Why has Blake Stone not been rebooted?

[Spooner5020]

I’m a bit shocked honestly. I think the idea for the game could be worked around better today then it could back then. Wasn’t Blake Stone described as a 007 in space? If they were to reboot it they should go farther with that idea then just a Wolf 3D clone.

 

I don’t think it should be something like System Shock or anything. I definitely think Blake needs a personality. Maybe give him some gadgets and stuff like that.

[Murdoch]

Simple really - it never hit the same heights of cult status that Wolfenstein and Doom did.

[Spooner5020]

42 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

Simple really - it never hit the same heights of cult status that Wolfenstein and Doom did.

Neither did Shadow Warrior (at least I don't think it did).

[AinuTheTaken]

Maybe it's the timidity of game companies worried about sales figures.

[Master O]

On a semi-related note, bstone is a sourceport for Blake Stone: Aliens of Gold and Planet Strike

 

https://github.com/bibendovsky/bstone/tags

[ETTiNGRiNDER]

Not everything needs a reboot.

[Spooner5020]

1 hour ago, ETTiNGRiNDER said:

Not everything needs a reboot.

Maybe not a reboot, but a new game.

[Murdoch]

1 hour ago, Spooner5020 said:

Neither did Shadow Warrior (at least I don't think it did).

 

I see Shadow Warrior and even Rise of the Triad discussed much, much more frequently in retro gaming circles than Blake Stone, though both of those games are still very much "cult classics"

[magicsofa]

A while ago I sent a message to @AFADoomer asking about using the Blake Stone TC Demo as a base for a sort of "reboot" mod if you will. I thought it would be pretty cool to bring the Blake Stone experience out of the world of flat orthogonal maps and into full UDMF glory. Also, despite being a fun game, the enemy roster is really lacking. There's some cool concepts, like enemies that have defensive states where they can't be hurt, and monsters popping out of containers or getting up from bloody tables. However, the attacks are pretty much just basic hitscan or basic projectile, with or without rapid fire. It got the job done but would be even more fun if their strengths and weaknesses were more varied. Nothing ever charges at you, does radius damage, or fires at unusual angles. Except maybe those damn plasma spheres which really piss me off.

Anyway, AFA never responded to my hails. I did poke around a little in the demo resources and immediately realized that oh yeah, they followed suit from Wolf3d and had no rotations for the "boss" monsters, which is actually all of the mutants. A few like the fluid alien and plasma alien don't really need rotations, but there's several that should have them. Especially the guys that get off the lab tables. So it would be a fair amount of sprite work to get them looking more professional, and the texture library would really need extending, and the weapons and monster behavior.... but then you could start slapping maps together in no time :P

[Doom_Dude]

Maybe it's the fact that JAM doesn't exist anymore and the two guys who were the devs are doing other things, whatever that might be.

[Spectre01]

This is my first time hearing about this so-called "Blake Stone", and it doesn't look like there is much demand for a reboot. It would be like rebooting Will Rock.

[magicsofa]

2 minutes ago, Spectre01 said:

It would be like rebooting Will Rock.

Except not really... OP didn't have to provide a link to prove that Blake Stone exists :P

[Spooner5020]

3 hours ago, Spectre01 said:

This is my first time hearing about this so-called "Blake Stone", and it doesn't look like there is much demand for a reboot. It would be like rebooting Will Rock.

Sadly I think I played a demo of that. I’m not surprised not many people remember it.

[[McD] James]

This is something that would appeal to me, but not to the majority of people. 

[Urban Space Cowboy]

4 hours ago, Doom_Dude said:

Maybe it's the fact that JAM doesn't exist anymore and the two guys who were the devs are doing other things, whatever that might be.

Michael Maynard went to work for id Software. James T. Row worked on a bunch of games at Softdisk, but I'm not sure what, if anything, he's done since then; his most recent credit is a "special thanks" in 1996.

[Jello]

Yeah, it was never really a popular game. I got it the year, or the year after it came out, for Christmas. And I loved it, but it was a really niche shooter. It did expand on the Wolfenstein engine a bit, with non-hostile NPC's, vending machines, force fields, but in the end it just never gained the same popularity. It was a good game at the time, but I'm sure there's IP issues regarding the copyright at this point, and it just wasn't ever that popular.

 

As far as comparing it to Shadow Warrior, that was a 3D Realms game, and while not as popular as Duke 3D, it was made by the same people. The name recognition was still there, and I can see why it got a reboot. Although I think it did suffer because full 3D was becoming the norm at the time.

 

But yeah, Blake Stone was really niche. It'd be like asking for a reboot of CyClones or Corridor 7. I liked all of these games when I was a kid, but they weren't exactly the best games in the world. They weren't bad, but I think only a fool would put money into remaking or rebooting them; considering most of the people who actually remember them are still posting on Doomworld.

 

@Spectre01Oh I remember playing Will Rock, it was a poor mans Serious Sam (despite the fact that Serious Sam cost $20). But at least they got the rights to have "I Wanna Rock!" by Twisted Sister as their theme song, so that's something. But yeah... the game did not, in fact, rock.

 

 

Edited October 11, 2020 by Jello

[elend]

I would really enjoy a Blake Stone TC for Doom, which keeps the original style (mostly comic-ish textures, colorful, etc.) but also updates map geometry to get out of that Wolfenstein maze-like method of mapping. I'd try to avoid UDMF for some reason, because that seems too "next-gen" to me, hehe. Hard to describe.

 

A proof of concept is kind of on my "Wad ideas" list, but who knows if and when I will ever be able to get to this.

[Arno]

3 hours ago, Urban Space Cowboy said:

James T. Row worked on a bunch of games at Softdisk, but I'm not sure what, if anything, he's done since then; his most recent credit is a "special thanks" in 1996.

James T. (Jim) Row has a very detailed LinkedIn profile. Apparently he left the gaming industry when JAM Productions stopped. But he's still doing software development.

Edited October 11, 2020 by Arno

[Redneckerz]

13 hours ago, Spooner5020 said:

Neither did Shadow Warrior (at least I don't think it did).

Except it did, and it spawned 3 sequels, the latest one will appear next year.

Its like asking for a remake of Operation Body Count.

[[McD] James]

2 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

Except it did, and it spawned 3 sequels, the latest one will appear next year.

 

Shadow Warrior most certainly did not reach the same heights as Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.

Edited October 11, 2020 by Ajora

[Redneckerz]

22 minutes ago, Ajora said:

 

Shadow Warrior most certainly did not reach the same heights as Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.

Came far closer than Blake.

 

Proof is in the pudding.

[magicsofa]

I was about to say "this isn't the thread for arguing about Blake's popularity," but then I realized it is

[TenenteZashu]

2 hours ago, Ajora said:

 

Shadow Warrior most certainly did not reach the same heights as Doom and Wolfenstein 3D.

same for it's remakes

[cambreaKer]

11 hours ago, Redneckerz said:

Its like asking for a remake of Operation Body Count.

well technically there is already an operation body count remake

Edited October 11, 2020 by cambreaKer

[Murdoch]

27 minutes ago, cambreaKer said:

well technically there is already an operation body count remake

 

Those monsters. Sometimes the past should remain buried.

[[McD] James]

40 minutes ago, Murdoch said:

 

Those monsters. Sometimes the past should remain buried.

 

I've played through it. It was awesome.

[Murdoch]

8 minutes ago, Ajora said:

 

I've played through it. It was awesome.

 Oh I am sure the mod is fine. Was not being serious. I only know the game from civvies review and he did not paint a flattering picture.

[xvertigox]

I've got a nostalgic soft spot for Blake Stone so I'd love to see a new game or a solid re-release.

 

On 10/11/2020 at 12:50 PM, magicsofa said:

A while ago I sent a message to ....
....
....
.... but then you could start slapping maps together in no time :P

 

17 hours ago, elend said:

I would really enjoy a Blake Stone TC for Doom...

....

...

...I will ever be able to get to this.

 

I'd be all for a BS TC but yeah, no rotations which make it very difficult. I think at this point the move would be to keep it close to the original (i.e no non-orthogonal walls, maybe no height variation or at least keep it minimal) and make it an expansion of sorts. Could definitely do some texture and prop sprite work though. I'd definitely be down for this as I too have had the same thought/fantasy.

 

Edited October 12, 2020 by xvertigox

[elend]

Well, of course you would have to make some rotations for the sprites as well as "updating" the textures to Doom res. Same goes for weapons, I guess. I think there are a lot of textures out there, that fit the Blake Stone style, but weapons and sprites would have to be created from scratch.

 

An "expansion"-style mod would certainly be the easier option, but unfortunately also the more "boring" one.

[UncleTito]

Because nobody plays it.

 

/thread