Who would you trust KQ in the hands of--and why?

[Lambonius]

I like periodically reigniting the old arguments.  We've been too much without drama around here lately.  lol

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

I like periodically reigniting the old arguments.  We've been too much without drama around here lately.  lol

Some people just like to watch the world burn, Mr. Wayne.

[MusicallyInspired]

Telltale's KQ is gonna suck..



No really though, I'm not looking forward to it. But we'll see. It's not like there's anything we can really debate, argue, or nitpick about because there's absolutely ZERO INFORMATION released on it at all so far.

I actually don't really have any special need to see King's Quest back in action. However good or bad it will be it'll be nothing like the originals, that's pretty much a done deal in any game reboot scenario. I'm happy with where the games are now and wouldn't care if they never got rebooted again. I certainly hope Space Quest stays that way, for instance. Fangames are nice, though.

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

Telltale's KQ is gonna suck..



No really though, I'm not looking forward to it. But we'll see. It's not like there's anything we can really debate, argue, or nitpick about because there's absolutely ZERO INFORMATION released on it at all so far.

I actually don't really have any special need to see King's Quest back in action. However good or bad it will be it'll be nothing like the originals, that's pretty much a done deal in any game reboot scenario. I'm happy with where the games are now and wouldn't care if they never got rebooted again. I certainly hope Space Quest stays that way, for instance. Fangames are nice, though.

Let's be honest though:
Would it be the same as the originals even if Roberta Williams herself was at the helm, with a revived Sierra backing her? Let's say Sierra never died and Roberta didn't retire as a result--I don't think things would be the same anyway. Regardless of what criticism KQ8 got, it's obvious she wanted to go more into that direction--even considering multiplayer for a future game.

Personally, I like having the KQ name around, alive, and in business. I believe that whille TT's game might not be quite as good as a Sierra KQ game, it'll still have the same spirit, the same feel, etc.

Fangames...Meh. Fangames offer fan service, which seems to consist of toying with the backstories or general stories set by the original designers; TSL is guilty of this, as is KQ2VGA and KQ3+ to a lesser extent. I don't want fan service; KQ was never about that. You can pretty much play any game in the KQ series without playing the previous ones; They're all standalone stories for the most part, even KQ4 and KQ6 which are the most "connected" games. You don't have to play KQ3 to understand KQ4; Same goes for 6 and 5. But look at games like TSL and KQ2VGA--Heavily depending on the existing universe to the point that a new player wouldn't care.

There's only ONE fan group I would trust with the KQ franchise, and they're going out of business, sadly (Hint: It isn't AGDI, or TSL). They're the only group out there that ever reminded me of Sierra both in spirit and in their products and in their whole atmosphere--and they're going to be gone--I wish it wasn't so.

Roberta's intent was indeed to hand off the series to new people, and with the exception of KQ8, that's pretty much what happened--KQ6 is mostly a Jane Jensen game; KQ7 is basically entirely a Lorelei Shannon game. Now it's TT's turn. And despite their history--they may just hit it out of the ball park. I'm an optimist until proven otherwise. I supported TSL until I was SHOWN what it was going to be, through trailers, demos, etc.

I don't simply hate a game before it's released due to who creates it, and the reverse is true. I love Sierra, but I also realize not every product of theirs was pure gold. Some--especially in the later days--were pure crap. Likewise, while TT has a history (to you) of poor products...It's possible they might be being very careful. They know as much as anyone how sensitive the KQ fanbase is.

Let's face it: We can't stick to the 1990 VGA Point and Click, etc model forever. It's a sad truth. I wish 2D games ala KQ5 were what's happening, but they're not. The adventure game genre has to evolve, or it will truly die. Ken and Roberta felt that way back in the 1990s and I agree.

Really, the whole "dumbed down" adventure game started with Sierra. Phantasmagoria is pretty much like a protoype for TT's games. It took me days, sometimes even up to a few weeks to solve KQ and SQ games. Phantasmagoria I finished in a little under 2 days--without a hint book or guide. It was easy. That's the direction Roberta was taking adventure games...So even if let's say KQ8 wasn't a "hack and slash" game--It probably would've been alternatively an interactive movie type game like Phantas, but in 3D--Not far removed from TT's own games.

With each evolution, the adventure genre has gotten more and more "dumbed down". The addition of graphics took away one's ability to imagine the landscape surrounding you, took away the "Interactive Novel" quality about the genre, took away much of the difficulty. The point and click interface further dumbed down the genre by very much limiting your level of interactivity with the game world. Finally, it came to KQ7--Even more dumbed down interface.

So...It's not like what TT's doing isn't without precedent, really. It'd have never been the same, even with Sierra still active, Roberta still writing, etc. It can't stay 1990 or 1992 forever, even if we want it to. I'd rather see KQ alive again, than watch it stay dead and fade away into obscurity.

[Baggins]

KQ7 is basically entirely a Lorelei Shannon game.

I understand this was largely due to the fact she was focusing her work on Phantas at the time.

took away the "Interactive Novel" quality about the genre, took away much of the difficulty. The point and click interface further dumbed down the genre by very much limiting your level of interactivity with the game world.

Actually the 'Interactive Novels' are probably closer to the direction Adventure Games are going now. The 'choose your own adventure' style of gameplay, that originally inspired adventure game genre in the first place. Interactive Novels predate text-adventures, but survived through the years alongside Adventures, especially in Japan (with static 2d artwork and later 3d elements added).

One of my favorite Japanese Interactive Novels is Radical Dreamers a sequel/alternate universe to the Chrono series (Trigger/Cross).

[MusicallyInspired]

Lots of stuff

You're assuming an awful lot here. All I said was that I have no special need to see KQ still going. I'm happy with the series as is and wouldn't complain if it stayed that way. That's all. I never said anything about having to "stay in 1990 or 1992" or that KQ would still be the same if Roberta were still making them the same way with a Ken Williams-owned Sierra backing her.

There's only ONE fan group I would trust with the KQ franchise, and they're going out of business, sadly (Hint: It isn't AGDI, or TSL). They're the only group out there that ever reminded me of Sierra both in spirit and in their products and in their whole atmosphere--and they're going to be gone--I wish it wasn't so.

You got me. I have no idea who you're talking about.

So...It's not like what TT's doing isn't without precedent, really. It'd have never been the same, even with Sierra still active,...

And I would treat Sierra the same way I'm treating Telltale.

Roberta still writing, etc. It can't stay 1990 or 1992 forever, even if we want it to. I'd rather see KQ alive again, than watch it stay dead and fade away into obscurity.

I'd rather have it stay dead. What good is a name if it's nothing like what it was. If Telltale's KQ ends up decent than awesome. But more than likely it'll end up being another KQ7 (except shorter and easier) and that would be disastrous.

Anyway, back to my original statement. I don't really have a special need to see KQ live again. It had a good run before it ran out of steam and lost what it was all about. I see no reason to bring it back. But like I said, fangames are fun to me because they're made to imitate the good KQ old games. It's nostalgia pure and simple, I admit. Telltale's KQ will not be. I'd just rather KQ remain nostalgia.

But again, we'll see.

[Sir Perceval of Daventry]

Lots of stuff

You're assuming an awful lot here. All I said was that I have no special need to see KQ still going. I'm happy with the series as is and wouldn't complain if it stayed that way. That's all. I never said anything about having to "stay in 1990 or 1992" or that KQ would still be the same if Roberta were still making them the same way with a Ken Williams-owned Sierra backing her.

There's only ONE fan group I would trust with the KQ franchise, and they're going out of business, sadly (Hint: It isn't AGDI, or TSL). They're the only group out there that ever reminded me of Sierra both in spirit and in their products and in their whole atmosphere--and they're going to be gone--I wish it wasn't so.

You got me. I have no idea who you're talking about.

So...It's not like what TT's doing isn't without precedent, really. It'd have never been the same, even with Sierra still active,...

And I would treat Sierra the same way I'm treating Telltale.

Roberta still writing, etc. It can't stay 1990 or 1992 forever, even if we want it to. I'd rather see KQ alive again, than watch it stay dead and fade away into obscurity.

I'd rather have it stay dead. What good is a name if it's nothing like what it was. If Telltale's KQ ends up decent than awesome. But more than likely it'll end up being another KQ7 (except shorter and easier) and that would be disastrous.

Anyway, back to my original statement. I don't really have a special need to see KQ live again. It had a good run before it ran out of steam and lost what it was all about. I see no reason to bring it back. But like I said, fangames are fun to me because they're made to imitate the good KQ old games. It's nostalgia pure and simple, I admit. Telltale's KQ will not be. I'd just rather KQ remain nostalgia.

But again, we'll see.

Alright, first point taken; I apologize for the assumptions I made.
And I'm talking about IA. They're the only group I'd trust with an original KQ game. They remind me of the young Sierra in some ways. But I've heard they plan to go out of business after their current products, at least in terms of fan games. Hope that isn't so.
I never really got the big problem with KQ7, personally. The animation isn't the best, but then again this was Sierra's first try with cartoon-esque graphics; SQ5 and L7 were vast improvements. But IMO the story is simple but good, the worlds are beautiful, the characters are funny, exciting, and interesting, the quest is a good one, it's innovative for KQ and it just is a beautiful game. KQ never appealed to me on the basis of it's puzzles or difficulty...The more a KQ game can draw me in to a world, into the characters, into the setting and make me wish I was there, the more I like it; the more quirky and interesting the characters, the more it keeps me interested; the more enjoyable the villains, the happier I am. It was never really about the puzzles for me. They come second and just move along the game, really. That's how I look at puzzles--which I think is the key point of anger over TT, the easiness of their puzzles--as points to be overcome to move to the next point. It's nicer if they're harder, sure, it makes the game longer, more challenging--but it isn't a deal breaker for me.


KQ7 isn't my favorite KQ game; KQ5 is but I don't consider it the worst of the series. Then again I'm biased, I never felt there was any BAD KQ games. KQ1 and KQ2 could be considered "bad" by modern standards due to their very ill put together stories/worlds, but I understand they're a product of their times, of very limited technology compared to today, and the product of a designer who was just starting to build her world and it's rules and mythos.

I never felt KQ ran out of steam personally. I look at each game as an evolution, a next step, an experiment in the series. Some people liked them, some people didn't for one reason or another. I mean some people really don't like KQ5 because of the simplicity of the plot, the puzzles, Cedric, the voice acting, etc. Some hate KQ7 because it's perceived as being too simple, lacking a narrator, too Disney-like, etc. Roberta said every single one of her sequels got flak for one reason or another. I don't see one bad game in a series as a series running out of steam, just a mistake.