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{{title|''{{PAGENAME}}''}}
{{title dab away}}
{{Infobox Video Game
{{real world}}
|video game name= Doctor Who: The Adventure Games
{{ImageLinkVideoGame}}
|image= [[file:Adventure.jpg|250px|Doctor Who: The Adventure Games promotional image]][[file:Adv_title_card.jpg|250px|Doctor Who: The Adventure Games title card]]
{{Infobox Merchandise
|developer= [[Sumo Digital]]
|image       = Adventure.jpg
|publisher= BBC Wales Interactive
|aka          =
|platform= PC<br>Mac OS
|developer   = [[Sumo Digital]], [[Art Co., Ltd.]]
|genre= Graphic adventure
|publisher   = BBC Wales Interactive
|release date= [[2nd June]] [[2010]] (Trial version, PC; UK only)<br>[[5th June]] (Official release, PC; UK only)<br>[[15th June]] 2010 (Mac OS; UK only)<br>[[July]] 2010 (international; PC only)
|type        = Video game series
}}{{game stub}}
|price        =  
|release date = [[5 June (releases)|5 June]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]] - [[31 October (releases)|31 October]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
}}{{Big toc}}
'''''Doctor Who: The Adventure Games''''' was a series of five adventure video games for [[PC]] and [[Mac]] that tied in with the first two years of the [[Matt Smith]] era as the [[Eleventh Doctor]] on television. It was the first series of games to feature the voice of the actors playing the then-current televised [[the Doctor|Doctor]] and [[companion]]s.


'''Doctor Who: The Adventure Games''' is a series of four graphic adventure video games, the first series was released in conjunction with [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]] on the official website. A second series is planned to be released in [[2011]].
The five games were delivered primarily by download from the main BBC [[Doctor Who website|''Doctor Who'' website]]. Though primarily for [[UK]] habitants — since the games had in part been funded by the BBC license fee — the games were eventually made available internationally.
==Promotion==
Details regarding the games were announced on 21 April 2010. The games are being produced in conjunction with the ''Doctor Who'' TV production team, with [[Matt Smith]] and [[Karen Gillan]] lending their voices and likenesses to the games. In announcing the games, series producer [[Piers Wenger]] stated that they are part of Series 5: "There aren't 13 episodes of ''Doctor Who ''this year. There are 17 - four of which are interactive. Everything you see and experience within the game is part of the Doctor Who universe."<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_100408_01/adventure_games</ref>


Footage of the games was shown after ''[[Victory of the Daleks]]'', revealing one "episode" would involve the Daleks and a destroyed [[London]] in [[1963]] with the tagline ''Fight The Daleks''. This was later revealed to be ''[[City of the Daleks]]'' by [[Phil Ford]], initially announced as being available on the 5th June<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_100422_01/Adventure_Games_Launch_in_Sheffield</ref>. A second series of another four episodes has been commisioned for release in 2011<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/more-doctor-who-games-next-year-9508.htm</ref>.
The series isn't available in any official online form since the end of May 2017. Due to the nature of desktop video games, usually the game could still be installed onto a device even after this point, but due to the nature of how the game's region-lock coding operates, this is not possible through any method that would generally be considered legitimate.<ref>https://twitter.com/jamessutherland/status/1373307809564098566?s=20</ref>


===Availability===
== Production ==
The first of the games, ''[[City of the Daleks]]'', was released for download via the BBC's official Doctor Who website on 2nd June 2010 for PCs - several days earlier than the originally announced release date of 5th June. It was later revealed that the early release of the game was part of a system test as they gear up for the official release date. A trailer for the game was shown straight after ''[[Vincent and the Doctor]]'' on Saturday to mark its official launch
=== Commission ===
<ref>http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39261/BBC-explains-early-Doctor-Who-release</ref>. A Macintosh version was later released on 15th June 2010.<ref>http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/06/city-of-daleks-now-available.html</ref>
''The Adventure Games'' was commissioned for [[BBC Online]] by [[BBC Wales Interactive]] as part of the "Doctor Who Episodic Game Initiative", which aimed to foster computer literacy through the use of a interactive game, made available for download.<ref name="Box UK">{{cite web|url=https://www.boxuk.com/our-work/bbc-game-integration|title=BBC: Doctor Who Game Integration|website name=Box UK|accessdate=29 September 2019}}</ref>


At present, the first four games are available to international audiences from Direct2Drive, for $3.70 American. However, Direct2Drive has controversially chosen not to make the Mac OS version of the game available, which has had the side-effect of preventing some gaming sites from reviewing the game.<ref>http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/07/d2d_selling_episodic_doctor_wh.php D2D Selling Episodic Doctor Who</ref>
=== Integration ===
[[Box UK]] worked with the [[BBC]] to create a web application which would integrate these game into the online space of the official [[Doctor Who website|''Doctor Who'' website]]. This approach would allow for greater data extrapolation and a more streamlined user experience.<ref name="Box UK" />


Robert Nashak from BBC Worldwide has also said that in the future, there may be retail versions of the games.<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/torchwood-the-game-8995.htm</ref>
== Promotion ==
Details regarding the game were announced on 21 April 2010. The game was made in conjunction with the ''[[Doctor Who]]'' TV production team, with [[Matt Smith]] and [[Karen Gillan]] lending their voices and likenesses to the games. In announcing the game, series producer [[Piers Wenger]] stated, "There aren't 13 episodes of ''Doctor Who'' this year. There are 17 — four of which are interactive. Everything you see and experience within the game is part of the Doctor Who universe."<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_100408_01/adventure_games</ref>  


===Gameplay===
Footage of the game was shown after ''[[Victory of the Daleks (TV story)|Victory of the Daleks]]''. It revealed one game would involve the Daleks and a destroyed [[London]] in [[1963]] with the tagline "Fight the Daleks". This was later released as ''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]'' by [[Phil Ford]], initially announced as being available on the 5 June, 2010.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_100422_01/Adventure_Games_Launch_in_Sheffield</ref>
''The Adventure Games'' are a puzzle-based game: the player has to navigate obstacles with a specific pattern to them, crack codes, use objects to bypass obstacles, and navigate mazes. There is little margin for error: most hazards kill automatically, and (as [[Eleventh Doctor|the Doctor]]) it can be hard to escape from his enemies once they've spotted you. The game follows a linear path: tasks have to be handled a certain way and in a certain sequence.
A second series of another four games was commissioned for release in 2011,<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/more-doctor-who-games-next-year-9508.htm</ref> but only the first game of Series 2 was released before further production on ''The Adventure Games'' was cancelled.


==Cast and characters==
=== Availability ===
===Primary cast===
The first of the games, ''City of the Daleks'', was released for download via the BBC's official ''Doctor Who'' website on [[2 June (releases)|2 June]] 2010 for PCs — a few days earlier than the originally announced release date of 5 June. It was later revealed that the early release of the game was part of a system test as they geared up for the official release date. A trailer for the game was shown after ''[[Vincent and the Doctor (TV story)|Vincent and the Doctor]]'' on Saturday to mark its official launch.
*[[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
<ref>http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39261/BBC-explains-early-Doctor-Who-release</ref> A Mac version was later released on 15 June 2010.<ref>http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/06/city-of-daleks-now-available.html</ref>
*[[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
===Guest cast===
*[[Sylvia (City of the Daleks)|Sylvia]] - [[Sara Carver]]
*[[Chisholm]] - [[Barnaby Edwards (actor)|Barnaby Edwards]]
*[[Elizabeth Meadows]], [[The Entity|the Entity]] and [[Jones (Shadows of the Vashta Nerada)|Jones]] - [[Sarah Douglas]]
*[[Dalek]]s and [[Cyberman#Cybermen found in the Arctic|Cybermen]] (Voices) and [[Oswald Fox]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]


==Games==
On 23 July 2010, the first two games were made available in the United States through digital distribution service Direct2Drive, However, Direct2Drive chosen not to release the Mac versions of the games.<ref>http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/07/d2d_selling_episodic_doctor_wh.php D2D Selling Episodic Doctor Who</ref> Only the first two games were released in the service.<ref>https://www.vice.com/en/article/wj85k5/the-best-doctor-who-video-game-was-just-ahead-of-its-time</ref>
===Series one===
 
Robert Nashak from BBC Worldwide has said that in the future there could be a retail version of the games,<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/torchwood-the-game-8995.htm</ref> although it never was released.
 
On 17 May 2014, the series with its five games was released on [[Steam (service)|Steam]], published by Legacy Games.<ref>https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/pc/doctor-who-the-adventure-games-materialise-on-steam/</ref>
 
In October 2015, the games became unavailable from the BBC website.
 
At the end of May 2017, the series was removed from Steam, due to an expiration of Legacy Games' license with the BBC.<ref>https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/doctor-who-adventure-games-leaving-steam-at-end-of-may-2017#:~:text=Doctor%20Who%3A%20The%20Adventure%20Games%20(developed%20by%20Sumo%20Digital%20and,the%20game's%20Steam%20Community%20page.</ref>
 
=== Gameplay ===
''The Adventure Games'' is a puzzle-based game. The player must navigate obstacles with a specific pattern to them, crack codes, use objects to bypass obstacles and navigate mazes. There is little margin for error; most hazards kill automatically and (as the [[Eleventh Doctor]]) it can be hard to escape from enemies once they've spotted you. The game follows a linear path: tasks have to be handled a certain way and in a certain sequence.
 
==== Playable characters ====
Playable characters in all the games are the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond and in the second series, Rory Williams. However, the player can not choose which character to play with, as this is tied to in-game story progression. The only exception is at the end of ''[[TARDIS (video game)|TARDIS]]''.
 
== Collectables ==
=== Series 1 ===
[[File:Gelatin.jpg|thumb|A Jelly Baby card.]]
Each game of the first season of ''The Adventure Games'' has collectable cards, marked with a "DW" logo, which provide extra information on the ''Doctor Who'' universe. There are fifty to collect in total over the four games, ten each of [[The Doctor|Doctors]], [[Companion]]s, Friends, Enemies and [[Jelly babies|Jelly Babies]].
 
There are also "Who Fact" popups which can be found throughout the games giving more info on the characters and objects encountered, but they are not counted toward a collectable total in Series 1.
 
==== Doctors ====
* [[First Doctor]]
* [[Second Doctor]]
* [[Third Doctor]]
* [[Fourth Doctor]]
* [[Fifth Doctor]]
* [[Sixth Doctor]]
* [[Seventh Doctor]]
* [[Eighth Doctor]]
* [[Ninth Doctor]]
* [[Tenth Doctor]]
* [[Eleventh Doctor]]
 
==== Companions ====
* [[Amy Pond]]
* [[Rory Williams]]
* [[River Song]]
* [[Donna Noble]]
* [[Jack Harkness|Captain Jack Harkness]]
* [[K9]]
* [[Martha Jones]]
* [[Mickey Smith]]
* [[Rose Tyler]]
* [[Sarah Jane Smith]]
* [[Wilfred Mott]]
 
==== Friends ====
* [[Adelaide Brooke|Captain Adelaide Brooke]]
* [[Adipose]]
* [[Winston Churchill]]
* [[Van Gogh]]
* [[Hath]]
* [[Jackie Tyler]]
* [[Nasreen Chaudhry]]
* [[Liz Ten]]
* [[Ood|The Ood]]
 
==== Enemies ====
* [[Auton]]s
* [[Cybermen]]
* [[Dalek]]s
* [[Smiler]]
* [[The Master]]
* [[Vashta Nerada]]
* [[Sisters of the Water]]
* [[Silurian]]s
* [[Sontaran]]s
* [[Weeping Angel]]s
 
==== Jelly Babies ====
* [[Strawberry]]
* [[Lemon]]
* [[Raspberry]]
* [[lime (fruit)|Lime]]
* [[Blackcurrant]]
* [[Orange]]
* [[Blueberry]]
* [[Vanilla]]
* [[Liquorice]]
* [[Chocolate]]
 
=== Series 2 ===
In the second season's single game ''The Gunpowder Plot'' the collectables are 41 various facts about Jacobean Life, revealed by examining relevant objects in-game. Additionally, the "Who Fact" popups discovered by the player now count toward a goal of 20 collectable items of Who trivia; these can all be found in the Doctor's Drawing Room.
 
== Cast and characters ==
=== Primary cast ===
==== Series 1 ====
* [[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
* [[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
==== Series 2 ====
* [[Eleventh Doctor|The Doctor]] - [[Matt Smith]]
* [[Amy Pond]] - [[Karen Gillan]]
* [[Rory Williams]] - [[Arthur Darvill]]<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_111003_01/The_Gunpowder_Plot_More_Stars_More%20Monsters</ref>
=== Guest cast ===
==== Series 1 ====
* [[Sylvia (City of the Daleks)|Sylvia]] - [[Sara Carver]]
* [[Chisholm]] - [[Barnaby Edwards]]
* [[Elizabeth Meadows]], [[The Entity (TARDIS)|the Entity]] and [[Jones (Shadows of the Vashta Nerada)|Jones]] - [[Sarah Douglas]]
* [[Dalek]]s, [[Cyberman#Cybermen found in the Arctic|Cybermen]] and [[Oswald Fox]] - [[Nicholas Briggs]]
 
==== Series 2 ====
* [[Guy Fawkes]] - [[Ralf Little]]
* [[Elizabeth Winters|Lady Elizabeth Winters]] - [[Emilia Fox]]
* [[Barnaby (The Gunpowder Plot)|Barnaby]] - [[Chris Johnson (actor)|Chris Johnson]]
* [[Charlie (The Gunpowder Plot)|Charlie]] - [[Jamie Oram]]
* [[Geoffrey Plum]] - [[Phil Daniels]]
* [[Kaarsh|Field Major Kaarsh]] - [[Dan Starkey]]
* [[Black Rod]] - [[Miles Richardson]]
* [[Thomas Percy]] - [[David Ames]]
 
== Games ==
=== Series 1 ===
{| {{prettytable}}
{| {{prettytable}}
| '''Episode Number''' || '''Title''' || '''Writer''' || '''Available''' || '''Notes'''
! Episode Number || Title || Writer || Featuring  || Available
|-
|-
|1 ||''[[City of the Daleks]]''||[[Phil Ford]]||5th June, 2010||| Reappearance of the [[Dalek]]s
|1
|''[[City of the Daleks (video game)|City of the Daleks]]''
|[[Phil Ford]]
|[[New Dalek Paradigm|Daleks]]
|[[5 June (releases)|5 June]] [[2010 (releases)|2010]]
|-
|-
|2 ||''[[Blood of the Cybermen]]''||[[Phil Ford]]||26th June, 2010||Reappearance of the [[Cyberman#Cybermen found in the Arctic|Cybermen]]
|2
|''[[Blood of the Cybermen (video game)|Blood of the Cybermen]]''
|[[Phil Ford]]
|[[Cyberman#Cybermen found in the Arctic|Cybermen]]
|[[26 June (releases)|26 June]] 2010
|-
|-
|3 ||''[[TARDIS (The Adventure Games)|TARDIS]]''||[[James Moran]]||27th August, 2010||
|3
|''[[TARDIS (video game)|TARDIS]]''
|[[James Moran]]
|[[The Entity (TARDIS)|The Entity]]
|[[27 August (releases)|27 August]] 2010
|-
|-
|4 ||''[[Shadows of the Vashta Nerada]]''||[[Phil Ford]]||22nd December, 2010||TBA| Reappearance of the [[Vashta Nerada]]
|4
|''[[Shadows of the Vashta Nerada (video game)|Shadows of Vashta Nerada]]''
|[[Phil Ford]]
|[[Vashta Nerada]]
|[[22 December (releases)|22 December]] 2010
|}
|}


===Series two===
=== Series 2 ===
The second series of ''The Adventure Games'' was announced in 2010.<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/more-doctor-who-games-next-year-9508.htm</ref><ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/adventure-games-series-2-update-22626.htm</ref> The first and only game in the series was ''[[The Gunpowder Plot (video game)|The Gunpowder Plot]]''.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_110721_01/New_Adventure_Game_The_Explosive_Details</ref> The second series was announced as cancelled in February 2012, following a muted fan reaction to ''The Gunpowder Plot''.<ref>http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/s7/doctor-who/news/a367305/doctor-who-the-adventure-games-shelved-by-bbc.html</ref>
 
{| {{prettytable}}
{| {{prettytable}}
| '''Episode<br>Number''' || '''Title''' || '''Writer''' || '''Available''' || '''Notes'''
! Episode Number || Title || Writer || Featuring  || Available
|-
|1 ||''The Gunpowder Plot''<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_110721_01/New_Adventure_Game_The_Explosive_Details</ref>||[[Phil Ford]]||31st October 2011<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/the-gunpowder-plot-dated-preview-27026.htm</ref>||Return of the [[Rutan Host|Rutans]]<ref>http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/rutans-return-in-the-gunpowder-plot-27114.htm</ref>
|-
|-
|2 ||''TBA''||TBA||TBA||
|1
|''[[The Gunpowder Plot (video game)|The Gunpowder Plot]]''
|[[Phil Ford]]
|[[Rutan]]s, [[Sontaran]]s, [[the Silence]]
|[[31 October (releases)|31 October]] [[2011 (releases)|2011]]
|-
|-
|3 ||''TBA''||TBA||TBA||
|-
|4 ||''TBA''||TBA||TBA||
|}
|}


==Production crew==
== Crew ==
===Producers===
=== Producers ===
*[[Gary Russell]]
* [[Gary Russell]]
===Executive producers===
 
*[[Steven Moffat]]
=== Executive producers ===
*[[Piers Wenger]]
* [[Steven Moffat]]
*[[Beth Willis]]
* [[Piers Wenger]]
*[[Anwen Aspden]]
* [[Beth Willis]]
*[[Charles Cecil]]
* [[Anwen Aspden]]
===Writers===
* [[Charles Cecil]]
*[[Phil Ford]]
 
*[[James Moran|James Moran]]
=== Writers ===
* [[Phil Ford]]
* [[James Moran]]


==Future==
== Notes ==
A second series was commissioned by the BBC in September 2010. It is expected for release sometime around the end of [[Series 6]] and will feature the voices of Matt Smith, Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill as The Doctor, Amy Pond and Rory Williams. The four episodes will all be written by Doctor Who writers including [[Phil Ford]]. It will once again be executive produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger and Beth Willis, along with Anwen Aspden at BBC Wales Interactive.
*''The Adventure Games'' prominently feature music from a previous series, unlike the majority of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who 2005)|Series 5]]. Most Series 5 and 6 episodes used previously written music.
* A short teaser for the third game was released on the BBC website in the form of a short script entitled ''[[Wish You Were Here (WEB short story)|Wish You Were Here]]''.
* The episode index at the back of the 2011 edition of ''[[Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia]]'' places the first series of ''The Adventure Games'' between ''Vincent and the Doctor'' and ''[[The Lodger (TV story)|The Lodger]]'', and places ''The Gunpowder Plot'' between ''[[The Girl Who Waited (TV story)|The Girl Who Waited]]'' and ''[[The God Complex (TV story)|The God Complex]]''.


The first game of Series 2, [[The Gunpowder Plot]], will be released in October.<ref>http://www.sfx.co.uk/2010/09/20/more-doctor-who-adventure-games-for-2011/</ref> It is the first Adventure Game to use the new portal technology to let the player step inside the TARDIS without having to wait for a loading screen. It also has advanced lighting systems and more complex puzzles.
=== Promotion ===
<gallery position="center" captionalign="center" hideaddbutton="true">
Doctor Who The Adventure Games - City of the Daleks trailer
Doctor Who The Adventure Games - Blood of the Cybermen trailer
Doctor Who The Adventure Games - Tardis trailer
</gallery>


==Notes==
== External links ==
[[file:Gelatin.png|thumb|A Jelly Baby Card]]
{{elx|page url=http://www.doctorwhonews.net/2010/04/doctor-who-adventure-games.html|page name=Doctor Who - The Adventure Games|website url=http://www.doctorwhonews.net/|website name=Doctor Who News}}
*Each episode has collectible cards, marked with a "DW", which provide extra information on the ''Doctor Who'' universe. There are fifty to collect in total, ten each of [[The Doctor|Doctors]], [[Companion]]s, Friends, Enemies, and [[Jelly babies|Jelly Babies]].
{{elx|page url=http://www.develop-online.net/analysis/in-pictures-doctor-who-the-adventure-games/0116743|page name=In Pictures - Doctor Who: The Adventure Games|website url=http://www.develop-online.net/|website name=Develop}}
*A picture of a Cyberman on the Adventure Games mini site is named "Winter of Terror". This could be the original name for ''Blood of the Cybermen''.
*According to the folder structure of the Adventure Games directory, ''City of the Daleks'' was originally intended to be the second episode, ''Blood of the Cybermen'' was intended to be the first and [[TARDIS (The Adventure Games)|''TARDIS'']] was originally set to be the last.
*The Adventure Games prominently feature music from a previous series, unlike the majority of [[Series 5 (Doctor Who)|Series 5]]. Only ''[[The Eleventh Hour]]'' and [[The Pandorica Opens (TV story)|''The Pandorica Opens'']] used previously written music.
*A short teaser for the third adventure game was released on the BBC website, entitled ''[[Wish You Were Here (The Adventure Games)|Wish You Were Here]]''.
*A second series of Adventure Games was anounced for 2011, and may have more 'prominent' characters from the series. [http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/more-doctor-who-games-next-year-9508.htm [1]]
*''Shadows of the Vashta Nerada'' was revealed for the 2nd day of the 2010 advent calender on [http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho]


==External links==
== Footnotes ==
* [http://www.gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/04/doctor-who-adventure-games.html GallifreyNewsbase report]
{{Scroll|{{reflist}}}}
* [http://www.develop-online.net/features/844/In-Pictures-Doctor-Who-The-Adventure-Games Develop-Online information]
{{DWVG}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{TAG}}
{{Adventure Games aliens}}
{{Adventure Games aliens}}
{{TitleSort}}
[[Category:Doctor Who Adventure Games| *]]
[[fr:Doctor Who - The Adventure Games]]
[[fr:Doctor Who - The Adventure Games]]
[[Category:Doctor Who video games]]

Latest revision as of 00:56, 22 October 2024

RealWorld.png

Doctor Who: The Adventure Games was a series of five adventure video games for PC and Mac that tied in with the first two years of the Matt Smith era as the Eleventh Doctor on television. It was the first series of games to feature the voice of the actors playing the then-current televised Doctor and companions.

The five games were delivered primarily by download from the main BBC Doctor Who website. Though primarily for UK habitants — since the games had in part been funded by the BBC license fee — the games were eventually made available internationally.

The series isn't available in any official online form since the end of May 2017. Due to the nature of desktop video games, usually the game could still be installed onto a device even after this point, but due to the nature of how the game's region-lock coding operates, this is not possible through any method that would generally be considered legitimate.[1]

Production[[edit] | [edit source]]

Commission[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Adventure Games was commissioned for BBC Online by BBC Wales Interactive as part of the "Doctor Who Episodic Game Initiative", which aimed to foster computer literacy through the use of a interactive game, made available for download.[2]

Integration[[edit] | [edit source]]

Box UK worked with the BBC to create a web application which would integrate these game into the online space of the official Doctor Who website. This approach would allow for greater data extrapolation and a more streamlined user experience.[2]

Promotion[[edit] | [edit source]]

Details regarding the game were announced on 21 April 2010. The game was made in conjunction with the Doctor Who TV production team, with Matt Smith and Karen Gillan lending their voices and likenesses to the games. In announcing the game, series producer Piers Wenger stated, "There aren't 13 episodes of Doctor Who this year. There are 17 — four of which are interactive. Everything you see and experience within the game is part of the Doctor Who universe."[3]

Footage of the game was shown after Victory of the Daleks. It revealed one game would involve the Daleks and a destroyed London in 1963 with the tagline "Fight the Daleks". This was later released as City of the Daleks by Phil Ford, initially announced as being available on the 5 June, 2010.[4] A second series of another four games was commissioned for release in 2011,[5] but only the first game of Series 2 was released before further production on The Adventure Games was cancelled.

Availability[[edit] | [edit source]]

The first of the games, City of the Daleks, was released for download via the BBC's official Doctor Who website on 2 June 2010 for PCs — a few days earlier than the originally announced release date of 5 June. It was later revealed that the early release of the game was part of a system test as they geared up for the official release date. A trailer for the game was shown after Vincent and the Doctor on Saturday to mark its official launch. [6] A Mac version was later released on 15 June 2010.[7]

On 23 July 2010, the first two games were made available in the United States through digital distribution service Direct2Drive, However, Direct2Drive chosen not to release the Mac versions of the games.[8] Only the first two games were released in the service.[9]

Robert Nashak from BBC Worldwide has said that in the future there could be a retail version of the games,[10] although it never was released.

On 17 May 2014, the series with its five games was released on Steam, published by Legacy Games.[11]

In October 2015, the games became unavailable from the BBC website.

At the end of May 2017, the series was removed from Steam, due to an expiration of Legacy Games' license with the BBC.[12]

Gameplay[[edit] | [edit source]]

The Adventure Games is a puzzle-based game. The player must navigate obstacles with a specific pattern to them, crack codes, use objects to bypass obstacles and navigate mazes. There is little margin for error; most hazards kill automatically and (as the Eleventh Doctor) it can be hard to escape from enemies once they've spotted you. The game follows a linear path: tasks have to be handled a certain way and in a certain sequence.

Playable characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Playable characters in all the games are the Eleventh Doctor and Amy Pond and in the second series, Rory Williams. However, the player can not choose which character to play with, as this is tied to in-game story progression. The only exception is at the end of TARDIS.

Collectables[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

A Jelly Baby card.

Each game of the first season of The Adventure Games has collectable cards, marked with a "DW" logo, which provide extra information on the Doctor Who universe. There are fifty to collect in total over the four games, ten each of Doctors, Companions, Friends, Enemies and Jelly Babies.

There are also "Who Fact" popups which can be found throughout the games giving more info on the characters and objects encountered, but they are not counted toward a collectable total in Series 1.

Doctors[[edit] | [edit source]]

Companions[[edit] | [edit source]]

Friends[[edit] | [edit source]]

Enemies[[edit] | [edit source]]

Jelly Babies[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

In the second season's single game The Gunpowder Plot the collectables are 41 various facts about Jacobean Life, revealed by examining relevant objects in-game. Additionally, the "Who Fact" popups discovered by the player now count toward a goal of 20 collectable items of Who trivia; these can all be found in the Doctor's Drawing Room.

Cast and characters[[edit] | [edit source]]

Primary cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

Guest cast[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

Games[[edit] | [edit source]]

Series 1[[edit] | [edit source]]

Episode Number Title Writer Featuring Available
1 City of the Daleks Phil Ford Daleks 5 June 2010
2 Blood of the Cybermen Phil Ford Cybermen 26 June 2010
3 TARDIS James Moran The Entity 27 August 2010
4 Shadows of Vashta Nerada Phil Ford Vashta Nerada 22 December 2010

Series 2[[edit] | [edit source]]

The second series of The Adventure Games was announced in 2010.[14][15] The first and only game in the series was The Gunpowder Plot.[16] The second series was announced as cancelled in February 2012, following a muted fan reaction to The Gunpowder Plot.[17]

Episode Number Title Writer Featuring Available
1 The Gunpowder Plot Phil Ford Rutans, Sontarans, the Silence 31 October 2011

Crew[[edit] | [edit source]]

Producers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Executive producers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Writers[[edit] | [edit source]]

Notes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • The Adventure Games prominently feature music from a previous series, unlike the majority of Series 5. Most Series 5 and 6 episodes used previously written music.
  • A short teaser for the third game was released on the BBC website in the form of a short script entitled Wish You Were Here.
  • The episode index at the back of the 2011 edition of Doctor Who: The Encyclopedia places the first series of The Adventure Games between Vincent and the Doctor and The Lodger, and places The Gunpowder Plot between The Girl Who Waited and The God Complex.

Promotion[[edit] | [edit source]]

  • Doctor Who The Adventure Games - City of the Daleks trailer
  • Doctor Who The Adventure Games - Blood of the Cybermen trailer
  • Doctor Who The Adventure Games - Tardis trailer

External links[[edit] | [edit source]]

Footnotes[[edit] | [edit source]]

  1. ↑ https://twitter.com/jamessutherland/status/1373307809564098566?s=20
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 BBC: Doctor Who Game Integration. Box UK. Retrieved on 29 September 2019.
  3. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_100408_01/adventure_games
  4. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_100422_01/Adventure_Games_Launch_in_Sheffield
  5. ↑ http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/more-doctor-who-games-next-year-9508.htm
  6. ↑ http://www.mcvuk.com/news/39261/BBC-explains-early-Doctor-Who-release
  7. ↑ http://gallifreynewsbase.blogspot.com/2010/06/city-of-daleks-now-available.html
  8. ↑ http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2010/07/d2d_selling_episodic_doctor_wh.php D2D Selling Episodic Doctor Who
  9. ↑ https://www.vice.com/en/article/wj85k5/the-best-doctor-who-video-game-was-just-ahead-of-its-time
  10. ↑ http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/torchwood-the-game-8995.htm
  11. ↑ https://www.mcvuk.com/business-news/pc/doctor-who-the-adventure-games-materialise-on-steam/
  12. ↑ https://techraptor.net/gaming/news/doctor-who-adventure-games-leaving-steam-at-end-of-may-2017#:~:text=Doctor%20Who%3A%20The%20Adventure%20Games%20(developed%20by%20Sumo%20Digital%20and,the%20game's%20Steam%20Community%20page.
  13. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_111003_01/The_Gunpowder_Plot_More_Stars_More%20Monsters
  14. ↑ http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/more-doctor-who-games-next-year-9508.htm
  15. ↑ http://doctorwhotv.co.uk/adventure-games-series-2-update-22626.htm
  16. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/dw/news/bulletin_110721_01/New_Adventure_Game_The_Explosive_Details
  17. ↑ http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/gaming/s7/doctor-who/news/a367305/doctor-who-the-adventure-games-shelved-by-bbc.html
v • e
Doctor Who video games
PC
Console/Mobile
The Adventure Games
Series 1
Series 2
DWMI website
Doctor Who website
Pre-2005
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Post-2010
Other websites
Games listed here are only those that have been officially licensed by the BBC.
v • e
Aliens and Enemies of
the Adventure Games
City of the Daleks
Daleks (Emperor  • Drone  • Supreme  • Scientist  • Strategist  • Eternal)  • Varga plants
Blood of the Cybermen
TARDIS
Shadows of the Vashta Nerada
The Gunpowder Plot
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