*IDEA!*

[DancingMagicDance]

Hello

I have what I think is a great idea and a stroke of inspiration. You guys (the KQ9 Team) are, besides being a team, are a company, right? And the AGDs are basically a company. Then there's a score of independants making their own adventure games on their own. Then there's the recently fired Sierra employees and the old Sierra people like Roberta and Al Lowe really arent busy these days, and perhaps have great amounts of vision left. Why don't all of you- With your great joint interest in making and enjoying adventure games- join forces to make a company. Perhaps still be freeware, but after a while go commercial. All together, these people could be a great force, and with faith, commitment and a bit of money, it could be a great thing. With all their talents they (all of you) could be a great team. I know people will say, that all those people with all different visions could be a disastorous thing. Not true really. The Sierra Team making say King's Quest VI all had different visions and ideas. Jane Jensen and Roberta had their own ideas. But they were able to work it out and they made a great game. Also there's the issue of committment, how could so many people have enough want to do it especially if they won't be making money to start with. Well, look at the AGDs, look at yourselves. Also with a strong CEO, or Board of Directors, it would be firm. I think a way to find a good Board would be to have the Project Leader here, and the AGDs join up to form an executive committee, and perhaps your hope, your money, your committment, will be enough to be successful. Will be enough to perhaps (if you have the success and money) to have Vivendi sell you the rights (very little possibility yes, but it could happen), perhaps show Roberta and Ken and others that they're still wanted and needed in the gaming world, perhaps show Sierra/Vivendi that people want adventure and might push them back to reinvigorate KQ, SQ, LSL, in the way they're supposed to be. It might be impossible, but it cannot kill you (Unless you kill eachother or yourselves ). If some of you still doubt the effectiveness of working together, look at the International Space Station. An idea brought together millions of people, with millions of different ideas, came together to make a great thing. If they can do it, so can you. Of course this would have to wait until you're all finished with your projects. But once that is over you, all of you, AGDI, Independants, former Sierra people, and others with talent, could have something major.

[Yonkey]

Hehe, I think everyone's fantasized about this idea, or at least some form of it.  And I don't want to rain on anyone's parade so I'll try not to be too harsh.  

Ken & Roberta Williams are retired right now and don't want to get back into the game-making industry for a while.  If they do decide to come back in, it would have to be really worth it.

Also, they'd probably want as much creative control as our staff and AGDI's.  And you're right, differing visions can create really good games.  But at the same time, it also created Mask of Eternity.  I'm sure Roberta had no intent of the game turning into that, but after all was said and done, others' voices took control over hers.  

Then, of course, the whole trademarks and rights to the games still remain with Vivendi.  So Ken and Roberta usually keep far away from fan projects, because if they joined, they would become just as liable as us.

The idea is really nice, but in reality the possibility of it happening is very small.

[DancingMagicDance]

Ok, then

How the equation say subtracting Ken and Roberta and others then. So that still leaves you, AGDs, the independants and people who would join and stuff. Now, say also with the legal issue of Vivendi owning Sierra games. Say we strike that out as well. So, basically it'd be the people, forming a company, wanting to create adventure games. I don't see the harm in that, after all legends and companies have to be born somewhere. It could be on a kitchen table, it could be over the internet. It's not like say Sierra was always there. Ken and Roberta had to have started somewhere, with 1 person, than another, all the way into the hundreds of employees.And they only had eachother, just two people, their ambition, their vision and their commitment. We have perhaps hundreds of people out there, who have ambition, who have vision, who have ideas, who have commitment, and a love of doing what they do.  Just their love of doing games, especially adventure games, could bring you together. And you wouldn't have to limit yourselves as a company to just adventure games no.And you wouldn't even have to do a real like company with a building. you could start like you are now, over the net, and see where that takes you. And if it doesn't work out, you could always quit, people who have too different ideas could quit, if it doesn't work out, you could always just stop, it wouldn't be the be all, end all of your game making. Being that your game (KQ9) was made by the fans in this company, and it looks I'm being honest to be very promising, it looks to be a great, great game and I can't wait to play it. Now that's only a small amount of people, who came together with different ideas, so imagine what a hundred people, two hundred, with talents and such could bring to the table.

[DancingMagicDance]

And also if having say 200 people in the company would be too much to manage for the board of directors, they could create divisions, like say the Blue Division, the Red Division and install a board of directors there who would answer director to the Board of Directors in Chief. And if you had to break it down even further, it could be the 1 and 2 Art Design Division, the 1 and 2 Graphics division within the Red and Blue Divisions. And the Art and Graphic divisions wouldn't have a Board of Directors, it would be a certain number of the artists and stuff answering to the Red Division Chief or the Blue Division chief.

[Yonkey]

That's what has already happened.  We started by one person with an idea, who found someone else, who found someone else, etc.  The founder had just an ambition, a vision and commitment.  Unfortunately, his commitment ran out and he eventually left the team, but he passed the torch onto Cesar, who is and has been KQIX's Project Director since 2001.

Also, both us and AGDI are planning on making original games after KQ9 and QfG.  Once we start to make our own original games, the whole Sierra copyright/trademark/legal issues will really vanish, and they sky will be the limit.

[DancingMagicDance]

That's what I'm saying
After KQ9 is finished and released, and after AGD finish up their last remake projects, perhaps then you could join up, with the independants, and make a commercial project?

[DancingMagicDance]

BTW, Cesar is the master of suffer sign. And suffer we shall.

[Yonkey]

Ahh!  

Yeah, in that case I wouldn't see a problem with both groups joining at that time.  If AGDI is interested, that is.

[DancingMagicDance]

Yeah because it'd be illogical and stupid to join now when you're both in the midst of your own separate projects. But I was wondering if you could seriously consider talking to Cesar about this, and maybe you could take from the stuff I said organization and structure wise, if you did tell him. If you did that'd be really cool. Now, would it be okay if I told the AGDs basically what I told you? And especially if Cesar thinks about it and considers it a good idea?

[Yonkey]

Actually, I'd rather you didn't tell AGDI anything yet.  Firstly, because that point in time is still pretty far away.  Secondly, because I'm not speaking officially on behalf of the team.  Only Cesar can do that, and with a decision such as merging with another group, it wouldn't only be his decision but most likely a collaborate one with the whole KQ9 Team.    Anyway, I'll show Cesar this thread the next time I see him.  He'll give you his views on the topic.  

In general, I'd love to have any creative, motivated, talented and dedicated person join us, no matter who they are or where they're from.  

[Say]

Quite a wishful thinking to be honest, since apparently I am one of the few from this team that has a business degree I can tell you I do know for a fact, working on this, this is at some lenght very complex if it's obviously not a common goal, and having so many efforts put in together without coordination is going to be not something actually good but extreme unrealistic in the end, I'm sorry I'm going to see myself in the need to lock this thread and DMD if you care to continue to discuss these matters do it by email, by no means I don't want more rumors, speculations and also dreamful ideas around here and not from that matter hence nothing has been discussed or thought or actually wanted from either of both sides.