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Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure

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Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure
Developer(s)Old World Studios
Publisher(s)DreamCatcher Interactive
Director(s)Jeffrey S. Tobler
Karen E. Tobler
Composer(s)Jeffrey S. Tobler
Platform(s)Windows, Mac OS
ReleaseDecember 5, 2000
February 1, 2021 (remastered)
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure is a 2000 graphic adventure game developed by Old World Studios and published by DreamCatcher Interactive. It received a sequel, entitled The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II, in 2003. A remastered version, Riddle of the Sphinx: Awakening, was released in 2021.

Gameplay and plot

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The gameplay is similar to any game in the post-Myst style, where players navigate through 360 panoramic screens and manipulate items to advance.

The game's plot is about a young archaeologist in Egypt who searches for a missing mentor, Sir Gil Blythe Geoffreys.[1]

Development

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"The features, imperfections, and architecture have been replicated for total immersion. (The only recognizable elements we intentionally omitted are the graffiti currently defacing the Great Pyramid and most other monuments.)"

- Riddle of the Sphinx team on meticulousness of design.[2]

The game took five years to make. The designers, Jeff & Karen Tobler, were enamored by the beauty and intricacy with which the Egyptians built their architecture, as well as the mysteries and secrets they held.[3] The developers aimed to make the 3D models and renderings in the game as accurate as possible, for instance recreating the Sphinx and Sphinx Enclosure in exact detail.[4][3] The team asked an expert to provide an authentic translation and editing of a scroll using the style and grammar used by the royal scribes during Chephren's reign[5] They did extensive research into the history and culture of Egypt, and uploaded a lot of their research onto their website.[6][4]

On the website, the team sold authentic Egyptian merchandise in association with A&E's Merchant Affiliation Program.[7] Riddle of the Sphinx was modeled and rendered almost exclusively with Strata StudioPro, while CyberMesh exports were used for certain occasions.[8] The game contains full-Screen, Interactive 360° Panoramas (QTVR).[9] The game soundtrack was composed and performed entirely by Jeff Tobler.[10]

The game was formally announced on June 10, 1998.[9] In December 1999 it was announced the game would have a Spring 2000 release.[11]

Reception

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Critical reviews

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The game received above-average reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[12] IGN said, "Is this an oasis of adventure gaming in a barren desert of crap titles? Nah ... it's just a mirage."[21]

Sales

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Market research firm PC Data estimated North American retail sales of 4,955 units for the game during 2000, all of which derived from December.[22] The firm reported another 99,429 retail sales of the game in North America during 2001,[23] and 36,634 during the first six months of 2002.[24] PC Data placed its total North American retail sales for 2003 at 16,747 units;[25] during the first two months of 2004, its jewel case SKU sold 777 units and its original box SKU sold 1,537 units in the region.[26] It ultimately sold in excess of 225,000 copies by March 2003.[27]

Awards

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The website won numerous awards,[28] and the game's soundtrack was highly praised.[10]

Legacy

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The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II was released in 2003.

Riddle of the Sphinx, the second edition, has been continually available on Big Fish Games since 2004 as a download.[29]

In 2015, a Kickstarter campaign was set up to have a 15th anniversary real-time 3D edition of the game, but the campaign was suspended early. [30]

In 2017, The Old World Studios team, consisting of the original developers and new team members, successfully funded a second Kickstarter campaign. The goal was to release a remastered HD version on desktop and now mobile devices. The release was scheduled for December 2020.[31] The game, titled Riddle of the Sphinx: Awakening, was eventually released on February 1, 2021. Adventure Gamers gave the remaster 4 out 5 stars in their review.[32]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "The Curse Is Real". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 11, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  2. ^ "Under the Headdress". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on June 19, 2010.
  3. ^ a b "The Builders". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  4. ^ a b "Giza Gazette". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 10, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  5. ^ "Thanks to..." Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 16, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  6. ^ "Circa 2500 B.C." Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on July 8, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  7. ^ "Authentic Egyptian Merchandise". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on June 14, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  8. ^ "Exploration". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 12, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  9. ^ a b "DreamCatcher Discovers Riddle of the Sphinx". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on April 21, 2002. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  10. ^ a b "The Music..." Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on June 9, 2013. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  11. ^ Fudge, James (December 10, 1999). "The Riddle of the Sphinx Announced". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  12. ^ a b "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom. Archived from the original on July 26, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  13. ^ Latimer, Kirk (January 7, 2005). "Riddle of the Sphinx review". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on June 8, 2012. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  14. ^ Arbour, Thomas (January 5, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". Adventure Gamer. Archived from the original on April 8, 2001.
  15. ^ White, Jason. "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure (Mac) - Review". AllGame. All Media Network. Archived from the original on November 17, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  16. ^ Morgan, Cindy Kyser (February 2, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Strategy Plus, Inc. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  17. ^ Saltzman, Marc (March 13, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". The Electric Playground. Greedy Productions Ltd. Archived from the original on March 30, 2003.
  18. ^ Dulin, Ron (January 18, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx Review [date mislabeled as "May 17, 2006"]". GameSpot. Fandom. Archived from the original on December 20, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  19. ^ Winterburn, Christina (April 8, 2009). "Riddle of the Sphinx Review". Gamezebo. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  20. ^ Lafferty, Michael (December 27, 2000). "Riddle of the Sphinx Review". GameZone. Archived from the original on October 2, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Steinberg, Scott (January 19, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on April 13, 2001. Retrieved December 14, 2022.
  22. ^ Sluganski, Randy (February 2001). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 14, 2001.
  23. ^ "Sales for 2001 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. March 2002. Archived from the original on June 19, 2002.
  24. ^ "Sales for June 2002 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. June 2002. Archived from the original on March 14, 2005.
  25. ^ "Total Sales for 2003 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. March 2004. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
  26. ^ "Total Sales for Jan/Feb 2004 as Compiled by PC Data". Just Adventure. February 2004. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
  27. ^ "The Adventure Company Ships The Omega Stone: Riddle of the Sphinx II Players Continue an Unforgettable Journey". dreamcatcherinteractive.com. March 18, 2003. Archived from the original on April 12, 2003. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  28. ^ "Awards". Riddle of the Sphinx. Omni Creative Studios. Archived from the original on February 16, 2001. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  29. ^ "Riddle of the Sphinx". Big Fish Games. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  30. ^ "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure in Real-time 3D". Kickstarter. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
  31. ^ "Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening". Kickstarter. Retrieved January 23, 2018.
  32. ^ Tekaia, Pascal (May 12, 2021). "Riddle of the Sphinx: The Awakening review". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved August 10, 2022.
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