Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure

Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure
Cover art
Developer(s) Omni Creative Group
Publisher(s) DreamCatcher Interactive
Platform(s) PC, Mac
Release December 5, 2000
Genre(s) Adventure

Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure is a PC adventure game developed by Omni Creative Group and published by DreamCatcher Interactive on December 5, 2000. A sequel named Riddle of the Sphinx 2: The Omega Stone was also released.

Production

"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.[1]

The game took five years to make. The designers, Jeff & Karen Tobler, were enamoured by the beauty and intricacy with which the Egyptians built their architecture, as well as the mysteries and secrets they held.[2] 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.[3][2] The team asked an expert to provide a authentic translation and editing of a scroll using the style and grammar used by the royal scribes during Chephren's reign[4] They did extensive research into the history and culture of Egypt, and uploaded a lot of their research onto their website.[5][6]

On the website, the team sold authentic egyption 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.[11] In October 1999 it was announced the game would have a Spring 2000 release.[12]

A Kickstarter campaign was set up in 2015 to have a 15th anniversary edition of the game. The team met their original goal but did not meet their stretch goal.[13][14]

Synopsis

The game's plot is about a young archaeologist who searches for his or her missing mentor in Egypt named Sir Gil Blythe Geoffreys.[15]

Gameplay

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

Critical reception

Sales

Market research firm PC Data estimated North American retail sales of 4,955 copies for Riddle of the Sphinx during 2000, all of which derived from December.[16] The firm reported another 99,429 retail sales of the game in North America during 2001,[17] and 36,634 during the first six months of 2002.[18] According to DreamCatcher, sales of Riddle of the Sphinx reached 250,000 copies in the United States alone by March 2003.[19] PC Data placed its total North American retail sales for 2003 at 16,747 units;[20] during the first two months of 2004, its jewel case SKU sold 777 copies and its original box SKU sold 1,537 copies in the region.[21]

Critical reviews

Reception
Review scores
PublicationScore
Adventure Gamers[22]
GameSpot7.4/10[23]
GameZone7.5/10[24]
IGN5.3/10[25]
Computer Games Magazine[26]
MacHome Journal[27]
The Electric Playground7/10[28]
Just AdventureA[29]

The game has a Metacritic rating of 72% based on 11 critic reviews.[30]

IGN gave it a 5.3 out of 10, commenting "Is this an oasis of adventure gaming in a barren desert of crap titles? Nah... it's just a mirage."[31] The game has an Allgame score of 3.5/5 stars, with the site concluding "While patience is a much needed virtue for enjoying the game, most people, gamers or not, will be intrigued by the mystery presented by this riddle."[32]

The Riddle of the Sphinx website won numerous awards,[33] and the game's soundtrack was highly praised.[10]

References

  1. ↑ "Features of...Riddle of the Sphinx!". 19 June 2010. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010.
  2. 1 2 "Wayback Machine". 2001-02-10. Archived from the original on 2001-02-10. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  3. ↑ "Wayback Machine". 2001-02-10. Archived from the original on 2001-02-10. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  4. ↑ "Thanks to...Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2001-02-16. Archived from the original on 2001-02-16. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  5. ↑ "History...Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2001-07-08. Archived from the original on 2001-07-08. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  6. ↑ "artiFACTS of...Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2001-02-11. Archived from the original on 2001-02-11. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  7. ↑ "Authentic Egyptian Merchandise - Merchandise". 2002-06-14. Archived from the original on 2002-06-14. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  8. ↑ "Explore...Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2001-02-12. Archived from the original on 2001-02-12. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  9. ↑ "Feedback of... Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2002-04-21. Archived from the original on 2002-04-21. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  10. 1 2 "Music of...Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2013-06-09. Archived from the original on 2013-06-09. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  11. ↑ "Wayback Machine". 2000-06-14. Archived from the original on 2000-06-14. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  12. ↑ "The Riddle of the Sphinx Announced News". 6 March 2005. Archived from the original on 6 March 2005.
  13. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure in Real-time 3D". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  14. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx: Awakening - EXPLORE the Great Pyramid!". Kickstarter. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  15. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx!". 2001-02-11. Archived from the original on 2001-02-11. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  16. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (February 2001). "The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 14, 2001.
  17. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (March 2002). "State of Adventure Gaming - March 2002 - 2001 Sales Table". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on June 19, 2002.
  18. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (August 2002). "State of Adventure Gaming - August 2002 - June 2002 Sales Table". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on March 14, 2005.
  19. ↑ Bronstring, Marek (March 7, 2003). "The Adventure Company Europe". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on October 23, 2005.
  20. ↑ Sluganski, Randy (March 2004). "Sales December 2003 - The State of Adventure Gaming". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
  21. ↑ Staff. "Total Sales for Jan/Feb 2004". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on April 11, 2004.
  22. ↑ Arbour, Thomas (January 5, 2001). "Adventure Gamer - Reviews - Riddle of the Sphinx". Adventure Gamers. Archived from the original on April 8, 2001.
  23. ↑ Dulin, Ron (January 18, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 20, 2001.
  24. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx Review - PC". 12 April 2009. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009.
  25. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx review on pc.ign.com". 2 February 2002. Archived from the original on 2 February 2002.
  26. ↑ Morgan, Cindy Kyser (February 2, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". Computer Games Magazine. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  27. ↑ Staff. "Riddle of the Sphinx". MacHome Journal. Archived from the original on December 31, 2002.
  28. ↑ Saltzman, Marc (March 13, 2001). "Riddle of the Sphinx". The Electric Playground. Archived from the original on March 30, 2003.
  29. ↑ Houston, Tom. "Reviews; Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure". Just Adventure. Archived from the original on July 18, 2001.
  30. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure for PC Reviews - Metacritic".
  31. ↑ "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure". IGN.
  32. ↑ Rovi Corporation. "Riddle of the Sphinx: An Egyptian Adventure [Jewel Case]".
  33. ↑ "Wayback Machine". 2001-02-16. Archived from the original on 2001-02-16. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
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