A prequel to The Elk Moon Murder -- which is scheduled for release on June 24 -- Missing in Santa Fe unfolds in three suspense-packed episodes on June 25, July 9 and July 16, with a prologue launching on June 17. Featuring characters and images from The Elk Moon Murder's Southwest backdrop, this stand-alone online drama challenges Internet sleuths to solve the disappearance of a tourist in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Each weekly episode ends with a cliffhanger that is answered at the start of the following episode. At the end of each installment, players are invited to send in their assessment of the case thus far.
"The Web is particularly well-suited as a promotional and marketing vehicle for interactive entertainment," said Bobby Kotick, President and CEO, Activision. "Missing in Santa Fe is an innovative campaign that will not only heighten interest in The Elk Moon Murder, but also provide online consumers with a sample of the game's engaging and suspenseful story line."
"The rich cultural milieu and eccentric characters of The Elk Moon Murder provided us with a great background for a murder mystery," said Steve Schaffer, President, Newfront Communications. "We're excited to have used our experience developing interactive web-based mysteries to promote The Elk Moon Murder."
In Missing in Santa Fe, players are partnered with Detective John Night Sky and assume the role of a rookie police investigator as they pursue suspects and encounter countless red herrings. Gradually, a simple missing person case turns into a bizarre kidnapping and murder.
Following the third episode of the story, additional clues will be posted on the Activision site on July 23. Players who successfully solve the case must answer three questions via e-mail by July 29 in order entered into the national Elk Moon Murder contest and be eligible to win the trip to Santa Fe. The culprit's identity and the complete solution will be revealed on July 30.
Winners of the contest will be selected through a random drawing. The grand prize winner will enjoy a vacation for two in Santa Fe. Fifty other contestants will win Activision's Infocom Mystery collection of six classic mystery text-adventure games on CD-ROM. The prize winners' names will be posted on the Activision web site on August 6.
In The Elk Moon Murder, players assume the role of a rookie detective and work with John Night Sky as they try to solve a gruesome murder before the killer strikes again. Featuring more than an hour of full-motion video, and an intriguing, suspense-filled story line, the game challenges players to investigate the crime scene, gather clues and interview suspects while racing against the clock to unravel the mystery before it is too late.
Newfront Communications is a San Francisco-based developer and producer of
online mysteries. They are the developer and producer of The Case
(https://www.thecase.com), a leading mystery and entertainment site on the
Internet. Members of The Case receive a new solve-it-yourself
mini-mystery via e-mail every Wednesday.
Activision, Inc. is a publicly held developer and publisher of interactive
entertainment software for Microsoft Windows 95 and MS-DOS-compatible,
Macintosh and other computers, as well as Nintendo, Sega, and Sony
PlayStation video game systems. Headquartered in Los Angeles with offices
in London, Tokyo and Sydney, the company sells and markets products under
the Activision and Infocom trade names. The Activision World Wide Web
site is located at https://www.activision.com.
Activision is a registered trademark of Activision, Inc. (c) 1996 Activision, Inc. All rights reserved.
