Coolsville (cancelled 1994 game about the world of jazz)
Jul 25, 2016 1:28:24 GMT
retrogamefan9000, nodog, and 4 more like this
Post by Reynard on Jul 25, 2016 1:28:24 GMT
This cancelled game is the subject of the very first article I wrote for the Lost Media Wiki!
So this is an adventure/educative/interactive/music-creating PC game developed by studio "Music Pen" that also made many Magic School Bus games.
It was to be published by company Media Vision; unfortunately, Media Vision would go down soon after, and so release of Coolsville was cancelled.
The game is set in the city of Coolsville (not to be confused with Scooby-Doo's town), populated with cartoon animals who play jazz. And other types of soul music.
Several characters are parodies of famous jazz/soul musicians.
Duck Ellington, parody of great jazzman Duke Ellington!
This is the only HD screenshot I could find. It was on the website of graphic designer TRUE.
Some lion guy and a panther lady. Are they parodies of specific celebrities?
Also by graphic designer TRUE, from his website.
And here we have a beatnik bar!
You know they are beatniks because of the berets, turtleneck sweaters, coffee cups and someone reciting poetry slam!
From French magazine Joystick.
Seems like you could even create your own music with a band!
Do you want to COOL IT? Oh yes, man, I want to be cooool.
From French magazine Gen4.
Even cold-blooded reptiles/batracians in a giant bathtub can be cool with the jazz, man!
Or should I say... cool-blooded!!
From French magazine Joystick.
The plot:
"Save Coolsville, the coolest city in the universe, where each inhabitant is a jazz musician. Coolsville is led by a council of six gurus, who meet each year to do the famous "Great Gig", a concert that provides the city's energy for a full year.
Unfortunately, one of the six gurus seems to have been kidnapped. It is up to you to find him before it is time for the Great Gig..." - French magazine Joystick
"Meet Duck Ellington and others before solving the mystery that surrounds this city. Wonderful jazzy atmosphere! A very good title, an especially original one." - French magazine Gen4
Seems, according to those French magazines, that there was some
My search
So... I decided to be a bit more pro-active into finding information about this lost game.
I contacted artist TRUE.
He replied to me; he only worked a bit on it, and doesn't have more than what he showcases on his site, but he told me more about the staff who worked on it.
He was also kind enough to give me good artistic advice.
I contacted project manager Michael Patrick Duggan.
He replied to me; he also worked only a bit on it, but he thought the project looked very good, and finds it a shame that it wasn't released.
He thinks that there was a prototype of the game released after he left the company.
Showed him the Lost Media Wiki article that I wrote: he likes it and it makes him feel quite nostalgic!
I contacted art director/lead artist Brian Gaidry.
He replied to me; he says he will go look for old sketches and drawings.
He also added that there was another staff member of note: Bay Rigby, Australian cartoonist.
I am still looking for more info...
And maybe one day we can have access to that prototype!
So this is an adventure/educative/interactive/music-creating PC game developed by studio "Music Pen" that also made many Magic School Bus games.
It was to be published by company Media Vision; unfortunately, Media Vision would go down soon after, and so release of Coolsville was cancelled.
The game is set in the city of Coolsville (not to be confused with Scooby-Doo's town), populated with cartoon animals who play jazz. And other types of soul music.
Several characters are parodies of famous jazz/soul musicians.
Duck Ellington, parody of great jazzman Duke Ellington!
This is the only HD screenshot I could find. It was on the website of graphic designer TRUE.
Some lion guy and a panther lady. Are they parodies of specific celebrities?
Also by graphic designer TRUE, from his website.
And here we have a beatnik bar!
You know they are beatniks because of the berets, turtleneck sweaters, coffee cups and someone reciting poetry slam!
From French magazine Joystick.
Seems like you could even create your own music with a band!
Do you want to COOL IT? Oh yes, man, I want to be cooool.
From French magazine Gen4.
Even cold-blooded reptiles/batracians in a giant bathtub can be cool with the jazz, man!
Or should I say... cool-blooded!!
From French magazine Joystick.
The plot:
"Save Coolsville, the coolest city in the universe, where each inhabitant is a jazz musician. Coolsville is led by a council of six gurus, who meet each year to do the famous "Great Gig", a concert that provides the city's energy for a full year.
Unfortunately, one of the six gurus seems to have been kidnapped. It is up to you to find him before it is time for the Great Gig..." - French magazine Joystick
"Meet Duck Ellington and others before solving the mystery that surrounds this city. Wonderful jazzy atmosphere! A very good title, an especially original one." - French magazine Gen4
Seems, according to those French magazines, that there was some
My search
So... I decided to be a bit more pro-active into finding information about this lost game.
I contacted artist TRUE.
He replied to me; he only worked a bit on it, and doesn't have more than what he showcases on his site, but he told me more about the staff who worked on it.
He was also kind enough to give me good artistic advice.
I contacted project manager Michael Patrick Duggan.
He replied to me; he also worked only a bit on it, but he thought the project looked very good, and finds it a shame that it wasn't released.
He thinks that there was a prototype of the game released after he left the company.
Showed him the Lost Media Wiki article that I wrote: he likes it and it makes him feel quite nostalgic!
I contacted art director/lead artist Brian Gaidry.
He replied to me; he says he will go look for old sketches and drawings.
He also added that there was another staff member of note: Bay Rigby, Australian cartoonist.
I am still looking for more info...
And maybe one day we can have access to that prototype!
