Wadjet Eye Games: Working On ‘Primordia’ And At Least Two More Blackwell’s

We had a chance to meet up with Dave Gilbert of Wadjet Eye Games between some of the panels here at GDC. For those of you who don’t know, Dave is the developer behind the Blackwell Series and published other fantastic adventure games like Gemini Rue and Puzzle Bots. The chat was really casual, but we did get some great information on some of Wadjet Eye’s upcoming projects and some helpful indie tips as well.

First we talked about Resonance, a new sci-fi near future adventure game. Dave described it as a scientific experiment gone wrong where you and your team need to fix things. The game has been in the works since 2007 by a single guy in his spare time, but Wadjet Eye has stepped in and is publishing and putting the finishing touches on the game right now. The game allows you to swap between the 4 characters at any time to solve puzzles.

Dave also let slip that there will be at least two more installations in the Blackwell Series and that they’ll be producing another game called Primordia which is only about 50% finished. As we understand it, Wadjet Eye will be acting as publisher while the development team is listed here.

“The protagonist of Primordia is an android called Horatio. He is a humanoid robot whose cloak and hood—worn to ward against the violent elements in his wasteland home. His personality is defined by his independence, strong will, and steadfastness. He survived on his own for many years, and since then has had only the companionship of Crispin, his loyal creation.”

Dave also had some interesting insights into bundles, Steam and the importance of PR. Believe it or not, Gemini Rue was originally rejected by Steam (and by rejected I mean that his original email never got a response from Valve). Dave didn’t give up though and hired a PR guy to go to Seattle and meet with Valve.

In the meeting, Valve didn’t even realize that Gemini Rue had been an IGF finalist. Nuernberger’s game was quickly approved for Steam. Dave has had similar experiences with his own games but has eventually squeezed them onto Steam with a little diligence. The message is to not give up and to delegate responsibilities out.

You can find out more information on Wadjet Eye Games by visiting the official website.