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''Crimson Skies'' is a computer Game media franchise and fictional universe created by Jordan Weisman and Dave McCoy. The series' intellectual property is currently owned by Microsoft Game Studios (MGS), although Weisman's new company, Smith & Tinker Inc., has announced that it has licensed the electronic entertainment rights to the franchise. The series is set within an alternate history of the 1930s invented by Weisman and McCoy. Within this divergent timeline, the United States has collapsed, and air travel has become the most popular mode of transportation in North America; as a result, air pirates thrive in the world of ''Crimson Skies''. In describing the concept of ''Crimson Skies'', Jordan Weisman stated he wanted to "take the idea of 16th century Caribbean piracy and translate into a 1930s American setting." ''Crimson Skies'' was first conceived as a PC game known as ''"Corsairs!"'', but was released first as a board game from FASA. The franchise has since expanded to include a collectible miniatures game from Wizkids, as well as a series of books. The series also includes two arcade flight-based video games published by Microsoft Game Studios – ''Crimson Skies'' for the PC and ''Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge'' for the Xbox, both of which have been well received by critics. ''Crimson Skies'' is an example of the Dieselpunk genre,〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Diesel Punk - Television Tropes & Idioms )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= 4.2 Dieselpunk and the Gaming Industry )〕〔(【引用サイトリンク】title= Jordan Weisman hopes to resurrect Crimson Skies )〕 though it predated the genre name. ==Development history== According to series creator Jordan Weisman, the original idea for ''Crimson Skies'' came after he had completed research on the early years of aviation; the era and historical characters inspired him to create a game about the period. For their game, Weisman and Dave McCoy settled on a post WWI European setting revolving around the "knights of the air." However, a game with a similar idea came out then; Weisman and McCoy subsequently moved the setting to the U.S. and changed the concept to placing air pirates in a modern setting. From there, they crafted an alternate history to simulate the conditions that gave rise to piracy in the Caribbean in a 1930s setting. Weisman later said about the development of the universe: Whenever I create different universes—''MechWarrior'', ''Shadowrun'', ''Crimson Skies''—to me, it's all about looking at 'What are the fantasies that excited us when we were 5?' And if we can find a new and more sophisticated way to tap into that fantasy () ''Crimson Skies'' is just combining two classic male fantasies: You get to be a pirate; you get to be a pilot. Work on ''Crimson Skies'' began under the name ''"Corsairs!"''. Development started for Virtual World Entertainment, and was later moved to a PC game when Virtual World merged with FASA Corporation. Although the ''Corsairs!'' project was shelved, Weisman and a group of FASA employees worked outside of business hours to create the ''Crimson Skies'' board game. According to Weisman, "The board game was borne purely out of the fact that I needed to get this universe out of our heads and into the world, and it was the best venue to do so quickly."〔 Developer John Howard has stated that the board game was built to "showcase the Crimson Skies property, with an eye towards expanding on it in other ways."〔(【引用サイトリンク】 url=http://www.microsoft.com/games/crimsonskies/johnhoward.aspx )〕 When FASA Interactive became a part of Microsoft, Weisman and his team were able to start a new game, and work on the PC version of ''Crimson Skies'' began; the game was developed by Zipper Interactive. The game utilizes arcade flight mechanics; focusing on action, as opposed to a realistic portrayal of the physics of flight.〔 The game's relaxed physics as well as its focus on barnstorming led GameSpot to comment, "''Crimson Skies'' is very much based on a 'movie reality' where if it's fun and looks good, it works." The Xbox game ''Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge'' was later developed as a first party title for Microsoft Game Studios by FASA Studio. Like the previous game, arcade flight elements were incorporated in order to focus gameplay on action instead of flight mechanics. Early in the game's production, developers decided upon a "playable movie" concept, but found that gameplay would be restricted by this approach. Consequently, the game's release date was pushed back by approximately one year to allow the development team time to retool the game. The results of this extra development period include more open-ended gameplay features and Xbox Live support. After development concluded on ''High Road to Revenge'', the developers moved to work on another ''Crimson Skies'' title for Microsoft; development, however, was cancelled shortly into the project.〔 When FASA Studio was later shut down, Microsoft retained the video game rights to ''Crimson Skies'', although it had no immediate plans for the IP. Weisman's latest company, Smith & Tinker, later "licensed from Microsoft the electronic entertainment rights" to ''Crimson Skies''. Although the company has made no formal announcement as to its plans with the franchise,〔 Weisman has assured fans that there will be a new entry in the series.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Crimson Skies」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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