Project Owl controversy: original developer denies link to alleged Atari Jaguar revival
A strange turn of events has left Atari Jaguar retro enthusiasts confused this week. Project Owl, a long-lost 3D adventure title first shown off in 2010, was announced to return, but the announcement has since been mired by a clear case of missing consent or connection to the original title.
On 19 February, the mind behind The Atari Owl project posted a statement on their blog, shutting down the notion that the recently announced revival had anything to do with their work. They stated:
“The recently posted video purporting to be of The Owl Project is not mine. There are many differences, both large and small, but it is not my code; it is just something made to look like it.”
He further explained that he had “never given any consent, nor will I give consent, to use any names, stories, characters, models, code, or any other intellectual property from The Owl Project to be used by anybody else. Indeed, nobody else has ever approached me to obtain my consent.”
Furthermore, Atari Owl stated that they had not abandoned the project, but had taken “several admittedly long breaks due to health concerns,” and that “only a small portion of the game and its capabilities had been demonstrated.”
Owl further noted that he had “separated” himself from the Atari Jaguar homebrew community “many years ago” and has “no plans to return or to answer any questions about the project.” He further stated, “I will continue at whatever pace I enjoy and announce things when or if I feel it is appropriate.”
The whole situation surfaced just a few days earlier, on 15 February, when an AtariAge forum user, LordKraken, announced that they had obtained a legal copy of the legendary Owl Project. In the post, they stated:
“I got my hands on the legendary Owl Project! After being shelved for fifteen years, the latest version of this long-lost game can finally be revealed.
Originally developed as an ambitious experimental title for the Atari Jaguar, it was never completed or released. I recently discovered the project on a Jaguar unit I acquired from a German collector and restored it. This video presents the first public look at this forgotten piece of Jaguar development history.”
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