Early Version of Connor/MoE

[Baggins]

So further information, the Conner/Connor mac Lyrr phase (as in son of the fisherman born on the night the mask was shattered), we have an article as early as May 1, 1996, published by Gamespot.
http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/kingsquestmaskofeternity/news.html?sid=2558836&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;2&mode=previews

Can anyone find anything from that phase set even earlier? In anycase that would be while Ken was definitely still CEO.

However, this the gamespot article would still support that Connor mac Lyrr phase was started long before Interaction Fall 1996 issue, and that the interaction 1996 issue reflects pre-CUC version of sierra and MOE (and likely was published while Ken was still the CEO, and while they still had the Connor mac Lyrr plan layed out), or at least the magazine was printing the plan that existed while he was still CEO.

Summer or spring 1997 issue or so they dropped many of the Connor mac Lyrr ideas, IIRC the 1997 article correctly (I'd appreciate the scans form that article if possible, and her son's article)

It seems in the final released version of MOE, she apparently still wrote the game's dialogue, but its long ways what she intended for Connor back in May 1996 to Fall 1996 (what she could write was limited by the muddlement of her team).

[TheReturnofDMD]

So further information, the Conner/Connor mac Lyrr phase (as in son of the fisherman born on the night the mask was shattered), we have an article as early as May 1, 1996, published by Gamespot.
http://uk.gamespot.com/pc/adventure/kingsquestmaskofeternity/news.html?sid=2558836&om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatures&tag=newsfeatures;title;2&mode=previews

Can anyone find anything from that phase set even earlier? In anycase that would be while Ken was definitely still CEO.

However, this the gamespot article would still support that Connor mac Lyrr phase was started long before Interaction Fall 1996 issue, and that the interaction 1996 issue reflects pre-CUC version of sierra and MOE (and likely was published while Ken was still the CEO, and while they still had the Connor mac Lyrr plan layed out), or at least the magazine was printing the plan that existed while he was still CEO.

Summer or spring 1997 issue or so they dropped many of the Connor mac Lyrr ideas, IIRC the 1997 article correctly (I'd appreciate the scans form that article if possible, and her son's article)

It seems in the final released version of MOE, she apparently still wrote the game's dialogue, but its long ways what she intended for Connor back in May 1996 to Fall 1996 (what she could write was limited by the muddlement of her team).

The Spring or Summer '97 issues will be up on the Sierragamers site--They're uploaded weekly. However I read them when they were all up on Andy Roark's site.
I still feel that given everything happened, MoE wasn't really the version Roberta wanted. It wasn't her true vision but hers mixed with Mark Seibert's and possibly others, like the management of Sierra, who probably in '97/98 wanted ''more action''. Unlike KQ6 or KQ7, I think a lot of stuff went over Roberta's head. In the era of 6-7 I don't think she was really interested in King's Quest and was more interested in developing Phantasmagoria and thus let Jane and Lorelei have some free reign, but I think with KQ8 she wanted to have full creative control again.

[Baggins]

The initial marble statue, was actually from an online interview around late 1995. I don't know if she ever mentioned that in any published articles. I don't think it was ever in Interaction. By the time they moved to main phase 1,  the 'Connor mac Lyrr', in early 1996, they had already gotten rid of that idea. They at least maintained it until late 1996. Early 1997 they were onto early phase of "Connor of Daventry" (but apparently still had some ideas from the 'mac Lyrr' phase, such as the Hydra). The third phase was the released game;

Here is Roberta on the three main phases.

You talked about a doom like sequence, and a shipwreck underwater. Why was there no swimming in Mask?
There is are alot of things I wanted to do, and we discussed doing in KQ:MOE, swimming was one of them. Actually I went through three different designs for that game. Three complete designs. The first two got tossed out for various reasons. Probably alot of which I got a little over exuberant in design, then just this was impossible, forget it. The shipwreck and swimming was part of the first two designs, but by the third the which was the one we went with it was gone, and basically it just kinda came down to time and I hate to say that. It was a three year project even so. We were really developing a new technology here, and there were was alot we had to do, and we were pretty much developing from scratch. Just being able to add the routines for swimming and for underwater currents, and all that was just too much for us to do and get a King's Quest game out. It would have been a four year project, instead of a three year project.
-Roberta Williams, Talkspot Part 1, 1998.

She also states that they developed over three years, and had a 3 million dollar budget.

She also talks about how they had in the first phase or so, had an idea to create a multiplayer side to the game as well.

There may be more details in that radio show, and I recommend listening to it, if you want some more specific details about the development. I also found out that particular episode has the answer to the question I made years ago during the show, when Roberta said that Daventry actually takes place on earth, and archaeologists have been looking for the ruins, heh heh. Talk about looking for that reference for years. :p...