) I guess the next on will be Poland then...
Article: Original US Game Development Details
May 5, 2021 0:59:40 GMT -5
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Post by RegisFan on May 5, 2021 0:59:40 GMT -5
An interview with the Jackbox games team about their time in the video game industry has yielded some interesting nuggets about the development of Jellyvision’s original US PC Millionaire game.
Here is an excerpt:
Here is an excerpt:
So that was You Don't Know Jack, and then we had this really great run with You Don't Know Jack from 1995 when it first came out through around 2002/2003. Mike probably knows the statistics better than I do, it's a whole franchise. But then we had one last come over the fence: There was a new television show called Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? that was coming out by Disney. The guy who had been the art director on You Don't Know Jack, the first art director, had gone over to Disney.
I hadn't talked to him in years and he called me up and said, "Hey, have you ever heard of this game on television, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" And I'm like, "Yeah, I've heard of it. I've seen the advertising." To quote: "The President of Disney just walked in and said, 'We want to get this made.'" And I'm like, "Okay if it's basically a trivia game, I bet we can do it for you." And he's like, "You definitely can do it. It's just a question of timing." And I say, "Well, when does it need to be done?" This is August. And he said, "By the holidays." I'm like, "14 months? No problem. We can totally do that." He's like, "No, no, this holiday." I said, "That means two and a half months." He's like, "Can you do it?" And I'm like, "How much money do you have?" He's like "We're Disney, we have a lot of money." I'm like, "Okay!"
So two and a half months later, we got out this CD ROM game Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and it sold a million and a half copies in three months, which at the time was a record. But the CD ROM industry was dying, because consoles had come out, PlayStation had come out and tastes were changing. There was movement more to first-person shooters and driving games -- family party games were out.
I hadn't talked to him in years and he called me up and said, "Hey, have you ever heard of this game on television, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" And I'm like, "Yeah, I've heard of it. I've seen the advertising." To quote: "The President of Disney just walked in and said, 'We want to get this made.'" And I'm like, "Okay if it's basically a trivia game, I bet we can do it for you." And he's like, "You definitely can do it. It's just a question of timing." And I say, "Well, when does it need to be done?" This is August. And he said, "By the holidays." I'm like, "14 months? No problem. We can totally do that." He's like, "No, no, this holiday." I said, "That means two and a half months." He's like, "Can you do it?" And I'm like, "How much money do you have?" He's like "We're Disney, we have a lot of money." I'm like, "Okay!"
So two and a half months later, we got out this CD ROM game Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? and it sold a million and a half copies in three months, which at the time was a record. But the CD ROM industry was dying, because consoles had come out, PlayStation had come out and tastes were changing. There was movement more to first-person shooters and driving games -- family party games were out.