Laura Bow 3 (was Laura Bow and the Mechanical Codex)

[Rath Darkblade]

Good luck and cheers to NineZyme in GamesCom and AdventureX, and with Microsoft!

Boo hiss and jeers to Microsoft for dragging their feet and taking so long.

[Tawmis]

Debated posting this since it has nothing related to this thread, but meh, for anyone interested...

Oh No November

Hey everyone! We're back this month for another monthly newsletter. And we're even exactly on time for this edition! I know, it's a Christmas miracle!

We'll make this one a quickie, so let's just get into it.
Adventure On The Horizon

We're continuing on with our fall conference schedule. Last month we attended Gamescom Asia in Bangkok Thailand. We were up for some awards for Indie Mobile Game of the Year (for Tile Tales: Pirate) and Indie Mobile Game Studio of the Year at the 2025 GamingonPhone Awards. As predicted, we didn't win either of the nominations - the competition was fierce! However, it was great to be in the room and get mentioned alongside those other great titles and studios.

Despite that, we do always seem to learn a bit more each time we attend one of these things. There were some productive meetings and talks, and we walked away with some new thoughts and ideas on how to proceed with our projects and the company. Hopefully some of those will be fruitful.

This month, we'll be in London for AdventureX! As mentioned, we didn't get accepted for an official exhibiting spot, however we'll still be bringing Laura Bow 3 with us, so that anyone who wants to can still sit down at a table and try it out. We've officially dusted off the project and are moving back into production on it. So we'll make sure to have a nice and polished build for the occasion. If you'll be there too, make sure to keep an eye out for a person wearing a NineZyme shirt or carrying something Laura Bow related!

We've also been invited to be part of Xbox's Play Anywhere event/display at GDC next year, so we'll do our best to get the game ready for that. It -could- also include a publicly available demo on your Xbox device of choice. We'll keep you posted on those developments.
More Tales of Tiles (and a Pirate)

Tile Tales: Pirate is still kicking around, although not garnering too much attention these days. We do still plan to make some content updates and design changes in the near-ish future. But at the moment that will have to wait until after AdventureX.

We're also thinking of removing the ads implementation and going back to a freemium model with the mobile version of the game. We've got some ideas on how to rejigger it, so that it's a bit more of a familiar process for mobile gamers.

On top of that, there are still lots of little tweaks we'd like to make to the game flow and design. Despite the game not performing -super- well... we do still believe there's an audience out there for it, so we're not quite giving up on it just yet.
Braaaains!

We didn't quite launch of brains-for-science project just yet, like we thought we would. We're very close though! Just waiting on the Spanish translations to come through and doing some additional testing - so we'll probably be launching over the next week or so.

As we mentioned before, if you or anyone you know suffers from any brain related disorders, reach out to us all we'll help point you in a direction that could help science researchers solve some of these complicated problems. And you'll get to play some games in the process!

[Rath Darkblade]

Debated posting this since it has nothing related to this thread, but meh, for anyone interested...

We'll make this one a quickie

Leisure Suit Larry has entered the thread...

We're continuing on with our fall conference schedule. Last month we attended Gamescom Asia in Bangkok Thailand. We were up for some awards for Indie Mobile Game of the Year (for Tile Tales: Pirate) and Indie Mobile Game Studio of the Year at the 2025 GamingonPhone Awards. As predicted, we didn't win either of the nominations - the competition was fierce! However, it was great to be in the room and get mentioned alongside those other great titles and studios.

Congratulations to NineZyme!

This month, we'll be in London for AdventureX! As mentioned, we didn't get accepted for an official exhibiting spot, however we'll still be bringing Laura Bow 3 with us, so that anyone who wants to can still sit down at a table and try it out. We've officially dusted off the project and are moving back into production on it. So we'll make sure to have a nice and polished build for the occasion. If you'll be there too, make sure to keep an eye out for a person wearing a NineZyme shirt or carrying something Laura Bow related!

We've also been invited to be part of Xbox's Play Anywhere event/display at GDC next year, so we'll do our best to get the game ready for that. It -could- also include a publicly available demo on your Xbox device of choice. We'll keep you posted on those developments.

This sounds exciting. Hopefully it will lead somewhere, unlike Microsoft. (Yes, I know game development can take years ... but Microsoft are truly dragging their feet).

[Tawmis]

This sounds exciting. Hopefully it will lead somewhere, unlike Microsoft. (Yes, I know game development can take years ... but Microsoft are truly dragging their feet).

Well, Microsoft owns/runs everything XBOX, so looks like a nice invite to have for them.

[Tawmis]

Tying the Bows

Happy Holidays and end-of-year to you all out there. We've got a special 'All Laura Bow' edition of the newsletter this month... which I'm sure many of you are happy to hear.

Ok, ok... I suppose it's more like an 'All Laura Bow Adjacent' edition, at least. Regardless we've got some fun things to talk about, so let's just dig into it so that you can return to your regularly scheduled festivities.
Laura Bow: Part Redeux

We've recently been taking a look back at what we've built for the Laura Bow 3 project so far, and realized that we actually learned quite a few lessons during the creation of our other game, Tile Tales: Pirate. Frankly, many of the systems we wrote for that game are a significant improvement over what we originally built for Laura Bow. There were some features and niceties that we've been hoping to implement into Laura Bow for a long time now, but they just didn't fit so easily into the systems we had in place. So we decided to step back and take a bit of time to revamp the game, using the improved components from Tile Tales!

This work is already in progress and going really well so far. We've been at it for the last 3-ish weeks and have approximately 60% of things converted already. It has dramatically cleaned things up and made it much easier to implement and test various aspects of the game. It should also be more stable against game engine upgrades and the like - which hopefully means less mysterious bugs creeping in from seemingly random places.

Anyway, I know it might feel like a step back... but in the long run, it should make future steps forward faster and easier. It also means that our team can work with nearly identical systems between the two games. So we think it was a smart move!
A Rogue AdventureX

We also just recently returned from AdventureX in London, and it was a very gratifying experience! We had overwhelmingly positive feedback from Laura Bow 3, despite having a lot of things not working due to the in-progress refactor that we mentioned above - everyone was extremely forgiving of that. It was such a nice experience to show the game to people who know exactly what to expect, and just 'get it'... which is a rare group of people to find at conferences these days.

We unfortunately didn't get to show it off to quite as many people as we would have liked, since we weren't there in an official capacity - our setup was on the rogue side of things, and we got into a bit of a sticky wicket for our guerrilla tactics. Despite that, we still had a pretty decent showing - to gamers, fans, publishers, and fellow developers.

Some comments we recall from various people (as best as we recall, at least)...

- "I feel like I'm playing a Pixar movie" (several people said that)
- "This makes me excited to get back into playing point & click games"
- "Now I need to rethink some things from my game" (from a fellow developer)
- "You're really doing some great things here, everything feels great"
- "It's so detailed - everything has a unique animation, sound, and interaction"
- "I want to explore everything!"
- "The nostalgia points are a great touch. Hard core Sierra fans will love that."
- "It plays like the classic games, but feels so much more modern"

Needless to say, we were very pleased to hear comments like that, especially from people who weren't really able to experience to whole of what we've done so far.

[notbobsmith]

It's great that they are still trying to get this made. I really hope it happens.

I would love to know what the "sticky wicket" was.

[Tawmis]

I would love to know what the "sticky wicket" was.

I assume, using their previous tactics of (potentially) using an unused table to display (which skirts paying for a table).
viewtopic.php?p=104356#p104356

[notbobsmith]

I would love to know what the "sticky wicket" was.

I assume, using their previous tactics of (potentially) using an unused table to display (which skirts paying for a table).
viewtopic.php?p=104356#p104356

They did mention that they weren't there "officially". But when they said that "we got into a bit of a sticky wicket for our guerrilla tactics" it sounds like there was some sort of confrontation or something.

[Tawmis]

I would love to know what the "sticky wicket" was.

I assume, using their previous tactics of (potentially) using an unused table to display (which skirts paying for a table).
viewtopic.php?p=104356#p104356

They did mention that they weren't there "officially". But when they said that "we got into a bit of a sticky wicket for our guerrilla tactics" it sounds like there was some sort of confrontation or something.

I imagine it was tongue and cheek. Like someone at the convention telling them they can't do whatever they were doing (using an unused table/displaying their game to get feedback without actually having paid to be a "vendor" at the convention, etc)

[Rath Darkblade]

The phrase "sticky wicket" comes from the game of cricket. From google, it means "a field that has been drying after rain, and is difficult to bat on."

Informally, it means 'a tricky or awkward situation.' For instance: "I might be on a sticky wicket if I used that line."

I really love that they're still trying to get Laura Bow 3 made. Hopefully Microsoft (or Ken and Roberta) can help. Or maybe they can do a KickStarter. I would donate whatever I can.

[Tawmis]

I really love that they're still trying to get Laura Bow 3 made. Hopefully Microsoft (or Ken and Roberta) can help. Or maybe they can do a KickStarter. I would donate whatever I can.

In order to do a Kickstarter, if they want to do it as a Laura Bow game, they need to make sure they have the rights to make a Laura Bow game.

That's why briefly it was going to be called "The Mechanical Codex", because they were not certain if they could land the rights. But I think because they've got thumbs up from Ken & Roberta, and working with Microsoft (the current owners of the IP), that they're still pushing Laura Bow.

In the end, if it all falls through (and they do a Kickstarter) for "The Mechanical Codex" - and make NO mention of Laura Bow in the game, they could still do the game.

[Tawmis]

Nah-Nah-Nah New Year

Hey there everyone - and a belated Happy New Year to you!

Hope you all had a pleasant holiday season and start to the new year. We're a bit late getting out the February newsletter, so let's not waste any time and just get down to it!

The Redeux is Redone

Last time, we talked about how we have been converting the Laura Bow 3 project to make use of some of the systems we built while working on Tile Tales: Pirate. Well, we're happy to say that this work is now completed!

All of the new systems are in place, and the old stuff has been removed. This has really cleaned up the project and made things easier to implement, debug, etc. During the process, we also went through and fixed quite a few little bugs that had crept in over numerous software updates, etc. It felt good to get some of that done, and things are working much better now!

On top of that, there have also been a few little improvements and details added -- things we've been wanting to do for a long time, but the old systems were making it cumbersome to implement. So it was great to be able to do these much more easily using the new codebase. With that, it means that we're actually moving forward again on this project. After being stalled for quite some time, this is a welcome point to be at.

What's Coming Up?

Well, along with all the improvements and fixes to Laura Bow 3, we also implemented a clean break for a demo build. The demo will include the office interior and exterior, plus the full intro to the game -- which very few people have ever seen (only Ken & Roberta, the folks at Microsoft, and the people who played the game at AdventureX last November).

I know, I know... that doesn't sound like a lot, but there is actually quite a good bit to explore just in those two scenes alone. The office interior is probably the most 'rich' (ie. complicated) scene in the whole game. Granted some of the stuff you can do in there won't be available until after you've completed your first investigation.

At this very moment, we're focusing on finishing up some bits and bobs in the demo, and getting the build onto the Xbox so that we can start the certification process with Microsoft. This is known to be a time consuming process, but we'll keep you posted on the progress.

We intended to bring the demo to GDC this year, in March. However, for various reasons, we won't be attending that event this year - nor DICE. Maybe next year! We'll keep an eye out for some other good events to show it around, though. If anyone has suggestions on where you'd like us to pop in, let us know!

A Tale As Old As Time

We've actually had some inquiries lately regarding Tile Tales: Pirate. We never did manage to wrap up the last three DLC chapters yet - and some people have been wondering if we're still planning to do those.

The answer is yes!

Despite not having much success with that game as of yet, we do still want to finish it up and get it onto some other platforms (namely Switch, where we feel it has the best potential to succeed). Most of our team has been busy with a newborn kiddo for the past year... but they seem ready to delve back into some things again. We've been talking about the last three chapters and have come up with some solid plans for them.

The timeline will likely be slow, unfortunately... but we'll get there eventually! Meanwhile, we'll keep you updated on the progress here.

[Rath Darkblade]

Whoops. I've been so busy with trying to help Lara Croft (I almost typed Lara Bow. Lara Bow? And Laura Croft? Um...) *shrug* that I missed this update!

It seems like NineZyme are still keeping at it. I have to wonder how, if they're not getting any funding from anyone. We've heard from them how they were in financial trouble, and needed an injection of funds etc... but no-one was coming forward to help them. Not Ken & Roberta, not Microsoft, nobody. How are they still keeping the lights on?

It's good that they're making progress, but I hope they can keep on making progress and not have to abandon this project, which would be a great pity!

[Tawmis]

Whoops. I've been so busy with trying to help Lara Croft (I almost typed Lara Bow. Lara Bow? And Laura Croft? Um...) *shrug* that I missed this update!

It seems like NineZyme are still keeping at it. I have to wonder how, if they're not getting any funding from anyone. We've heard from them how they were in financial trouble, and needed an injection of funds etc... but no-one was coming forward to help them. Not Ken & Roberta, not Microsoft, nobody. How are they still keeping the lights on?

It's good that they're making progress, but I hope they can keep on making progress and not have to abandon this project, which would be a great pity!

I just posted it so ye didn't miss it!

As for keeping the lights on, probably because they're doing it on their spare time.

[Tawmis]

Not going to include the images because I am too lazy to upload them to imgbb and link them back here...

The Mystery Of The Missing Newsletter
"Well, well, well... look who's come crawling back."

Yes, it's us again! And I'm sure a few of you might be asking "So, what happened? Where'd that March newsletter disappear to, huh?? Are you just dropping the ball on us now?"

Funny story, that. It's the first newsletter that we've missed (unintentionally) in over six years. And it was all due to the newsletter service that we were using. Some rules were changed, some feelings were hurt, and yada yada yada - bing bang boom - we suddenly weren't able to send newsletters the way we used to.

"Ooooh really?" you say. "But I AM reading one right now... so HA, it must have gotten sorted out easy enough! This must be some kind of April Fools joke!."

Well, that is somewhat true, yes! But, no -- no April Fools this time. After being denied access to our old methods, we finally took one valiant step forward toward a longer term goal that we've had on the books for a while now... to break away from Big Newsletter(TM) and build our very own mailing list system.

Obviously, that took a few steps to accomplish... which, in turn, set us back on that March issue. So we decided to just skip that one all together and regroup once April rolls around -- and here we are! Our new setup is somewhat rudimentary at the moment, but it's easy enough to manage and update. So, if you're reading this now, that means it's working properly! Aaand we're no long bound to the whims of other services. [dusting off hands] Good riddance!

So, with that so thoroughly explained... let's get back into some news!

Bad News First
As some of you may be aware, there has been a significant shake down at Microsoft/Xbox. Phil Spencer, Lori Wright, and Sarah Bond have all been ousted ("retired" as they officially claim), and Asha Sharma has been appointed to take over the helm of Xbox.

Content image

While this, in and of itself, is not necessarily horrible news for Xbox - we're sure that Asha is more than capable of making high level decisions related to the brand and direction of development - it IS likely to be bad news for what we specifically were attempting to achieve with Microsoft/Xbox (opening up the old back catalog of Sierra IP for indie licensing).

Despite it never being a big priority, Phil Spencer was actually an advocate of this goal. But the last thing he said to us was: "I'm not the decision maker there anymore sorry to say." And we both wished each other luck in whatever comes ahead.

Now, Asha is young and not much of a gamer [as reported]. She likely doesn't have the history with these old games that we care so much about - so the chances that this will *ever* be a priority has been dramatically reduced [fully speculation]. Because, honestly, it just wouldn't help the financials - and that's likely going to be the one and only focus for the foreseeable future, given the struggles the platform has had over the past few years. We HAVE, however, heard a rumor that she is a fan of the Xbox 360 user interface... and since we had a big part in the creation of said interface, it just might be possible to find some common ground with her if we get to meet up some day in the future.

The next significant subject is Project Helix (ie. the next Xbox), which was just recently teased at GDC.

Content image

We'll refrain from giving our full opinions on that here - but I'm sure you can probably surmise at least some of them. Regardless, given the appointment of Asha and the announcement of this new "console" - this is really starting to feel like a glass cliff scenario, and we're afraid that Asha might be getting thrown under the bus, and that the entire Microsoft entertainment come be standing on the brink.

Anyway, what this means for us and our Laura Bow project is yet to be determined. It's possible that we'll still be able to squeeze this one through the cogs, since we already have an agreement with them. But the chances of further projects is unlikely, we'd guess.

On A Lighter Note
While we were in the process of renouncing the old gods of newsletters, we thought that it would be so cool if we had a place where we could revisit all of our old issues. Well, one thing led to another, and it eventually turned into an entire revamp of our website!

It's much more polished and professional looking now - another task that we've had on our todo list for quite some time.