Charles Cecil details work on Christmas Carol game

Revolution Software’s Charles Cecil has detailed his role on the forthcoming video game adaptation of Robert Zemeckis’ performance-capture movie A Christmas Carol.

The famed game designer revealed his role as designer and, surprisingly, voice talent, speaking to Develop before taking to the stage for a panel at the ‘Re-inventing a gaming classic: Beneath a Steel Sky iPhone’ seminar – part of BAFTA’s Access All Areas initiative.

"It was a really nice little project," explained Cecil. "I was approached by Disney to design a game based on a Christmas Carol and it turned out to be really fun. I believe it’s very important for games to be able to broaden their horizons. If we, the idustry, can start embracing classic works of literature like Dickens, then that’s really breaking down a barrier there.

"The approach I took was to place the player as the hand of fate, guiding a very willful protagonist down the road to redemption, and he doesn’t want to down that road at all. Players have to interact with people and the environment to make that happen, and it tells the story in really different way. I’m very happy with it," he added.

Cecil, who was set to speak in preparation for the Friday release of Revolution’s Beneath a Steel Sky iPhone remake, also revealed: "I designed the high level and some of the low level, and then Sumo Digital designed the rest. But also, I did some place holder for the narration, and despite my protests, the Americans insisted that my voice be used for the final game. They simply said I had to."