Tex Murphy - History

History

The Tex Murphy character was first created for the amateur film Plan 10 from Outer Space, created by Chris Jones and other members of Access Software. Following the development of their flight game Echelon they wanted to create another 3D flight game that cast players in the role of the futuristic private investigator. Eventually, adventure and action elements emerged, eclipsing the still-present flight sim sequences. Mean Streets would be noted for its use of high-color VGA graphics, digitized actors, and for its "Real Sound" technology, which allowed waveforms to be played back on the PC's speaker without the use of a sound card.

For the sequel, Access developed a more traditional point and click adventure game, Martian Memorandum. Like Mean Streets it featured digitized actors, including Chris Jones as Tex, and featured a great deal more digitized voice. Martian Memorandum also introduced dialog trees to the series, which would continue to be a prominent element.

The third title in the series spent nearly four years in development, and represented the company's most ambitious game to date. Under a Killing Moon shipped on a previously unheard of four CD-ROMs, and featured full voiceover and hours of cut scenes and dialog featuring live actors. Unlike many games using full motion video, however, it also featured high-end real-time 3D graphics and explorable environments unlike anything previously seen in the genre. Under a Killing Moon was widely praised for its use of technology, and represented the series' commercial peak.

For the next game, Access re-used the engine and technology they had developed for Under a Killing Moon, but hired Hollywood director Adrian Carr to direct the game's video sequences and improve the storytelling and presentation. It also introduced narrative "pathing" wherein moral choices made throughout the game affect the story, and eventually the ending, in a manner similar to later games by Bioware. Although The Pandora Directive was well received by fans and critics, it was unable to replicate the financial success of its predecessor.

Access' plans for a sequel eventually evolved into plans for a trilogy, but these plans were scrapped when Intel approached Access about creating a game to demonstrate new DVD technology they were working on. To accommodate the accelerated schedule needed for the project, Access shifted their plans to a re-telling of Mean Streets, done in style of the later games in the series, and stripped away many gameplay elements. When Intel dropped the project, Access spent 3 months expanding the game's interactive elements and making it into a "full featured" title. They shipped the title themselves as Tex Murphy: Overseer. The game was met with mixed reviews, and would mark the end of the series for well over a decade.