I also had a chance to interview Jeff and Karen Tobler of Omni Adventures, who created Riddle of the Sphinx and The Omega Stone. The Adventure Company is apparently quite pleased with the sales of their latest title, since they're already hard at work on the next game in the series.

Their next title is still a while away -- they're forecasting a release date of late 2004 or perhaps early 2005. They told me that they didn't want the mistake of trying to rush out this game as quickly as they did The Omega Stone, which was scheduled for only a 10-month development window and took closer to 13 months.

A few details were still available this far out. For one, the sequel will take place in only two different locations, instead of being spread out over many locations, as Omega Stone was. The Toblers aren't quite ready to announce what those locations will be, but they say that the sequel will be set somewhere in the East. Those locations won't have quite the household name recognition as the places featured in their earlier games. They will, however, have some historical significance -- Jeff Tobler added, "Those who are in the know will be excited."

The Toblers also told me that they were looking to use this time to develop their own game engine, or to at least customize an existing engine to allow for "more atmospheric effects and grit." Real-time 3D is still a possibility, and they added that they would definitely be increasing the brightness and contrast on many scenes, as some players found Omega Stone's graphics to be frustratingly dark.