I thought episode 1 was visually terrific. It was nostalgic in all the right ways, and left me excited to be playing King Graham again.
However, episode 1 was glaringly too short (I was done in like half an hour). On top of that, and perhaps corollary to it, the gameplay was exceptionally linear, and involved no puzzles whatsoever. The "hardest" part of the game was finding the right items and using them appropriately, but even then, the inventory maxed out at 4 items.
King's Quest games were always about puzzles and interaction between characters, and going here to only discover that you need to go back here to get this thing and combine it with this other thing from over there, etc. This seemed more like a vaguely interactive movie. (vaguely = at best, I have to walk Graham to the next area before there's another cutscene).
In summation, great job on doing what you did, you just need to come up with a lot more, and actually make it into a game rather than just a film. Thanks
PS. The only technical problem I noticed was the mouth/teeth of characters as they talked. It was quite unnatural. I understand it's difficult, and wasn't a huge deal, but visually that's the only thing I would improve.
Rest assured, the other episodes are all quite a bit longer than Episode 1. Lots more puzzles and adventuring with inventory items.
wilco64256 dont you feel like a broken record lol
I think you guys should move the topic "To those who thought the game was too short" or w/e to the Fan Feedback board. :P
Quote from: The Hero on August 07, 2010, 12:39:23 PM
wilco64256 dont you feel like a broken record lol
I actually don't mind repeating this that much - it means that people are getting ahold of the game and playing it without knowing a whole ton about it, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Repeating that Episode 2 is going to be lots longer and more adventure-puzzle-oriented 10,000 times just means that 10,000 people have played the first episode and liked enough to ask for more in the next one.
Quote from: wilco64256 on August 07, 2010, 02:38:03 PM
Quote from: The Hero on August 07, 2010, 12:39:23 PM
wilco64256 dont you feel like a broken record lol
I actually don't mind repeating this that much - it means that people are getting ahold of the game and playing it without knowing a whole ton about it, and I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Repeating that Episode 2 is going to be lots longer and more adventure-puzzle-oriented 10,000 times just means that 10,000 people have played the first episode and liked enough to ask for more in the next one.
That's a very positive outlook, Weldon. It's nice to hear that people feel that way.
There's some amazing pun waiting to be phrased here about complaints having silver linings, but I just can't word it properly...
Quote from: wilco64256 on August 07, 2010, 02:58:23 PM
There's some amazing pun waiting to be phrased here about complaints having silver linings, but I just can't word it properly...
Get back to us on that.
The real puzzle of episode 1 is figuring out that you needed to come to the POS forums to find out that it's SUPPOSED to be short and that all the real puzzles are in episodes 2 through 5. ;)
Good point there Lambonius. If only it was "Prologue: What Is Decreed Must Be"...
Quote from: kindofdoon on August 08, 2010, 06:57:26 PM
Good point there Lambonius. If only it was "Prologue: What Is Decreed Must Be"...
Regardless of how they label Episode 1, I'm really considering it as a Prologue or an Introduction. If the real gameplay starts with Episode 2, then in my mind, that's the real Episode 1.
I think it's still valid to have "Episode 1" in the title, seeing as there is a good half hour of gameplay, not just a big cutscene.
But now it's just semantics. We agree at least that the team should have made it clear, in some manner, that "Episode 1" was preliminary to the next 4.
Hey Phoenix,
Just wanted to comment that I also thought the game was short, but I completely understand why. It was a great way to get my feet wet once again within the world of KQ. Lots of scenery that had been stored in the back of my mind that was immediately pushed to the front when I played through it. I'm taking all of you on your word that 2-5 will have many more puzzles and challenges. I think that Ep. 1 was a great way to see what people would think and how they would react. I'm freaking stoked for the other Episodes! The graphics can be a little sketchy at times, but I realize that y'all are working with what you've got and that's all we can ask for :) Thanks so much for bring King Graham back to life and giving all of us another chance at excitement and adventure.
I agree completely.
Thanks junebug! And welcome to the forums. :)
Quote from: wilco64256 on August 07, 2010, 02:58:23 PM
There's some amazing pun waiting to be phrased here about complaints having silver linings, but I just can't word it properly...
any luck on the pun
I think that episode 1 is just the finished version of the demo. Accept for some more polish and a little more hints of what's to come it's pretty much the demo. And I will be eagerly awaiting episode 2 to come out so we can start playing the game.
I'm just happy to be back to playing as my favorite hero :), I started back in the day with a free copy of kings quest 5 just for me sent strait from sierra! lol, as soon as the whole collection came out in my town I got it for 59.95, Graham has always been my favorite but kings quest 7 was a tough contender, pity that number 8 didn't hold up very well to any of the others, i finally completed it in cheating due to a terrible gaming glitch i couldn't get past
Welcome to the forums erenoth!
Quote from: erenoth2002 on September 08, 2010, 04:00:25 PM
a free copy of kings quest 5 just for me sent strait from sierra!
What's the story behind that?
Thanks and welcome erenoth!
Quote from: kindofdoon on September 08, 2010, 04:06:06 PM
Quote from: erenoth2002 on September 08, 2010, 04:00:25 PM
a free copy of kings quest 5 just for me sent strait from sierra!
What's the story behind that?
Well I remember getting a free copy of KQ5 when I was about 4 years old because my parents bought a new computer and it had a CD ROM drive, which was a seriously big deal at the time, and KQ5 was I think pretty much the only game released on CD, so they were giving it away free with the computer to show off this new fangled CD ROM thing. At the time I had no idea what to do in the game, but I just liked walking around and looking at stuff. Didn't actually finish it till I was quite a bit older.
How funny! I had an analogous situation, but with a laptop and KQVI instead.
Now that I think about it.... I think that was how we got KQ6 -- free with our first computer with a CD-ROM. Of course, my mother had had the really old floppy disks of KQ2 and my brother had played that (albeit not very well since he was very little) and they were both absolutely charmed to discover the series was up to SIX and mom was determined to get the entire thing for us so we ended up with the collection like as soon as it came out.
No way! :o
But seriously, I got King's Quest 6 with my computer too. I just remember when my dad came home with the computer, he installed KQ6 on the computer and then got stuck at the Isle of Wonder cause we forgot to pick up the Invisible Ink. :-\
I'm jealous of everyone here who experienced KQ as a family. I am the sole gamer in my household, and it's been that way forever.
Quote from: kindofdoon on September 08, 2010, 08:46:31 PM
I'm jealous of everyone here who experienced KQ as a family. I am the sole gamer in my household, and it's been that way forever.
Similar with me. I remember going to the store to buy KQ5 and KQ6 with my family. I also remember buying my first VGA screen for KQ5 with my dad. But I grew up playing KQ3 on my own, thats how most went. I always played them alone.
Quote from: Big C from Cauney island on September 08, 2010, 10:08:04 PM
Quote from: kindofdoon on September 08, 2010, 08:46:31 PM
I'm jealous of everyone here who experienced KQ as a family. I am the sole gamer in my household, and it's been that way forever.
Similar with me. I remember going to the store to buy KQ5 and KQ6 with my family. I also remember buying my first VGA screen for KQ5 with my dad. But I grew up playing KQ3 on my own, thats how most went. I always played them alone.
Me, too. I was the only one in my family who was interested in computer games. My wife doesn't appreciate them, either. :(
My whole family are gamers. My father started to corrupt my brain with monkey island and kings quest when I was 5. :P It's funny to see how far I have come since then and how I have made it through life with all this nerdiness.
Quote from: snabbott on September 09, 2010, 09:28:04 AM
Me, too. I was the only one in my family who was interested in computer games. My wife doesn't appreciate them, either. :(
Not only that, but my family is openly and unanimously antagonistic about my gaming...it's so misunderstood.
My parents have always said that I needed to stop playing games and start making them.
Well...
Ha, I was rather young at the time so it might not be accurate but I remember my dad coming home excited and he said hey guys look what came in the mail!. It was some promotional from sierra, it had kings quest 5 and a demo video for kings quest 6, I remember we played for hours and couldnt get too far it never occured to us to use the magical lamp on the old witch but eventually after watching some kids show on tv the idea occured to me, later we ended up getting stuck in the end trying to fight the evil wizard, i remember my mom excitedly yelling play the piano! play the piano, she being a piano teacher and thats how we found that death sequence, we were literaly giddy with anticipation to get the next chapeter, and we joined another family distant relatives in figuring out the puzzels on that game, i remember his dad once called us up and said hey i thought of new idea maybe if me milk the minitor!! lol he ment useing the milk on the minitor as maybe it would somehow help with him having he head of a bull, finishing that one was fun, especially figuring out the song area making the skeletons dance, i remember everyone in the backgroung dancing around the house at that point lol, so this seires always holds a spot in all of my memories.
Quote from: kindofdoon on September 09, 2010, 11:46:41 AM
Quote from: snabbott on September 09, 2010, 09:28:04 AM
Me, too. I was the only one in my family who was interested in computer games. My wife doesn't appreciate them, either. :(
Not only that, but my family is openly and unanimously antagonistic about my gaming...it's so misunderstood.
I can relate to that. My dad used to play games back in the day, but kind of gave it up to focus on his work and music. My mom never really played games and she doesn't understand why I play games. My sister plays the dancing, singing, and fake-playing-instrument games, but not much else. The only game she plays that I can respect, is Professor Layton. Overall, I feel like I'm the only
real gamer in the house.
Games have become an art. They're equivalent to reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to music. It's become a part of our culture and the entertainment industry. I don't get why people can't at least respect games for how far they've come. Even if they are the poison which infects our generation into the later stages of gluttony and sloth, you have to admit, it's done a helluva job.
Quote from: Fierce Deity on September 09, 2010, 04:40:25 PM
Games have become an art. They're equivalent to reading a book, watching a movie, or listening to music. It's become a part of our culture and the entertainment industry. I don't get why people can't at least respect games for how far they've come. Even if they are the poison which infects our generation into the later stages of gluttony and sloth, you have to admit, it's done a helluva job.
So well put, I couldn't agree more. When I was playing Oblivion, I asked myself: "Is this really any different from LoTR (books)?" Obviously, the mediums are different, but the essential backbone is identical. I think this argument can be applied successfully to any video game.
My mom stopped gaming actually, mostly just watched, until my brother and I picked up some Nancy Drew games. Now she's back into it. God forbid the phone rings when she's got Rise of Nations going! :P
The only games we ever played that she was not thrilled about were -- well, first of all, first person shooters. It wasn't so much the games she had an issue with it was that I liked watching my brother play them when I was five and she thought I was too young to be watching people getting shot. (I could watch DOOM, because they were all demons, but with Wolfenstein and Blake Stone she was concerned.)
My whole family was concerned when I decided to get into MMOs (I started with The Sims Online, which is pretty innocuous for an MMO) but when I got sick and the MMOs provided both my only social life *and* a great escape from a pretty sucky reality, they started warming up. When one of my MMO friends turned out to work in the financial/administrative offices of a hospital and was able to help us figure out my medical bills, they suddenly decided that MMOs were the most wonderful thing ever for me and I should pretty much play them until I die. :P