Gathering of Developers to Publish The Blair Witch Project Games Multiple Games Based on Blockbuster Horror Movie to Use Terminal Reality's Nocturneä Engine Dallas, TX, October 29, 1999 - Developer driven computer and video game publisher Gathering of Developers announced that the company has secured the exclusive, worldwide computer and video game rights to The Blair Witch Project license from Artisan Entertainment and Haxan Films. The Gathering will publish multiple games for the PC and at least one console system based on the immensely popular Blair Witch property. Created by Haxan Films and released by Artisan Entertainment in July 1999, the film became a pop culture phenomenon and the most successful and profitable independent film in history, grossing over 0 million in ticket sales. Several development teams affiliated with The Gathering will create the PC games using Terminal Reality's Nocturneä game engine. Placing gamers in a world of dark, brooding shadows, suspense and terror, Nocturne, a 3D-action horror PC game, offers a full-fledged cinematic experience. The Blair Witch Project Games will be released starting in summer 2000. Details regarding the teams and various projects will be disclosed in early 2000. "The Gathering is committed to keeping artistic control in the hands of the developer and publishing only quality work. Haxan and Artisan understand this commitment to both the developer and the product and know that we will deliver superb games based on this amazing license," said Mike Wilson, CEO of The Gathering. "Over the past two years, The Gathering has been entrusted with some of the strongest licenses from the entertainment industry - the KISS Psycho Circus license, the Heavy Metal license and now the Blair Witch license - because we stand by our philosophies and quality standards." "Haxan Films is thrilled to be working with Gathering of Developers to create the next level of The Blair Witch world. We were looking for a creative partner who could not only make incredible games but take the story beyond a linear environment and further the quest for "real" horror," said Rob Cowie, producer of The Blair Witch Project. "The Gathering not only has the best developers, as shown by today's release of Terminal Reality's amazing Nocturne, but creatively, they get it. Prepare for an amazing combination of spectacular gaming and original story telling." Nocturne’s gameplay takes the player through cinematic landscapes ranging from a small western town to the deepest bowels of hell. Assuming the role of The Stranger, an agent from the global special investigation bureau The Spookhouse, the player hunts monsters, uncovers precious relics, rescues innocents, prevents supernaturally-triggered catastrophes and foils the misbegotten plans of diabolical geniuses all over the world. Similar to The Blair Witch Project's world of darkness and suspense, Nocturne gamers are thrown into a world of utmost realism where they find themselves surrounded by dense moving fog and the gleaming red eyes of the darkest monsters of myth and legend. The Gathering's Blair Witch Project Games will combine the film's mythologies in various time periods with Nocturne characters. These games will center on a common theme and feature similar characters. Nocturne has been touted for its cutting-edge technology and gameplay. Entertainment site Checkout.com noted that " Nocturne's genius resides in the use of shadows and darkness," and "it's sick and twisted fun." CNN.com accurately describes Nocturne as "the Blair Witch Project of computer games." "These independent projects intertwine perfectly as they both provoke horror and suspense," said Mark Randel, president of Terminal Reality and lead programmer on Nocturne. "Both the game and the movie take advantage of environmental effects, eerie cinematography and tap into human emotion so effectively that they evoke a realistically disturbing experience."