The search for Beneath a Steel Sky's creator, Dave Cummins (RIP)

[Troels Pleimert]

I don't think they would. He's a notable figure - the Beneath a Steel Sky article even has links to his not-yet-existent article.

It would have to start out as a "stub article", of course.

You know, I still have no idea where I know you from, but I'm betting it's from the Space Quest/SpaceVenture circle. So you also know that, even WHEN we know all sorts of personal details about people who are still very much alive and kicking -- i.e. Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe -- Wikipedia still axes articles because, apparently, these people aren't "prominent" enough.

It's still worth a shot, though. I can't do it right now, but I'll definitely look into it. Someone else could start and I'll fill in the blanks, or you can wait for me to start.

Incidentally, the Space Quest Superfan Hangout #5 (really #4) is on tonight, and we're playing games from other companies that inspired us. I'm playing Beneath A Steel Sky. It should be on at 8pm my time (Denmark), which according to my lamebrained calculations is 2pm EST/11am PDT.

 

[Infinitron]

Troels Pleimert Hey, check this out: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dave_Cummins

This page has been deleted. The deletion and move log for the page are provided below for reference.

• 21:24, 21 June 2007 TexasAndroid (talk | contribs) deleted page Dave Cummins (Converting to cascading protection)
• 22:13, 17 May 2007 BorgQueen (talk | contribs) deleted page Dave Cummins (content was: '{{db-bio}}Dave Cummins is a maths teacher at culloden academy. He talks strangely and like urinals.')
• 19:24, 16 May 2007 Anthony Appleyard (talk | contribs) deleted page Dave Cummins (WP:CSD#G10 - Attack page.)
• 00:14, 9 March 2007 NawlinWiki (talk | contribs) deleted page Dave Cummins (g10 attack)

o_O

Looks like you'd have to get the page unprotected first.

 

[Haba]

People don't usually just vanish from the online world. Chances are that he has really died.

 

[Crooked Bee]

Not necessarily. For example, I know for sure that Roe Adams, the man who designed Wizardry IV among other things, is still alive. Yet he has completely vanished from the online world, doesn't want to be contacted, etc. Sometimes it's just a choice that a person makes.

 

[Troels Pleimert]

Update in the search:

I received word from Jai Redman, who last had contact with Dave Cummins back in 2004. They were apparently really good friends, but Dave moved house and never left a forwarding address, and thus contact was lost forever.

A couple of interesting points: I seem to remember Cummins saying he had moved from Hull to York, but apparently he has since moved again. I have asked Jai if I could have his old address, which MIGHT -- stressing, MIGHT -- provide a clue as to where he's moved.

Are there any UK residents on these boards who live near York who could assist in our search?

Also, Dave has a middle initial -- "J". Knowing the man's full name might make the search even more easier. I have asked for that as well.

I don't think he's dead, although that sadly is a possibility. Apparently, according to Jai, Dave doesn't react well to adversity, and will cut ties completely and move away if he feels threatened or cannot deal with circumstances. That surely sounds like what happened with Revolution. The plot thickens.

 

[grotsnik]

It's almost certainly just a red herring, but if the Inverness maths teacher being poked fun at on the Wikipedia page did happen by some bizarre coincidence to be the same Dave Cummins, then he seems to be currently working in Nairn.

http://nairnacademy.org.uk/departments/mathematics

Good hunting, anyway!

 

[Curious_Tongue]

I've never finished Beneath A Steel Sky. For some reason I lose interest.

Same thing as with Innocent Until Caught. Awesome click and point game, just can't finish it.

 

[Infinitron]

Troels Pleimert If you really want to locate an appropriate UK resident to help you with this, you might want to try a bigger forum than the Codex. SomethingAwful has some extremely savvy individuals (just don't tell them you came from here ). Or maybe Reddit.

 

[Troels Pleimert]

An update in the search:

I have been in contact with Richard Gallagher, an old colleague of Dave's (whom the character of Gallagher in Steel Sky is named after!). He provided two e-mail addresses that I tried, which sadly returned immediate failure messages.

They were:

Dave@outremer.fsnet.co.uk
and
ratpouch@ratpouch.karoo.co.uk

It's not entirely clear, but it seems Dave moved house shortly after borrowing some money from Jai Redman. This was 5 years ago. No one is entirely sure where, but we think he may have moved back to Hull (having previously lived in York).

The last contact anyone had with Dave is now down to 3 years, which was when Richard last spoke with him.

Complete shot in the dark, but is there anything we can use the above-mentioned e-mails for? I know people don't leave forwarding addresses for e-mails, but so far, they are our best leads.

 

[kaizoku]

epic stalking, too bad nothing came out of it yet


As for the emails, the only option I see it trying to contact the webmasters at those sites and maybe they'll be willing to leak any info.

 

[Jaesun]

Beneath a Steel Sky developer Revolution Software has officially greenlit a sequel to the 1994 cult favourite cyberpunk point-and-click adventure.

The developer initially stated that it would make the sequel if its current project Broken Sword: The Serpent's Curse reached its Kickstarter stretch goal of one million dollars. It did not.

Instead, it came to $771,561, or about $820,000 including PayPal donations. Not too shabby if one considers that the original goal was only $400,000.

Yet Revolution decided to ago ahead anyway. Studio co-founder Tony Warriner said in an interview with Develop that production will begin upon completion of The Serpent's Curse.

"We're delighted by the recent level of interest in a sequel to Beneath a Steel Sky and are currently discussing design ideas for this project which we plan to go into development following the release of Broken Sword - The Serpent's Curse.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-24-beneath-a-steel-sky-2-is-officially-happening

 

[Crooked Bee]

Looking forward to seeing how crappy it can get.

 

[Infinitron]

COME BACK DAVE!!

 

[YaZoR]

Hi,

Old thread I know, Just wondering if anyone managed to contact Dave.
I used to work with him just after he left Revolution. Always complained that their in-production game was going to be shit (In Cold Blood), he was right.

 

[Infinitron]

Hi,

Old thread I know, Just wondering if anyone managed to contact Dave.
I used to work with him just after he left Revolution. Always complained that their in-production game was going to be shit (In Cold Blood), he was right.

Contact Troels Pleimert. I don't know if he still reads this forum.

 

[kaizoku]

Hi,

Old thread I know, Just wondering if anyone managed to contact Dave.
I used to work with him just after he left Revolution. Always complained that their in-production game was going to be shit (In Cold Blood), he was right.

I think Troels also posted links to his own (Troels) blog around this thread, which may help you in trying to contact him.


If that doesn't help, maybe some of the staff can poke him with an email.

 

[knightley]

I enjoyed Beneath steel sky quite a bit, but all i remember from broken sword is text, text and more text, like if someone was reciting The Oxford English Dictionary.

 

[Wow-Suprax]

How's the hunt for Dave? Any luck? I knew Dave very well years ago before he joined the Games Industry. I would also like to make contact. I can identify pictures etc.

 

[Infinitron]

How's the hunt for Dave? Any luck? I knew Dave very well years ago before he joined the Games Industry. I would also like to make contact. I can identify pictures etc.

Like I said above, Troels Pleimert is the guy you want to contact. I don't think he checks this forum anymore but he has a Facebook account.

 

[Blackthorne]

You can get in touch with Troels on Twitter. - @TorbenFrost - that's usually how I get in touch with him!


Bt

 

[Troels Pleimert]

Hey, guys. I'm sorry, I hadn't checked back here for a while. None of us have had any luck tracking down Dave. If you want to get in on the search, PLEASE feel free to hit me up on email (troels@pleimert.dk) or on Twitter (@torbenfrost). I'd be very interested in hearing from YaZoR

Just FYI, I'm going to be appearing on the upcoming Upper Memory Block podcast episode on Beneath A Steel Sky (www.umbcast.com) to talk about my chats with Dave Cummins and the search for his whereabouts. That's actually why I'm checking back on this forum; my apologies for not being around.

 

[Troels Pleimert]

Well, the search is over. I just learned today that Dave died in 2008.

 

[Ninja Destroyer]

There never will be a good BaSS sequel without him.
Salute.

 

[Blackthorne]

Jeez. That's sad, Troels. Thanks for investigating, though.


Bt

 

[Infinitron]

Well, the search is over. I just learned today that Dave died in 2008.

What happened, exactly? And how'd you find out? Can you say?