One of the biggest pieces of news released at (or just before) E3 was that The Adventure Company had signed a development deal with Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen. TAC's press release described the upcoming game as follows:

Jane is currently in the midst of the design process of this next game, and although untitled, "Project Jane-J" will be a mystery that takes the paranormal very seriously. Based on mind-altering experiments of a reclusive doctor, the story throws a young female student deep into a world telepathy and clairvoyance, where nothing is as it seems. Like CSI's use of forensic science, the game and story-line will be based on real neurobiology and psi research.

The game-play will be a combination of investigative, third-person adventure game play, Myst-style logic puzzles interspersed with some arcade-style sequences. The title is expected to be on shelves in Q4 2004.

This news was a bit of a surprise to many of us, since Jane had all but left the industry to focus on book writing following the release of Gabriel Knight 3 in 1999. I had a chance to interview Jane at this year's E3 and ask her about her new game and her return to game development.

Jane said that she initially was discouraged by the direction of the game industry after the 1999's E3 -- which she said seemed to focus more on "mud wrestling and babes in bikinis" and other efforts to attract a solely audience of under-30 males than anything she was interested in.

However, last April, she was approached by a few investors from New York who were interested in developing games for what Jane calls the "alternative market," or everyone except for that under-30 male audience.

Jane also pointed out that 80% of all book owners are women -- romance novels far outsell genres like science fiction, for example. She became encouraged when the investors -- now co-founders of her new company, Odyssey Digital Entertainment -- also showed her statistics indicating that some so-called casual games had similar audiences that were nearly 80% female as well. These statistics convinced her that there was still an audience for adventures like the ones she wanted to design.

Even though her target audience may be largely female, Jane also said that she is not doing "pink games," intended solely for women. But she does believe that the "alternative market" has been left under-served for the last few years, and she wants to write games that will appeal to a broader audience than the typical hard-core game.

Talking about her choice of publisher, Jane says that The Adventure Company is one of the few that still understands her audience, and adds "we're all lucky to have them." She says that she's glad The Adventure Company has finally grown enough to be able to fund and publish its own "triple-A" titles, instead of simply importing games from Europe -- not that there's anything necessarily wrong with imports, of course.

I asked Jane whether she had been encouraged by the strong reviews, even in the hard-core gaming press, for recent adventures like Syberia. Jane answered that although she enjoyed Syberia quite a lot, and that it's done "a great job doing a lot of the things I've done in my research," but that her return to the industry pre-dated its release.

As to the game itself, Jane describes her new series as a "chance to start fresh" and write games for an audience that's more accepting of the paranormal after the success of TV shows like The X-Files or Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Jane's work have always had some supernatural aspect to them -- werewolves in Gabriel Knight 2, for example -- but she sees her new title as being a bit less fantasy-based than her earlier works.

"Project Jane-J" is also intended as the first in a long series of games, if the first one is successful. Jane has a whole list of topics prepared for future games, including past lives, telekinesis, and mind reading. However, Jane says her games will deal more broadly with "nature of reality" and the "potential of the mind," using these topics mainly as storytelling devices. Again, think more X-Files than Crossing Over with John Edward. Besides, when I asked Jane how seriously she takes the paranormal personally, she responded jokingly, "If I got within 10 feet of a Ouija board, I'd break out in a cold sweat."

Even the day after the initial press release, on-line bulletin boards and forums were questioning its description of "Myst-style logic puzzles interspersed with some arcade-style sequences." Since most typically associate Myst with games that are light on story and heavy on abstract puzzles, I was a little shocked by this description myself.

As it turns out, Jane did write the press release herself, but also emphasized that this would be a third-person game similar to her other titles. The logic puzzles might be more similar to GK3's Le Serpent Rouge (a riddle/mystery firmly grounded in the story itself, for those not familiar with the game).

Jane also says that it's a shame that the adventure community seems to be divided so sharply between Myst-lovers and Myst-haters, especially since there are relatively few adventure fans overall. Speaking to her own preferences, she says, "I like both kinds of games, actually."

She also promises that her game will offer a variety of gameplay -- some of the Serpent-Rouge-style logic puzzles, some inventory puzzles, some interrogation, and a little action. This new game may be somewhat similar to Gabriel Knight 2, which had what Jane described as "richness" when all the puzzles where seen as a whole, even though individual puzzles may not have been particularly difficult. When asked about the action sequences, Jane responded, "That's the kind of stuff that's always been in Sierra games. It's always been in my games."

Many of the details about the game are still up in the air. We do know that there will be two characters -- a male doctor and a female student -- in this title. However, Jane has only written about half of the bible for the game and series, and has yet to make any decisions about a specific interface (3D versus 2D, for example) or platforms (PC and/or console), saying she'll leave some of those questions up to the publisher.

"Project Jane-J" is still about a year and a half away -- due out at the end of 2004 -- but it's certainly a game that many adventure fans will be looking forward to. It's definitely a harbinger of better things, a sign that there is room in this industry for a variety of gameplay styles and a variety of audiences.