BBC Producing Doctor Who Games From Sumo, Charles Cecil

The BBC has announced Doctor Who: The Adventure Games, four "original interactive episodes" developed by Sumo Digital for PC and Mac, based on the new TV series. The games will be download-only and available in June 2010 at the show's official website. The titles of the individual episodes have yet to be announced. UK-based Sumo Digital has created games including the Wii version of Codemasters' Formula 1 2009, Sega's Outrun Online for Xbox Live Arcade and Virtua Tennis 2009, among others. Sumo also developed the gamer-famous Super Rub a Dub rubber ducky game for PlayStation 3. The game episodes are executive-produced by Steven Moffat, Piers Wenger, Beth Willis and Anwen Aspden of BBC Wales Interactive, alongside adventure game veteran Charles Cecil, creator of adventure games Beneath a Steel Sky and the Broken Sword series. Doctor Who: The Adventure Games' story and script come from Phil Ford, co-writer of Doctor Who "Water of Mars" and James Moran, whose credits include the British sci-fi TV program Torchwood. Doctor Who actors Matt Smith and Karen Gillan will be digitally recreated in-game, and are doing full voiceovers. "By developing these games alongside the new TV series, we've been able to weave exciting narrative strands with the very finest game design to create a new kind of Doctor Who, which can be enjoyed by the whole family," said series head writer Steven Moffat. Piers Wagner, head of drama at BBC Wales and executive producer on Doctor Who stressed the extent of the tie-in, adding, "There aren't 13 episodes of Doctor Who this year, there are 17 - four of which are interactive."