Sorry for the boring post title, but I’m hoping to be SEO friendly. I’m starting a movement, baby!

Ghost Master is probably my favorite game ever made. It’s a sort of RTS where you control a bunch of ghosts and your job is to scare the mortals out of a building. It has a fun premise, good graphics (ok, a bit dated now), a great soundtrack, and never got the credit or sales that it deserved.

It came out maybe five years ago, and I’ve played it through at least once a year since. The kids love to watch over my shoulder as the ghosts chase people around. Anyway, Ben and I were playing it a couple of nights ago and he asked why there weren’t any more levels. I explained about how expensive video games are to make, and how great it was that some games let people add their own new levels and …

Why not?

So I called Empire Interactive and asked.

I had a pleasant chat with the VP of Sales, who seemed genuinely thrilled that we like one of their games so much. They still own the IP for the game, but there aren’t any plans to release more content or a sequel. He said that he didn’t know whether they would be able to release any tools or specs, but he’ll check.

So, you know, Team Fortress, crowdsource, cheap 3D tools, modder communities, and uhhh… long tail.

I am asking as politely as possible. Empire Interactive, please release the Ghost Master level creation tools.

UPDATE: No dice on the source code. Maybe the’ll release just the file formats so I can build my own tools.

Hiroo Onoda eventually surrendered. John Romero did not make us his bitch. We’ve moved on with our lives. It seems like the time for this game has passed, but nobody at 3D Realms wants to be the first one to say it.

Maybe it’s an elaborate performance art piece. It was never about the game. Rather, it’s holding a mirror up to the way that the media manufactures desire. They’re just trying to see how long they can keep it going and… anyway, here’s the trailer. The few gameplay shots look pretty good.

Here’s the ‘coming soon’ trailer from 2001. Those game play shots looked pretty good, too, for their time. Those of you who might not have been following the long, sad saga need to understand that this trailer was the for the same game. It was late in 2001, and it still hasn’t shipped.

“When it’s done”.

Use the left mouse button to thrown icicles into the wall. Space them properly so the penguin can climb. Post your score in the comments.

My best is 10,005 so far.