Round-Up: Yamaoka Play!s, Trek Maelstrom, Uru Returns

Author: by Nich Maragos, Frank Cifaldi

Today's Friday wrap-up includes news on Akira Yamaoka appearing at the Play! Video Game Symphony, Codemasters teaming up with screenwriter James Swallow, and the limited revival of Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, as the latest GameSetWatch weblog posts and Gamasutra job postings. - Silent Hill composer and producer Akira Yamaoka will appear at the Chicago premiere of the Play! Video Game Symphony, a touring concert featuring video game themes performed by a full orchestra and choir. Yamaoka will join regular attendees Jeremy Soule, Yuzo Koshiro, Jason Hayes, and Marty O'Donnell, and see his "Theme of Laura" from Silent Hill 2 arranged for a full orchestra. "With the addition of Yamaoka san in Chicago I truly think we have created a spectacular one of a kind program," said organizer Jason Michael Paul. "This is just another treat to those who have bought tickets. We have more surprises up our sleeves in the near future." The Chicago event is scheduled for May 27, 2006, at the Rosemont Theatre. - Codemasters has announced that James Swallow, a screenwriter for science fiction properties including Star Trek and Doctor Who, will create the backstory for its sci-fi PC game Maelstrom, to be released in the third quarter. "I’m excited to be a part of the Maelstrom project," said Swallow. "We have a dynamic and compelling plotline, epic scope and strong characters. As the game unfolds, the conflicts between the factions and the characters within them become the flashpoints for player missions." In addition to the in-game story, Swallow will provide in-character accounts from major characters in the game through an email newsletter for players. - Adventure game enthusiast site Adventure Gamer reports that Uru: Ages Beyond Myst, the multiplayer online adventure game that takes place in the Myst Universe - has been revived, and is once again playable online. The game was something of a flop for developer Cyan Worlds, premiering in Fall of 2003 and subsequently going offline in early 2004. However, thanks to "limited funding from a third party," as Cyan Worlds co-founder Rand Miller stated, new life has been breathed into this game; albeit with no new content, and an invitation-only system for getting into the new server. - The latest posts on Gamasutra sister weblog GameSetWatch include a frightening new utensil in Japan, an interview with Super Fighter Team's Brandon Cobb, the latest adventures of Shenmue creator Yu Suzuki, and what really happened at today's Capcom conference in Las Vegas. - Also updated today: the latest Gamasutra job postings, including openings from Retro Studios, Vivendi Universal Games, High Moon Studios, LucasArts, and The Art Institute of California, Orange County, as well as recent projects from Number None, Stock's Eye and Mobile Crossing.