Under a Killing Moon Rises Again
about project lead.
Yuval Dorfman is a 3D artist and developer for multiple disciplines such as virtual productions for TV, architectural visualizations, VR training Apps, video games etc.
He is also a gamer with a special place in his heart for point-and-click and FMV games.
q&a
How did this remake start?
It began as a small passion project for me in 2024. 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 recall. What was cutting-edge 30 years ago is outdated today, so I've decided to remake the game to bring it up to today's cutting edge where it belongs.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.
Is it a one-to-one recreation of the original?
It is as close to the original as I could possibly make it. I am recreating 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 also 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 such as these (and there are many), I fill in the gaps with items and objects I feel are in line with the lore.
I'm also adding mini-games for scenarios I always felt deserved them, like a basketball minigame in Rook's back alley.
How are you going to tackle the FMV in the game?
The very talented Mat Van Rhoon is remastering all the FMV by combining backgrounds I provide from the remake with digitized copies of the original VHS tapes of the actors. The digitized copies are at 480i resolution which is vastly superior to what was implemented in the 1994 original but still very low resolution, I implement an upscaling technique to bring these tapes to HD resolution then Mat works editing magic.
What is the roadmap and timeline for this remake?
I started work on this remake in January 2024. As of December 2025 Act 1 of the remake is playable!
Mat is hard at work remaking all the FMV. If all goes well, I'm aiming for a May 2026 Kickstarter campaign launch where backers will get the first act right away and then the full game in about 1-2 years.
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 at least a mid-range gaming PC to run.
I haven't pinned down the exact hardware requirements as of yet but you will need a midrange RTX video card (Nvidia 20 series or newer) to run the game because it uses hardware Ray Tracing.
Minimum Hardware requirements: Desktop RTX 2060
Recommended Hardware: Desktop RTX 3070
These requirements are subject to change and will be updated before release.
Are Big Finish Games and the original creators of Under a Killing Moon a part of this remake?
Yes they are. Doug Vandegrift is making the 3D models of the game characters and Mat Van Rhoon is remaking all the FMV sequences. Both Doug and Mat are former or current Big Finish Games employees and both worked on Tex Murphy games.
Tex Murphy himself, Chris Jones, and the writer behind Tex, Aaron Connors are supporting the project.
Are you a solo developer on this project?
At first I was but not anymore!
Piper Dawes is doing a remaster of the music.
Mat Van Rhoon is remastering all the FMV sequences.
Doug Vandegrift is making the 3D models for the game characters.
I am doing all the rest.
The Tex Murphy Discord community is helping out with translation to multiple languages.
When the Kickstarter succeeds I will divert more of my time to this project and will likely hire more developers and talent to work on it.