Hi
I know there was a project a while back to remake MoE as a 2D point and click adventure, however, I was wondering if anyone was interested in instead remaking MoE the way it was meant to be in 1995-1997 (the early stages), with either the "Connor as fisherman marked from birth by the Mask", or as "Connor the marble statue made flesh", along with the original design of the lands featured in many early screenshots, and the larger, more adjusted plot points (like there being two Daventry towns, a much longer Swamp witch story, an underwater level, etc).
Will it bear such hallmarks as the Kingdom of Daventry?... Connor begins his adventure in the Kingdom of Daventry, but he doesn't stay there long. Seven new lands await!... The world of King's Quest: The Mask of Eternity reaches from the sunless Underworld of the living dead through the alchemical plains of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, into the ether of the Celestial Realm--and even to a dark mysterious island temple...
--InterAction, Fall 1996
''Daventry would have been much larger zone, with villages, green forests, and farms. It would have taken place during the day (as opposed to the darkness seen in the current game). At one point during the production they added a darker cloudy sky, before finally settling on the pitch black Daventry in the game. The swamp would have been part of Daventry.
There was apparently going to be another zone near Daventry set by the sea, near a seaside tower, in a green hilly area. Another removed zone appears to have been set underwater, with seaweed, fish, and ancient ruins.
Dimension of Death would have been named the Underworld. The art style of the "Underworld" would have been much different, using a Mesopotamian style rather than the current Egyptian motif.''
Here are some early screenshots and info, courtesy of Baggins at the KQ Omnipedia, and two making of video from this early stage:

Connor:

Daventry:
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20080110155205/kingsquest/images/d/de/Daventry4.JPG



Notice the old well of Daventry

Outskirts of alternate Daventry town with Hydra

Abandoned Underwater level


Early "Ice World":


Concept Art:
A cockatrice:

Red Cap Goblin (a cut boss):

Wood Elf:

Daventry world map:


----Notice Daventry is much brighter and more ''woodland''-ish, like the Daventry of the original games. The trees are alive, the sky is sunny with clouds, etc--Not like the dead, dark land of Daventy in the final version.
--Also, according to the info Baggins has collected, like in the original games, Castle Daventry would be in the center of a valley (think of the KQ5 intro) and all of the worlds would ''fan out'' from Daventry; There would be no load time between worlds.
It would be a wide, open world--Like in Grand Theft AutoCastle Daventry was to be explored in full, with Rosella being seen (turned to stone like everyone else). That was cut too due to budget and other reasons.
You were also to encounter a Lepreachaun inside the Old CastleKeep of Daventry
--The Swamp Witches' role was supposed to be much larger, and she would've had a human form with which to 'lure' Connor to her castle, to kill him--Like many a vile witch in fairy tales. A lot of it was cut due to budget and other reasons. This was her human form:

and a concept art of it:

A description of the Swamp witch: ''"In Daventry there is this Swamp, and there is this Swamp Witch in there, and she kinda looks like a part snake, part alligator, and part mermaid."
"She would have been able to change herself into a beautiful woman, to persuade Connor into thinking she was good, and lure her into her castle, before exposing herself, and showing her true form. Conner would have been forced to escape, and fight her for his life. This was removed from the final version of the game as well, and the witch stays outside of her castle. However references to the witch's wiles are still mentioned if you examine the skeletons in her castle. Most if not all info relating to this encounter exists in material relating to the 'Connor mac Lyrr' phase of the game."-Mark Seibert
-Much of the game would've been first person (for example when you're walking, it would be first person). 'Third Person' views would've only been for "story point areas" (possibly conversations, cut scenes, battles?). So the game would be primarily first person--You would see the world through Connor's eyes for most of the game. I think in the final version (as in the development article which Baggins created from info he collected, Roberta said the game went through three different versions) the 'compromise' where you can toggle at will between the first and third persons was created. However, from the interview with Roberta that Baggins found, it sounds like the game originally was supposed to mostly first person, with some third person parts.
Think Doom or Quake."One of the earliest phases of the game's story (mentioned around late 1995), Connor, then unnamed was to be a marble statue of a knight that was brought to life at the moment of the cataclysm that turned everyone living into stone. The game was primarily going to be in first-person, and switch to 3rd person for cutscenes, and certain puzzle areas."''
Firebugs would've been in the Hot Lands, but were removed, and Connor would've had to fight them in a unique way since you can't fight fire with fire
Influence:
"With past King's Quest games I focused around the Royal Family," Roberta Explains. "But I've done just about as much as I could with the Royal Family. I knew I needed to bring in a new character, and I wanted the character to be less Disney-ish and more cerebral. The spiritual father of Mask is J.R.R. Tolkien not Walt Disney," she concluded firmly. Connor is very much a new character. He is an inhabitant of Daventry, a kingdom he doesn't rule but whose fate lies in his hands. A terrible curse has turned all of the people living in Daventry, including the Royal Family themselves, into stone. Connor must find the answers behind the curse, including why it's been imposed, who imposed it, and, possibly most importantly, why he alone has been spared the terrible fate of his comrades. Connor is a warrior and it's his combination of strength, cunning, intuition, and intellect that makes him best-suited to save the kingdom."--Roberta
It would seem the King's Quest series has grown up a bit with the creation of Mask. Evidence of this continually surfaces throughout the game but is especially apparent with the central antagonist and Archarchon, Lucreto. His storyline parallels that of Lucifer, the fallen angel whose attempt to overtake Heaven ends him up in Hell.
The Engine:
It was originally designed using the 3space engine that was used in Dynamix flight simulators (the engine from Red Baron to be exact) from the period, just to get an idea of what the replication engine would need to be like.
The Remake would be in 3D but not modern 3D; It would use an antiquated style of 3D graphics to replicate almost exactly what's seen in those early screenshots shown above, with perhaps a "Doom" clone engine (there are plenty of free-be Doom WADs, designed from the engine).
Basically the idea of this remake would be to create the version of MoE that could've and would've (if not for the sale to CUC) been released in 1996 or 1997.I was wondering who would want to work on this with me? I think if done right it could be end up being a great (free) remake version of MoE.
(All of the inside development info was discovered over time by Baggins and comes from
http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Mask_of_Eternity_Development ) My thanks to him for his hard work and research over the years.