Unofficial Tex Murphy

Cubase wrote:Best thing we can do folks, it just leave them to their own devices. I have done my best to make a few points about exercising common courtesy.... any more fighting and it will hurt the campaign more.

-Cub. =o)

I agree. I don't think we'll win anyone over by fighting with them. If someone wants to be a jerk(for lack of stronger words), there's not much we can do to stop him.

LOL cyberpunk that was me, I really messed that one up :p and I agree with cubase completely, I'm leaving it well alone. Thanks for the comments though, you really hit the nail on the head.

And by the way I was just lookin at the carmageddon kickstarter thread over at gamespot, and they basically tear into the people who are against the posting of said kickstarter, I found that funny

Well I don't know much about Gamespot forums, is it all the same or separated by country? I note on a Google search theres multiple threads which might be why they feel its become "spamming the board". The first thread was written with a falsified approach that didn't give a good impression and understandably started suspicions of false accounts that has continued into the other threads. I think at this point its best to either let it be or focus on 1 thread (maybe with the "Level 63" supporter, Tex Murphy: Project Fedora).

http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... rphy-games
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ect-fedora
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ickstarter
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ickstarter
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ve-?page=1

I just dropped an email to Doug Walker(AKA The Nostalgia Critic) of thatguywiththeglasses.com. Perhaps he'll see it, perhaps he'll take a chance on it. I sure hope so, with as many people visit there and how many people we can provide his website, I really think it's an opportunity. If everyone else has a similar idea, keep in mind we have over 2,000 interested parties following on kickstarter, which is still a hefty number of visitors to any website.

Sai wrote:Well I don't know much about Gamespot forums, is it all the same or separated by country? I note on a Google search theres multiple threads which might be why they feel its become "spamming the board". The first thread was written with a falsified approach that didn't give a good impression and understandably started suspicions of false accounts that has continued into the other threads. I think at this point its best to either let it be or focus on 1 thread (maybe with the "Level 63" supporter, Tex Murphy: Project Fedora).

http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... rphy-games
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ect-fedora
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ickstarter
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ickstarter
http://uk.gamespot.com/forums/topic/291 ... ve-?page=1

In reality, despite reasoning, despite common logic: you cannot argue with some people. They will only bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.

I tried to douse the fire with a couple of those threads... but some self-proclaimed "messiahs of the forums" seem to want to react to our obvious good intentions with something that is reminiscent of territorial chest beating.

At the end of the day, regardless of who is correct or not they are right about one thing: the more arguing going on, the more negative attention the campaign is going to get. Thankfully it has not escalated into something of a story on it's own.

I STRONGLY suggest in this particular scenario that if any of them wish to retaliate with aggression, let them come across as the aggressors. We've made our point, taken our stand, and now we lave with our pride and let them fester in their own filth. The more people who see a calm and collected group at our camp, and an aggressive one at theirs, the more they will appear to be the trolls in the grand scheme of things.

What I find shocking is, when I was talking to Adrian a couple of days ago he was actually taken back by the negative and quite callous attitudes of these sorts of people. I had to explain that the gaming community is about as fickle as a convention full of Star Wars geeks spotting a man in a Spock uniform!

Onward and upwards people... and if you insist on posting new threads in new forums about the campaign, please PLEASE PLEASE provide more info, and don't come across as a spammer. Actually, you are probably better of staying away from a lot of these forums becuase a lot of them are heavily saturated with people who are of their own "kin" and are often cut from a different cloth than adventure gamers.

BUT, if you insist on writing new threads in new forums, maybe start with:

***

"Being a new member I understand that this may appear to be against forum etiquette to start my membership here on this note, but; as an avid gamer, and someone who shares a common interest with all of you here, I'd like to see how many of you remember the Tex Murphy series of adventure games, what what they thought about them?

[then go into a brief blurb about the games]

"If this is ringing any bells for some of you, you may be interested to know that they have launched a kickstarter campaign to help resurrect the series. I'm sure many of you would understand that being a fan of any game or series of games (as I am with Tex Murphy) you'd do anything to ensure that they can stay in the game. So if you are at all interested in seeing the Tex Murphy franchise resurrected, please check out the Kickstarter campaign.

I am simply speaking on behalf of a lot of other fans who are are each doing their own bit to help this KickStarter campaign. However, if this campaign does not interest you, please respect this thread as much as I have respected your forum with the courtesy I have extended to your community, and simply allow it to be a place of positive and constructive conversation.

At the end of the day, I am reaching out to anybody else who may have played the games in the past and would be interested in seeing the series grace our screens again!"

***

...but whatever you do, don't copy and paste this! Or simply change a few words.... write your own otherwise you can expect this whole fiasco to happen over and over.

-Cub. =o)

Long, rambling post incoming! DUCK!


And once again I de-lurk ... here's the thing ... while Chris and Aaron have been running an awesome campaign so far, they have been falling short in one area: PR. In fact, I'd say that's why the two guys are struggling as well.

I followed the Pinkerton Road campaign very closely, since I am just as passionate about Jane's work, as I am about Tex. While the goals and details of Pinkerton Road were kind of unclear in the early days, Jane did one thing very right from the start: She had a professional PR person. I know that, since

A.) That PR person posts on the Adventure Gamers forums regularly
B.) A long time ago, I used to work in the gaming press on the side, and I still receive the occasinal press release.

Now, Tim's campaign didn't really need any PR. He was the first guy who did it, and exploded out of the gate. By this time, however, there are countless Kickstarters competing for attention. And sadly, it's become increasingly hard to make the gaming press take an interest. That means, that "Tex Murphy is doing a Kickstarter, please donate!" isn't enough of a hook anymore. Well, it is for us, but it's not for your average gaming journalist.

Anyway, once Jane had realized that it was far more reasonable to build her campaign about an actual game instead of a studio and a community model, she had the pledgers vote, which game to make first. The next day, in a canny move, she sent out a press release saying ...

"Media Alert: Jane Jensen announces Moebius -- a spiritual successor to Gabriel Knight"

Following on from there, a well-written, detailed press release gave away more about the game and media assets like concept art, etc. were offered. And interview opportunities with Jane, of course.

Now, unlike the Kickstarter itself, THIS was actually picked up by the media en masse:

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012- ... st-project

http://www.gamershell.com/news_136488.html

In the following weeks, countless interviews, previews and follow-up news appeared in the gaming media. Moebius had effectively become a topic of it's own. It wasn't about "Jane Jensen on Kickstarter" anymore, but about a new game ... coincidentally connected to her Kickstarer campaign. And I'll tell you this, whenever these articles appeared, the amount of backers went up ... even if just a little bit. I am convinced, that she wouldn't have done nearly as well, without the great PR work done on her campaign. Not even close.

So, what can we do? Well, mailing gaming sites with gentle nudges toward the Kickstarter isn't quite the answer. We'll have to make it newsworthy. No, scratch that. While we, as fans, can do a lot, it would be much better if someone with a PR background (and loads of press contacts) did it. The next steps would be easy. Officially announce Project Fedora ... in fact, announce the game's title (Is it still Trance? Well, whatever) and maybe give away a couple of in-engine screenshots, if there are any. If not, use some nice high-res screenshots from the Kickstarter video. Send this to journalists, put a tie around it, offer some nice quotes by Chris and Aaron and, even better, offer interview opportunities.

Honestly, I don't know why I just wrote this. I would like to offer this idea to Chris and Aaron. Do they read this forum? Maybe I should write them a PM. Or could anybody who's keeping in touch with them pass this suggestion on?

Anyway, I am sure, that they could speed the campaign up a lot, if they consulted Jane or her PR people about what to do with regards to the press. I really wish I had current press contacts myself. In that case I would gladly offer to take care of it.

I think what people dislike is the feeling that "their" boards are being bombarded. I guess if we had a ton of new people wanting to talk about something we didn't appreciate, we might not be too happy.

Like Cub says, IF you post at all, keep things about the game, don't just copy and paste links to kick-starter on every gaming site there is. It's about what we like about the game that people want to hear, where it fits in today, whether they might also like it, and we want to hear what they like about it too.

I think the negativity comes not from people who hate Tex but from people who think that we're bots, posting adverts in their forums under various usernames and moving on to the next one. We're not, but it can be perceived that way.

And keep everything positive!

It's Kickstarter overload! So many of them! Tex might drown in a sea of crappy Kickstarters!

You-Have-Fax wrote: And once again I de-lurk ... here's the thing ... while Chris and Aaron have been running an awesome campaign so far, they have been falling short in one area: PR. In fact, I'd say that's why the two guys are struggling as well.

I sent emails to every Salt Lake City area newspaper and TV station I could find (Chris is a local dude after all). One of the responded to me, and actually asked ME for Chris' contact info! I gave him the address and phone for TruGolf, Courtney at BFG's email, and told him Chris was probably in the white pages too. I was happy to do it, but I was worried that I had to-- is he really that hard to get?

Somehow, I get the impression that Chris does not want to be famous. That's adorable. :-3 But it's also problematic.

Jane put her face right on her Kickstarter page and made herself the most important part of the project "JANE JENSEN makes a game about something" Chris seems to prefer being Tex. Which is fine. But the average Joe has no idea how amazing he and AC are, and how long the fight for a new Tex game has been going on.

You-Have-Fax,

I have written messages to Chris and Aaron right from the Kickstarter page 3 separate times, and received very prompt replies. Please do that - they listen, and they need the help! There is a "send a message" link right on the main project page.

Yeah, I have always had that impression. On the other hand, Chris did very well in that Retronick interview. And I also think that Jane Jensen was very awkward in her early Kickstarter videos. In fact, that was one of the most interesting things about her campaign. She passionately put herself out there, depite the fact that she obviously prefers to avoid attention.

Anyway, once Jane had gotten a hang of it, she seemed to grow more comfortable and even enjoy her public persona to a degree. I really enjoyed watching that "transformation" unfolding.

And, hey, while Chris is the face of Tex Murphy (literally), there are other people who could be great spokesmen for Project Fedora. Aaron and Adrian being the most obvious choices.

Jerry Dan wrote:You-Have-Fax,

I have written messages to Chris and Aaron right from the Kickstarter page 3 separate times, and received very prompt replies. Please do that - they listen, and they need the help! There is a "send a message" link right on the main project page.

Yeah, you are right. I am getting onto it right now!

You-Have-Fax wrote: And, hey, while Chris is the face of Tex Murphy (literally), there are other people who could be great spokesmen for Project Fedora. Aaron and Adrian being the most obvious choices.

I'd like to see more of his hip young kids/friends. Until the Kickstarter video, there was basically no one who looked under 30 in the Texverse. It would help to have some youth around.

Not that 30 is that old. I'll be 30 fairly soon. (OK... I'm old)

NO, you are NOT!

(I am 34 ...)

Actually, I like how they aged up Rook in the video. He looks ancient now. As long as Rook is around, Tex will always look young.

One more thing to those that are even remotely thinking of posting anything Tex on other sites.

PLEASE read what's already there. Someone has managed to post a new thread on Gamespot that hits all the notes they have already said they don't like and don't want to hear. This is despite the two existing threads with already heated debate.