Akella to develop a new game

Akella |

Moscow, November 22, 2004

Akella informs you that the development of the quest title named "Hotel "At a Lost Climber": Inspector Glebsky's Puzzle" has just started.

The game is based on the original story by famous Russian sci-fiction writers Strugatsky Brothers. The developers are working on the game concept and creating art right now. We are planning to send you some screenshots and any visual information as soon as possible.

The game is going to be a 3D-person quest with point-and-click interface. The characters will be made in full 3D while the backgrounds will be 2D pre-renders. Considering visual aspect, the closest analogue to the future game will be Benoit Sokal's Syberia. The game will take place in the hotel "At a Lost Climber".

The gameplay is based on the "living world" concept. The characters have their own activities in the game world and they won't stand still waiting for player to come even if they have some business with him. Quite the same thing could be seen in The Last Express adventure. The developers also got inspiration from the classical Colonel's Bequest - A Laura Bow Mystery.

The hotel is inhabited with 15 characters with different stories and unique personalities conforming their prototypes from Strugatsky Brothers' story.

The game storyline is now being discussed. It might be strictly based on the "Inspektor Glebsky's Puzzle" or might be a sequel to the original story. There might be only characters from the original story in the game or there might be some new characters added to extend the gameplay. Please see our next press-releases for more details on this point.

The true spirit of the original story will be kept for sure. Boris Strugatsky, last live brother, is involved into the creation process and shows living interest to the new project. We hope that together we will be able to satisfy the demands of the true admirers of Strugatsky Brothers' fiction.

According to preliminary estimations, the development of Hotel "At a Lost Climber": Inspector Glebsky's Puzzle will take about a year. We'll keep you constantly informed on further details concerning our new project.

About Akella (http://www.akella.com)

Headquartered in Moscow, Akella is one of the leading companies on Russian gaming market. Founded in 1995, Akella specializes in developing, publishing and distibuting of computer games and multimedia products, having more than 20 projects developed and more than 200 published. Main Akella's in-house titles are Sea Dogs, Age of Sail 2, Privateer's Bounty: Age of Sail 2, and Pirates of the Caribbean. All of them were critically acclaimed both in Russia and outside it. Moreover, Pirates of the Caribbean was first Russian product based on Hollywood blockbuster movie. Much attention is paid to fast-growing console games market. Akella is the first Russian company that started deloping projects for PlayStation 2 and Xbox. Since 1997, Akella localizes and publishes products of its foreign partners on Russian market. Among others, company has localized such bestsellers as Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and XIII from Ubisoft, Akella actively collaborates with independent developers, distributing their games on ex-USSR territory and worldwide.

About Strugatsky Brothers (http://www.rusf.ru/abs/english)

Arkady Natanovich Strugatsky and Boris Natanovich Strugatsky are probably the most famous Russian SF authors. They became the spiritual leaders of Russian science fiction literature in the 60-s, and to this day, their influence remains immense.

Entire generations were brought up on their books, and the authors managed to impress their ideas and principles on millions and millions of people. The number of their fans in Russia is really impossible to count, and even abroad, their works have found way to the hearts of the readers. The key to their success is, in their own words that they write "about adventures of the spirit, and not about adventures of the body."

Any Strugatskys' work is very different from an ordinary SF book in that it is not "pure science fiction." Strugatskys always write about people and their problems, and not about spaceships, technology or other things that the ordinary SF literature is full of. There are so many layers of ideas and thoughts in their works that you have to read them several times if you want to really grasp all that authors packed in. Their books stir up the desire to understand other people.