E3: Al Lowe Returns To Games With Sam Suede

Al Lowe, famed creator of the Leisure Suit Larry franchise, has renounced the leisurely lifestyle of the retiree for a return to the video game industry, according to a story first broken by Gamasutra last week, and now formally announced. Lowe and veteran software producer, Ken Wegrzyn, formerly of Mindscape and McGraw-Hill, today officially announced the formation of iBase Entertainment, a boutique development studio that is slated to release an all-new Lowe-created title in 2007 on console, handhelds, and PCs – Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure. Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure marks the dawn of a new genre that iBase is calling “Action Comedy.” Created with Wegrzyn, the game is set in a sunny, tropical locale with a story that incorporates Lowe’s incomparable sense of humor with puzzle, stealth and action gameplay elements. “I needed a good reason to abandon my strenuous life of pina coladas and golf, and this is it,” said Lowe, Chief Creative Officer of iBase Entertainment. “Ken and I are creating a game that’s big on humor, and provides the fun and exploration lacking in many of today’s games. I’ve always wanted to play a game about a common man thrust into extraordinary circumstances and surrounded by beautiful women. Sam Suede is that game.” The plot of the title is explained thus: "While main character Sam Suede attends Mystery Week Fantasy Camp on Ecstasy Island, the resort’s owner is murdered and Sam becomes involved in a real mystery. Sam faces innumerable challenges to the truth before he finally solves the mystery and becomes a real detective." “Al and I noticed how easy it is to find action comedy movies, but not action comedy games,” said Wegrzyn, CEO of iBase Entertainment. “And thus was born the Action Comedy genre, with our first project Sam Suede: Undercover Exposure.”