Hot topic tackled in “Climate Change” eco-thriller

Global warming is one of the hottest topics in the world today, both literally and figuratively, and soon it will provide the basis for an ambitious new adventure. A new German studio named Daedalic Entertainment has recently revealed the first details about its debut game, an "eco-thriller" currently known by the temporary working title of Climate Change Project.

The game takes place mainly (though not exclusively) in realistic, present day settings, and casts players in the dual roles of a male and female protagonist. The man is an aging bio-engineer named Bent, whose pursuit of a revolutionary form of bio-energy has resulted in nothing but frustration. Having recently retired, he is visited by a young woman who claims to be from the future, a world devastated by uncontrolled climate change. She seems to be telling the truth, and needs Bent's help to fight an unscrupulous energy tycoon destined to facilitate a preventable global cataclysm. According to Daedalic, the game "revolves around the conflict between egotism and altruism, between idealism and betrayal -- and the whole world hangs in the balance..."

The Climate Change Project is a classic point-and-click, third-person adventure that promises 130 hand-painted screens, plenty of cinematics, and 30 characters to interact with throughout the game. Players will encounter a variety of puzzles, of course, but the developers say that the puzzles will serve the game's contemporary storyline, rather than simply serving as obstacles blocking progress.

While the name Daedalic may be new to gamers and Climate Change Project the studio's debut title, the developers are no stranger to the genre. The company was founded by Carsten Fichtelmann, who played a vital role during his many years at dtp entertainment in considerably raising the genre's profile and popularity in Germany. Daedalic will finance and develop its own games, and publish directly in German-speaking territories, looking to local partnering publishers for international distribution.

The game is still in its early stages of development, so no firm release date has been set, but Daedalic is ambitiously targeting mid-2008 for its German release, with English and other localized versions to follow shortly after.

Stay tuned to Adventure Gamers for a more detailed look at Daedalic's Climate Change Project in the near future.