Is TSL Narrator the new Cedric?

[Cat1]

Hi Colin, I'm from Christchurch.  Nice to know there are some more of us out there!  Which KQ games did you play first?  I remember playing KQIV and SQIII with my brother from around 1992 on my Dad's Atari.  He had an MT32 too, which meant we had awesome sound quality!  Then I bought the KQ collection in the late 90s.

[colin]

Hi Cat1

My first Kinqs Quest was Kq5 31/2 disk version in 1990/91. And I remember I listened to it just with the PC
speaker. I don't recall multimedia being available at that time. Later I acquired KQ6. This was the first game
I ever played on CD and most definitely one of my favourite games of all time. KQ6 completely got me into the
Kinqs Quest games. I later played KQ7 and later still the collection. Finally I played Mask of Eternity which
turned out to be a bit disappointing. I am looking forward to when Episode 2 of The Silver Lining comes out.

[Cat1]

Yes - I'm dying to get my teeth into some real KQ puzzles again.  Sounds like episode 2 is coming in September so not too long to wait now!  Good to hear from you anyway - it's nice to think that there's another KQ fan around even if you are at the other end of the country!

[colin]

Yep roll on September new puzzles and new locations to explore. I look forward to exploring chessboard
land and the winged ones city. You once had a mt-32 for Kinqs Quest 4 and Space Quest 3. I am jealous I have always heard these games in adlib.

[Cat1]

You once had a mt-32 for Kinqs Quest 4 and Space Quest 3. I am jealous I have always heard these games in adlib.

Yes, it certainly enhances the game-playing experience hugely!  I think you can get them on ebay etc if you want one badly enough - there's a thread about it on the AGDI forum: http://www.agdiforums.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=19&t=14600

[BrothersGrim]

Hi, Im new here but I just played through the first episode and I definitely noticed a similarity in that both the TSL narrator and Cedric annoyed the heck out of me.

I do think however that breaking the fourth wall (I think thats what its called) where the narrator talks to you directly isnt a good idea, it kinda made it less believable for me, but aside from that I liked the game a lot, so good job you guys!

[colin]

Hi Cat1

Thank you for the link  the mt-32 samples are amazing. To think I have always put up with adlib. As
for e-bay I don't like using e-bay. Oh well i will have to accept contining to use adlib.

[Cat1]

I'm not sure if I mind the 4th wall thing or not - I think it depends on how it's done.  It usually doesn't bother me if the narrator or character talk to me (e.g. Alexander when climbing the logic cliffs in KQVI), but I felt a bit excluded when they started talking to each other in TSL!  That's just me though 

And Colin I'm sure it's still great with adlib sound.  You could always watch the intro and ending on youtube with the mt32 sounds anyway!

[kindofdoon]

I don't mind breaking the 4th wall, but when it occurs too frequently, it loses its value.

[colin]

Thank you Cat1 That is a good idea of yours.

As for the narrator and the narration, in the game. I don't mind the narrators voice or the narration in the game.
And I do not mind the narrator and Graham talking to each other. As long as the good story continues and there
are lots of puzzles and plenty of new locations to explore - I am happy. 

[kindofdoon]

Oh, certainly. The only aspect of the game that disappointed was the narrator. However, Episode 2 will add an option to switch between shorter and longer narrations. So it's really not an issue with me anymore, because I assume that the shorter narrator dialogues will also cut a lot of the 4th wall breaking.

And yes, I am extremely happy with the game so far.

[Fierce Deity]

I don't mind breaking the 4th wall, but when it occurs too frequently, it loses its value.

I always considered "breaking the fourth wall" an addition to the comedic factor. People say that it takes away from the setting or the plot, but that's because it was never intentionally made for the setting or the plot. I agree, if it's used too much, it becomes annoying. Kind of like when a funny joke gets told so much, that it ceases to be funny anymore. But if done in moderation, breaking the fourth wall is a tasteful act of comedy, and nothing more.

[kindofdoon]

Yes, I agree. I enjoy finding subtle 4th wall references, but when they occur in just about every room, the effect is greatly diminished.

[sahara]

I think the narrator sounds a bit like that MTV animated character, Daria ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI4YaLJKFw4 ).  When I play TSL I imagine this sarcastic young woman with glasses looking over my shoulder and making snarky comments about my gameplay choices.  It bothers me.    I was pretty young when that Daria show was first on tv, and I always hated the character because she sounded mean and I didn't understand the humor.  

Also, I might be wrong, but is that an American midwestern accent I hear in the narrator's speech?  Something about the accent doesn't sound right for the game.  I think she's a talented narrator, but she sounds too young and modern.

[KatieHal]

You can always just turn off the Narrator audio, sahara.

[GoneTooLong]

When I play TSL I imagine this sarcastic young woman with glasses looking over my shoulder and making snarky comments about my gameplay choices.  It bothers me.  

 I think she's a talented narrator, but she sounds too young and modern.

There could be worse narrators that remind you of the 90s. Imagine something like...

"DUUUUUDE!!! That magic guy, like, totally put a spell on your children! That was radical, bro! You going down to the docks, man? That surf looks gnarly! Cowabunga!"

You know, all of a sudden I want that narrator in the game.

[Fierce Deity]

"DUUUUUDE!!! That magic guy, like, totally put a spell on your children! That was radical, bro! You going down to the docks, man? That surf looks gnarly! Cowabunga!"

Why do I all of the sudden have the image of Keanu Reeves going through my head? 

[wilco64256]

Well we love Amy's voice and she's here to stay!  You can always turn off the audio for her and just see the narrator text by itself, and then you could imagine any voice you wanted.

[Big C from Cauney island]

"DUUUUUDE!!! That magic guy, like, totally put a spell on your children! That was radical, bro! You going down to the docks, man? That surf looks gnarly! Cowabunga!"

Why do I all of the sudden have the image of Keanu Reeves going through my head? 

Its not Keanu Reeves. It's more like Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.  On a side note, as far as I know there are MT-32 emulators you can run with dosbox.  I'm not going to quote the "legality" of them. I heard originally a few years ago Roland was against it, but they couldn't exactly do anything due to something legal. There are projects out there, look it up. And from youtube demonstrations, still sounds really good. Again, I'm no lawyer, just letting you know I've seen stuff.

[Fierce Deity]

Its not Keanu Reeves. It's more like Michaelangelo from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_and_Ted%27s_Excellent_Adventure

It sounded like Bill and Ted to me. The only thing that sounded like Michelangelo was the "Cowabunga" part.