The Silver Lining - Cease and Desist

[RollingStone]

A lot of people here have been suggesting an Activision boycott, and some have announced their own personal boycotts. (I am too, but I rarely buy anything from them anyway.) Those of you running the forum seem to be skeptical about them because you know how obsessed people are with Activision's bestsellers. You are probably right that not many people are going to be persuaded to give THEM up (although it never hurts to try) but Activision owns more than 200 games. And since the company also owns so many smaller game companies, most of the people who buy them probably aren't even aware that Activision owns the games. I can post a list of them here if no one minds the length.

I'm also wondering if you think that a boycott would be inconsistent with the fact that Activision owns what is left of King's Quest, as well as the idea emphasized in the template letter that Activision could make money as a result of revived interest in the games. I don't think it would be counterproductive as long as we emphasized the point that although we are boycotting them as long as the C&D is in effect, we will happily buy from them if it is lifted. For example, I added the following paragraph to my letter:

"I would also like to inform you that as long as the Cease and Desist order is in effect, I will not be buying anything from Activision, and I am advising others not to do so either. However, if the ban is lifted, I will be glad to buy and recommend your products, especially all things King's Quest-related."

So far, we've been relying on persuasion, but I'm afraid it may take more than that to melt the heart of a giant corporation that only cares about money.

[Erpy]

So, the question remains...if TSL were to be reworked, which could easily add 2 years or so onto the development cycle, would it still be free?

[oberonqa]

A lot of people here have been suggesting an Activision boycott, and some have announced their own personal boycotts. (I am too, but I rarely buy anything from them anyway.) Those of you running the forum seem to be skeptical about them because you know how obsessed people are with Activision's bestsellers. You are probably right that not many people are going to be persuaded to give THEM up (although it never hurts to try) but Activision owns more than 200 games. And since the company also owns so many smaller game companies, most of the people who buy them probably aren't even aware that Activision owns the games. I can post a list of them here if no one minds the length.

I'm also wondering if you think that a boycott would be inconsistent with the fact that Activision owns what is left of King's Quest, as well as the idea emphasized in the template letter that Activision could make money as a result of revived interest in the games. I don't think it would be counterproductive as long as we emphasized the point that although we are boycotting them as long as the C&D is in effect, we will happily buy from them if it is lifted. For example, I added the following paragraph to my letter:

"I would also like to inform you that as long as the Cease and Desist order is in effect, I will not be buying anything from Activision, and I am advising others not to do so either. However, if the ban is lifted, I will be glad to buy and recommend your products, especially all things King's Quest-related."

So far, we've been relying on persuasion, but I'm afraid it may take more than that to melt the heart of a giant corporation that only cares about money.

I'm not keen on a boycott because a boycott hurts a lot more people than just Activision.  If you boycott Activision, that results in lost revenue for any store (be it online or brick-and-morter) that happens to carry an Activision product.  

I will not support or endorse any action that could potentially create collateral damage like that.  Brick and morter stores are having enough trouble thanks to the economy without us adding fuel to the fire.

[Oldbushie]

Yeah, and boycotts are more likely to hurt the code monkeys at Activision instead of the higher ups at Activision. The most we can do is just keep spreading the word and contacting Activision.

[Yonkey]

There are a few more interviews in the pipeline, but since the boycott question hasn't come up yet (and most likely won't), I'll answer it here:

Like oberonqa said, a boycott actually ends up hurting more people than Activision itself.  It hurts the retailer/distributer stocking the game, the developer not employed by Activision relying on royalties, the sales of a completely unrelated product who were unfortunate to release during all this, etc.  It's unfair and possibly even illegal for us to advocate something like that.  I also don't even know how much of a financial impact it would have from our fans that don't generally buy their products anyway.

If people still choose to boycott Activision products as individuals, that's entirely their right and their decision.  However, there are certainly more effective ways of making a point than resorting to that.

[Austin]

I'm reposting this as the rest of the forums were taken down due to the unfortunate situation with TSL.

As you all may or may not know, I have done most of the of the music for TSL and have spent years to make the music sound incredible and memorable while fitting in with the spirit of the game. While working on this game I also spent time doing a side project which was to release my own album without a game attached to it.

It's a personal album called Evening Light and it's full of heart and soul with Piano, Guitar, Drums, Bass, and some pad/landscape type sounds to capture what one might experience when looking at a memorizing sunset.

You can hear the album on CDBABY here: www.cdbaby.com/cd/austinhaynes or on iTunes by searching my name Austin Haynes.

Many have enjoyed the album very much so I hope that you will too.

Best Regards,

Austin Haynes
TSL Main Composer

[Oldbushie]

Thanks Austin, I've always loved your music.

[liggy002]

That's a fair point with the boycott and I agree with you now that I think about it.  That being said, it should also be illegal and is highly unfair what Activision has done to the team- making you waste 8 years of your precious time.  Anyway you slice it, a massive boycott would hurt the higher ups as well but there are several problems with that as has been stated.  I really hope that the petition has the proper effect.  If the petition or every other valid method didn't work, not much could be done except the right thing- I won't speak of it but its that tempting action that may or may not be in your minds.  

(Posted on: March 15, 2010, 03:31:18 PM)

Also, this whole situation doesn't really make a lot of sense to me.  Why not just sell you the license to the game?  Many people would pay for this game (maybe even more than its worth).  Seriously, Activision only stands to profit if they do so.  Why just kill the game with cease and desist when there is money to be made?  It's only logical- Activision gets what they want and we get what we want.  Make them an offer they can't refuse that doesn't involve any silenced pistols.  Get some one really rich who will pay a larger than average then sum those greedy gremlins won't refuse.    Hellllooooo- Mc Fly!

[atec123]

Austin -- I am not a mod but you should repost that in off topic.

And another reminder, check the website, I just updated it earlier today.

[Austin]

Yes, you are right. The last time I checked, there wasn't an off topic thread in fact there were no threads available!

[koko_99_2001]

I'm thinking because you're looking as a guest, it won't show up. But if you log in under your account, you should be able to see the Off-Topic forum.

[aHaynes]

Perhaps so. I posted it in the off topic section now.

[Yonkey]

The Off-Topic forum didn't exist a couple weeks ago. That's probably what Austin's referring to.  I'm pretty sure Guests can view the other forums.  They just can't post in them 'till they login.

[koko_99_2001]

Ahhh...ok. Didn't know what all the guests could and could not see

[waltzdancing]

Okay, this is going to sound like a dumb question and maybe it has been answered already but, has Activision seen the demo produced by you guys as well as the trailer? or did you hand them the game? I am just curious, I mean, I was sold just by watching the trailer all those years ago and thought maybe the same type of magic would work here too. 

[Yonkey]

I'm pretty sure they've seen it, since that's exactly the kind of material they wanted removed from our website.

[waltzdancing]

Makes sense. Just curious.

[Enchantermon]

The interview said that POS sent the first chapter to both Vivendi and Activision for review, so at some point, they had the chance to see it.

[GoneTooLong]

Hey everyone,

As someone who used to be pretty active in the TSL community a long time ago, I was really sorry to hear the news. I know how much work the devs put into the project and how much the fans were looking forward to playing it. I just hope that something can be salvaged from this, and I hope that the community keeps going in some way even if the project can't. Game or no game, this forum was a fun place to be.

[Naruru]

It was also naive if (if this was indeed the case) you believed that the fan license was indefinite. In this day and age, companies are constantly merging and being swallowed up, I am surprised if no one anticipated the possibility of this happening in the years that was spent developing the game. The thought of that should have lit a hellfire under the bottoms of the development team.

I believe the reason for the long development cycle has been mostly due to the development teams desire for perfection.  To create something truly memorable.  To create something that wasn't just a fan tribute... but something that could join the other entries in the King's Quest series has a work of art... timeless.

A lofty goal?  Perhaps.  Idle fancy of a hopeless romantic?  Most definitely.  But let me tell you this.  The development team's passion for their project is beyond reproach...

...Would it have been able to withstand the test of time and become something timeless?  More importantly, would it have even been remembered at all if it had been rushed out the door in an attempt to beat an invisible clock?

Game companies should take a note out of POS's playbook as far as I'm concerned.  Quality is always better than quantity.  And if your making a quality product, people will wait.

While I cannot deny the admirable ambitions of the project, PoS was not a game company, neither were they working within a timeframe of their own making. I have a notorious dislike of the newer games for the very reasons you cite, but I cannot help but remain grounded in reality. Especially in retrospect. For sure you can argue 'would it have been memorable' and so forth, but with the situation as it is, we now have a memorable game that only the beta testers have actually played and quite possibly ever will. We don't even have one of those 'Let's play' videos on youtube.

Game companies are at liberty to change their release dates as and when they like. The games are, afterall, their IP and they're free to do as they wish depending on their desire for money or quality. Of course we know that these days it's mostly the former rather than the latter. It simply wasn't in PoS's power to do any of that.

My best advice for PoS now is to hold on to their own work for as long as they can. Hold on to the currently voided licensing agreements, hold on to all the scripts, plots, any material that was used in their original form. Also any logged discussions and the C&D letter(s). Even if further discussion falls through and we never see the game released, keep everything. Just in case, you know, Activision decides to pull a Microsoft on you.