THIMBLEWEED PARK - June 12, 1987 - With crowdfunding efforts drawing to a close this coming Thursday, Police Chief Whitmire called a press conference to update reporters and the public on the ongoing investigation into the dead body found in the Thimbleweed Park river last month. Famed game developers Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick, who have committed to making a point & click adventure game about the case, were in attendance. Coffee and doughnuts were served.

"The response to our appeal for help has been incredible," Chief Whitmire opened. "We've raised more than $525,000 in just over three weeks, and with the assistance of federal agents and tips from the public, we're well on our way to identifying the culprit." He directed interested parties with access to a high-speed modem (2400 baud or faster) to visit http://www.thimbleweedpark.com/kickstarter for more details.

The Thimbleweed Park crowdfunding drive, helmed by Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick of Maniac Mansion fame, achieved its $375k goal after only six days on Kickstarter. Funds will go toward development of a classic point & click adventure game for PC, Mac, and Linux that chronicles the ongoing murder investigation. Additional donations have secured full English voice acting, as well as text translations in German, French, Spanish, and Italian. If the total hits $625k before the campaign ends on Thursday, Thimbleweed Park will be ported to iOS and Android as well.

These revelations were met with several "ooh's" and "ahhh's" from the press pool. "Androids, here in Thimbleweed Park? Do they have something to do with the murder?!" shouted one reporter. Then a reporter from the Thimbleweed Nickel stepped up to ask, "Do you have any suspects?"

Chief Whitmire explained that in light of last year's hamster-microwaving incident, a game developer known as David Fox was briefly a person of interest, but he was quickly ruled out and instead has been brought on to help with the investigation. Fox, one of the founding members of Lucasfilm Games, collaborated with Gilbert and Winnick on Maniac Mansion. Ken Macklin, the artist responsible for Maniac Mansion's retail box art, has also been ruled out as a suspect and has agreed to create box and poster artwork for Thimbleweed Park.

As Gilbert and Winnick took the stage to enumerate the perks of contributing to the crowdfunding campaign -- including signed, limited edition game boxes and the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to be listed in the Thimbleweed Park phone book -- the persistent reporter from the Thimbleweed Nickel interrupted, "Do the recent power outages have anything to do with the murder?"

Police Chief Whitmire, clearly flustered by the hard-hitting inquiries, grabbed the microphone and fired back, "No more questions! We just wanted to thank the public for all their help -- this is going to be the best [blip] murder investigation Thimbleweed Park has ever had, and 1987 will be a year remembered for generations." He then hastily called the press conference to a close, cutting the mic before Gilbert and Winnick had a chance to respond.

About Thimbleweed Park
Currently seeking funding on Kickstarter, Thimbleweed Park is a brand new, old-school adventure game by Maniac Mansion creators Ron Gilbert and Gary Winnick. Lost along a dusty stretch of highway, the town of Thimbleweed Park once boasted an opulent hotel, a vibrant business district, and the state's largest pillow factory, but now teeters on the edge of oblivion and continues to exist for no real reason. When two washed up detectives are called in to investigate a dead body found floating in the river just outside of town... well, that's when things get interesting.

With five playable characters, multiple endings, deliciously retro 2D graphics, classic verb-based point & click gameplay, inventory items, and a bizarre comedy storyline swaddled around a grisly murder, Thimbleweed Park is the game that might have immediately followed Maniac Mansion if only Ron hadn't gone off on a pirate kick.