Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure

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Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure
Riddle of the Sphinx.jpg
Developer(s) Old World Studios
Publisher(s) DreamCatcher Interactive
Director(s) Jeffrey S. Tobler
Karen E. Tobler
Composer(s) Jeffrey S. Tobler
Platform(s) Windows, Mac OS
ReleaseDecember 5, 2000
February 1, 2021 (remastered)
Genre(s) Adventure
Mode(s) Single-player

Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure is a 2000 graphic adventure game developed by Old World Studios and published by DreamCatcher Interactive. It received a sequel, entitled The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II , in 2003. A remastered version, Riddle of the Sphinx: Awakening, was released in 2021.

Contents

Gameplay and plot

The gameplay is similar to any game in the post-Myst style, where players navigate through 360 panoramic screens and manipulate items to advance.

The game's plot is about a young archaeologist in Egypt who searches for a missing mentor, Sir Gil Blythe Geoffreys. [1]

Development

"The features, imperfections, and architecture have been replicated for total immersion. (The only recognizable elements we intentionally omitted are the graffiti currently defacing the Great Pyramid and most other monuments.)"

- Riddle of the Sphinx team on meticulousness of design. [2]

The game took five years to make. The designers, Jeff & Karen Tobler, were enamored by the beauty and intricacy with which the Egyptians built their architecture, as well as the mysteries and secrets they held. [3] The developers aimed to make the 3D models and renderings in the game as accurate as possible, for instance recreating the Sphinx and Sphinx Enclosure in exact detail. [4] [3] The team asked an expert to provide an authentic translation and editing of a scroll using the style and grammar used by the royal scribes during Chephren's reign [5] They did extensive research into the history and culture of Egypt, and uploaded a lot of their research onto their website. [6] [4]

On the website, the team sold authentic Egyptian merchandise in association with A&E's Merchant Affiliation Program. [7] Riddle of the Sphinx was modeled and rendered almost exclusively with Strata StudioPro, while CyberMesh exports were used for certain occasions. [8] The game contains full-Screen, Interactive 360° Panoramas (QTVR). [9] The game soundtrack was composed and performed entirely by Jeff Tobler. [10]

The game was formally announced on June 10, 1998. [9] In December 1999 it was announced the game would have a Spring 2000 release. [11]

Reception

Critical reviews

The game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. [12] IGN said, "Is this an oasis of adventure gaming in a barren desert of crap titles? Nah ... it's just a mirage." [21]

Sales

Market research firm PC Data estimated North American retail sales of 4,955 units for the game during 2000, all of which derived from December. [22] The firm reported another 99,429 retail sales of the game in North America during 2001, [23] and 36,634 during the first six months of 2002. [24] PC Data placed its total North American retail sales for 2003 at 16,747 units; [25] during the first two months of 2004, its jewel case SKU sold 777 units and its original box SKU sold 1,537 units in the region. [26] It ultimately sold in excess of 225,000 copies by March 2003. [27]

Awards

The website won numerous awards, [28] and the game's soundtrack was highly praised. [10]

Legacy

The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II was released in 2003.

Riddle of the Sphinx, the second edition, has been continually available on Big Fish Games since 2004 as a download. [29]

In 2015, a Kickstarter campaign was set up to have a 15th anniversary real-time 3D edition of the game, but the campaign was suspended early. [30]

In 2017, The Old World Studios team, consisting of the original developers and new team members, successfully funded a second Kickstarter campaign. The goal was to release a remastered HD version on desktop and now mobile devices. The release was scheduled for December 2020. [31] The game, titled Riddle of the Sphinx: Awakening, was eventually released on February 1, 2021. Adventure Gamers gave the remaster 4 out 5 stars in their review. [32]

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "The Curse Is Real". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Under the Headdress". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010.
  3. 1 2 "The Builders". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  4. 1 2 "Giza Gazette". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Thanks to..." Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 16, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  6. ↑ "Circa 2500 B.C." Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on July 8, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Authentic Egyptian Merchandise". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on June 14, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Exploration". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 12, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "DreamCatcher Discovers Riddle of the Sphinx". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on April 21, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "The Music..." Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  11. ↑ Fudge, James (December 10, 1999). "The Riddle of the Sphinx Announced". Computer Games Strategy Plus . Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  12. 1 2 "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure for PC Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom. Archived from the original on July 26, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  13. ↑ Latimer, Kirk (January 7, 2005). "Riddle of the Sphinx review". Adventure Gamers . Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  14. ↑ Arbour, Thomas (January 5, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". Adventure Gamer . Archived from the original on April 8, 2001.
  15. ↑ White, Jason. "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure (Mac) - Review". AllGame . All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  16. ↑ Morgan, Cindy Kyser (February 2, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  17. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (March 13, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". The Electric Playground . Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on March 30, 2003.
  18. ↑ Dulin, Ron (January 18, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot . Fandom. Archived from the original on December 20, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  19. ↑ Winterburn, Christina (April 8, 2009). "Riddle of the Sphinx Review". Gamezebo . Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  20. ↑ Lafferty, Michael (December 27, 2000). "Riddle of the Sphinx Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  21. 1 2 Steinberg, Scott (January 19, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". IGN . Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  22. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (February 2001). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure . Archived from the original on April 14, 2001.
  23. ↑ "Sales for 2001 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. March 2002. Archived from the original on June 19, 2002.
  24. ↑ "Sales for June 2002 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. June 2002. Archived from the original on March 14, 2005.
  25. ↑ "Total Sales for 2003 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. March 2004. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
  26. ↑ "Total Sales for Jan/Feb 2004 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. February 2004. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
  27. ↑ "The Adventure Company Ships The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II Players Continue an Unforgettable Journey". dreamcatcherinteractive.com. March 18, 2003. Archived from the original on April 12, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  28. ↑ "Awards". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 16, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  29. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx". Big Fish Games . Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  30. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure in Real-time 3D". Kickstarter . Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  31. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening". Kickstarter. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  32. ↑ Tekaia, Pascal (May 12, 2021). "Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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