Join the Women's Murder Club
Every Tuesday. Free biscuits.
Outspoken US author James Patterson wants to widen gaming boundaries with adaptations of his novels.
He sees the current market as a niche for a small number of boys, but believes his fan base is so large that his collaboration with Jane Jensen (of Gabriel Knight fame) will captivate a "monstrous" audience.
"Look, it strikes me that the videogame area is an incredibly lucrative niche market, one populated by a small number of boys - and grown up boys - who like to shoot things and spend a lot of money. But that excludes most of the universe," Patterson told The Hollywood Reporter.
"What I love about this project is the chance to widen the boundaries of what people can do on the small screen, sort of like what the Wii is accomplishing.
"We're going to give people who don't want to shoot things... Who prefer to use their brains... A chance to solve a really good mystery. This will open up a whole new arena to a lot of people who don't play games now," he added.
The game is known as Women's Murder Club for now, and features lots of Patterson input on top of typical adventure gameplay with puzzles and clicking and things.
Jensen and her Oberon team began the game last August and expect it to be available in May, though it's not clear on which platforms exactly. It will feature around 40 different areas for you to work your way through.
"Look, this is very exciting. It's not the money; I can't spend all the money I have," finishes Patterson. "But I look at the game and I think about the fact that the majority of people are excluded from games like these, and I go 'Wow! Big, big opportunity!'"
We'll look out for that opportunity sometime closer to May.
