Hope remained, however, but it wasn't long before it looked like Tex would never return in the format we know and love. It was the announcement that in place of a full-fledged game, the new Tex would be released in a series of online Flash games or "webisodes", when almost all hoped drained away. You can see my original reaction and follow up here and here.
Once I was reassured that the webisodes weren't Access giving up, I felt better, but the future for Tex still seemed bleak.
The webisodes idea was soon replaced with a series of radio theatre episodes. While enjoyable, they were not quite the same. They did inspire several in the Tex community, including myself, to help keep Tex alive through the fan-produced Lombard St radio theatre (I recorded several episodes as the narrator. You can find a link to them in Downloads).
In the desire to keep Tex alive I wrote and was involved in several fan fictions, several of which I never completed, including one that told the story of World War III and how it tied in with the events of The Pandora Directive. I, along with a fellow community member, attempted to make our own Tex game entitled The Nano War... I honestly don't remember how far we got, suffice it to say, we never finished it. I also created Who Wants to be a Tex Expert, available in the Downloads section on this site, or included free with your purchase of any Tex game on GOG.
It was around 2002-2003 when I completed high school and went off to university that I had mostly given up hope. I drifted away from the community and towards the Star Trek community. I continued to be a lurker and hoped that maybe I was wrong, but the more time that passed the more I was convinced Tex was done.
In 2008 my hope returned with the launch of Big Finish Games and the tease of Project Fedora. But despite everything, there never seemed to be any developments and by 2010 I was again convinced it was all over. BFG was a valiant effort, but didn't seem to be enough.
When Tim Schaffer found amazing success on Kickstarter, I knew that many in the Tex community would insist the idea was the way to bring back Tex. I wasn't convinced. I knew that the community itself would be enthusiastic, I just didn't think it would be possible to get the money needed to produce a game at the level of Tex Murphy. When the Kickstarter was announced, I was 100% on board even if I wasn't sure it would work.
It wasn't until the Kickstarter launched that I thought this might actually be just what the entire community had been looking for for 14 years. The sum asked for was modest and the day one haul was huge. I was finally excited at the prospect that Tex could actually be returning. For a short time in the middle of the campaign, it was a bit slow and I started to worry, but all that ended quickly. And I think we know how things have gone since then.
So, were you always convinced Tex would return one day, or do you have a similar story to my own? Please discuss in the comments!