The 7th Guest Returns To Crowdfunding With TV and Movie Deal

The 7th Guest 3: The Collector is taking another run at crowding, and this time it’s bringing Hollywood along for the ride.

The 7th Guest was a pretty big deal in its day, but its day was in the early 90s and it’s really not quite the heavyweight it once was. Trilobyte Games, presumably inspired by the Kickstarter success of numerous other oldies, took a shot at reviving the franchise late last year but had little success, raising little more than a quarter of its $435,000 goal.

But that was then and this is now, and even though “now” is just six months after “then,” the team is trying again, this time with Crowdtilt Open, which Trilobyte said is a more flexible platform than Kickstarter that allows the studio to divide the campaign into stages. Trilobyte is currently seeking $65,000 in funding, a fraction of the original Kickstarter goal because it’s going toward just a fraction of the game.

“Our initial goal is $65,000. And, we are offering a full compliment of reward tiers available for pledges,” the crowdfunding site explains. “Once that initial goal is met, we will collect your pledges and step up game development toward what we are calling T7G3: The 1st Story which will be a playable mini-version of the game that includes the entire first floor of the mansion, some puzzles, cool music and a few supernatural delights.” Trilobyte co-founder and CEO Rob Landeros described The 7th Guest 3: The 1st Story as a “beta” of The Collector.

Trilobyte also announced a deal with Angel Valley Media for film and television treatments of the franchise. “Bringing Henry Stauf and the rich universe of the series to life in film was inevitable,” Angel Valley President Matthew Lewis said in a statement. “We’ll be working side-by-side with Trilobyte Games to give players a new look into Stauf’s world, with new storylines and characters tightly interwoven with the game series.”

The 7th Guest Crowdtilt page encourages potential supporters to become familiar with the “nature and structure” of the campaign before putting their nickel in the hat, and I would as well. The FAQ notes that while the team will do its best to fulfill physical rewards, “if we fail to get full funding for a complete game, we cannot guarantee the rewards” that are contingent upon the completion of the entire game rather than just the beta. So if you pledge at the $25 tier for a copy of the full game, for instance, and it doesn’t actually happen, Trilobyte gets your money and you go way empty-handed. (Well, except for The 1st Story, presumably.) It’s a riskier prospect, in other words, so consider your move carefully.

The 7th Guest: The Collector Crowdtilt Open crowdfunding effort has raised more than $27,000 from supporters of the original Kickstarter, who have had access to the campaign since December of last year. It’s now open to the public, which should give a more accurate picture of how much support this game really has, and will apparently run until the goal is met or Trilobyte throws in the towel. To find out more about how it works and what Trilobyte hopes the future holds for The 7th Guest, check out trilobyte.crowdhoster.com.