Design Overview / Project Gallery
"Sélam: The Secret Language " episodic Web adventure
client: Discovery Channel Online
awards: 5/12/97 InfiNet's Cool Site of the Day, 5/14/97 Inside Games Site of the Day
role: producer / co-writer / interactive designer / sound designer / programmer
challenge: Create an episodic adventure game for the promotion of the Planet Explorer brand.
features:
- original story
- streaming Shockwave audio
- complex puzzles
- reference guide to Istanbul, Turkey
The discovery Channel Online created the sub-brand Planet Explorer in order to present original dramas and adventure stories set in the exotic locations associated with the Discovery Channel.
Prophet Communications helped to develop the brand and create the site. A CD-ROM game set in Istanbul was in production as the first release under the brand name. Prophet was asked to use the assets from the that production to create a unique story to present on the Web.
The result was "Sélam: The Secret Language," a four part adventure game in which the user plays the part of a secret agent courier instructed to deliver a series of packages throughout the city. Each episode contains clues and various challenges which lead to an unexpected conclusion.
The series includes several innovative features, including a Java applet which controls the game play. The applet is presented in the form of a PDA and resides in a separate browser window. The applet sends and receives data from a server, allowing the user to receive messages at random points in the game, to request information from the "homebase," and to navigate using a map of the Istanbul.
At the time of the release of the game, Discovery Online went through a strategy change. The scope of Planet Explorer was drastically changed. Unfortunately, we were not able to build upon the model we had created for "Selam." The Planet Explorer site is still active, but the game server is no longer maintained.
