THE MAKING OF THE LAST EXPRESS

IN THE KNOW

» PUBLISHER: BRØDERBUND

» DEVELOPER: SMOKING CAR PRODUCTIONS

» RELEASED: 1997

» PLATFORM: PC, MAC

» GENRE: ADVENTURE

Before the fabled Orient Express reaches its destination, some of its passengers will have met a gruesome end, while others will see their lives changed forever, as a fiendish plot threatens to bring about political chaos in Europe during the fateful year of 1914. American doctor Robert Cath only just makes his own date with destiny. It’s up to us to ensure that he survives it.

Legendary game designer Jordan Mechner, building on an idea suggested by his cowriter, the late Tomi Pearce, established Smoking Car Productions purely to create this extraordinary game. It’s a supremely innovative late-period entry in adventure gaming history that’s never quite reached the audience it deserved.

Mark Moran was in charge of its programming and technical design. As a precociously talented 19-year-old who’d set up his own game company in high school, he was the youngest in a close-knit team of twenty-something developers. After leaving the game industry, he’s since gone on to build a successful career in disappointing reception. The game’s lengthy development period saw it miss its original release date of Christmas 1995 by miles, but that extra time gave its creators an opportunity to work magic.