Tex Murphy
Tex Murphy was the main character of five adventure games from Access Software and performed by Chris Jones. He was characterized as a down on his luck private investigator in a dystopian future San Francisco.
Games
- Mean Streets (1989)
- Martian Memorandum (1991)
- Under a Killing Moon (1994)
- The Pandora Directive (1996)
- Tex Murphy: Overseer (1998)
Radio Theater
To meet the fans demand for more Tex Murphy, Chris Jones and Aaron Conners released a 6 episode radio theater in 2001. The radio theater is starring sevral of the original characters and voices from the games, including Chris Jones as Tex Murphy. As of 2006 there are no plans to release any new episodes due to the costs. The previous episodes are currently available through The Unofficial Tex Murphy website.
Tex Murphy Universe
The games in the Tex Murphy series take place in a post-apocalyptic 21st century. All of the games take place mostly in a post-WWIII San Francisco. The skies glow red with radiation, and people who don't live in a better-sheltered city or lack genetic immunity to the radiation are disfigured and usually repulsive. Several San Francisco landmarks are present, such as the Golden Gate Bridge, Coit Tower, and Alcatraz, but most of them are completely abandoned; most damaged beyond repair from bombs in WWIII. The futuristic aspect borrows heavily from sci-fi books and films, most notably Blade Runner for its flying cars and impossibly dense tenements.
The Character
Tex Murphy is a hard boiled PI, living in old San Francisco in the mid-21st century. An uncommon genetic immunity to the effects of radiation prevent him from becoming disfigured like the rest of the people in the city. He is an avid fan of the classic film noir films of Humphrey Bogart. As such, he does his work in the style of archetypal film noir detectives such as Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. He has remarkable skills of observation; when examining objects or features, he hardly ever misses an important or unusual detail. However, he is also physically clumsy and occasionally gullible which get him into trouble from time to time.