Developer reflects on release of iOS Lords of Midnight
"Midwinter's day was bitter-sweet..."
Developer Chris Wild has reflected on the release of the iOS version of classic Eighties fantasy role-playing game Lords of Midnight, created by influential British programmer Mike Singleton who died last year following a battle with cancer.
In a blog post Wild, who had been working with Singleton on the iOS version prior to his death, said the game had sold just over 2000 copies following its release last month. This, he said, meant he failed to break even on all he's spent on the development of the game over the last two years.
“But then, it was never about the cost, and I have spent that money anyway,” he said. “For sales, moving forward, it is now about stimulating the market, and getting out the releases for Android, Windows Mobile and desktop.”
Wild converted Lords of Midnight and Doomdark's Revenge, another Singleton game, to the PC in 1991, so knew the respected programmer well.
“Midwinter's day was bitter-sweet,” Wild continued. “It was great to finally, albeit in a different way, have shipped the product that I have been working on for the last two years.
“In another way of looking at it, I have finally commercialised something that I started working on over 20 years ago; in some way that legitimises the work. However, I'm painfully aware that it only happened because of Mike's death, and that he was not there to see the release. That aside, I had a great pick-me-up on the day when Julian, Mike's son, called me to talk about the release.
“The game has been pretty much universally accepted well by the press and the public. The reviews I have had so far have all been positive. And although the game will never be the one that Mike and I intended to release, I feel justified with the decision I made just over two months ago.”
Now, Wild is concentrating on updating the iOS version and releasing other versions.