Dragon's Lair looking for a dwelling on PSP

The new videogame iteration of Dragon’s Lair is making its way to the Nintendo DS, that much is certain. However, developer United Coders is currently hawking the PlayStation Portable version of its game for publishing on Sony’s sexy little handheld. Any takers? United Coders are looking for a PSP home for Dirk the Daring.

United Coders are looking for a PSP home for Dirk the Daring.More specifically, United Coders is offering the global publishing rights of its game on Sony’s platform in return for the funding of development and intellectual property costs related to the PSP version, which it expects to shift into production in February of this year. The studio currently has the PSP edition of Dragon’s Lair pencilled in for a prospective release around Christmas of 2008.Considered to be a classic of its time, Dragon’s Lair arrived in 1983 as the world’s very first fully-animated laser disc videogame. It featured the adventures of Dirk the Daring, a somewhat accident prone knight forging forward through a perilous castle to save the beautiful Princess Daphne from the clutches of an evil wizard. In terms of its impact on the industry, Dragon’s Lair’s innovation and invention prompted lines of enthusiasts queued across several city blocks when it was first released. Subsequently, Dragon’s Lair is one of only three videogames on permanent display in the Smithsonian Institution in Washington – along with Pac-Man and Pong.With regard to what players (and any interested publishers) can expect to receive from Dragon’s Lair, the game will offer up two distinct modes of play: a faithful semi-random Arcade Mode and a more structured Director’s Cut mode.The former presents the player with an "arcade accurate version" of the 1983 classic, while the latter includes "quite substantial" extra scenes never utilised in the North American original, while it also delivers a slightly more linear gameplay approach and equips players with 5 lives rather the standard 3 found in Arcade Mode, comments Hans Olsen, executive producer and lead programmer on Dragon’s Lair. "In addition to an extra scene, more video footage, more lives, and more logical scene sequencing, the Director’s Cut mode also features a unique scrolling castle showing new players how they are currently progressing throughout the adventure to save princess Daphne," enthuses Olson. "In Arcade mode you have the old-school audio effects, while in Director’s Cut mode we have added more "modern" audio effects to the game. Director’s Cut mode is also the only mode featuring the unique Sony PSP features."So, are there any publishers out there keen to bring ye olde Dirk back to the PlayStation Portable? United Coders are waiting for your approach.