\n"}" id="mwBg">
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Interplay Entertainment |
Writer(s) | D.C. Fontana John Meredyth Lucas |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | Cancelled |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Star Trek: Secret of Vulcan Fury is a cancelled action-adventure game, in development by Interplay Entertainment from 1997 until its cancellation in 1999. Based on the Star Trek: The Original Series license, the game would have followed Captain James T. Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise through a series of adventures regarding the Vulcan and Romulan races. Secret of Vulcan Fury was to have been the latest in a series of games produced by Interplay based on the license. It would have featured a control method similar to those seen in LucasArts games of that period, and nearly seven hours of full motion video capture using clay models.
The storyline was written by former Star Trek writer D.C. Fontana, while the script was created by John Meredyth Lucas. A promotional cereal competition was run in conjunction with Quaker Oats. Despite this promotion, the game was cancelled with estimates placing it at only 5% completion. The cast of The Original Series had already recorded their voices. Lead engineer Thom Robertson later explained the studio had underestimated the cost of the game and the difficulties in filming the clay models.
The game was to be set in the 23rd century and across four independent stories which would have revolved around ancient secrets in the history of the Vulcan and Romulan races. The episodes allow the player to assume the roles of Captain James T. Kirk, Mr. Spock, Dr. Leonard McCoy, Lt. Hikaru Sulu, Ensign Pavel Chekov, and Engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott. The first episode was to involve the murder of a Romulan ambassador who was seeking to reunite the races, placing the player in control of Dr. McCoy initially. [1]
The character that the player controlled would change as they progressed through the game. The creators sought to have the player control Spock during one of the Vulcan's mind melds. The ending of the game would have seen the player control Kirk, Spock and Chekov in an attempt to stop the titular superweapon. [1] The interface for the game revolved around a menu which appears after the mouse button is held down while the cursor is hovering over an object. This was to prevent the need for controls to be shown on screen at all times, in a manner similar to LucasArts games of that period. [1]
The game was announced by Interplay Entertainment on June 19, 1997, and was initially scheduled to be released on CD-ROM for Windows 95 in November 1997. Interplay had previously produced a number of Star Trek games, including Star Trek: 25th Anniversary , Star Trek: Starfleet Academy and Star Trek: Judgment Rites . [2] The game was developed by Tribal Dreams, an in-house division of Interplay. [1]
The storyline was written by D. C. Fontana, who was a writer on both Star Trek: The Original Series and season one of Star Trek: The Next Generation , [3] and the script was directed by John Meredyth Lucas who had previously written and directed episodes of The Original Series. Fontana and Lucas had previously collaborated on the episodes "The Enterprise Incident" and "The Ultimate Computer". In writing the storyline, Fontana wrote dialogue for more puzzle branches than were planned by the developers. [1] The entire main cast of The Original Series recorded their voices for the project. [3] Brian Murray, who was hired to storyboard the game, suggested spinning the camera around the Enterprise crew as they used the transporter to merge their original location into their destination. [4]
The game was expensive to create, [3] and used motion capture techniques of clay models for the on-screen 3-D animation. [5] [6] The game used the same graphics engine both for normal gameplay and for cutscenes. The quality of the footage was described as similar to the cutscenes in Blade Runner (1997), but Tribal Dreams intended to remove the "robotlike stare" of the characters as seen in that game. [1] Quaker Oats signed a promotional deal to feature the game on cereal boxes in a promotion beginning in April 1998, which featured both a competition to win a visit to one of the series sets and a $10 rebate for either Secret of Vulcan Fury or Starfleet Academy. [7]
Secret of Vulcan Fury was cancelled in February 1999, following the continued departure of staff and because of financial problems at Interplay. [8] During the production, three separate producers and the lead artist quit. [9] At the time the project was shut down, it was estimated that less than 5% of the game had been completed. [3] Lead engineer Thom Robertson later explained that the company had massively underestimated the cost of production, having expected to produce nearly seven hours of full motion video for 5% of the budget of a computer generated film such as Toy Story . They also had problems with the filming of the stop motion, as one three-day shoot was ruined when the director had red dots painted across the green screen in the hope that it would help with camera tracking. Further issues arose with the shoot as they had used a painted screen, which faded during the shoot causing problems in merging the video. Additional artists were then taken from other projects in order to mitigate those issues. [10] The graphics designed for a Vulcan character were later used by artist Scott Bieser as a basis for the Klingon captain Klunk for the video game Star Trek: New Worlds . [11]
The Romulans are an extraterrestrial race in the American science fiction franchise Star Trek. They first appeared in the series Star Trek (1966–1969). They have appeared in most subsequent Star Trek releases, including The Animated Series, The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, Voyager, Enterprise, Discovery, Picard, Strange New Worlds, and Lower Decks. They appear in the Star Trek feature films Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989), Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991), Star Trek: Nemesis (2002) and Star Trek (2009). They also appear in various other spin-off media, including books, comics, toys and games.
Vulcans, sometimes referred to as Vulcanians, are a fictional extraterrestrial humanoid species in the Star Trek universe and media franchise. In the various Star Trek television series and films, they are noted for their attempt to live by logic and reason with as little interference from emotion as possible. Known for their pronounced eyebrows and pointed ears, they originate from the fictional planet Vulcan. In the Star Trek universe, they were the first extraterrestrial species to make contact with humans.
Spock is a fictional character in the Star Trek media franchise. He first appeared in the original Star Trek series serving aboard the starship USS Enterprise as science officer and first officer and later as commanding officer of the vessel. Spock's mixed human–Vulcan heritage serves as an important plot element in many of the character's appearances. Along with Captain James T. Kirk and Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy, he is one of the three central characters in the original Star Trek series and its films. After retiring from active duty in Starfleet, Spock served as a Federation ambassador, and later became involved in the ill-fated attempt to save Romulus from a supernova, leading him to live out the rest of his life in a parallel universe.
Nyota Uhura, or simply Uhura, is a fictional character in the Star Trek franchise. In the original television series, the character was portrayed by Nichelle Nichols, who reprised the role for the first six Star Trek feature films. A younger Uhura is portrayed by Celia Rose Gooding in the 2022 prequel series Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, while an alternate timeline version of Uhura has been portrayed by actress Zoe Saldaña in the feature films Star Trek (2009), Star Trek Into Darkness (2013), and Star Trek Beyond (2016).
Pavel Andreievich Chekov is a fictional character in the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek: 25th Anniversary is an adventure video game developed and published by Interplay Productions in 1992, based on the Star Trek universe. The game chronicles various missions of James T. Kirk and his crew of the USS Enterprise. Its 1993 sequel, Star Trek: Judgment Rites, continues and concludes this two-game series.
"Balance of Terror" is the fourteenth episode of the first season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by Paul Schneider and directed by Vincent McEveety, it first aired on December 15, 1966.
"Unification" is a two-part episode of the syndicated American science fiction television series Star Trek: The Next Generation which features Leonard Nimoy as Spock. The first of the two episodes earned a 15.4 household Nielsen rating, drawing over 25 million viewers, making it one of the most watched episodes in all seven seasons of The Next Generation's run.
This article discusses the fictional timeline of the Star Trek franchise. The franchise is primarily set in the future, ranging from the mid-22nd century to the late 24th century, with the third season of Star Trek: Discovery jumping forward to the 32nd century. However the franchise has also outlined a fictional future history of Earth prior to this, and, primarily through time travel plots, explored both past and further-future settings.
"The Deadly Years" is the twelfth episode of the second season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by David P. Harmon and directed by Joseph Pevney, it was first broadcast December 8, 1967.
"The Enterprise Incident" is the second episode of the third season of the American science fiction television series Star Trek. Written by D. C. Fontana and directed by John Meredyth Lucas, it was first broadcast September 27, 1968.
Star Trek: The Role Playing Game is a role-playing game set in the fictional Star Trek universe published by FASA Corporation from 1982 to 1989.
Star Trek is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by J. J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman. It is the 11th film in the Star Trek franchise, and is also a reboot that features the main characters of the original Star Trek television series portrayed by a new cast, as the first in the rebooted film series. The film follows James T. Kirk and Spock aboard the USS Enterprise as they combat Nero, a Romulan from their future who threatens the United Federation of Planets. The story takes place in an alternate reality that features both an alternate birth location for James T. Kirk and further alterations in history stemming from the time travel of both Nero and the original series Spock. The alternate reality was created in an attempt to free the film and the franchise from established continuity constraints while simultaneously preserving original story elements.
The Ashes of Eden is a Star Trek novel co-written by William Shatner, Judith Reeves-Stevens, and Garfield Reeves-Stevens as part of the "Shatnerverse" series of novels. This is Shatner's first Trek collaboration.
Star Trek: Starfleet Academy is a Star Trek PC simulation game developed and published by Interplay in 1997. The game simulates the life of a typical Starfleet cadet, with the player learning the basics of flying a starship and engaging in roleplaying with a crew of cadets, with the eventual goal of becoming captain of their own ship. The game included full motion video featuring William Shatner, Walter Koenig, and George Takei reprising their roles from the original television series and movies, and a multiplayer simulation mode allowing for up to 32 players.
Star Trek: Shattered Universe is a space-combat simulator video game by American studio Starsphere Interactive set in the Star Trek Mirror Universe, as portrayed in the original series episode "Mirror, Mirror". Originally intended to be one of the last Star Trek titles released by Interplay Entertainment, it sat for 2 years before being completed by TDK Mediactive; it was released for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. The player takes control of one-man fighter spacecraft and engages in several missions.
Star Trek: Klingon Academy is a space flight simulator video game developed by 14 Degrees East, an internal development house of publisher Interplay Entertainment. The game follows a young Klingon warrior named Torlek as he attends the Elite Command Academy, a war college created by General Chang to prepare warriors for a future conflict with the United Federation of Planets. Christopher Plummer and David Warner reprised their respective roles as Chang and Gorkon for the production of Klingon Academy.
Star Trek: Sarek is a novel by A. C. Crispin, set in the fictional Star Trek universe. It is set shortly after the motion picture Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country. Ambassador Sarek of Vulcan discovers evidence of a complicated plot to cripple the United Federation of Planets; he must work to find out who is behind it while also coming to terms with the death of his human wife, Amanda Grayson. A secondary storyline follows the adventures of Peter Kirk, nephew of James T. Kirk, who inadvertently becomes caught up in the enemy's schemes.
Star Trek: Of Gods and Men is a noncanonical and unofficial Star Trek fan film, which contains many cast members from the Star Trek TV series and movies. Described by the producers as a "40th-anniversary gift" from Star Trek actors to their fans, it was filmed in 2006, but its release was delayed until 2007–08. It was not endorsed by the rights-holders of Star Trek, but has been covered on the official Star Trek website.
Star Trek: Countdown is a four-issue comic book prequel to the 2009 film Star Trek by IDW Publishing. It follows the characters of Spock and the Romulan Nero during the year 2387, detailing the events that cause them to travel to the 23rd century. The story serves as both a lead up to the film, and as a continuation of the Star Trek: The Next Generation franchise.