Blade Runner released on GOG

[Alan]

It remains one of the best adventure games of all time, yet due to the lack of a digital version, Blade Runner from Westwood Studios slowly faded into oblivion for years. Until now. Thanks to the hard work of devoted fans and GOG.COM, the game is making a big comeback on modern PCs.

Los Angeles. November, 2019

The original Blade Runner movie from 1982 is without a doubt an all-time sci-fi classic. It took director Ridley Scott over two years and a lot of trouble to make the film based on Philip K. Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?”. The final result was breathtaking. Syd Mead’s futuristic design, a score composed by Vangelis, and performances from actors Harrison Ford, Sean Young, and Rutger Hauer all combined to make the film a timeless masterpiece.


Police detective Rick Deckard’s hunt for android replicants posing as human beings was viewed by some as a sci-fi version of a noir crime story. But at the same time, the film’s plot reflected contemporary concerns about the quick development of computers and artificial intelligence. For the rising number of video gamers, those same concerns were actually what made Blade Runner a symbol of the new digital era.

Memories! You’re talking about memories!

The first Blade Runner game adaptation was released on the ZX Spectrum in 1985. It didn’t get much attention, but as they say - the first pancake is always spoiled. The release of the film’s director’s cut in 1992 renewed people’s interest in making a new, proper video game adaptation. By that time, the initiative even had legal representation - called the Blade Runner Partnership. One question remained, however - who would accept the challenge of adapting such a cult movie?


The Blade Runner Partnership approached a few companies, like Sierra and Electronic Arts, on this project, but they all declined. Finally, after much searching, it was Virgin Interactive which decided to undertake the task. One of the reasons behind the decision was a successful business relationship with Westwood Studios. If anyone could make a magnificent Blade Runner video game happen, it had to be the studio behind Lands of Lore and the Command & Conquer series.


I didn’t know how long we’d have together. Who does?

Even considering all of Virgin and Westwood’s assets, making a game on such a cinematic scale as the Blade Runner title proved to be a huge undertaking. Obstacles arose even before the actual work started. For example, securing all of the rights to the Blade Runner franchise took several years by itself. In the end, the creators side-stepped some legal issues by declaring they were making a game set in the Blade Runner universe, not the actual film’s adaptation.


Of course, the game would have to address Ridley Scott’s film in some way. That’s why the Blade Runner video game story, written by David Yorkin and David Leary, runs parallel to the movie’s plot. Blade Runner’s hero, an LA detective named Ray McCoy, conducts his investigation on missing replicants at the same time as Rick Deckard - their paths even cross from time to time, albeit never directly. The idea was to create a 3D real-time adventure game, in which the story progresses according to the gamer’s choices, resulting in many different endings.


To increase the near-cinematic experience, some of the actors from the original 1982 film like Sean Young and James Hong were hired as voice actors. Although Ridley Scott and Harrison Ford didn’t take part in the game project, Blade Runner heavily borrowed from the movie’s aesthetic design and music. For example, original concept art created by Syd Mead was used in the game’s design and Westwood’s main composer Frank Klepacki (author of the famous Hell March from C&C Red Alert) based his score on earlier work from Vangelis.

Revisit rainy Los Angeles with the return of the classic Blade Runner

Revisit rainy Los Angeles with the return of the classic Blade Runner

www.gog.com

 

[wbot]

I still have the original discs. And the game still works

 

[Fulcrum29]

I still have the original discs. And the game still works

The original install still works but the game isn't behaving as it should. I also have the 4-disc collection somewhere.

To get on topic. The GOG community have had this on their wishlist since whenever, and when GOG engaged with the original IP holders they claimed the source code to be lost. It may be that the revitalised Westwood team working on the C&C updates have unburied a time capsule or something... but this is more Alcon Entertainment acquiring the original works, so the source code was never lost but sold and locked up in IP.

I see this is stated in the GOG announcement,

Thanks to their hard work and the joint effort of Alcon Interactive Group and GOG.COM, Blade Runner’s modernized, digital version is now available and DRM-free.

however, when asked about the source code on social media they claimed it to be an exact 1:1 copy so it isn't exactly modernised (or remastered), but I believe the GOG team only made it 'more' compatible with modern hardware and operating systems.

Say this sells well on GOG, then the Alcon Interactive Group may be interested in adding continuity to the Blade Runner verse through gaming and other media titles.

 

[Beyond.Celsus]

also still have the discs, but may get this anyway for convenience sake.

 

[wbot]

The original install still works but the game isn't behaving as it should. I also have the 4-disc collection somewhere.

True but if you use scummvm the game runs perfectly. I said this this in another thread somewhere, but I played and tested the game using scummvm with one of the guys who made the game compatible with it and I learned a few little things I never knew about the game. They also added subtitles and stuff for the first time ever.

I think it's because of the scumm team that the game is now on gog.

 

[Fulcrum29]

True but if you use scummvm the game runs perfectly. I said this this in another thread somewhere, but I played and tested the game using scummvm with one of the guys who made the game compatible with it and I learned a few little things I never knew about the game. They also added subtitles and stuff for the first time ever.

I think it's because of the scumm team that the game is now on gog.

Have GOG wrapped it in ScummVM? I may install it later and have a look. They have given recognition to third-party compatibility teams in the past, but they haven't credited anyone other than themselves and the IP holder with this release.