-Dave

Shivah Sale is over!

September 29, 2009

Wow, what a great response!  This site got totally slammed over the weekend with traffic.  The site might have buckled under the strain (causing a few hiccups here and there) but it did not break!

Anyway, the free Shivah offer is over.  Thanks to everyone who participated!

-Dave

Get the Shivah for FREE! This weekend is the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur!  It's a special time of year when Jewish folk reflect on the past year.  So, on reflection, we're giving away The Shviah for free.

From now until Tuesday, simply use the coupon code "FreeShivah" when purchasing and you can nab the game absolutely free of charge.  So get clicking!

Have a great Yom Kippur everyone, and enjoy.

-Dave

Tweetwell
September 24, 2009

Did you know Rosa Blackwell has a twitter account?

Even ghost-freeing mediums have to join the digital age.

-Dave

New recommended game released!

Howdy all!  It's time again for another recommended game.  This week, it's Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman's Mine!  Can you help mild-mannered Al Emmo find love and wealth in an old western town full of ghosts and dark secrets?  Check out the game and find out!

-Dave

Super Jazz Man, now available!

September 8, 2009

Well, the sale is over and it was a smashing success.  Thanks to all who participated!

It's recommended game day.  Today's offering is Super Jazz Man, a game created by Herculean Effort in 2006.  This game is particularly meaningful to me because the artist is also responsible for the wonderful character portraits in the Blackwell series.  Plus it's the only game on record where you play as a jazz playing super hero.

Anyway, go check it out!

-Dave

Labor Day weekend sale!!

September 3, 2009

Labor Day usually means that summer is officially over.  So, to help ease the pain we're holding a very special sales event.

For this weekend only, EVERYTHING in our online store is marked down by 50%!  Simply use the code "labor" when making your purchase and poof!  Twice the usual awesomeness at half the price.

This offer starts tomorrow (Friday) and ends on Monday, September 7^th and nab your games for half price while you can!

Have a great Labor Day weekend, everyone.

-Dave

edit: Unfortunately, this sale does not apply to Emerald City Confidential, as  that game is sold by PlayFirst and not by me.  The good news is that you can buy it at a discounted price from Big Fish Games or Steam!  So check 'em out there.

New recommended game

August 25, 2009

Howdy all! It's recommended game day.  Today's game is...

Downfall by Harvester Games!

For Joe and Ivy Davis, the Quiet Haven Hotel was supposed to be a one night shelter from a raging storm. Little did they know how wrong they were.  Ivy soon disappears and Joe is left alone, trying to understand what is happening.  Trapped between reality and a nightmare, Joe's world quickly turns black and white.  Only the color of blood is still red... and it's all around him. 

Downfall is a great game for horror fans, with a very unique art style and a terrifying story.  It's also quite dark, so be wary if you are into that kind of thing.  For more info, check out the Downfall page!

-Dave

Heading for a fall...

August 23, 2009

Hello everyone! Just wanted to give you a bit of a heads up to keep an eye on this site.  This Tuesday another game is coming.  You could say that Wadjet Eye Games is heading for a fall.

In personal news, my fiancee has just moved in with me so things have been a bit busy around here.  My apologies if I am a bit slower than usual in answering your emails.

-Dave

Wadjet Eye Games brings back the Fat!

August 11, 2009

Hello everyone!  Today I'd like to offer you a game that was produced by Socko! Entertainment in 2003 to great acclaim, but was sadly discontinued.  Six years later, the folks at Socko! have graciously agreed to let me sell the game on their behalf.  It gives me great pleasure to announce...

The Adventures of Fatman!

You are Fatman, defender of the city of Shadowlawn. Just when things are getting dull, a super villain named Toxicman is created from a botched act of corporate sabotage!  Can you tear yourself away from food long enough to save the city from certain destruction?

Check out the Fatman page for more info and screenshots.

This re-release of The Adventures of Fatman marks the first of Wadjet Eye's "recommended games" list.  We have several others queued up, and we'll be offering up a new one to you every two weeks. 

Till next time!

-Dave

More Convergence love

August 10th, 2009

More reviews!

Gamezebo calls Blackwell Convergence "an unforgettable adventure."

Rock, Paper, Shotgun says it is "touching and smart."

Mega fat news tomorrow.  Stay tuned!

-Dave

Stone-fu fighting

August 9, 2009

Hardy Dev just voted The Shivah as having one of the top martial arts scenes in an adventure game. Thanks, guys!

Incidentally, something big is going to happen on Tuesday.  So big, you could say it's fat.

Stay tuned,

-Dave

This was bound to happen to Lauren Blackwell eventually

August 6, 2009



Drawn by Matt Gardner.  Thanks Matt!

-Dave

Convergence reviews!

August 2, 2009

Some reviews have come in at last!  Yesterday's Salad calls Blackwell Convergence "a joy to play", and Jay Is Games calls it a "rare treat."

-Dave

Fanart Contest - Winners announced!

July 29, 2009

After much deliberation, the winners of the fanart contest have been announced!

The rest of the entries will be posted tomorrow.  Thanks so much for entering!

-Dave

Fanart Contest - 2nd place winners announced!

July 28, 2009

Ok, this took me long enough!  There were a *lot* of entries this time around, and it was very hard for me to make my final decisions.  But, made them I did and the 2nd place winners are posted.  Check 'em out on the forum.  These three entrants receive a $5 coupon to anything in the store.

The first place winners will be posted tomorrow, followed by the rest of the entries.

The store is fixed!

July 23, 2009

According to Plimus and the several tests I've done, the store is now fully operational again!  So what are you waiting for? Go buy the game!

If anyone is still having trouble, don't hesitate to contact me.

An indie shop like mine lives and dies by its customer service, so when something like this happens it's very traumatic.  Thanks to everyone for being so patient.

Thanks,

-Dave

--

Tech issues


The store's going through some "issues" but we're working on them.  Thanks again for your patience!

-Dave

Convergence is here!

July 22, 2009

Was something supposed to happen today?  Oh. Yeah.

THE BLACKWELL CONVERGENCE IS HERE!

For all of you who pre-ordered, you should be receiving an email shortly with your URL links and coupon codes.  For everybody else, what are waiting for?  Buy the game today!

Since the game is out, the coupon deal and the fanart contest are now closed.  I'll post the results of the fanart contest later this week.

So, wow.  As always releasing a new game is an emotional roller coaster.  It's been a long road, but it's here!  I hope you enjoy it.


-Dave

Slight Convergence delay

July 19th, 2009

Announcing a deadline always gives me something to shoot for, and while I don't always hit that deadline it's not for lack of trying.  And try we did.  I estimated that we'd be able to get this game done by the 20th and I was almost right.  The game is complete, but I feel very strongly that it needs one more round of testing before I can be totally comfortable showing it off.  So, as a result, I'm delaying the release till this Wednesday, July 22nd.

I know it's not much of a delay, but I know you were all expecting to play it tomorrow and don't like disappointing you;  especially since I delayed this game once already.  But, it would be irresponsible of me to release this game without doing everything I can to make sure it's as bug-free as I can make it.  So... I'm sorry.  

In the interim, the fanart contest and the pre-order coupon deals still stand.

Thanks everyone.  The game will be out soon!

-Dave

Get your Joey on!
July 18th, 2009

There's a little contest going on over at Bytejacker.  Send them your best Joey impression and you can win a free copy of the game!  More details over on Bytejacker.

I also just discovered how to embed audio files.  I am such a luddite.  To celebrate, here's a piece of music from the game!

Rosa's theme


If you are not the Joey impersonating type, there's still the fanart conetst!  Keep the art coming, guys.  Only a few days left.

-Dave

Blackwell Convergence available for pre-order!
Over the next few days I am going to be releasing some small gameplay videos for you to look at.  In fact, one was released today!



Anyway, mosey on over to the Convergence page and pre-order.  All the cool kids are doing it.

Thanks again,

-Dave

Puzzle Bots announced!

July 13, 2009

With Convergence close to release, this is a good time to announce our next project!  I'm proud to present... Puzzle Bots!

Spearheaded by Erin Robinson (of Lively Ivy), Puzzle Bots chronicles the adventures of Hero, a bright-eyed little robot who is too curious for his own good.  Check out the trailer here:



-Dave

The return of the fan art contest!

Sigh

June 24, 2009

Well, I wanted to put off this announcement but there's no denying any longer.  Try as we might, we will not be able to hit the June 30th deadline we set for ourselves.  I am giving us another three weeks and rescheduling for July 20th.  That should give us plenty of time to finish all the little details that need to be taken care of and make the game a much better experience overall.

I always hate delaying the release and this is no exception.  All I can say is that the extra time spent on the game will be worth it.

-Dave

Good bye, Manifesto
June 24th, 2009

Manifesto Games is closing its doors.

This is a sad day indeed.  While Manifesto never reached the lofty goals they set out to achieve, they were a great help to me when I was starting out.  They were the first distribution network to really believe that my little games were worth something, and considered them flagship titles of sorts. It goes without saying that without their efforts, my games probably would have squeaked under the radar as a curiosity. Instead, they pushed them into the limelight.

All the best to Greg, Bill, Eleanor, and the rest of the Manifestations.  You will be missed.

-Dave

Blackwell Cartoon #2!

June 19, 2009

Joey gets a crash course in television reruns.



-Dave

Blackwell Cartoon Shorts!
May 26, 2009

It's been a long time since we've seen Rosa and Joey in action, so I went ahead and produced a few cartoon shorts starring the characters!  Here is the first episode, which I simply call "On the Town":



-Dave

Follow us on Twitter!
May 23, 2009

So I've been hearing about this Twitter thing, and a few weeks ago I decided to check it out.  Thirty five tweets later, I can safely say that Twitter is pretty ingrained in my life, so it's time to make it official.

By following our Twitter feed, you'll get access to what I like to call "Twitter Exclusives".  Extra graphics, bloopers, or audio clips that you won't find on this site or sometimes even within the game itself.

If that's not enough, there's going to be a very big announcement on Tuesday and I plan on announcing it on Twitter first.

Join the Wadjet Eye Games Twitter feed by clicking here!

More soon,

-Dave

In the corner

May 17, 2009

I was recently interviewed by Adventure Corner about our work.  We talked about my design process (or lack thereof), the casual gaming scene, Blackwell and more. 

-Dave

---

The Blackwell Beta
May 7, 2009

I am looking out a window and I see gray clouds, pouring rain, and lots of umbrellas.  But from where I am standing, it is a beautiful beautiful day.

Why?  Because today The Blackwell Convergence hit beta.  This means the game is fully playable from beginning to end, but it's still very rough and contains lots of bugs.  We still need to playtest the game a lot before it is ready, but things appear to be on-track for June! 

-Dave

P.S. Here's another preview of that "special project" I mentioned last time:

News and previews
April 28, 2009

Adventure Classic Gaming has reviewed ECC, calling it "infectious, absorbing, and offers plenty of fun."

In addition to the upcoming Blackwell Convergence, there has been something else happening behind the scenes.  I can't say what it is yet, but here's a little clue:




-Dave

Downtime and Uptown
April 15, 2009

Whoops.  Sorry for the downtime, everyone.  It's sorted now, but if you emailed me in the last 24 hours I probably did not get it.

In other news, I have a real office now!  The folks from Arkadium Games kindly let me rent one of their desks.  It's ten blocks up from my apartment, and it's been a nice experience so far.  More details on my personal blog.

The only problem thus far is that my new desk is very bare.  Anyone have any cubicle decorating tips?

-Dave

---

Blackwell Convergence trailer!
April 8, 2009

Yep, it's on its way!  Here's a trailer for the upcoming Blackwell Convergence:



We're getting very close to an alpha build.  You should all have this game by June.

-Dave

P.S.  If you like the music used in the trailer, you can listen to an uncompressed version right HERE!

Come join us at ICON
April 2nd, 2009

This weekend I am going to be making my yearly pilgrimage to ICON, a scifi/anime/gaming/comic convention out on Long Island.  I won't be giving a lecture this time, but I will be speaking on lots of panels.  So if you are coming, look me up!

-Dave

---

Bay bound
March 22, 2009

This week I am going to be in San Francisco for the Game Developers Conference.  If any of you are going, feel free to look me up! 

During the conference, I am throwing a Wadjet Eye Games shindig for the first time ever!  If you are on Facebook, you can RSVP on this page, or just come!  Here are the details:

Date: Thursday, March 26th
Time: 7:00pm -9:00pm
Venue: 4th Street Bar and Deli
Address: 55 4th Street (between Jessie St. and Stevenson St.)
City: San Francisco

-Dave

---

ECC-apist!
March 19, 2009

Woah. ECC was reviewed on the Escapist, and they call it "nothing short of brilliant."  I've been a fan of this site since forever, so it's especially gratifying.

And here's something weird.  The game was plugged on a celebrity gossip site, of all places.  Is Petra setting a fashion trend?  Who is up for some ECC cosplay?

-Dave

---

Luck of the Ozish
March 17, 2009



-Dave

GOLD!
March 13, 2009

Game Tunnel awarded ECC a coveted Gold Award in their monthly Indie Roundup!



-Dave

More reviews, and wider release!
March 12, 2009

ECC was reviewed by Adventure Bug, and was given a really long analytical write up on GameSetWatch. 

In other news, the game is getting ready for wider release.  Next week it will go on other game portals like Big Fish, Yahoo, Reflexive, and many more.  So if you are members of those sites and have been waiting to get the game, your time shall arrive shortly.

I've been spending most of my time lately on Blackwell, and I should have an alpha build ready in a few weeks.  Assuming all goes well, it should hit the virtual shelves before the summer.

-Dave

Game Tunnel review
March 09, 2009

A new ECC review from Game Tunnel today.  They call the game "charming, smart, and simply fun."  Thanks, GT!

-Dave

Green Pixels review
March 6, 2009

Nathan Meunier of the appropriately named Green Pixels website has reviewed Emerald City Confidential, calling it a game that "restores his hope" in the PC adventure game genre. 

-Dave

Gameboomers review!
March 4, 2009

Becky of Gameboomers gives Emerald City Confidential an A-. 

-Dave

Gamezebo interview
March 2, 2009

So much news keeps happening that it's easy to let some fall through the cracks!  I forgot to mention this interview that Erin Bell of Gamezebo conducted with me last week.  In the interview we talk about Emerald City Confidential, what it was like working with a publisher, and what it was like making an adventure game for non-adventure gamers.  Check it out.

-Dave

And the reviews keep coming!
February 28, 2009

More reviews on the press page!  This one is particularly funny, since it was written in an old timey "hard case crime" style.

Also, the geeks over at Geekbox Podcast gave Emerald City Confidential a brief mention on their show.  You can listen to the whole 1 hour show on their site, or listen to the ECC excerpt here (1.20 minutes).

Till next time,

-Dave

One week later
February 26, 2009

Emerald City Confidential has been out for one week now, and what a week it's been!  Thank you, everyone, for the great response.  It's really gratifying. 

The reviews have been coming in, and they all have nice things to say!  I've dutifully archived the ones I've found on the review page.  If I have missed any, please let me know!

-Dave

Emerald City Confidential is OUT!
February 19, 2009

It's here!  You can buy it through the Emerald City Confidential purchase page!

So, wow.  What a ride!  It's always an emotional roller coaster getting a game out and this has been no exception.  Enjoy the game, everyone.  More info on Blackwell Convergence coming up soon!

-Dave

Adventure Classic Gaming interview
February 17, 2009

Last week I was also interviewed by Philip Jong of Adventure Classic Gaming.  We chatted about my early work in the biz, religion in games, and what's next for Blackwell.  Check it out here.

Also, Emerald City Confidential comes out today for the PlayFirst PlayPass members, so if you are a member head on over to the PlayFirst site to check it out.

-Dave

Adventure Gamers interview
February 16, 2009

Last week I was interviewed by Andrew MacCormack of Adventure Gamers.  We chatted about Emerald City Confidential and Blackwell, as well as my general life as an indie game developer over the last three years.  There are also some exclusive screenshots from both games over there, too.  So head on over and check it out.

-Dave

Who wants an Emerald City Confidential trailer?
February 11, 2009

Petra art!
February 10, 2009

The game is not even out yet, but she is already getting some fanart love.



Thanks to Heriberto and his staff at Imagineer for making this awesome image of Petra!

-Dave

New vidcast!
Feb 09, 2009

For the first time, I show some preview scenes from the game... THAT ANIMATE! (collective gasp)



-Dave

Emerald City Confidential has gone GOLD!
Feb 6, 2009

So. Wow.  Stick a fork in it.  It's done!

Today I got the official confirmation from PlayFirst.  All the bugs we can find have been squooshed.  All the features we need have been implemented.  Our to-do list has dwindled down to nothing. So... they've approved the game and deemed it Gold Master worthy!

Emerald City Confidential will be released on February 19th (or the 17th, if you are a PlayFirst PlayPass member), and from that point on it will be out of my hands. 

This is... weird.  The game has been such a major part of my life for over a year, and it's hard to believe it's over!  What a ride.  The ECC team was so eager and professional, and everyone at PlayFirst was so great to work with.  I learned a ton from working on this project, and I can't wait to do more.

You'll have ECC in two weeks, followed by Blackwell Convergence in a few months,  followed by... well, you'll see!  It's shaping up to be a productive year for Wadjet Eye Games, in more ways than one.

More soon!

-Dave

Kudos to Thomas Regin!
Feb 2, 2009

Thomas Regin, the composer for Blackwell Unbound, Blackwell Convergence, and Emerald City Confidential has just secured a major fulltime gig with Somatone, one of the largest audio houses in the world.  I announce this with a twinge of pride, since Somatone did the sound effects for Emerald City and was introduced to Thomas's work through that game.

So congratulations Thomas!  It couldn't happen to a nicer guy and I couldn't be more pleased.

-Dave

You are seeing me talk
January 29, 2009

Earlier this week, I was interviewed by the Web TV show Bytejacker about Emerald City Confidential.  You can view it here, through the magic of embedding technology...



I wore a pressed shirt and everything.  I felt so professional.

-Dave

Bytejacker guest blog
January 28, 2009

Today I wrote a guest blog entry for Bytejacker, about my day-to-day life as an indie developer.  Or maybe I should say night-to-night life.  You'll see what I mean when you read it here.

In other news, The gold master candidate of Emerald City Confidential is currently being given the once-over and, assuming all goes well, it will be approved by the end of next week.  As far as my involvement goes, I'm pretty much done. 

This means lots of newfound free time to work on Blackwell Convergence, which has been progressing in leaps and bounds.  It's too early to give a solid release date yet, but if things progress at their current rate you'll definitely see it before the Summer. 

Emerald City Confidential, Blackwell Convergence, and then Puzzlebots.  Wow.  That's three releases this year!  Hopefully this makes up for the lack of anything released last year.  More info soon!

-Dave
 

...and back up again!
January 20, 2009

The forums are fixed!  Not much else to say, really.

-Dave

Forums down...
January 18, 2009

The forums seem to be temporarily down.  We'll update when they go back up again. 

-Dave

Slight Emerald City Confidential delay...
January 13, 2009

Oops. I spoke a little too soon about the release date of the game.  We have been asked to add a couple of new features which is pushing the release date by a couple of weeks.  Look for the game in early February!  In the meantime, I've posted some new characters and screenshots from the game.

-Dave

Happy New Year!
January 4, 2009

Is it really 2009?  Hard to believe that Wadjet Eye is three years old already.

It's been awhile since our last update, but no news is definitely good news.  Emerald City Condfidential is almost at the Gold Master Candidate stage, which means you'll be seeing it on your virtual (and physical) shelves very soon.  I also means more time to work on Blackwell Convergence, which I'm sure we'll all agree has been a very long time in coming!

Speaking of Blackwell Convergence, I have updated the characters section with new character portraits for you to look at.  There's one portrait in particular that you might recognize if you played Blackwell Unbound:



She's baaack! 

More news soon.  I hope everyone had a great holiday.

-Dave

The system is UP!
December 3, 2008

The stores are working again! Woo! 

Life has been busy in the land of Oz.  We've been putting in lots of late nights (and putting in lots of coffee in our bodies) to hit a looming beta deadline.  There's quite a bit of work left to do, but I think the game is looking great so far. 

I'm aware that many of you are disappointed that Blackwell Convergence has been delayed for so long.  The bad news is that I still don't have much time to work on it, but the good news is that I've brought on board a project manager to help with the project!  Erin Robinson, who is spearheading our first external project (Puzzle Bots), has graciously volunteered to help out with getting Convergence finished.  She's been at it for a week and production has already started to steamroll.  Check out the updated Blackwell Convergence character section for some new portraits and bios.

Oh, and I was also recently interviewed by Bytten about Emerald City Confidendial.  It's a short interview but a sweet one.

That's all for now!

-Dave

The system is down...
December 02, 2008

Something seems to be a bit screwy with the online store.  Apologies for that.  We're looking into it and I'll update this box when it's fixed.

For those of you who still have got an itch to give us money, the zazzle store is working fine! :)

-Dave

Bytejacker interview!
November 21, 2008

Last week, I was interviewed by the Bytejacker webTV show, along with Francisco Gonzalez (Grundislav Games) and Erin Robinson (Lively Ivy).  During the interview, we answered viewers' questions, ate some wonderful gnocchi, and talked about Blackwell, Emerald City Confidential, and the game that Erin is doing for Wadjet Eye.

Watch it right here, thanks to the wonder of embedding technology:



-Dave

Blackwell Fan Photos!
November 14, 2008

What happens when a few Blackwell fans visit New York?  Well, look and see:



Erin Robinson (Lauren), Ryan Keepence (Joey) and Francisco Gonzalez (Isaac) re-enact a scene from Blackwell Unbound!



Erin Robinson (Rosa) and Ryan Keepence (Joey) re-create the Blackwell Convergence poster!

Awesome stuff.  Thanks Erin, Ryan and Francisco!

-Dave

New game announced: Emerald City Confidential
November 1, 2008

The day has arrived!  The game was announced on PlayFirst's website yesterday, which means I can can talk about it now. Emerald City Confidential, a noirish tale of mystery and magic in the land of Oz, will be released in January of 2009.  You can read more about it on the Emerald City Confidential page.

-Dave

Blurry content set to low.
October 30, 2008

I've brought the blurriness level of the PlayFirst Game images down to the "low" level.  I just got confirmation from my producer at PlayFirst that the game will be announced on their site tomorrow.  So stay tuned.

-Dave

Greetings from San Francisco!

October 30, 2008

Hello all! For the next two weeks I'm going to be sequestered on the opposite end of the country, working with voice actors for the PlayFirst game.  It's been a very interesting experience so far, as I've never recorded dialog in a "real" studio before.  Usually I just bring my actors to my apartment and hand them a microphone!  So it's been fascinating - and a bit intimidating - to see how the big boys do it.

I've been writing about my experiences here on my personal blog, if anyone cares to hear more.

-Dave

Not long now.
October 26, 2008

Hi everyone.  Sorry for the lack of news, lately.  What's new? Well, we appear to be fully on track to announcing the PlayFirst game around Halloween!  I've lowered the blurry factor on all the screenshots and character images, and also revealed the vowels in the characters' names!

Thank you all for your patience.  Very soon, I'll be let off the leash and be able to talk about this project.  It's something I'm very excited about.

-Dave 

Forums back up!
October 17, 2008

Quick as quick, the forums are back up now.

-Dave

Forums down :(
October 16, 2008

As the subject title says, the forums appear to be temporarily down.  They should be up soon!  In the meantime, enjoy these new voice samples from Convergence:

-Rosa learns to act natural.

-Joey speaks ill of the dead.

Thanks!

-Dave

Graphical update!
October 10, 2008

In continuing the trend of improving the quality of The Blackwell Convergence while you wait, here's a sneak preview of the new character portraits for Rosangela and Joey:



Sorry for the lack of updates lately.  In PlayFirst land we are gearing up for a closed beta testing period, which is sucking up huge amounts of my time.  Assuming all goes well, the mystery PlayFirst game will finally be revealed next week!

-Dave

Blurry factor: low-high!
October 1st, 2008

Hello everyone!  We're entering the usability testing phase on the PlayFirst project and it's been a mega trip!  Essentially it involves putting a bunch of random users in front of your game to see if the functionality... well, functions.  There are a few more phases to get through until the game is announced, but you won't have to wait much longer!  In the mean time, I've dialed down the blurriness factor on the PlayFirst game screenshots page.

More soon!

-Dave

PlayFirst game sneak peak!
September 22, 2008

The partnership between PlayFirst and Wadjet Eye Games was announced almost eight months ago, and now information is finally revealed! 

Check out THIS PAGE for a sneak preview of the upcoming game.  More info coming soon!

More news here:



-Dave

And the winners are...
September 11, 2008

1st place: "Claymation Rosa and Joey" by Mutajon!
2nd place: "Rosa and Joey in: Acting Out" by Alex Whittington! 
3rd place: "Rosangela on a Bench" by Ciaran Jones!  


Runner up #1: "Surrounded by Ghosts!" by Shany Rose!
Runner up #2: "Blackwell Quest" by Tom Simpson!
Runner up #3: "The Creation of Joey" by Gary Chisholm!

You all won prizes!  Email me your snail mail address so I can send you your winnings. 

You can see all the other entries over on the Wadjet Eye Games forum.  Thanks to all who entered!

-Dave

Fan Art contest over!
September 10, 2008

Thanks to everyone who entered!  I'll post the results in a day or two.

-Dave

Last call for fan art!
September 9th, 2008

Just a lil reminder that the deadline for the fan art contest is at midnight tonight (or whenever I happen to wake up tomorrow morning).  So if you are thinking of entering, now's the time!

Not much else to report.  Progress on the mysterious Playfirst project is galloping forward in leaps and bounds.  It's definitely been the most ambitious project I've ever worked on.  If all goes well, they'll be letting me off the leash in less than a month.  So stay tuned.

-Dave

Wadjet Eye on facebook
September 3rd, 2008

Hi all! Here's something for you Facebook users.  Edmundo Ruiz has put together a Wadjet Eye Games Facebook page. It'll give you notifications on everything that's posted here, as well as give you a heads up on future vidcasts!  So if you're a Facebook user, feel free to hop on and join!

-Dave

Fan art contest update!
August 23, 2008

It appears that I'm going to be out of town next week over the fan art contest deadline, so I'm extending it to September 9th and offering a new grand prize!  There is one character in The Blackwell Convergence who does not have a design yet, so if your art gets first place we will design that character to look like you!  The character can be male or female, old or young, so the prize can be given to anybody.

In other news, I have another vidcast for you!  It's a bit different, and mostly talks about how I went about marketing my games.  But if you find that stuff boring there's also a cute dog in it.



-Dave

Demo Night recap
August 15, 2008

Phew!  What an evening.  Some great games were shown.  Alongside Blackwell Convergence, we saw an explorer-themed casual game, a card collecting beat-em-up game, a drunk driving simulator (seriously), and a game made for disabled kids.  Once again, Demo Night showed off the variety of the New York gamedev scene.    

For those of you who came, thanks for making it such an awesome event!  Special thanks to Oren Ross for organizing it and Wade Tinney for keeping us all on schedule.

The only downside was that there was no video camera, so there'll be no youtube link this year.  I'm thinking of making a vidcast version of my presentation, since I know a bunch of you wanted to see it.  I'll see if I can put that together.

In other news, we've got a big Playfirst deadline coming up so hopefully I'll be able to share more news about that soon.

Till next time!

-Dave

Gamasutra names Wadjet Eye Games as one of the Top 20 Breakthrough Developers of 2008!
August 13, 2008

So it appears Gamasutra likes us, as they just named Wadjet Eye Games as one of the Top 20 Breakthrough Developers of 2008. Thanks, Gamasutra!

-Dave

Demo Night the third
August 10, 2008

Thanks for the art, everyone!  The contest is still going on till the end of the month, so there's still time.

Anyway, this Wednesday I will be presenting The Blackwell Convergence at Demo Night, an IGDA event here in New York City where local developers show off their stuff.  I'll be giving a 15 minute spiel about the game followed by a Q & A session.  All the presentations at this event will be recorded and uploaded to the internet eventually, so I'll be sure to post a link when that happens.

I've presented at this event twice before (The Shivah in 2006 and Blackwell Unbound in 2007) and I've always had a great time.  It's great to see the crazy new games the developers here in NYC come up with. If you live in the area, feel free to come!  Here are the details:

Date: Wednesday, August 13th, 2008
Time: 6:30pm to 9:00pm
Place: Wollman Hall (at the New School)
Address: 65 West 11th St (Between 5th and 6th Ave), 5th Floor
RSVP HERE

Hope to see you there!  Till next time,

-Dave

Vidcast and fan art contest!
July 21, 2008

Hello all.  A disturbing fact has been brought to my attention.  It's been entirely too long since we had a fan art contest.

There is a reason for that.  Normally, the big prize for winning a fan art contest is a free copy of the upcoming game.  That couldn't happen this time around, since the upcoming game won't be released until at least the fall.  So any fan art contests had to be postponed.

However!  That has all changed.  You might have noticed the little graphic on the right column of this page, linking you to the Wadjet Eye Games merchandise store. You can now purchase Wadjet Eye related mugs, shirts, posters, hats, and all sorts of stuff.  After all, wouldn't the world be a better place if more people wore Rabbi Stone on a t-shirt?

There's an added bonus to this store as well. I now had items I could give away as prizes!  Lo and behold, a new fan art contest was born!

So, for the entire month of August, I'll be holding another fan art contest.  Send in your various renderings, drawings, sketches, paintings, or whatevers of any characters from any Wadjet Eye Game.

The three top winners will receive a prize of their choice: a mug, a t-shirt, or a poster.

The three runners up will receive a nice collection of fridge magnets with various Wadjet Eye characters on them.

Everyone else will receive a consolation prize.  Nobody leaves this contest empty handed!

More details (among other things) within this brand spanking new vidcast:



Email all entries to ME, or post them on the forum.  I look forward to seeing em!

Till next time,

-dave

New game announced!
July 10, 2008

Two months ago, I hinted at a publishing deal between me and another indie developer.  I've kept mum since then, but things have progressed to the point where it's time to let the cat out of the bag. 

So, yes.  Wadjet Eye Games is getting into the publishing scene.  Those of you who played Blackwell Unbound should be familiar with Erin Robinson of Lively Ivy Studios, the lady who created all the character sprites and backgrounds for the game.  As I said last week, she won first prize in the Aspiring Women Game Artists competition hosted by Gamedev.  What you might not know is that she is a mighty clever game designer in her own right.  So it gives me great pleasure to announce a partnership deal between Wadjet Eye and Lively Ivy (or Wadjet Ivy, for short).

As for the game itself, here is what we can share:

1 - It will be a puzzle themed adventure game in the style of Nanobots, Lively Ivy's most recent game
2 - She is aiming for an early November release date

Screenshots and more info to follow!  In the meantime, you can read the official announcement on the general press page.

As for Convergence, we are aiming to release the game sometime in the Fall. 

That's all for now!  Till next time,

-Dave

July 3, 2008 - Here's to you, Erin Robinson
Erin Robinson, who single-handedly drew all of the sprites and backgrounds for Blackwell Unbound, just won first place in the Aspiring Women Game Artists contest, which was hosted by Gamedev.  Congratulations, Erin!

In addition to her art work on Unbound, she's also designed a few award-winning games of her own.  If you haven't done so already, be sure to go to her website and check out her work.

June 30, 2008: New Convergence Screenshots!

As mentioned in my first vidcast, a brand new team of artists is working on the game.  Finally, some brand new screenshots are here courtesy of Luminous Arts and Shane Stevens.  These five images should give you a good idea of what the new style of the game will be like.  Head on over to the Blackwell Convergence screenshots page to check them out.

More soon!

-Dave

June 21, 2008: Wadjet wee ones

It's been an eventful week for the staff of Wadjet Eye Games.

Andrew Goulding (programmer on the Playfirst project) and Thomas Regin (composer for Unbound, Convergence, and the Playfirst project) both became fathers.  Andrew for the first time, and Thomas for the second time.  I'd like to say congratulations to them both, and virtually welcome lil Emma Goulding and lil Anna Regin to the world.

It was also an eventful week for me, as I recently became engaged to my girlfriend Janet.  I'd congratulate myself, but that would be lame.

Anyway, there'll be some actual game news next time.  Promise.

-Dave

June 17, 2008 More fanart today!  This one is from Heriberto Valle Martinez, founder of a new indie adventure game studio called "Imagineer."  We chatted about my experiences the other day, and in return he sent me this awesome picture of Rosangela Blackwell.



(click for full image)

Where's Joey, you might ask?  Check her shadow.

-Dave

June 16, 2008 Howdy all.  Not much to report, but I thought I'd share this article on Mary Margaret about Manifesto Games.  The article focuses on the indie games they helped promote and a large portion of it talks about Wadjet Eye Games and The Shivah in particular. 

Also, here's a nice bit o' fanart by Ryan Keepence, which I finally got around to uploading:



What the world needs is more floating Joey Mallone heads.

More stuff to follow!

-Dave

June 5, 2008: Vidcast #2!
Yep, I decided to do another one.  This one is recorded from a local coffee shop.  In this vidcast I show off some in-progress screens from Convergence, answer an infrequently asked question, finish a latte, and try to ignore the people walking around behind me.



Ooh, we can embed video now.  Fancy.  Check it out.

-Dave

May 30, 2008: Digital Trend
Back at GDC I was interviewed by Digital Trends about casual games and the PC market.  A bit of my spiel was spliced into a Digital Trends piece about the "console war", and whether the PC has a place in today's gaming market.  I only talk for about 20 seconds, but if you are interested you can find the full video over at Digital Trends. My bit comes on at around the 6 minute mark.

-Dave

May 27, 2008: Grand Theft Blackwell?

Has anyone out there played Grand Theft Auto 4?  The city in the game (Liberty City) is based on the city of New York, and you can visit several real-world locations.  One such location is Roosevelt Island, reproduced in the game as Colony Island.  You might remember that you can visit Roosevelt Island in Blackwell Unbound.

Francisco Gonzalez recently sent in this screenshot from the game:



It's a bit hard to see, so click on it for a closer look. 

Now take a look at THIS Blackwell Unbound screenshot.

Both games have a sax player on Roosevelt Island in front of the Queensboro bridge? Hm. Perhaps one of the GTA designers is a fan of Blackwell.

-Dave

May 23, 2008 - A little something new
Hey all!  Been a bit slow around here lately.  I hope to make up for it by sharing all the recent news in a totally new format!  I'd like to introduce the first Wadjet Eye Games vidcast, where I discuss interesting behind-the-scenes stuff before they are actually announced.  I'm not sure I'll do more of them, but I have a new laptop with an embedded webcam so I figured it would be a good way to test it out!

Wadjet Eye Games Vidcast #1


Enjoy.

-Dave

Woah! Yep, things are looking a bit different around here.  Welcome to Wadjet Eye Games v. 3.0!

Special thanks to Klaus Schlichter who spent the last few months redesigning the site.  Things are a lot prettier, user-friendly, and much easier to navigate.  Plus all orders are now handled by Plimus!  So take a look around.  If you experience any problems, contact us at the usual address.


-Dave

April 11, 2008 I was recently interviewed in a podcast by Yesterday's Salad.  If you care to hear me talk about game development instead of reading about it on your screen, then feel free to CHECK IT OUT.  We talk about game development, life as an indie, and spill more info about Joey than I probably should have.

Apologies to Tom Hardy, who sent this lovely fanart to me ages ago and it's been gathering dust on my hard drive ever since:



You can see it in its full size on the fan stuff page.

Till next time!

-Dave

April 8, 2008 Last weekend I was a guest at ICON, where I gave a speech about indie games, spoke on various panels, and met tons of cool people such as "Z" from Little Miss Gamer and the guys from the Press Start retrogame comic.  NYC gamers and developers unite! 

Speaking of games and NYC, I'm organizing a game development drinking social this weekend.  If you're in the area, you can read the details on the NYC independent game development forum.

Also at the con were lots of cosplayers, although nobody dressed up as Rosangela, Joey or Rabbi Stone. Sigh.  Maybe next year.

-Dave

April Fool!

,  and  .

Yes, The Shiver was an April Fool's joke.  Thanks to everyone who went along with the gag!

-Dave

NEW GAME ANNOUNCED!! We are pleased to announce another game in the works.  In addition to The Blackwell Convergence and the upcoming Playfirst project, we're been working another game on the side.  Click here for more info!

March 30, 2008 It's official.  The Blackwell Legacy is special!

At least, it is according to bytten.com, who just awarded it an Ernie award in the category of, er, "special".  This (thankfully) refers to a game that doesn't fit any other category but deserved special mention anyway.

The Playfirst project is ticking along nicely.  I've never worked at this high a level before, so I've had to drastically adjust the way I normally work.  I wish I was able to write more about it, but I will say that it's been an incredible experience so far.  Stay tuned for info, when I'm legally allowed to give it!

-Dave

March 27, 2008 New interview ahoy!  I was recently interviewed by Gaming World, which is a site that I used to trawl all the time in order to play indie RPGs.  I was asked some pretty interesting questions, so go and check it out.


In other news, I am going to be giving a speech at the I-CON convention at Stonybrook, NY next weekend, as well as speaking on a number of panels.  If you happen to be going, do drop on by!  Details are on the I-CON site.

March 17, 2008 You might have noticed that things are moving a lot faster around this website.  We are in the midst of transferring over to a different web host, and it seems to be doing the trick.  During the transfer, the site might act a little wacky.  If anyone experiences any problems, drop us a line.

-Dave

March 14, 2008 Here's a first.  The demo of The Blackwell Convegence has been reviewed by the Bunnyman Trifecta.  I suppose it's a good sign that the game is garnering positive reviews before it's even finished!

In other news, during GDC I had the pleasure of being interviewed by Erin Bell of Gamezebo, one of the top casual game news sites.  The interview has been transcribed and is now available to read on their site.  We talk about Blackwell, being an indie developer, the Playfirst deal, and more.


-Dave

March 10, 2008 I know things have been very quiet and hush-hush around here, due to all the secrecy over the Playfirst project.  However, I'd like to tell you all about a major site overhaul and re-design, which will probably be happening soon. 

First off, here is a new logo that will soon be incorporated into all our spiffy new marketing and branding:



In Blackwell Convergence news, our primary sprite artist had to leave the project for personal reasons.  In his place, Shane Stevens (known for his work on The Shivah) has come onboard.  He will be revamping all the character sprites in his own unique style, and we'll be posting some of them when we deem them worthy of viewing.  Till then, stay tuned...

-Dave

March 6, 2008 I recently got back from Wisconsin, where I presented The Shivah at a Jewish Film Festival   All in all, it went quite well despite some travel mishaps.  Details on the personal blog.

-Dave

Rabbi Stone in Wisconsin Freshly recovered from my cross-country trip to GDC, I am flying out again.  This time, it's off to Madison, Wisconsin to present The Shivah at the Wisconsin Jewish Film Festival tomorrow. So if you are from the Madison area, feel free to come!

-Dave

BIG NEWS FROM GDC Greetings from San Francisco!  A press release went out yesterday, which you can read all over the web including HERE.

In a nutshell, we are getting published.  Several months ago I was approached by Playfirst, a game publisher known for such casual game megahits like Diner Dash and Chocolatier, about making an adventure game for them.  It's an incredible opportunity and nothing that I ever expected would happen when I started this little studio two years ago. 

I'm not allowed to say any more about the game at this stage, but I'll definitely give more details when I'm authorized to do so!  Working with an established publisher has been an amazing experience so far - we have a real budget! - and the folks at Playfirst have been extremely supportive and helpful every step of the way.

Hopefully this explains why The Blackwell Convergence is taking a bit longer to finish than we originally had planned.  It's still being worked on, rest assured.  Fortunately, I can talk about Blackwell as much as I want without breaking any contracts.  So more news on that when I have news to share.

-Dave

February 13, 2008 From the 17th to the 24th I'll be in San Francisco for the annual Game Developers Conference.  If anyone is going to be there and wants to meet up, feel free to drop me a line.

In Convergence news, I met with Rebecca Whittaker for another recording session the other day.  I put up a few samples (and bloopers) for you to enjoy.  Click over to THIS forum thread to listen.


Till next time,

-Dave

February 4, 2008 Some new reviews of Unbound have popped up around the internet, and they've been dutifully linked to on the Unbound press page.  Cheers to Just Adventure and Gamer-Girl for the nice reviews.

For those who were wondering, my developer blog is back online.  Server issues didn't only plague this site, it seems!

In other news... there will be other news.  A press release will be going out in a few weeks, which involves Wadjet Eye Games in some way or another.  Enigmatic enough? Perhaps.  Stay tuned.

-Dave

Jan 18, 2008 For those waiting to check out The Blackwell Convergence, we've completed a stand-alone demo for you to download and play.  It's a bit on the short side, but it's got a self-contained story and has four ways of getting to the end. So check it out!

Jan 15, 2008 Happy New Year!  We've got the server issues sorted, so things should work swimmingly from now on.  The last month has seen a dramatic increase in traffic, in no small part due to Amanda of Amaranth Games, who gave Wadjet Eye a mention on her site.  I highly recommend you check her stuff out, especially if you enjoy old-school RPG games like Final Fantasy 6.

Anyway, I plan on releasing a small stand-alone demo of The Blackwell Convergence soon.  It's in the beta stage and should appear in a few days.

-Dave

Sigh It appears the inevitable has happened - I go away on vacation and things go wrong back home. :)  Several of you have experienced issues downloading the game, for which I apologize.  It appears to be the result of a heavy surge in web traffic, which I suppose isn't a bad thing depending on your point of view.  Anyway, I am in the midst of creating a mirror for the games.  Those of you who have emailed me will receive a reply very soon. 

In any case, happy new year!  Special thanks to Klaus for helping out while I was away.

-Dave

December 19, 2007 I'd like to direct your attention to the images to the top right.  Yup!  The Blackwell Convergence has been officially announced!  For more information, click your way to the Convergence pages.

In other news, the dialog writing contest is over and we've got two winners!  Here are the two winning entries:

Winner #1 (submitted by Tom Hardy)
Joey: Honey, most women spend their whole lives waiting for a tall, dark stranger.  So live it up; they don't come stranger than me.

Winner #2 (submitted by Mark Feery)
Joey:   --but what Kim isn't telling Scott is that she's seeing his brother on the side! Can you believe that? Except Scott doesn't even have a brother! Not that Kim knows that. Yet.

Rosa:   I really wish you'd stop spying on our neighbors.


So congratulations, Tom and Mark!  Choose your prize (either the CDs or one of the Blackwell posters) and email me.

-Dave

Game Blogs Giveaway! Wadjet Eye Games has joined up with a few other game bloggers for a competition for fun and prizes.

Gameproducer.net will be giving away a game for the person who suggests the best name for his new zombie-themed computer game!

The Writers Cabal will be giving away a free copy of The Witcher for PC!

Our prize? There are two!  The top two winners will have a choice of either a CD version of both Unbound and Legacy, or a print of the Blackwell Legacy poster!  To enter, email me (admin AT wadjeteyegames.com) and write a line or two of conversation dialog for Rosangela Blackwell, Joey Mallone, or both!  In addition to the prizes, I will attempt to place the winners' dialogs within the next game!

The winner will be picked on December 19th. 

-Dave

Edit: We are aware that the forum and store are both having "issues" right now.  It appears to be a result of heavy traffic, which I suppose is not a bad thing when you think about it.  We're trying to fix it.  Thanks for your patience.

Edit #2: Web diva Klaus Schlichter dutifully fixed the problem.  The forum and store work again! Hurrah!

December 8, 2007 Congratulations to Shany, who totally rocked the trivia contest last night!  Shany already owned the game, so graciously gave the prize to the second place winner (Xchain).  The contest and following Q & A session were great fun.  Thanks to the Game Fairy for organizing it.

A common question several of you have asked is about the voice acting in Convergence.  Abe Goldfarb will definitely return as Joey. Sande Chen, due to various time commitments and other reasons, will not be returning as Rosa.  The new actress is named Rebecca Whittaker and we met for her first recording session the other day.  I have placed some of her samples (as well as a blooper or two) over on the Wadjet Eye Preview forum. 

More casting news (as well as other news) will be announced as it happens!  Hope you all are staying warm, for those in colder climes.

-Dave

December 6, 2007 Hello!  For those of you who missed the Adventure Developers Online Conference, you can read the archives over at the Adventure-Europe forum.  Thanks to everyone who participated.  We talked about the Blackwell series, the casual game market, as well as what's in store for Rabbi Stone.

If you missed the online conference, there's still the Game Cafe trivia quiz and Q & A jam on Friday, hosted by the generous Game Fairy.  The prize for winning the trivia quiz is a free copy of Unbound.  Many of you expressed an interest in participating in the quiz, but are relunctant to because you already own the game.  This is understandable, so I'll be scheduling another contest sometime soon. 

Last but not least, Danyboy of Mystery Manor recently reviewed Unbound.

Happy holidays everyone!  Till next time,

-Dave

Upcoming events! A bit last minute, but there are some interesting events that you might not be aware of.

Some of you might remember the 2006 Adventure Developer Online Conference, where I discussed Blackwell Legacy and answered questions amongst other things on Adventure Europe's forum.  Well, they must have liked me because they invited me back again.  I'll be available for Q & A on Wednesday, November 28th (tomorrow) from 9pm-11pm GMT (that's 5pm-7pm for you ESTers).  You can read the official announcement on the Adventure Europe site.

On December 7th, I'll be hosting a trivia contest over in Game Cafe's chat room.  There will be 30 questions asked, ranging from "dead easy" to "mega hard", based on the Legacy game and the Unbound demo.  The winner will receive a free copy of Blackwell Unbound plus bragging rights!  Following the contest I'll be hanging around the chat room to answer any questions about the game and my experience in the casual games market.  Special thanks to The Game Fairy for organizing this.  You can read the official announcement on her site.

-Dave

After holding at #12 on the Big Fish Games top 100 list for a few days, The Blackwell Legacy broke into the top ten.  It's been slowly crawling up the ranks and is currently holding at #7. 

In other news, Danyboy of Mystery Manor has interviewed me and posted it on their forum.  We talked about the series, ghosts, and and what's in store for future Blackwell installments. 

-Dave

November 9th, 2007 More good news on the Wadjet Eye Front.   The Blackwell Legacy is now being distributed on the Big Fish Games portal.  It went up earlier this week, and has slowly climbed up their Top 100 ranks and is currently resting firmly at #12.  When you consider that Big Fish releases a new game every day, and has a catalog of several hundreds of games, this is quite an achievement.  They put together a very cool trailer video for the game, which you can view here.

In review news, the dubiously named "Bunnyman Trifecta" has written reviews of all three Wadjet Eye Games, saying that "gaming this good doesn't come along often."  Thanks, Bunnyman.

A few weeks ago I wrote an article for the Game Career Guide about my experiences developing Blackwell Unbound.  You can read that article by clicking here.

Lastly, production for the next Blackwell game is well underway and I've posted some small previews of our work in progress.  I've posted them on the Preview Forum if you want to have a look.

Till next time,

-Dave

Interview with the Unbound team The AGS E-Zine recently interviewed Erin Robinson, Thomas Regin, and myself about Blackwell Unbound.  You can read the interview, as well as see some preliminary screenshots from the next game, by clicking right here.

-Dave

November 1, 2007 Blackwell Unbound just popped in at #1 on Manifesto Games's top ten best-sellers list.  What's #2? The Blackwell Legacy.  To complete the trio, The Shivah is hanging out at #5.  If that weren't enough, Legacy has also been popping in at various places on Playfirst's top ten.

The weather might be getting colder, but it's nice and warm where we are standing.

-Dave

October 25, 2007 Happy almost Halloween!

One of our distributors, Manifesto Games, has put together a little Halloween promotion for Blackwell.  Send them a ghost story and you could win free copies of both Blackwell games!  The details are HERE.

In other news, an Unbound demo is now available.  You can nab that HERE.

Details on the next game are coming soon.

-Dave

October 9, 2007 Has it really been over a month since Unbound was released?  The calendar seems to think so. My how the time flies.

Just a few small updates today.  Some more reviews are in the Unbound press section, and the fanart contest entries have been given a home in the Fan Stuff section. 

Production on the next Blackwell game is dutifully underway.  Way too early to give any details yet, but here's a preview of one of the first characters you meet:



His name is Alan, and he's a... well, you'll see.

Till next time,

-Dave

September 17, 2007
Hello all.  I've got a few lil tidbits of news for you today.

Another nice review of Blackwell Unbound has emerged, written by I-Luv-Games.com.  They've also interviewed me, the log of which should appear sometime soon.

I neglected to mention this before, but I presented a demo of Blackwell Unbound to the New York IGDA last month.  The presentation was videotaped, so you are able to see it for yourself.  The links are on the Unbound press page.

In addition, if you are a reviewer and would like a free review copy of the game, drop me a line!

-Dave

P.S. Last week was a busy week so I've been a bit slower with answering emails than normal.  If you wrote me and don't hear from me soon, try emailing me again.

September 7, 2007 News news glorious news.

1- Some reviews of Blackwell Unbound have already popped up!  Cheers to Richard Cobbett's Online Journal, Yesterday's Salad, and the AGS Ezine for getting those write-ups done so quick (and for liking the game). 

2 - All the CD-ROM orders have been shipped out!  If you did not receive an email from me, then please get in touch.

3 - The fanart contest results have been posted on the forum.  So if you entered the contest, or want to see the results, head on over there to check it out.

4 - The Blackwell Unbound soundtrack has been added to the store. You can also listen to some samples here:
       - Sample 1
       - Sample 2
       - Sample 3

5 - Nothing else, really, but 5 is a nice round number.

-Dave

September 4, 2007 - Blackwell Unbound is here! With only a slight delay, Blackwell Unbound has finally hit the virtual shelves.

For the digital downloads, head on over to the store to grab the new download link.  For those of you who purchased the CD-ROM version, the packages are being assembled and will be heading out tomorrow.  You'll get a confirmation email when it is sent out.

So, well, WOW.  Finishing a game is always an interesting experience, and this was no exception.  I could go on, but I'll keep this newbox brief today.  Enjoy the game!

Till next time,

-Dave


p.s. I'll announce the fanart contest winners tomorrow.

August 31, 2007 - Slight delay Well, we tried.

I had estimated that we'd complete the game by August 31st, and we weren't far off the mark. We have successfully tested Blackwell Unbound, but it cannot be released due to technical difficulties beyond our control.

My hands are tied and all I can do is wait for a third party to fix what needs to be fixed. Rest assured that as soon as this problem is sorted, the game will be released. It's a holiday weekend here in the US (Labor Day), so it might take a few days or it might take a few hours. At the latest, I'm estimating Tuesday the 4th.

A few days isn't much of a delay, true, but I know that a number of you were hoping to play the game today and I apologize for that. In the interim, the fanart contest and the pre-order deals are still on.

-Dave

August 23, 2007 Due to popular demand, we're bringing back the Wadjet Eye fanart contest!

The rules are simple: draw, paint, or sketch any character from a Wadjet Eye game, from "The Shivah" to the upcoming "Blackwell Unbound."

The top three winners will a receive downloadable copy of "Blackwell Unbound." The three runners-up will receive a free "Unbound" soundtrack (also downloadable). Every other entry will receive a consolation prize

This contest starts NOW and will continue till the game is released.  For examples of previous entries, you can check out the Wadjet Eye fan stuff section.

Remember that nobody will leave the contest empty-handed, so send your stuff to: admin(AT)wadjeteyegames.com.

Note: You can still pre-order Blackwell Unbound and receive a free Legacy soundtrack + free shipping on CD orders.

August 10, 2007 Blackwell Unbound is now available for pre-order!

Why order in advance?  To take advantage of a special offer, of course!

Pre-order Blackwell Unbound and you'll get access to the The Blackwell Legacy soundtrack absolutely free.

But wait - there's more!  If you intend on purchasing the game on CD-ROM, we've got a special deal for you.  In addition to getting the Legacy soundtrack, you'll also get FREE SHIPPING! 

This offer expires the day the game goes on sale, which is estimated to be August 31st.  So swing on over to the Wadjet Eye Games store to snag the game before that happens.

-Dave

August 7, 2007 Ladies and gentleman!  We've hit a milestone.

Programming wise, all the core elements are done.  We can start the game, play the game, and complete the game without any major show-stopping bugs.  All a month before release day, too. 

Phew!  Feels so good.  Oh yes it does.

Tune in soon for some more news.  Have an announcement coming tomorrow.

-Dave

August 1, 2007 Lots of goodies for you today!  Beta testing is well underway, and voiceover recording sessions have begun.  As a result, I have put together several little previews for you.

You can see three new screenshots on the Unbound screenshot page. Erin Robinson is single-handedly doing all the backgrounds and character art, and she continues to impress.  Eyal Jamer also returns to draw his signature close-ups, which you can also see on the screenshot page.

In the past week, I have had a number of recording sessions with the Unbound cast.  I have placed some samples of their work on the forum.  If you don't feel like searching for them, here are the direct links:

Dani Marco (Lauren)
Abe Goldfarb (Joey)
Chen-Young Hsu (Mavis)
Francisco Gonzalez (Dwayne)

Last but not least, there is a preview of Blackwell Unbound on the AGSezine blog.  You can read more about the game, as well as view an exclusive screenshot, by clicking HERE.

Until next time,

-Dave

July 17, 2007 Unbound cast announced!

Check out the cast page for info on some of the actors who are voicing the characters of Blackwell Unbound.  Some are new, others are Wadjet Eye veterans. 

Be sure to stay tuned for the usual voice samples, previews and a blooper or two.

-Dave

July 9, 2007 Some small updates today.

Shivah was briefly discussed in a 1up.com podcast called "Retronauts".  You can listen to the exerpt HERE.

Blackwell Legacy was reviewed by Just Adventure, and was given a A-/B+ rating.

A new piece of Blackwell fanart has been added to the Fan Stuff gallery.

Blackwell Unbound is on schedule and due for release in August.  More news as it develops.

Till next time,

-Dave

July 5, 2007 Back from vacation and feeling totally refreshed and stuff.  Took a day to get over jetlag and I'm dutifully back-at-it.  CD-ROM orders will be shipped out tomorrow.  Thanks for your patience.

-Dave

June 22, 2007 Just an FYI - I am going to be on vacation from June 22 until July 3rd.  I will have sporadic access to email, but I obviously won't be able to fulfill any CD-ROM orders.  Sorry for the inconvenience!

In the meantime, check out this nice review of The Blackwell Legacy from PC Format magazine.

-Dave

June 10th, 2007 Who wants some free goodies?

Click here to grab a free desktop wallpaper.



-Dave

June 7, 2007 The Blackwell Legacy has been reviewed by the Four Fat Chicks. I have also updated the various review sections with links that, for some reason, had neglected to be linked when they first appeared.  So apologies to Adventure Gamers, Adventure Lantern, and Bytten. Your reviews have been dutifully added to this site.

Blackwell has been updated to version 1.3, which includes some optional on-screen instructions for those who were having trouble sorting out how the notebook works. 

In Blackwell Unbound news, here's the skinny on the voice acting thus far.  Abe Goldfarb will be returning to voice Joey, but Sande Chen will not be returning as Rosa (because Rosa isn't in the game!) An actress named Dani Marco will be leading the game as Lauren.  More info to follow as we move forward.

-Dave

June 1st, 2007 Is it June 1st?  Hm.  I suppose that means I should announce this:




Blackwell Unbound, a Legacy prequel, is well underway and is scheduled to be released in July/August of this year.  For more details, click HERE.

May 24, 2007 Just to prove that we're actually doing something, here is character concept art from a game that is due to be released this summer:



Who is she?  Check this site on June 1st and find out.

-Dave

May 21, 2007 Ian Schlaepfer, the man who singlehandedly drew all the sprites and character portraits for The Blackwell Legacy, has come down with a bad case of "demanding fulltime job", so is unable to dedicate the same amount of time that he did before.  He will still work on the character portraits, but the job of spriting has been given to someone else.  Working on the upcoming Blackwell Convergence is Scott Benson, who has started his tenure by reskinning the Rosangela sprites. 



Rosa has a ponytail now.

-Dave

May 17th, 2007 Hello!

For those of you who have been waiting (and waiting) for news of our upcoming release, your wait will be over on June 1^st. In addition to The Blackwell Convergence, we've been working on a little side project, in secret, and we are almost ready to unveil it. The marketing and promo materials are being prepared as we speak.

So. June 1^st. Watch this space.

-Dave

May 9th, 2007 If you have tried to email us over the last few days we probably didn't get it.  The email server has been having "issues."  So apologies for that.

A review of The Shivah has popped up in the Onion A.V. Club.  I've been a reader of the Onion for years, so seeing this in print was a real hoot.


-Dave

May 2nd, 2007 Hello, everyone!  Things have been a bit quiet on the Wadjet Eye front, and for that I apologize.  It's taken longer than I planned to gear everything up for production.  I sat down with the animators recently and they had a number of concerns and suggestions, which I took the time to implement.  I am a careful sort, and I don't like to forge ahead until everything is set in stone and everybody knows exactly what they are doing, so I put things on hold until the design was complete.

Well, it's now complete. Phew.

Since you've all been so patient, here's another character design sketch:




-Dave

April 19, 2007 The limited edition of Blackwell is now SOLD OUT!  Congratulations to Martin Clark for snagging the last copy.

-Dave

April 17, 2007 Blackwell Limited Edition CD-ROM is almost sold out!  There is only one left.  If you've been on the fence about getting it, now is the time.

-Dave

April 13, 2007 News galore!  

The Shivah has won the March 2007 "Game of the Month" award from  PC Zone UK. 

Also, AGSers Grundislav and Zooty discussed The Blackwell Legacy in their most recent AGS Podcast.

And lastly, since you all have been so patient, here is another concept sketch from the upcoming Blackwell Convergence:



-Dave

APRIL FOOL! The Shivah is a game that is easily mis-spelled.  Reviewers, forum posters, even the GDC Choice Awards press have neglected the poor "H" at the end of the title.   This isn't a bad thing in and of itself, but it does wreak havoc with my Google searches. 

The Shiva, the game starring the Shiva the Destroyer, was obviously a little April Fool's joke poking fun at this common occurance.  Most of you realized this fairly quickly. 

As for the rest of you:

     and

A "real" game will be announced soon, folks.  So stay tuned...

-Dave

NEW GAME ANNOUNCED! I've been keeping this under wraps, but today I can make it official. I'd like to announce The Shiva, a thrilling new mystery game.  Click HERE for more details.

March 22, 2007 Tomorrow I am heading to Stonybrook, Long Island to speak at I-CON to speak about indie adventure games.  If anyone is going, feel free to come to my speech or one of the panels I'm speaking on. 

Many of you have been waiting patiently for news of the next Blackwell game.  I'm in no position to reveal any plot details yet, but here's a concept sketch of one of the characters:



Mega bragging rights go to the person who can guess her name.

-Dave

March 18, 2007 The Wadjet email (Eye-mail?) server was down yesterday, so if you emailed me your letter probably got bounced back or didn't reach me at all.  It should be working now.

In other news, The Shivah was discussed on the webTV show Indie Superstar

-Dave

March 12, 2007 GDC is over, and while Wadjet Eye Games didn't walk away with the "Best New Studio" Choice Award, a great time was had by all.  In case you missed it, you can read about my experiences there on my personal blog.

The major news items is that The Shivah was briefly discussed on a recent NPR program called "All Things Considered." The audio file is hosted on THIS PAGE (remember to click the "Listen" button to play the file).

A number of Blackwell and Shivah reviews have popped up, and their links have been placed in their respective press sections. 

For those of you who made a CD-ROM purchase last week while I was at GDC, your orders will go out today or tomorrow. 

There is some more news, but I am not at liberty to discuss it right now.  Tune in soon!

-Dave

March 5, 2007 This week I am at the Games Developer's Conference in San Francisco.  I will have access to email, but I will be unable to fill any CD-ROM orders until Monday, March 12th. 

If you are interested in reading about my experiences here at the GDC, I am going to be writing about it on my personal blog.

-Dave

March 2, 2007 Thanks must go to the NYU Tisch School for organizing the "Writing in Games" panel discussion the other day.  It was great fun and some great questions were asked of us.  We discussed a broad range of topics; such as the pros and cons of mod tools (Neverwinter and the like), the differences between game writing and screenplay writing, ways to get yourself noticed, and more.

GDC is looming, and I'll be leaving for San Francisco on Sunday.  I will be gone for a week, and will be unable to fulfill CD-ROM orders during that time.  Any orders placed before 10am EST tomorrow (March 3rd) will be shipped out with no problem.  I will have email access, so if anyone has any questions I am still reachable.

Speaking of GDC, I will be discussing The Shivah and storytelling in games at the Serious Game Summit on Tuesday, March 6th from 3:20pm to 3:50pm (PST).  If anyone is attending GDC and wants to meet up, feel tree to drop me a line.

-Dave

February 27, 2007 Hi all,

A slight addendum to my previous update.  Only NYU students are allowed to the Game Writers panel.  So, if you're an NYU student and want to hear Sande and me babble, come to the NYU Tisch building from 5-7 on February 28th.

In addition, I am sponsoring a wicked neat project called "The Writers Cabal Giveaway Conspiracy" that's taking place at GDC this year.   Want to learn about a great new developers' resource and get some free games (Wadjet Eye and otherwise) in the process? Visit http:/writerscabal.com for more details.

-Dave

February 23, 2007 Hello all.  It's been awhile since this news box has been updated, but lots has been happening behind the scenes.

I have been asked to join a panel discussion on "Writing for Games" at NYU.  In addition to me, Sande Chen is also on the panel.  Sande is best known in Wadjet Eye circles as the voice behind Rosa Blackwell, but she is also a games writing veteran who knows everything there is to know.  If you are in the NYC area on Feb 28th, you should come check it out.  I'll post the time/location info once it is made known to me.

For those of you who are wondering - yes, another game is in development.  It's nearing the end of the pen-and-notebook stage, and I hope to have a sturdy design doc ready after GDC and start production soon after.  I can't give away any major details yet, but I can let loose two minor ones:

1.  It is a Blackwell game
2.  The title will be The Blackwell Convergence

Anything else will have to wait.
 
And now for the boring logistical stuff. I am going to be out of town this weekend (Feb 24/25), so if you placed a shipping order with me today (Friday, Feb 23), it won't be going out until Monday (Feb 26th).  

That's all for now.  Stay frosty,

-Dave

February 8, 2007 It's been made official.  Wadjet Eye Games has been nominated for a Game Developers Choice award in the category of "Best New Studio."  The award ceremony will take place on March 7th at the GDC convention in San Francisco. 

This is an incredible honor.  Thank you, IGDA members, for nominating us. 

-Dave

February 1, 2007 Yikes.  I had totally underestimated the number of people who wanted a CD-ROM product. I've gone back and forth to my local Staples branch three or four times to pick up essentials like more jewel cases, labels and printer ink. 

As things stand now, I finished most of the orders but I am once again out of supplies and the stores are closed.  I shipped them out in a "first come, first served" order of priority.  If you placed your order yesterday, your purchase definitely went out.  If you placed your order today, it might not have.  I sent you an email if it went out, so check that if you are wondering.

You all are certainly keeping me busy.  I suppose there are worse problems I could have than having too many orders to fill.

-Dave

January 30, 2007 Wadjet Eye Games is now Dial-Up friendly!

For those of you on dial-up, your requests have finally been answered.  Both The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy are now available on CD-ROM.  Each package contains a CD jewel case with a copy of the game AND a copy of the soundtrack. To place your orders, drop by the online store.

We are also offering a special, limited edition version of Blackwell for only $5 more.  Should you choose, I will include a glossy 5 x 7 photograph of the Blackwell poster, signed by either myself, Abe Goldfarb (Joey) or Sande Chen (Rosa). There are only 15 copies of this available, so place your orders soon.

-Dave

Jaunary 26, 2007 The Blackwell Legacy has been reviewed by Strategy Informer!

CD-ROM versions coming soon.

-Dave

January 22, 2007 Is the demo delayed again? Nope!  It's finally here.  Some games are easier to create demos for than others, and Blackwell was one of the more difficult ones.  Still, I am very happy with the result, and think it gives a nice taste of the game without giving away too much. 

You can snag the demo HERE.

In other news, I have updated the Blackwell downloads page with a bit more content.  It now provides direct links to the various Youtube videos, including a new movie-style trailer for the game, which you can also see on ON YOUTUBE.

Phew.  That's all for now, folks.  If you have more questions and concerns, please send them my way.

-Dave

January 18, 2007 Greetings everybody!  A bit more news today.  In addition to the GDC, I was also asked to speak at I-Con, an annual convention for science fiction and gaming, right here in New York State.  If anyone is attending this event, feel free to check out my panel.

Many of you have asked me about the CD version of the game and soundtrack.  After looking at various options and determining that they all took too long or were too expensive, I have decided to bite the bullet, invest in the equipment and burn/print out all the materials myself.  This will make the products a tad cheaper for you customers, and I won't have to deal with annoying third party companies.

Demo coming soon folks.  Perhaps today. 

-Dave

January 16, 2006 I was recently asked to speak at the 2007 Game Developers Conference  in March.  I'll be leading a 30 minute talk about The Shivah and religion in games.  If anyone else is going to the GDC this year, feel free to get in touch!

-Dave

January 12, 2006 Hi all.  The demo is taking longer than I thought, but in the meantime you can check out this Blackwell review on Gameboomers.  Also, Klaus (the Wadjet Web diva) has reformatted the forums to make them all nice and consistant with the rest of the site. 

-Dave

January 10, 2006 Hi all.  The astute of you might have noticed some changes throughout the site.  I had written some news posts about them, but for some reason forgot to click the "update" button, which apparently exists for a reason. 

Anyway, here's the big list o' news.

Firstly: The Blackwell Legacy has been updated to version 1.2!  This takes care of a few minor bugs, audio glitches, and sorts out a strange save bug that occurs on some computers.  I had originally created a patch, but since the size of the patch wasn't much smaller than the actual game I didn't see the point of it.  So if you want to upgrade, you'll have to redownload.  I do apologize. 

Secondly: The Blackwell Legacy soundtrack has been released!  For those of you who enjoyed Peter Gresser's music, you can now enjoy it without even playing the game!  Check out the store for more details.

Thirdly: I have updated the fan stuff section with loads of new paintings, drawings, and sketches.  If you entered the fan art contest and haven't heard from me, please drop me a line.

Fourthly: Those of you who are getting a product for free and have selected the "Free Arrangement" option on the new store, I would appreciate it if you could mark down the reason why you are getting the game for free.  If you have purchased a product on the old store, please say so and include your order number (assuming you have it).  It'll make the process go much faster for both of us.

Fifthly: If you are a reviewer and would like a review copy, you are welcome to one! Drop me a line. 

Sixthly: You've made it this far?  I'm impressed.  Are fourthly and fifthly actually words?  Well, they are now.

Thanks!

-Dave

January 8, 2006 Greetings all.  I have fixed a few minor Blackwell bugs that were reported, and I am testing it out as we speak.  Look for that, along with the soundtrack, later today.

In the mean time, you can check out this article by the Jerusalem Post about The Shivah.

-Dave

Review, and other stuff The Blackwell Legacy has been reviewed in the Danish magazine PC Player.  I've linked to it on the Blackwell Press page.  The review was originally in Danish, but the writer graciously provided a translation.

In other news, a few minor bugs have been uncovered after the release, and I am dutifully fixing them.  I hope you'll forgive the slight delay.  There was the holiday, of course, and I desperately needed some time off after finishing the game.  I am dutifully rested now and ready to get right back at it.  Look for a new release, and details on the boxed version and soundtrack coming soon!

-Dave

Back again! After two days of absence and punctually to the beginning of the new year the store is online again! We used the downtime to totally revamp the shop and to adjust the design to fit the website's layout. Now enjoy your visit to the brand new store.

Happy New Year everyone!

Still working on it Hi everyone.  We're still working on the store.  We've given up on the old osCommerce store and instead have opted to create a brand new store hosted on this site.  Hopefully that should be up soon.  Thank you, again, for your patience.

-Dave

December 29, 2006 Talk about bad timing.  It seems the online store decided to wave a little white flag and die.  We are trying to coax it back to health.  I apologize for the technical difficulty.

-Dave

IT'S HERE It's here!  Head over to the Blackwell page to purchase the game.

If you've pre-ordered the game; go to the online store, click "My Accounts" and then "Check for available downloads."  The game link will follow.

For you downloadophobes, a boxed version will be available after the New Year.

Enjoy!

-Dave

December 21, 2006 Here's an activity I like to call "Fun with Blackwell cast members", in which Sande Chen and Abe Goldfarb (the voice actors behind Rosa and Joey) were posed to re-enact the poster for The Blackwell Legacy:



My kitchen is a far cry from the Manhattan skyline, but it did the job.

-Dave

December 19th, 2006 Another day, another news entry. 

The last of the fanart entries have been placed on the forum, so head over there and check them out.  If your work has been placed there, be sure to get in touch with me to claim your prize.

Also, it appears  that Mel Gibson has something to say about The Shivah.  Really. 

-Dave

December 18, 2006 FANART CONTEST WINNERS HAVE BEEN ANNOUNCED!  Check out the forum for the results.  The  consolation prize winners will be announced tomorrow.

Also, for those of you impatient to see some of the game in action, I uploaded a small gameplay movie clip onto Youtube.


-Dave

December 17th, 2006 Hello, everybody!  In lieu of the recent delay, I've brought back the free Shivah soundtrack offer.  Pre-order Blackwell and you'll once again receive a free copy of the Shivah soundtrack.

The Fanart contest is over!  Instead of showing all the entries at once, I decided to stretch this out over three days.  Head over to the forum to see the three runners-up, all of whom won a free copy of the Blackwell Legacy soundtrack.  Tune in tomorrow to see the three winning entries.

In other news, Manifesto Games (one of our distributors) is giving away eight free copies of The Shivah (one for each night of Hanukkah).  If you are eager to snag a copy for free, head over to Manifesto Games.

-Dave

Blackwell Delay It is with a heavy heart that I follow in the footsteps of my gaming brethren.  Infocom, Sierra, Unisoft, Silicon Knights, Rockstar... they all have done this one way or the other.  And now, I am too.

I am, of course, talking about a product release delay.  

I've been literally grinding myself to the bone to get this finished and I'm burnt out.  I will continue to work and finsih it by the deadline, but it wouldn't be fair to the game or to all of you customers if it wasn't tested thoughrougly first.  So, I am delaying the release date by one week.  

December 23rd is the new date, right before Christmas.  I apologize to everyone who pre-ordered and was looking forward to playing the game this Saturday.  The game is finished, it just needs to be tested and buffed and polished to a nice shine. 

I hope that this doesn't cause any strife.  Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions.

-Dave

December 14th, 2006 Screenshots!  Exclusive screenshots!

Head on over to Manifesto Games to check out their never-before-scene screenshots of The Blackwell Legacy.  Since they are doing such an awesome job promoting The Shivah, I don't want to steal any of their traffic.  So head over there, check out the screenshots, and then check out their site.  They are great people and deserve mega success.

-Dave

December 13, 2006 So in case you have been wondering why I haven't been updating, it's because I've been working around-the-clock to finish up this game.  So many bugs and little things have cropped up at the last minute, and it's been a real ride getting everything done.

Klaus, The Wadjet web designer (des-eye-ner?), has added an RSS newsfeed to this website, so you can get updates whenever they occur instead of schlepping to this site every day.  Check it out under the "news" page.  Those of you who know how these things work, you know what to do.  For the rest of you... erm, I'll get back to you.

Anyway, in honor of "three days before deadline day", here's a little animation sample to whet your appetite:



Rosa go up.  Rosa go down. 

It's amazing what a person finds amusing after many days of little sleep.

See you in three days, people. 

-Dave

December 7, 2006 Keep the fanart entries coming, guys.  Most of them - even the ones that aren't stellar works of art - are brilliantly creative and funny.  So don't be shy.

I updated the Blackwell character page, with the talking portraits that were drawn by Ian.  Check them out, because they are gah-geous.

I could keep writing, but I'm sure you'd all rather I work on the game instead. 

-Dave

December 4, 2006 It's music appreciation day here at Wadjet Eye.  For your listening pleasure, I'd like to present three music samples from the upcoming Blackwell Legacy:

Music sample 1

Music sample 2

Music sample 3

Enjoy.

-Dave

December 2, 2006 Keep the fanart entries coming, guys.  I am loving what I see thus far.  Remember that every entry will get a prize, whether you "win" or not!

So.  News.  Andrew MacCormack of Adventure Gamers recently interviewed me, and it popped up on their site this morning.  If you are interested in learning more about me and how this whole enterprise got started, the direct link is HERE.

Peter Gresser, the mighty maestro who is composing the music for The Blackwell Legacy, has recently finished composing a large number of tracks for the game.  Be sure to come back tomorrow for a sneak preview of some of the music.

Till then,

-Dave

12/1/06 - Who wants a free game? So the free Shivah soundtrack offer has expired, but never fear!  You still have an opportunity get free stuff. 

I'd like to announce the our first Fanart Contest!  Simply send me any drawing, sketch or visual representation of a character (or characters) from The Shivah or the upcoming Blackwell Legacy. 

The deadline for this contest is December 15th, just before release day. 

The top three entries will win a free copy of The Blackwell Legacy. The three runners-up will receive a free copy of the soundtrack.  Every other entry will receive a consolation prize.  Nobody will leave this contest empty-handed!

Don't worry if you can't draw.  Anything original or quirky or just plain funny will be considered.  So don't be shy!  Get drawing, and send your entries to us.

-Dave

November 30, 2006 It's November 30th, do you know what that means?  It means that this is the last day to get a free Shivah soundtrack with your pre-order of Blackwell Legacy.

In other news, the ADOC hosted by Adventure Europe was wicked fun.  The whole thing was archived on the forums there, so if you couldn't make it feel free to read the archives HERE.

They are re-opening the topics today, so I'll be popping in and out of the forums.  Feel free to drop us a line if you have any other questions.

-Dave

November 27, 2006 Only three days left for you to get your pre-orders in.  If you want a free Shivah soundtrack along with your copy of The Blackwell Legacy, now is the time.

I met up with John Swist and Ruth Weber this weekend for voice recording sessions.  You might remember them as "Joe DeMarco" and "Rajshree Lauder"  from The Shivah.  They both graciously agreed to, once again, lend their voices to the cause.  These two are amazing talents, and it was an honor to work with them.  You can preview some of their amazing work on the forum.

In other news, Ian Schlaepfer just sent word that he finished all the sprite animations last night!  I'm very much looking forward to seeing them, and you can all look forward to seeing a preview or two on this website in the near future.

-Dave

November 24, 2006 Ad hoc, ADOC!

I was recently asked to take part in the 2006 Adventure Developer Online Conference, which is hosted by the kind folks at Adventure Europe.  Many developers, publishers and adventure fans from all over Europe and otherwise will meet at this online event, discussing current and future adventure games.

It is a three day affair (Nov 27th - 30th), which is split up into 2 hour timeblocks, starting at noon EST and ending at 6pm EST each day.  I will be there from 4-6 on Tuesday, November 28th.  So feel free to drop by and direct any questions, comments or scornful accusations my way!

More information about the online conference can be found HERE.

Hope to see you there!

-Dave

November 21,2006 If you browse a successful game site, the one thing you will see is the list of awards that the game has gathered.  These awards usually come in the form a little picture or icon. 

Wadjet Eye hasn't been around for that long, but our time has arrived:



The Shivah was nominated for the Gametunnel Indie Game of the Month,where it tied for second place. 

Thank you, Gametunnel.  And thank you to all the fans who contributed to its success.

-Dave

November 18, 2006 Today I had the final recording session with Sande Chen.  Barring any additional extras that the beta testers feel should be covered, all of Rosa's speech has been dutifully recorded.  Next comes the exciting prospect of listening to and logging all of the speech to get it ready for importing into the game.

Those of you who have listened to the audio samples on the forum might be wondering how it sounds when you put them all together.  Well, wonder no more.  Here are three small in-game conversations, available for you to listen to:

Rosa asks Joey a personal question, and he reacts accordingly

Joey makes an accusation, and Rosa gets defensive

Rosa and Joey argue

-Dave

November 16, 2006 Ladies and gentlemen, we're at the three-quarter mark.  Three months ago I announced this game, and we've got one more month to go.  So what have we accomplished thus far?

Well, as of today I finished coding the final scene of the game.  You can now start the game, play through it, and finish it. Admitedly, there are lots of bugs and place-holder graphics along the way, but it's 100% playable.

After a few days o' bug squooshin', I'll be sending the beta out to a few testers that have done good stuff for us in the past.  If anyone else if interested in beta-testing, drop us a line.

-Dave

November 11, 2006 Youtube, yo!

I finally got these two lil videos uploaded:

Video of Abe Goldfarb as Joey

Video of Jennifer Estaris as Susan

These two actors willingly sat down in my messy apartment to record their lines, which alone shows how dedicated they are. 

-Dave

November 9, 2006 New cast members announced!

Shivah fans might remember Joe Rodriguez, the man who provided the voice of Rabbi Zelig.  Once more he is lending his vocal chords to the cause, as he has agreed to play the role of Doctor Quentin, a hospital psychatrist, in The Blackwell Legacy.  Welcome, Joe!

Also new to the game is Jennifer Estaris, a former opera singer and actress who will be playing the role of Susan.  Jennifer recorded her lines yesterday, and some samples of the session have been placed on the forum.

Both Jennifer and Joe will be added to the cast page, soon. 

-Dave

November 7, 2006 So it seems that one of the Blackwell Legacy actors has a groupie.  Go Chen!

In other news, Abe came over to record a ton of more dialog yesterday.  I took some pictures and snagged a video clip.  Watch this space for the link, when I get around to uploading it.

-Dave

November 5, 2006 Rosangela voiceover preview!

Today I sat down with Sande Chen, the lady behind the voice of Rosangela Blackwell.  We had a marathon 5 hour recording session, and the results are awesome.  You can hear some samples for yourself on the forums.

Wadjet Eye Games now has its own mailing list!  To keep up-to-date on all the goings on, feel free to subscribe to the list.

Lastly, Chen-Yung Hsu has been added to the Blackwell cast page.

Stick around, because more is in store.

-Dave

November 2, 2006 Voiceover bonanza!

I met with the versatile Chen-Yung Hsu yesterday, who provided the voices for two of the Blackwell Legacy characters.  Head on over to the Wadjet Eye forum to listen to a few of her voice samples, as well as watch a youtube video of the recording session!

In Shivah news, the game was recently discussed at the Serious Games Summit in Washington D.C., where it was used in a presentation about dialog in games.  Our little Rabbinical mystery shared the same powerpoint slide as The Secret Of Monkey Island.

This is, indeed, an honor.

Stay tuned,

-Dave

November 1, 2006 Voiceover preview!

I've placed a few samples of Abe's voice recording session on the Wadjet Eye forum.  You can listen to three lines from the game as well as one silly blooper that occured. 

Later on today I am meeting with Chen, who is voicing the role of both Alli and Kelly.  Watch This Space to find out how it went.

-Dave

October 31, 2006 Happy Halloween!

It is strangely appropriate that I met with Abe Goldfarb today, who is providing the voice for Joey Mallone (who is a ghost, for those who haven't been paying attention).  It is always a blast to work with Abe and today was no exception.

Tomorrow I'll be posting some samples from the recording, so stay tuned!

In other news, Gamecola has written a review of Shivah, and insists that everyone should give us money.    I totally agree with them.

Till next time,

-Dave 

October 29, 2006 A few more actors have joined the Blackwell Legacy voiceover family.

Chen-Yung Hsu has volunteered to play the role of Alli - the lost spirit of a very confused teenager.

Shivah fans will be sure to recognize Ruth Weber, who is joining the cast as Nishanthi Sharma - an enigmatic woman who befriends the heroine.

Sande Chen and Abe Goldfarb are still on board as Rosangela and Joey. 

Be sure to Watch This Space for more information, as we'll be showing off some audio previews and even photos from the recording sessions!

-Dave

October 27, 2006 A few reviews of The Shivah have cropped up in various places, including PC Gamer! It's a short review, but it's always nice to be in print.  I can almost forgive them for misspelling the game's name. Head over to The Shivah press section to check it out.

It also appears that The Blackwell Legacy has it's own wiki page. Thanks to whoever put that together!

October 26, 2006 This Saturday (Oct 28th) is the first recording session with Sande Chen, who is providing the voice of Rosangela Blackwell.  Be sure to check back here for a report on how it went.

October 24, 2006 The Blackwell Legacy is now available for pre-order!

Want to reserve your copy of The Blackwell Legacy before the rush?  No problem!  Head on over to the store to pre-order the game.

Do you want an additional incentive to pre-order the game?  How about a copy of The Shivah Soundtrack, absolutely FREE?  Yep, for a limited time you will get a free copy of The Shivah Soundtrack with every pre-order of The Blackwell Legacy.  This offer only lasts until November 30th, so don't slack.

-Dave

October 20, 2006 So wow. Things are taking off at a nice pace, and we're off to a good start. The press release for Blackwell has been popping up all over the internet, including high-profile places such as Adventure Gamers. We're happy campers.

Special thanks must go to David Rodriguez of Packom Interactive, who has come on board to help market the game. He wasted no time in getting the word out. So cheers to him.

-Dave

October 17, 2006 We are ONLINE! Please pardon our clunkiness, as we are young and are going through some growing pains. To celebrate the launch of this site, please help yourself to a FREE Blackwell Legacy desktop wallpaper.

-Dave