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Wadjet Eye Games signs deal with Playfirst

Playfirst, primarily known as a publisher of casual games such as Diner Dash, announced at GDC this week that they have entered into an agreement with developer Wadjet Eye Games to bring a new adventure game to their portal. The game will be designed by Dave Gilbert, whose previous work includes The Shivah and The Blackwell Legacy, and developed by a team Gilbert is currently assembling.

Gilbert pitched the new game to Playfirst after meeting their Vice President and Creative Director Kenny Dinkin at a party at last year's GDC. Playfirst had already had success with its Dream Chronicle games, which blend casual and adventure game elements, and were looking for a new title to continue serving this audience. According to Director of Publishing Craig Bocks, the publisher's interest in Wadjet Eye Games was due to the quality of the adventure games Gilbert had made in the past. "We're excited to find innovative game developers, and are always looking for new, passionate people," Bocks told Adventure Gamers. "We recognized that in Dave."

Bocks and Gilbert both say that the new game will be an adventure in the style of Gilbert's previous work, but with streamlining such as a simplified interface to appeal to Playfirst's primarily casual audience. The game will be developed using Playfirst's proprietary toolset and will be released on PC and Macintosh first, and potentially on console platforms later on. No details have been released about the plot or gameplay, other than the fact that this is not another game in Gilbert's ongoing Blackwell series. Playfirst expects to release more information about the game this summer, with a launch following in late 2008 or early 2009.

Gilbert told Adventure Gamers that he will continue working on the next game in the Blackwell series, The Blackwell Convergence, in addition to developing the new game with Playfirst, but it probably won't be completed as quickly as it would have been otherwise. While this may come as a disappointment to Blackwell fans, Gilbert is extremely optimistic about the Playfirst deal. "It's the first time I've had the opportunity to make a game with a high budget and high production values," says Gilbert, who got his start in game development with free AGS titles. "I never envisioned this happening. It's really exciting."

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