Fun times to be sure, but there’s one series where the mutants from this very video game-y post-nuclear future aren’t all that interested in attacking anything that moves. Instead, they opt to do things like open up ‘50s-style diners, hotels, and pizza parlours in the more crumbly parts of town.
Also, they aren’t ghoulish creatures that look more monster than human. Instead, they’re human beings. Well, human as in real people with makeup and bits of putty stuck on their face, digitised into VGA graphics, straight from the set of a low budget sci-fi or horror film.More precisely, these are the mutants of post-apocalyptic San Francisco in the year 2042, as featured in 1994’s Under a Killing Moon, the third game and first Interactive Movie to star out-of-his-time detective Tex Murphy.
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In the ‘80s, digitised sound bearing the crisp quality one would associate with their cassette-tape boom box was something that wasn’t possible in the home computer market. If you wanted quality sound out of a computer at that time, well, you’d pretty much need the power of an additional computer, such were the limitations of processor technology. So that’s some kind of Inception-style computer within a computer scenario. Sounds expensive… not to mention a hassle. All of which explains why it wasn’t until the early ‘90s that sound cards became a staple part of what made up a PC.But this didn’t stop developers from trying their best to get both sound and music into their games. And by using the internal PC Speaker found inside all IBM compatible machines, the end results were primitive to say the least. That’s because the PC Speaker (R.I.P.) was this thing whose official use was limited to beeping in varying tones to let users know that their machine was either turning on or that they’ve been holding down the Enter key for way too long.
And it wasn’t a case of gamers in the ‘80s marvelling at the different beeps and bloops that were coming out of their PC either; even they knew it was bad. But limitation breeds ingenuity, and one developer came up with a way to get digitised sound out of a beep-happy PC Speaker without the need for separate hardware. Created by Access Software and called RealSound, it allowed 6-Bit audio to be played directly from a PC Speaker without using up too much processor speed.The only catch was that most PC Speakers of the day were internal and tiny, and weren’t designed to carry more than a high-pitched tone from the PC to the user. But what if there was a way to connect one of these PCs to a stereo? Again, limitation breeds ingenuity, so by stripping a standard RCA cable and putting two Alligator Clips on one side, one connected to the PC speaker terminal, the other to the PC case itself, the end result was digitised sound in the ‘80s, early ‘90s-style.
WHAT’S UP, TEX?
So what does all this sound-tech-jumbo have to do with Tex Murphy? I’m glad you asked, as the story behind each Tex Murphy game is intrinsically linked to era-specific technology.RealSound, the technology created by Access Software in the ‘80s was utilised heavily in the very first Tex Murphy game, 1989’s Mean Streets. Although storage space limitations at the time meant that this was limited to a few lines of dialogue and one catchy, if overused, musical cue, it laid the groundwork for a series that was always ahead of its time whilst still strangely being a product purely of its time.That may sound confusing or purposely obtuse but the way that works is that in 1989 RealSound was ground-breaking and on the cutting edge. But a few short years after Mean Streets was released, the name Sound Blaster made its low quality sound feel obsolete, or at the very least outdated. This is an important part of all Tex Murphy games. They aren’t timeless, yet they are still presented using some of the most advanced gaming technologies of their day.
But the road to Under a Killing Moon, which goes so far as to label itself an Interactive Movie, through the heavy use of full-motion video (FMV), real actors, and digitised sets, was not simply born from new technology. No, it was also born from combining a passion for homemade movies with a day job of making games.
STORY FIRST… THEN LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACTION
Chris Jones, the creative force behind Tex Murphy, and in fact, the actor who would play the character, grew up as a lover of film, especially those coming from classic Hollywood. This was a passion shared by a few employees at Access Software, who in a time long before YouTube or even computer editing, would create short films as a way to unwind. And this is where the character of Tex Murphy was born, a gumshoe moulded in the fashion of Humphrey Bogart, ripped from the pages of a Raymond Chandler novel or screenplay.In the late ‘80s after releasing a string of successful golf titles, Chris Jones and other employees at Access Software were working on a flight simulator as a follow up to their first aerial action game, Echelon. As it had a great futuristic look, setting, and impressive 3D technology, they began looking at ways to incorporate a story into the game. Although flying around in a simulator can be fun, by giving players a reason to go from point A to B, they felt that this would elevate the end product into more than just an action game.In giving players control over how the narrative unfolded, Mean Streets became this weird mix of flight simulator, text adventure, graphic adventure, and action game.
At the time creating a computer game that was heavily story-driven was done by using static images and a lot of text. One of the few genres where this was common was the adventure game, and in giving players control over how the narrative unfolded, Mean Streets became this weird mix of flight simulator, text adventure, graphic adventure, and action game. One of the key choices made even at this early stage was to use digitised images of real people for all the in-game characters. This lead to designer Chris Jones taking on the role of a noticeably punch-happy Tex Murphy, mostly out of convenience.“
The second Tex Murphy adventure, Martian Memorandum, was very much a standard point-and-click affair and took everything laid out in Mean Streets one step further. More dialogue, more music, more story, and more digital Chris Jones as Tex Murphy. When played today both Mean Streets and Martian Memorandum don’t hold up well at all, they’re more interesting than good, but they clearly show both progression and Access Software’s ambition to make a game that looks and feels like a movie.With work on the third-game taking this very idea to heart, the most obvious thing it would need to have would be video, in the form of live action footage of actors in a digital environment. But in terms of the game itself and how the environments would be presented, the inspiration would come from a very different, yet understandable source.
C:\TEX\MEETS\WOLF3D.EXE
Although it’s arguably one of the most popular genres today, the first-person shooter (FPS) didn’t exist before the ‘90s, and was almost single-handedly made famous by a string of titles from id Software, starting with 1992’s Wolfenstein 3D. Apart from being one of the earliest and most effective uses of 3D graphics in gaming, the introduction of Wolfenstein 3D and the first Doom proved that technology could provide immersion at a level never before seen, and more importantly, do so with almost no story, characterisation, or plot to speak of.With development on the third Tex Murphy adventure starting around this time, Access Software began looking at 3D technology like the one on display in Wolfenstein 3D. With this new way to play games they would try and create a true ‘interactive movie,’ a term that now refers to a specific kind of delusion, but used to signify an almost noble sense of ambition.By giving players the ability to walk around a scene in 3D and interact with objects, this feature alone would set the next Tex Murphy game apart from others. These wouldn’t be just images of environments, they would actually be environments, ones that players could explore. In 1994 this was a revelation and one of the key features of Under a Killing Moon that is almost always present on screen, is the prompt ‘Press SPACEBAR to Interact’.
Players are then able to walk around the environment in first-person, and instead of shooting guns at Nazis they can do things like walk up to a desk, look at its drawers, and then open them up searching for clues. All in 3D.
OPEN DOOR… TO ADVENTURE
Under a Killing Moon shares a lot of the hallmarks of an FMV-driven adventure game from the ‘90s. Released in 1994 it was one of the first, which meant that its use of green screen technology to film actors and then impose them onto digital environments was ground-breaking. But much like RealSound, the filmed segments in Under a Killing Moon look and feel completely outdated today. And like a lot of other FMV-driven games - Phantasmagoria, I’m looking in your direction - the quality of the acting is at times questionable, as are the costumes and some of the dialogue.Watching Chris Jones as Tex Murphy and the other actors that make up the well-rounded cast makes up a lot of the experience that is playing Under a Killing Moon, so at this point you’d probably be expecting a few examples of how bad or cheesy some of it is. If you’ve never played the game before then that’s a natural expectation to have going in, as this sort of game didn’t survive the ‘90s for a good reason. Even when they work, they still look goofy.What sets this game apart from others though is the genuine love for classic Hollywood and detective stories that you can sense from the very beginning. Does this make what’s on display great in a cinematic sense? Well, no, but like any loved cult or B-movie, when you have filmmakers clearly aiming to make something that could sit alongside cinematic greats, the end results are always endearing. Especially when they fall well short of that mark.Not only that, but Chris Jones as Tex Murphy simply works, even when all signs say that it should have been a disaster. A game designer who makes short films with his friends taking on the main role of a down-on-his-luck gumshoe in the mould of Humphrey Bogart, in an ambitious new game with hours of dialogue and filmed segments? That sounds like a terrible idea, yet the portrayal of Tex Murphy in Under a Killing Moon is one of its strongest elements and actually, almost miraculously, comes across as a very real and likeable character.And even though the game is set in this sort of bleak Blade Runner meets Fallout future, by having the main character be this detective straight out of a 1940s noir story, a lot of the interactions are played for laughs, which adds a sense of fun that can be felt throughout most of the game. This ties directly into the puzzle solutions too, where things like a toy crossbow that shoots rubber arrows can then be used to disable a laser security system.
“LUKE, YOU’RE WATCHING… CNN”
Under a Killing Moon begins with a lengthy cinematic sequence featuring the voice of Darth Vader, Mufasa, and King Jaffe Joffer himself, James Earl Jones. The weirdness doesn’t stop there as it starts in space, interrupting a seemingly off the cuff exchange between two super-beings before cutting to a World War II era newsreel about Nazis, a pretty bleak quote from Edgar Alan Poe, and then finally, a scene showing cloaked figures performing some sort of satanic ritual.Not a lot of it makes sense but once we get to down-on-his-luck Tex Murphy, who’s simply trying to make his way as a private detective, things pick up considerably.The game proper begins with a small interlude announcing the first day on Tex’s new case using an animated graphic that not only has Lethal Weapon-grade saxophone music, but early CGI, Word for Windows clip-art, art deco typography, and funky bass-lines. After the confusing intro featuring the voice of Simba’s dad, it provides more than enough reason to keep playing. Well, at least until you reach Day Two, so you can revel in its awesomeness once again.As a private detective Tex has pretty much hit rock bottom and with no open cases or money, he’ll need to head out to the street to drum up some new business. Sounds easy enough and although switching between the point-and-click interface and moving around Tex’s office in 3D does take some getting used to, it won’t be long until Tex gets started working on a new case: the robbery of the local pawn shop.
What does this have to do with visions of Nazis and satanic rituals? Well, as the story progresses this simple pawn shop robbery will expand into a plot involving planetary-scale ethnic cleansing, secret moon bases, shape-shifting Native Americans, and posing as a fire safety mascot that looks like a horrific burn victim.That all comes in time. First up, Tex needs to get his hands on a working fax machine, as in the year 2042 this is obviously the life blood of any business looking to get new business. For those wondering what a fax machine is, well it’s this machine that looks like a printer but acts like email, where instead of going to an inbox, each email is printed onto pieces of paper. For those wondering what paper is, well it’s this stuff made from trees that acts like a computer or tablet screen, that is as easy on the eyes as a Kindle but without any retina display technology.But first things first, you’ll need to come to grips with not only using your mouse to uncover the various hotspots hidden around the screen but actually getting up off your ass to go and find them. And that’s ass in the virtual sense, as the first-person viewpoint is mainly used to simulate a sort of 3D treasure hunt. So instead of a static screen where you can see an object sitting on a desk that you can pick up or look at by clicking on it, you’ll walk up to the desk in first-person, notice the object, and then click on it. With the end-result being the same in both instances, the feeling of walking around and searching an environment for clues in first-person and in 3D is definitely more immersive.
But being 1994, the first-person controls in Under a Killing Moon are more than a little clunky. These are first-person controls from the era before ‘mouse-look’, in what some like to call The Age of Tilting.
HINT 34: USE THE GOLD FOIL ON THE EAGLE
Remember when that guy compared the first-person stuff in Under a Killing Moon to a treasure hunt? Well, apart from being both smart and handsome, he was spot on. Because a lot of the time spent playing this game is spent finding locked cabinets, drawers, cupboards, doors and safes and then searching 3D environments to find cabinet keys, drawer keys, cupboard keys, door keys, and safe combinations.OK, so maybe that sells the point a little too hard, but even so the puzzle approach in both Under a Killing Moon and other Tex Murphy games is at times a little unimaginative. And it doesn’t end with the overabundance of key hunts, as they resort more often than not to using the sort of puzzles and brain teasers one would find in the puzzle section of the March 28, 1958 edition of the Hill Valley Telegraph.These sort of immediate puzzles have been a part of gaming for a while and can be seen today, albeit in a more updated form, in what developers and publishers call “Hacking Mini-Games.” Their origins go back decades and by their very nature feel a little archaic in an experience whose main selling point is in providing a rich narrative. Even when used in the correct context, like when you need to piece together a note from a key character that has been torn to shreds, the act of doing such a thing is both time consuming and a little tedious.But overcoming the bigger obstacles in Under a Killing Moon usually involves finding items, combining them, and then using them. This is a standard adventure game mechanic, where you have a number of items in your inventory that can be used to solve a number of different puzzles. For example there’s a room in a hotel that you need to get to in order to find clues that will lead Tex to who or what exactly is behind the sinister genetic-cleansing plot.
The concierge won’t let Tex through, however, as he doesn’t have time for anything other than watching his favourite mutant fireman show on TV. So the solution here is to find all the items that would make up a mutant fireman costume, put them on and then watch Tex sweet talk his way into the hotel room.Sounds easy enough but the difference here is that the items you need to pick up are hidden inside 3D environments, almost deviously so. And with the game usually presenting players with multiple puzzles of this nature at the same time, it would be fairly easy to miss picking up an item or even realising that you’re missing a certain piece in the first place. This is a problem that many adventure games face - how do they let players know that they’re missing out on a key item?
The way this is handled in Under a Killing Moon is interesting even if it feels a little like it’s overcompensating for some design shortcomings. By implementing a hint system that can be accessed at any point, and one that reads almost like a walkthrough, players are able to spend the points they’ve earned to get both clues and solutions. Even without spending points this hint system can be used as a mission objective screen, helping to push players in the right direction. It’s definitely a great addition to the game and works well as a pure hint system, but one can’t help but wonder where they’d be without it.There’s a sequence in the game where you can see both a roll of film and a screwdriver inside a drain. You know that you need the roll of film because it contains some evidence, but you also quickly realise that you need the screwdriver in order to open the drain in the first place. Instead of shaking one’s fist at the sky as a way to curse the gods of irony for this cruel jest, you instead click on the hint button. Turns out that you need to go off and search some other rooms until you find a barely visible piece of shoelace as well as a magnet, combine the two, and then use them to fish out the screwdriver.
One gets the feeling that without a hint system something like this would feel more than a little convoluted.
CLOSE DOOR… UNTIL NEXT TIME
Under a Killing Moon is remembered fondly by a lot of people, namely due to the charismatic nature of Tex Murphy himself and the great and light-hearted setting of its post-nuclear San Francisco. It’s remembered more for its characterisation and story than its puzzle solving and first-person mechanics, and rightfully so, as these are the elements that make Under a Killing Moon worth playing today, even if many of its problems were fixed or improved upon in the 1996 sequel, The Pandora Directive. That game in particular works a lot better as an interactive movie as the choices that players make throughout it even help shape the ending that they are presented. In contrast, Under a Killing Moon is fairly linear, but it still has a very entertaining story with some great character moments.As for the man himself, as the star of four Interactive Movies including the very recent Tesla Effect, Tex Murphy will always be synonymous with ‘90s adventure gaming. Putting the series’ overall cinematic ambitions aside, the mix of real actors and digital environments feel like something unique to gaming during this era. And although the FMV-driven game itself has all but disappeared that’s not to say that they aren’t worth playing.Under a Killing Moon proves that with genuine ambition, sincerity, and barely-there technology, the end result may not stand the test of time in the traditional sense, but can nonetheless be revisited time and time again.
Let's Play Tex Murphy!
In Journal Entry # 17 – We play the great game, the one they call espionage. But we play it in a time where smart phones and digital cameras were non-existent and the internet is called the Intelink. Kosta Andreadis is a freelance writer and musician based in Melbourne. He likes his comedy absurdist and his music disco-tinged. Check out his tunes, his Twitter and hey, why not join the IGN AU team on Facebook?