Press Release from Televirtual

[Illusion]

25 November 2002

After a nine year gap, Televirtual is to re-format the cult TV adventure game series KNIGHTMARE, which was produced by its parent company, Broadsword TV in the 80's and 90's, and re-create it as a LIVE TV event.

Televirtual founder Tim Child explained:' we have only just reclaimed full ownership of the format, which was jointly owned by ourselves and Anglia (now Granada Media), since 1986. The full rights recently reverted to us, and whereas it was financially  impractical to carry the burden of reformatting under shared ownership, that is no longer the case.'

The original show involved blindfolding a young player or dungeoneer with a knight's helmet and sending them into a blue walled studio.

Cromakey techniques then transposed this into an enthralling hand-drawn dungeon, created by artist David Rowe.

A revived show would stay true to those early principles but with virtual reality and avatar (3d cloning) technology removing the need for any blindfolding or guiding of the studio based adventurer.

With a growing demand for shows which allow greater audience access and influence, playing Knightmare for live is a challenge in itself.

'We would aim to keep the game very simple and retro-looking," said Tim Child. 'Having said that, it won't be any simpler than the original eighties versions when we really didn't have the interactive technology to attempt half the things we tried."

Players in the revived dungeon will be transformed into 3d avatars, and will appear as themselves. They will be able to meet  and converse with the similarly animated cast of characters and monsters in the dungeon.

The new Knightmare TV quest is being designed to sit within a longer, live, childrens' programming strand, with the game playing in two, separated 10-12 minute segments. This will allow polling decisions by the home audience to influence the dungeon-based obstacles and affect the narrative. Viewers of digital channels would also be able to access some of the multiple viewpoints available from Televirtual's RAP (Real time Animation Pipeline) system.

http://www.televirtual.com

[GrimaldineGrimwold]

OMG.

As you people know this doesn't ever happen, but for once I'm speechless.

[JamesA]

:o :o :o :o :o :o :o :o

[John_Hoare]

Blody hell!

[Malefact]

Wait a sec! Are you actually telling us that Knightmare is coming back?!!!!!  :o

[Lowebo]

Ok, i know i did it when i found out Knightmare was gonna be on challenge, but.......

 YABBA DABBA DOOO!!!!!!!!!

 Knightmare - era one - 1987-1994
 Knightmare - era two - 1995-1998
 Knightmare - era three - the return - 2003-???

[Illusion]

Okay... its important to note that this is an announcement of a design 're-format' by the original makers of Knightmare, which has been made possible because of a changeover of rights.

There is no guarantee that it will eventually make it on TV, or when that will happen. It all depends I suppose on whether a channel would be interested in commissioning it. If it does, I would think it will take time to happen.

But yes, its good knews indeed that they are interested in reviving Knightmare.

[Malefact]

I just had a feeling that this would be on the cards!

Didn't I say that I had a sneaking suspicion that TimeGate was just a working title for 'something'?!!!  

Well, now that Televirtual want to remake Km, that's half the battle won already! All we need now is for one of the tv channels to see sense! How about sending the BBK petition to all of them again?  ;)

[Billy]

Erm....something strange happening this month...

November 18th- Knew Knightmare Forum opens
November 19th- Series 3 confirmed to be re-shown on Challenge TV
November 25th- Knews that Knew Knightmare may return to our screens.

What next? Hugo Myatt joins the forum?

[Pooka]

This is quite good knews, but being cynical as usual I'm going to say this and spoil it all for everyone:

I don't think it's going to work.

[GrimaldineGrimwold]

I think more than anything it's the news I personally wouldn't have expected.

But I suppose TimeGate remains an independent project. Perhaps this just increases the chances of Televirtual getting *a* show commissioned. Not putting all your eggs in one basket, as Brother Strange might say.

What concerns me slightly is how a reformatted KM and TG will/would be different. The press release seems to hint that a knew KM would use most of the technology that was going to make TG distinctive. I'm reminded also of what Debz said about the TG trailer- that it looked very KMish. So how is KM still KM and not TG? Is it the "retro" look that's mentioned? Will the unique selling point be the old set of characters? Floor puzzles? (Well, most would have to be reformatted now it's no longer a team game with one member blindfolded.) If TG is, as people often quote Tim Child as saying, what KM Series 9 would have been, then what would/will a reformatted KM Series 9 be?

[Pooka]

Sorry for being cynical (again!), but I see the fear of KM being similar to TG as Grimwold just said. I just don't think the one person not being blindfold would work.
I really think that if a programme is released, it will be only one programme - not a separate KM and TG; they'd be too similar.

I don't know, I just don't like this.  :'(

[JamesA]

I actually think Pooka has raised some quite valid points  ;D

Oh and 1999-2002, is that era two and a half....  ;D

[GrimaldineGrimwold]

Sorry for being cynical (again!), but I see the fear of KM being similar to TG as Grimwold just said. I just don't think the one person not being blindfold would work.
I really think that if a programme is released, it will be only one programme - not a separate KM and TG; they'd be too similar.

I don't know, I just don't like this.  :'(

Agreed on all counts.

One of the original premises of KM was the blindfolding and system of advisers. Okay, this came about because the technology wasn't originally good enough to have the person in the dungeon "seeing" what was around them. But to be honest I think the format we thus ended up with was pretty much the core of KM. Whatever the technology now available, I think it's a format worth defending, worth keeping. It's Knightmare. It's about teamwork.

Perhaps the single player idea might work for TimeGate. But I think if you do Knightmare in this way you're taking away something very special. I wonder in his original plan for a fully VR Series 9 of KM whether Tim Child envisaged it remaining a team game based on the good old system of advisers and dungeoneer.

It does seem like the two would be too similar. Perhaps they plan to see which idea the networks like more, and then run with it.

[Elessar]

I think it would be better with the dungeoneer beign able to see! However, I think that there should still be guiders who perhaps get a wider picture of what's going on than the dungeoneer himself.

You lot are all forgetting (or at least not saying) that we are the last links to Knightmare. We are the only people who remember it well and stay involved in it. THEREFORE we can have a HUGE influence in its return. They can sort out the technology but we can give them a few hints as to what we want! i.e. keep the helmet, if possible get Hugo Myatt and Mark Knight back, etc.

Finally, HOORAY!!!!!!! YES!!!! AT LAST!!!! WOOHOO!!!