Tom Stossno – The Adventures of Bryan Scott

I was excited when I first read about an upcoming point-and-click adventure inspired by Broken Sword, as Revolution’s classic has influenced plenty of us in our creative ventures and captivated many more. Its formula has been emulated more than a handful of times over the years, but since most have fallen well short, I tried to temper my enthusiasm about The Adventures of Bryan Scott. But when I heard that these developers were furiously attempting to copy the Broken Sword style right down to the music, plot development and the voice of George Stobbart himself, I was caught – hook, line and sinker.

Via Zoom, I recently had the privilege of spending many hours over the course of a week with Tom Stossno, owner of Radio Silence Studios and creator of the game. During that time I got an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the development process, learning all the ins and the outs of this incredible adventure game and witnessing first-hand the passion oozing from Tom and his team. The Adventures of Bryan Scott has shot to the top of my personal hype-o-meter.

I hope you enjoy the early video teaser below, but there’s plenty more where that came from. Over the course of the game’s production, we will be releasing more exclusive media treasures worthy of Bryan himself. But for now, let’s get to know Tom and his incredible adventure a little better.

 

Joshua: Please share a bit about yourself, your company and your inspiration for creating adventure games.

Tom: Hi, I’m Tom, 31 years old, married and founder of Radio Silence Studios in Germany.

When I first played Broken Sword: The Shadow of the Templars in 1996, I was just seven years old. My father had to work a lot at his job at that time and usually came home late at night, so I could often play adventure games on his computer after primary school and homework. (Assuming I kept my mother’s time limit. *laughs*)

I can still remember how obsessed I was with progressing in the game and exploring the story. At that time the Internet was still in its infancy, so you couldn’t just look for the solution if you got stuck in the game. It had to be a thick, printed solution book for 50 D-Marks. When I think back to the 90s, gaming has lost a lot of its special charm since then. And yet I believe that story-based computer games will never die out and will still be produced and developed in 20 years’ time.

As an adolescent, I discovered my love for composing music and also the urge to write stories. I think it was just a matter of time before I felt the desire to create my “own” adventure game.

Every day I see so many talented people who implement their creative ideas, be it in films, music, pictures or even computer games. That motivates me a lot and I firmly believe that The Adventures of Bryan Scott will be a great game.

I originally founded the company for my work as a music composer. In addition to developing my own game, I’ve been working with an indie developer from Berlin for quite some time now, composing the music for their new game. Naturally, the soundtrack of The Adventures of Bryan Scott will also come from my pen.

Joshua: What can you tell us about the protagonist?

Tom: The hero of our story is Bryan Scott, a laid-back, calm guy in his 30s. Since the death of his father, it has been difficult for him to face life with the usual joy. Everything seems boring, familiar and anything but exciting.

Until the day when Bryan unexpectedly receives a small package, which turns his entire life upside down.