Moonspinners

 A while ago a friend and I read an awesome mystery novel entitled "The Moonspinners" and we instantly realized what an awesome adventure/mystery computer game it would make.  So we sent a proposal to our favorite gaming company, Her Interactive (the creators of the Nancy Drew series of computer games).  In response to our unbelievably awesome, purple-inked letter, we got a form letter saying that they don't accept unsolicited game submissions.  Psh.  Whatever.
Our submission still makes me smile when I read it.  We thought we were so hilariously clever when we wrote it.  We were totally right.  Here it is, along with the summary of the book we made for them. 

Dear Her Interactive,

We the population of your 19 year old fanbase have a “rockin’ cool idea” for you! Do you want fame, glory and eternal salvation? You probably answered yes. We hope you have, in any case. And no, we’re not selling Bibles. We’re selling inspiration! And it’s FREE (we are very bad business people, a skill not gained from playing your games). Anyway, the point is that we have the next biggest gaming idea for you! Are you ready? Good.

MOONSPINNERS.

A weird looking collection of letters, n’est-ce pas? Well, it is. But those few letters spell a little something more than just “moonspinners.” They spell GENIUS. With a capital G that rhymes with C that stands for cool! Sorry, please don’t stop reading. We do have a legitimate point, we swear. And we are going to other companies about this, by the way, but we like you best so you get to be first (honestly, we don’t say that to everybody).

Right, yes, the point. We believe that there is enough merit to the book The Moonspinners, by Mary Stewart, to make a smashing computer game based on it. First, the basics:

The Moonspinners was written in 1962, by Mary Stewart. It’s a rip-roaring read, containing among other things, a high speed boat chase, a murder-mystery, a lot of plant life, a very independent heroine, the exotic locale of Crete, a charmingly English romantic interest, and plenty of comic relief (sheep). We categorize the sheep as comedy because they fit into no other category and they are definitely worthy of mention.

We suspect that it might be in your interest to branch out from the Nancy Drew games (which we love) and are happy to provide you with the most tricked out vehicle. The vehicle being The Moonspinners; sorry if we confused you, there. The book contains puh-lenty of material to base a game on. Even plenty of minigames (which we know you LOOOVE). We’ll throw in a plot summary! We have enclosed it in this envelope, with the idea proposal (this; sorry, once again, if we confused you. Please bear with us).

We should mention, by the way, that we want nothing out of this. We just really want to play it. And we’ll totally buy it at full price. Because it would be so seriously awesome. And we just love you that much.

As completely weird and insane as we might sound, we are serious as stone about this idea. I mean, think about what your fanbase loves. An intrepid heroine? Check. High adventure? Check. Fascinating foreign lands? Chu-yeck! Good old-fashioned sleuthing? Check! Suspense? Check. Colorful characters? Several times a check! A love interest that’ll set your fanbase a-swooning? You bet your bottom dollar! It’s perfect! It’s brilliant! It’s you!

It’s The Moonspinners: Coming 2010 by Her Interactive!

You’re welcome

Summary

So there’s this girl. She’s like 21 years old and works in Athens. She’s English (and proud of it (but not obnoxiously overly proud)). Anyway. So, she goes to the town Agios Georgios in Crete for a vacation, intending to meet up with her 40 year-old, chain-smoking, botanist cousin named Frances (who is a girl, by the by). So, Nicola (the main character, sorry) is traipsing about in the hills, heading to Agios Georgios, when she is accosted by a swarthy man. His name is Lambis. We grew to love him. A frenzied Lambis assaults our perky heroine, but thankfully (for the future of the book) she is saved by a disembodied voice. This disembodied voice belongs to one feeble 23 year-old Englishman named MARK LANGLEY. Memorize this name, you will come to cherish it as we do.

So, let’s give you the lowdown on this Mark guy. Mark and his 15 year old brother, Colin, were having fun in the sun in Agios Georgios, when they happened upon a dastardly murder! Since Colin and Mark were witnesses, the perpetrators kidnapped Colin and tried to kill Mark, but Mark made good his escape. Mostly – he did get shot. At which point he collapsed, it started raining, and he contracted a fever. When it rains, it pours, and Mark gets sick (tagline? I think so!).

This is the point where the main character comes in. Lambis, a friend of Mark (who found him passed out on the hillside) thought that little old Nicola was one of the heinous brigands after Mark’s life. Don’t worry! Lambis, Mark and Nicola all soon end this Three’s Company-esque misunderstanding and become best of buddies. So, anyway, for the remainder of the novel, Nicola takes the investigation into her own hands, tracking down Colin, discovering the malicious plot which resulted in the original murder, meddling in everybody’s lives and generally saving the day by a piece of well-timed culprit-trippage. So, that’s basically the plot. We highly recommend you read the book.