Cecil starts digital Revolution

Famed UK games designer Charles Cecil has opened a new division at his studio dedicated to digital self-publishing.

Revolution Pocket will focused on developing Cecil’s older IP and new creations for iPhone, iPod touch, Android, PSPgo and other handheld platforms.

Cecil is just the latest in a string of long-running UK developers who have turned to digital distribution.

“Digital distribution has changed the game for developers, and it’s great to be able to communicate directly with our audience,” Cecil told us.

“By tackling development and publishing duties ourselves, we can strengthen our relationship with them and retain complete commercial and creative freedom – not just in terms of content, but in terms of distribution and, crucially, pricing.

“The model allows us to ensure that our games offer incredible value for money. We’re bringing high-quality, intelligent, narrative-based gaming to a whole new platform – some owners of which will have enjoyed the games before, and others who will be experiencing our titles for the very first time – and that’s something I find tremendously exciting.”

His first game is a ‘remastered’ iPhone version of his game Beneath a Steel Sky.

The game builds on the original, featuring new animated movies from Dave Gibbons, co-creator of Watchmen, plus a new context-sensitive help system for players of different skill levels and new remastered audio.

“The adventure genre is undergoing a renaissance, and we’re thrilled to be bringing a revamped and remastered version of this classic adventure to a whole new audience,” he added.

“Beneath A Steel Sky – Remastered is just the start of what we want to do. We’ll be announcing more Revolution Pocket titles soon – some of which people will recognise, others which will be wholly original. But our aim with whatever title we release is to ensure we offer a different type of game to those currently available, illustrating that modern handheld games don’t have to be disposable – they can be engrossing, entertaining and intelligent.”

The game is due out in the autumn.