DISNEY INFINITY 3.0 - STAR WARS is out this month!

A Galaxy Far Far Away is finally coming to the worlds of Disney Infinity with the release of the 3.0 version of the game at the end of the month, and I'm pleased to say that the launch playset is Star Wars: Twilight of the Republic, which I worked on with the top folks at Lucasfilm and game developers Ninja Theory and Disney Intertactive. Check out our trailer!
 

 

 

 We've created a cool action-adventure in the style of the Star Wars: The Clone Wars animated series - in the trailer above you'll see Cat Taber, Sam Witwer and Matt Lanter reprising their roles as Padme Amidala, Darth Maul and Anakin Skywalker, and they're joined by the rest of the Clone Wars cast in the game.

Of all the fictional worlds I've enjoyed and wanted to tell a story in, Star Wars is one that's always eluded me - but now that's changed! Writing the storyline and script for Twilight of the Republic (as well as character scripts for all the prequel trilogy figures and Star Wars: Rebels figures too) has been a great experience - and it's just the start...

Let The Games Begin!

Today is publication day for GAME OVER, the new anthology of horror fiction inspired by classic arcade games from Snowbooks, featuring my original short story "Screen Burn"...

In the cavern-like darkness of the arcade, the neon phosphor-glow of the screen beckons you close. Drawn to the dancing pixels like a moth to a flame, digging deep in your pocket you pull out a shiny coin and thumb it into the slot as the electronic siren sings the fanfare that marks your arrival. One hand on the joystick, the other splayed across the control buttons, your pulse begins to quicken.

You’ve barely begun but suddenly the discordant bleeps are trumpeting your failure as your 8-bit adventure comes to an abrupt end. At least in the world of the video arcade you get a second chance. But what is the true price you pay when you make a pact with the digital demon? There’s always another coin, an extra life to be earned, a second chance… Isn’t there?

GAME OVER: A dozen stories of creeping dread and savage horror inspired by the humble amusement arcade and the classic coin-ops of yesteryear. Twelve tales to chill your blood by twelve masters of the malevolent and the macabre.
Just keep reminding yourself, it’s only a game… Isn’t it?

As well as me, the GAME OVER anthology also features stories by James Wallis, Sarah Peploe, Jonathan Oliver, Simon Bestwick, Gav Thorpe, Laurel Sills, Alexandra Peel, Tim Major, Adam Chillman, George Pickett, and Michael Carroll, all ably edited by Jonathan Green - and right now, if you buy it direct from publishers Snowbooks you can get 50% off by quoting the discount code 'GO' for the ebook edition, and 'GO-PRINT' for the paperback. (The offer's good for the next 24 hours so act quickly, mwah hah hah, Space Cadet).

Click Here to visit the Snowbooks website, or go check out the official GAME OVER Facebook page Here.

All These (Nine) Worlds Are Yours...

Just a quick reminder that the Nine Worlds Geekfest event is taking place this weekend from the 7th-9th August, at the Radisson Blu Edwardian hotel across from London's Heathrow airport, and I'll be along there on Saturday 8th to talk about Star Trek, tie-in fiction and more...

 

You can find out more about the event by visiting the website Here.

GAME OVER, man, GAME OVER

In the darkness of the arcade, the neon phosphor glow of the screen beckons you close. Attract mode flickering like dancing fire, you're drawn in, digging deep in your pocket for that shiny coin, thumbing it into the slot as the chiptune siren sings the fanfare for your arrival.
One hand around the joystick, the other splayed open to rest across the control buttons. Get Ready. 1-Up. Prepare to Qualify. Avoid Missing Ball For High Score. I Hunger...

When I was a kid, I barely made it out of the era of Disco with my sanity intact, and if I hadn't been bitten by the videogames bug (thanks to Space Invaders, Galaxian, Asteroids, Gorf, Tempest and a million more) I probably would have grown up well-adjusted.
Lucky for me, that bug laid eggs in my brain that later hatched and turned me into the writer of stuff that I am today.

I'm a gamer through and through, from my Binatone TV Master Mk.IV to my bleeding-edge octal-core PC, and so when I heard about m'colleague Jonathan Green's call for a horror fiction anthology inspired by classic videogames, I had to sign up.

Game Over hits on August 12th from the good people at Snowbooks, and features a dozen tales of gaming made to chill your blood; my contribution is a story called "Screen Burn", a speculation about the dark truth behind an unsolved mystery dating back to the height of the arcade era.

For more about Game Over, stay tuned to the anthology's official Facebook page Here and the Snowbooks site Here.

A new DEUS EX novel!

The biggest geekathon on the planet took place over the weekend at San Diego Comic Con, and many cool things were revealed there; among them was this:

Also in the works: a new novel written by @jmswallow, which will will be set between the events of Human Revolution and Mankind Divided!

— Deus Ex (@DeusEx) July 11, 2015

And indeed it is so. I've been writing for the Deus Ex franchise since 2008, with my work on the Human Revolution videogame, the Icarus Effect novel, The Fall for mobile platforms, the Fallen Angel novella (still available for free right Here) and most recently the forthcoming Mankind Divided game. 

Those are going to be joined by a new full-length novel I'm writing - the working title is Black Light - that will take the character of Adam Jensen from the explosive ending of Human Revolution and into the narrative of Mankind Divided two years later.

Familiar faces will return, new mysteries will be revealed, and more - look for the book next year around the same time as the release for Deus Ex: Mankind Divided, and keep an eye on this blog for more details in the coming months...