Under a Killing Moon Rises Again
Q&A
Who am i?
My name is Yuval Dorfman, i am a 3d artist and developer for multiple disciplines such as Virtual productions for Tv, Architectural visualizations, VR Training Apps, Video games Etc.
I am also a gamer with a special place in my heart for Point and click games.​
How this remake started?
It began as a small passion project for me. I wanted to see if I could recreate Tex Murphy's office to the smallest detail with the latest 3D graphics.​​
Why Under a Killing Moon?
Ever since I was a kid, I loved this franchise and remember it as a breakthrough in computer graphics for its time.
However, when I wanted to replay the game after three decades, I found that the visuals and controls are not as I recalled; they are clearly dated, What was cutting-edge 30 years ago is outdated today, so I've decided to remake the game to bring it to todays cutting edge where it belongs.
My favorite Tex Murphy game is actually The Pandora Directive, but it is much bigger than Under a Killing Moon. I really like Under a Killing Moon as well, so I decided to do a remake that is more manageable for a team of one to develop in his spare time.
Is it a one-to-one recreation of the original?
It is as close to the original as I could possibly make it. I recreate every object to be as faithful to the original as possible, down to Tex's diploma hanging on his wall and the movie posters on the walls of the movie theater in Chandler Avenue. However, I do add details where there were none before.
For instance, Rook's pawn shop in the original is not a walkable level; in the remake, every single area is interactable and walkable. Rook's shop was just a setting for FMV videos, so there are directions in the pawn shop that are not visible in the FMV cutscenes. For areas like this (and there are many), I fill in the gaps with items and objects I feel are in line with the game and its settings.
I'm also adding mini-games for scenarios I always felt deserved them. For instance, there is a basketball hoop in Rook's back alley. Although there is a funny cutscene in the original, I've added a basketball mini-game for us to enjoy after the cutscene.​​​​
How am i going to tackle the FMVs in the game?
​That is a hard one; I am currently the process of figuring that out myself. There are three ways to approach it:
1. The optimal way is to get the original footage from the folks at Big Finish Games. If I can do that, I will use the footage of the actors on top of the new backgrounds to create new FMV videos.
If I am unable to get the original acting footage, or the footage is incomplete or damaged, that leaves me with two options:
2. Create 3D models of the characters and make the game fully 3D with animated characters and not FMV. This option would change the game's DNA completely, as FMV video was a huge part of the original series, but it would enhance the game's quality.
3. Cut the low-resolution characters out of their FMV videos from the original game and combine them with the new High Resolution environments to make new FMVs, albeit with lower-resolution characters, this is obviously not ideal but it has a certain charm and style to it.
What is the roadmap and timeline for this remake?
I started work on this remake in January 2024. As of February 2025, I'm almost done with the recreation all the 3d areas in Act 1 and about 75% of the game logic, UI menus, gameplay mechanics, etc.
I still have all the FMVs to remake. If all goes well, I'm aiming for a September/October release for the Act 1. After that, I will speak with Big Finish about starting a Kickstarter to create the entire game. If you want to stay up to date, please join the Facebook group where I post regular updates.
What Hardware do you need to run the remake?
The original game was cutting edge and required a strong PC to run. The remake is also cutting edge and requires a gaming PC to run.
I haven't pinned down the exact Hardware requirements as of yet but you will probably need a midrange RTX video card (Nvidia 20 series or newer) or better to run the game because it uses Hardware Ray tracing.
Minimum Hardware requirements: Desktop RTX 2070
Recommended Hardware requirements: Desktop RTX 3080
These requirements are subject to change and will be updated before the release.
Are Big Finish Games and the original Creators of Under a killing moon a part of this Remake?
Not at first and not directly , but as more Update videos came out Big Finish games started to take notice. I talked to people like Doug Vandegrift and Mat Van Rhoon (Both former Big Finish games and both worked on Tex murphy games) and they both like the progress, and Doug has agreed to try and help me track down the original Video footage.
I was told Tex murphy himself Chris Jones and the writer behind Tex Aaron Connors, saw the update videos and like how things are going.
​Once i finish ACT 1 i will contact Big Finish officially to get a Kickstarter going for the entire game, i will not do a Kickstarter without their blessing and hopefully collaboration.
Am i a solo developer on this project?
I am yes. But I've had some help from Piper Dawes who is a very talented Music producer , she made a couple of music tracks for the remake, and in the future I'm sure i will have more talented contributors to the project.
If and when the Kickstarter succeeds i will divert more of my time to this project and will probably hire more developers and talent to work on it.