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Re-inventing the Wheel

Started by TheReturnofDMD, August 17, 2010, 01:21:46 AM

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spinz

i guess my issue is -- im not really interested in a cinematic experience. Character development is nice, but for it to take center stage over gameplay, doesnt appeal to me, and its not really kings quest in my mind. If there was a kingsquest movie in theaters, would i go see it? i dont think so. Exploration is what made those games fun for me, the story was never particularly great. So, i see alot of the direction in this project geared towards making it "cinematic", and focused on character development. Meanwhile, episode 1 didnt really have gameplay OR story. So if being cinematic means theres alot more of "go to the sacred mountain for a cutscene, now go to isles of mist for a cutscene, now go to chess land for a cutscene, now go to the pawnshop for a cutscene" then im going to despise this in ways i didnt think were possible.

KatieHal

Spinz: in that particular case, all I can do is again stress 'wait for Episode 2'.

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Fierce Deity

Quote from: KatieHal on August 17, 2010, 01:05:00 PM
Spinz: in that particular case, all I can do is again stress 'wait for Episode 2'.

It's been said so many times. Maybe people will recognize it if we all put it in our sigs. 
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

spinz

yes i know iv heard it, all of your wildest dreams will be fixed in episode 2, and they knew about all the problems before releasing it. But why they would wait until episode 2 for "the real game" is deeply puzzling to me (though i have my own theories). Unfortunately i can only base my ramblings on what ive seen so far. And what iv seen is alot of talk about the silver lining being a cinematic experience, and in episode 1 it is mostly watching.

Baggins

Sci Viewer. Ya you can barely see the outline in the game, only it comes near the cave entrance, or passes near Rosella's lamp.
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

Cez

Quote from: spinz on August 17, 2010, 01:23:18 PM
yes i know iv heard it, all of your wildest dreams will be fixed in episode 2, and they knew about all the problems before releasing it. But why they would wait until episode 2 for "the real game" is deeply puzzling to me (though i have my own theories). Unfortunately i can only base my ramblings on what ive seen so far. And what iv seen is alot of talk about the silver lining being a cinematic experience, and in episode 1 it is mostly watching.

We actually didn't want to wait. If Activision hadn't shut us down, we would have proceeded with the plan of getting ep 1-3 done before releasing 1, and then releasing 1 and 2 within the same month, two weeks apart. That's what happened.


Cesar Bittar
CEO
Phoenix Online
cesar.bittar@postudios.com

Cez

Quote from: KQ5Fan on August 17, 2010, 08:47:00 AM



Josh Mandel played TSL? What'd he think?

I'm not sure if he's played the game. He did certainly received a copy and did email me some nice words after receiving the copy, but I'm not certain he played the game.

Josh was aware of the original plot seeds way back in the day. He opposed to the story and that eventually led to we not being in very good terms.

Everything's cleared up now, however, and we've buried old hatches. He sent us some really nice words around release time --he's really just awesome :)


Cesar Bittar
CEO
Phoenix Online
cesar.bittar@postudios.com

jackinthebox1138

#27
Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AM
And then again, you have many fans who say TSL is very true to the King's Quest series, including its creator Roberta Williams herself. Let me say that I was very nervous of what her comments would be given the bleakness of Ep1. But she, as many others, found it to be very true to King's Quest.

Here.  You have many fans here that say that.  You could crap on the floor and they would say it was true to King's Quest.  Oh yes, I really see Roberta receiving a fanmade game that was 10 years in development, and then sending you a bunch of negatives about it.  This is a woman who made nursery rhyme games for children.  She's not going to be overly critical.

Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AMthere are a couple of twists down the line that I have no idea how most fans will take.

*shudders*

Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AMI personally consider "Harry Potter" the fairytale of today's audience. I'm not the biggest fans, but I've appreciated its story. I call it "teen fantasy" but the truth is that it has captivated beyond its intended audience, and that's because that's what today audiences like.

No, it's because J.K. Rowling is a hell of a writer.  She writes creative characters and dialog that sounds extremely natural and is easily relatable to just about anyone at any age.  She does NOT write overly wordy sappy romance novel bulls*** dialogue and turn stoic heroes into spineless wimps.

Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AMJosh was aware of the original plot seeds way back in the day. He opposed to the story and that eventually led to we not being in very good terms.

And this didn't strike you as a problem?  That someone who was intimately involved with the creation of the previous games in the series thought your story was totally inappropriate?  That didn't clue you in??  God you're arrogant.

Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AMSo there's a bit for everyone.

Except fans of King's Quest.

koko_99_2001

#28
Jack, you may not agree with the direction of TSL nor the decisions the team made. I do ask, however, that you be civil towards everyone here.

Oh, and I've been a fan of King's Quest for years (played my first one back in 92 or 93), and I love TSL. I think it really captures the essence of the series.
<3 Happily married to FataliOmega since July 11, 2009 <3

The Unofficial The Silver Lining Official Sarcasm Cleaner Upper :cat:

Catherine DaCosta

Cez

Not only fans here say that. Go and read some reviews. There's two things you can get from the reviews overall: 1) It's a very short game 2) It's very true to the King's Quest series. --Roberta didn't have to play the game and give comments either, since I'm sure you know she's never played any other fangame or given comments about any other fangame. Why did she decide to play ours and give comments? I don't know, but she did. And they were extremely good comments. She did say that the game was too short.

We are not arrogant. We just decided to do our take on King's Quest. If you don't like it, that's fine. Like you there are many that don't like it, probably. We don't expect everyone to like it. I welcome you to go and do your own game where you hold your vision of what King's Quest should be. This is our vision, we stand by it, and we are very proud of it --and that's not going to change.


Cesar Bittar
CEO
Phoenix Online
cesar.bittar@postudios.com

Baggins

#30
Quotesince I'm sure you know she's never played any other fangame or given comments about any other fangame.

Well actually she has commented on other "fan games".

I don't know if she played KQ1 remake or not, but she did comment on it;
http://www.justadventure.com/articles/Royal_Quest/Part_1/RQ1.shtm
QuoteI suppose if I were Sierra I would not be happy, as Sierra owns the copyrights to these games; I don't. This is a question which should be posed to the people at Sierra. I don't receive royalties anymore from King's Quest as Sierra doesn't really go out of its way to sell it. Therefore, these sort of "fan" games aren't affecting me as far as my pocketbook goes. In fact, it could be said that by "fans" producing these games that they are, in a way, keeping them alive. I kind of feel that, if Sierra isn't going to do it, then somebody should! I just hope they do a good job and portray these games in a good light so that people who have never experienced them will understand what they were all about. You never know, these "fan" games could be keeping the plate "warm" if I ever return with another game!

Apparently she would have played Royal Quest had it be completed;
http://www.justadventure.com/Interviews/Royal_Quest/RQ.shtm
QuoteRoberta Williams

In my experience, parodies have never been particularly compassionate toward their subject--though hilarious, I would certainly not like my hard work to be the butt of all the jokes this game will no doubt contain. How do you feel about Royal Quest in terms of your own work on the classic series?

I have never seen Royal Quest and do not know exactly what it is like; I suppose if there were direct insults toward me personally, then I would not be happy. However, one could also take parodies and/or spoofs of one's products as a compliment, because why would someone bother to parody a product that nobody ever heard of or cared about? Therefore, I guess I am torn on the issue of a parody being done on King's Quest. I will have to wait and see how it turns out before I can have an absolute opinion of it. Hopefully, I will eventually be able to play it and see for myself; is it a "mockery" or a "parody"? A parody is probably fine; a mockery is probably not.

Royal Quest is reputed to be a vulgar and violent comedic spoof--does this not, to some extent, belittle the original King's Quest series, even though the RQ team affirms otherwise? Or do you find it tolerable and take it as a compliment? Do you think you will play Royal Quest?

Sure, I would play Royal Quest. Why not? Also, how would I know whether I should be upset by it if I don't play it? As to whether it is vulgar and violent: again, since I haven't played it I can't really comment on it. You said it is "reputed" to be vulgar and violent. Has anyone really played it yet? Is this the opinion of many people who have played it or of a few? I would expect that with a parody of King's Quest--since King's Quest has more of a sweet, nonviolent reputation--there would be some sort of "opposite" of what King's Quest really is; otherwise, it wouldn't really be a parody. If it were the "same" as King's Quest, then it would be King's Quest. A parody would, as parodies do, poke fun at what it is, and, that would probably include adding in some violence since King's Quest was not about violence. I think that I, and everybody else, probably need to understand that and not take too much offense.

Did you know that Josh Mandel has agreed to provide voices for the KQ1 remake that the Royal Quest team is also creating? What do you think of that?

Well, I think that Josh will do a good job; after all, who besides me would know King's Quest so well? More power to him.

How has the "fan game" situation affected you personally? Are you opposed to fans creating games based upon commercial series? How do you feel about potential copyright violations these games pose?


Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

KatieHal

What Cesar means is that she commented directly on the game itself, rather than just the concept of it.

Katie Hallahan
~Designer, PR Director~

"Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix." Christina Baldwin

I have a blog!

Baggins

#32
Would be interesting if Erpy knows if she ever looked into the finished games or not.

Edit (at least as of this interview they had never played the games):
http://www.adventure-treff.de/artikel/interviews/ken_williams_e.php
Well, ya, King's Quest is on Earth. Daventry is very old city from a long time ago. It's in ruins now and people aren't quite sure exactly where it used to be. There are some archaeologists searching through the ruins, they think they know its Daventry. But its somewhere on Earth."-Roberta Williams http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/File:Daventryisearth.ogg

TheReturnofDMD

Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 04:43:44 PM
Not only fans here say that. Go and read some reviews. There's two things you can get from the reviews overall: 1) It's a very short game 2) It's very true to the King's Quest series. --Roberta didn't have to play the game and give comments either, since I'm sure you know she's never played any other fangame or given comments about any other fangame. Why did she decide to play ours and give comments? I don't know, but she did. And they were extremely good comments. She did say that the game was too short.

We are not arrogant. We just decided to do our take on King's Quest. If you don't like it, that's fine. Like you there are many that don't like it, probably. We don't expect everyone to like it. I welcome you to go and do your own game where you hold your vision of what King's Quest should be. This is our vision, we stand by it, and we are very proud of it --and that's not going to change.

Cesar, the problem isn't so much the direction as the fact that you've stated a goal of yours is to get a commercial license for all of Sierra's franchises. That's going beyond a subjective fan project where it's your vision, and making your ''take'' into an official sequel. As someone who grew up with these games, who has loved these games since I was 4 years old, I find that a bit insulting to myself and other fans.

To me, the only ''official'' version of King's Quest would be one written by Roberta, Josh, or Jane; the only official SQ would be one written by Scott, Mark or Josh, etc. No fan game is the official continuation of the story, nor should it attempt to be--It's insulting to other fans, and to the worlds the original creators created. Regardless of how many people support TSL, that still does not make it King's Quest IX. As you said, it's your take--It's in essence as much a reboot as it is a 'sequel.' My problem is with your plan to try and become the official sequel designers. That's where fan-game freedom ends and something else begins.

You want to have your own vision of KQ? That's fine, everyone is entitled to their own dreams, and visions of the future of the series. But don't call it or attempt to make legally the official KQIX, thereby making other's views something inferior.

Fierce Deity

Quote from: jackinthebox1138 on August 17, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
Here.  You have many fans here that say that.  You could crap on the floor and they would say it was true to King's Quest.  Oh yes, I really see Roberta receiving a fanmade game that was 10 years in development, and then sending you a bunch of negatives about it.  This is a woman who made nursery rhyme games for children.  She's not going to be overly critical.

u mad?

Quote from: jackinthebox1138 on August 17, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
No, it's because J.K. Rowling is a hell of a writer.  She writes creative characters and dialog that sounds extremely natural and is easily relatable to just about anyone at any age.  She does NOT write overly wordy sappy romance novel bulls*** dialogue and turn stoic heroes into spineless wimps.

I'd beg to differ. J.K. Rowling wasn't creative or original. She struck gold by composing an idea that was redundantly cliched but was in dire need of a rehash. Also, the Harry Potter series was directed towards a specific demographic. I would hardly say that the series was "relatable" (not a real word by the way) to any age range, as you said. Another side note; near the end of the series, the books were chock full of "overly wordy sappy romance novel bulls*** dialogue and turn stoic heroes into spineless wimps". Read all seven books again if you want to clarify so. There was a definitive reason why I boycotted the franchise.

Quote from: jackinthebox1138 on August 17, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AMSo there's a bit for everyone.

Except fans of King's Quest.

That's strange. I could swear there was an abundance of "Save TSL", "Down with the C&D", and "&@$# off, Activision" movements all around the web when this project was facing its darker days. If this game doesn't appeal to King's Quest fans, then why did King's Quest fans go out of their way to preserve the project? Normally, I would go along with what you say and play the Devil's Advocate, but in this case, you are ill-informed.

(Posted on: August 17, 2010, 08:15:45 PM)


Quote from: TheReturnofDMD on August 17, 2010, 06:04:10 PM
Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 04:43:44 PM
Not only fans here say that. Go and read some reviews. There's two things you can get from the reviews overall: 1) It's a very short game 2) It's very true to the King's Quest series. --Roberta didn't have to play the game and give comments either, since I'm sure you know she's never played any other fangame or given comments about any other fangame. Why did she decide to play ours and give comments? I don't know, but she did. And they were extremely good comments. She did say that the game was too short.

We are not arrogant. We just decided to do our take on King's Quest. If you don't like it, that's fine. Like you there are many that don't like it, probably. We don't expect everyone to like it. I welcome you to go and do your own game where you hold your vision of what King's Quest should be. This is our vision, we stand by it, and we are very proud of it --and that's not going to change.

Cesar, the problem isn't so much the direction as the fact that you've stated a goal of yours is to get a commercial license for all of Sierra's franchises. That's going beyond a subjective fan project where it's your vision, and making your ''take'' into an official sequel. As someone who grew up with these games, who has loved these games since I was 4 years old, I find that a bit insulting to myself and other fans.

To me, the only ''official'' version of King's Quest would be one written by Roberta, Josh, or Jane; the only official SQ would be one written by Scott, Mark or Josh, etc. No fan game is the official continuation of the story, nor should it attempt to be--It's insulting to other fans, and to the worlds the original creators created. Regardless of how many people support TSL, that still does not make it King's Quest IX. As you said, it's your take--It's in essence as much a reboot as it is a 'sequel.' My problem is with your plan to try and become the official sequel designers. That's where fan-game freedom ends and something else begins.

You want to have your own vision of KQ? That's fine, everyone is entitled to their own dreams, and visions of the future of the series. But don't call it or attempt to make legally the official KQIX, thereby making other's views something inferior.

I may be missing something (I tend to do that), but I personally have never witnessed anybody from Phoenix Online declare The Silver Lining to be an official sequel to the King's Quest series, nor consider it a canonical installment. All I've ever seen is them explaining how The Silver Lining is their "take", "vision", "fan-fiction", etc. Once again, I may have missed a comment that might have leaned in favor of what you're saying, but as far as I've seen, they've been nothing but professional when discussing their positions in this project. Also, when they are saying that TSL is "true to the series", I think they are referring to the content being integral to the King's Quest story. They aren't insinuating that it is a "true King's Quest". Clearly, that would be up for debate, as it is right now.     
Freudian Slip - "When you say one thing, but mean your mother."

TheReturnofDMD

Quote from: Fierce Deity on August 17, 2010, 06:28:46 PM
Quote from: jackinthebox1138 on August 17, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
Here.  You have many fans here that say that.  You could crap on the floor and they would say it was true to King's Quest.  Oh yes, I really see Roberta receiving a fanmade game that was 10 years in development, and then sending you a bunch of negatives about it.  This is a woman who made nursery rhyme games for children.  She's not going to be overly critical.

u mad?

Quote from: jackinthebox1138 on August 17, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
No, it's because J.K. Rowling is a hell of a writer.  She writes creative characters and dialog that sounds extremely natural and is easily relatable to just about anyone at any age.  She does NOT write overly wordy sappy romance novel bulls*** dialogue and turn stoic heroes into spineless wimps.

I'd beg to differ. J.K. Rowling wasn't creative or original. She struck gold by composing an idea that was redundantly cliched but was in dire need of a rehash. Also, the Harry Potter series was directed towards a specific demographic. I would hardly say that the series was "relatable" (not a real word by the way) to any age range, as you said. Another side note; near the end of the series, the books were chock full of "overly wordy sappy romance novel bulls*** dialogue and turn stoic heroes into spineless wimps". Read all seven books again if you want to clarify so. There was a definitive reason why I boycotted the franchise.

Quote from: jackinthebox1138 on August 17, 2010, 04:26:30 PM
Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 05:26:45 AMSo there's a bit for everyone.

Except fans of King's Quest.

That's strange. I could swear there was an abundance of "Save TSL", "Down with the C&D", and "&@$# off, Activision" movements all around the web when this project was facing its darker days. If this game doesn't appeal to King's Quest fans, then why did King's Quest fans go out of their way to preserve the project? Normally, I would go along with what you say and play the Devil's Advocate, but in this case, you are ill-informed.

(Posted on: August 17, 2010, 08:15:45 PM)


Quote from: TheReturnofDMD on August 17, 2010, 06:04:10 PM
Quote from: Cez on August 17, 2010, 04:43:44 PM
Not only fans here say that. Go and read some reviews. There's two things you can get from the reviews overall: 1) It's a very short game 2) It's very true to the King's Quest series. --Roberta didn't have to play the game and give comments either, since I'm sure you know she's never played any other fangame or given comments about any other fangame. Why did she decide to play ours and give comments? I don't know, but she did. And they were extremely good comments. She did say that the game was too short.

We are not arrogant. We just decided to do our take on King's Quest. If you don't like it, that's fine. Like you there are many that don't like it, probably. We don't expect everyone to like it. I welcome you to go and do your own game where you hold your vision of what King's Quest should be. This is our vision, we stand by it, and we are very proud of it --and that's not going to change.

Cesar, the problem isn't so much the direction as the fact that you've stated a goal of yours is to get a commercial license for all of Sierra's franchises. That's going beyond a subjective fan project where it's your vision, and making your ''take'' into an official sequel. As someone who grew up with these games, who has loved these games since I was 4 years old, I find that a bit insulting to myself and other fans.

To me, the only ''official'' version of King's Quest would be one written by Roberta, Josh, or Jane; the only official SQ would be one written by Scott, Mark or Josh, etc. No fan game is the official continuation of the story, nor should it attempt to be--It's insulting to other fans, and to the worlds the original creators created. Regardless of how many people support TSL, that still does not make it King's Quest IX. As you said, it's your take--It's in essence as much a reboot as it is a 'sequel.' My problem is with your plan to try and become the official sequel designers. That's where fan-game freedom ends and something else begins.

You want to have your own vision of KQ? That's fine, everyone is entitled to their own dreams, and visions of the future of the series. But don't call it or attempt to make legally the official KQIX, thereby making other's views something inferior.

I may be missing something (I tend to do that), but I personally have never witnessed anybody from Phoenix Online declare The Silver Lining to be an official sequel to the King's Quest series, nor consider it a canonical installment. All I've ever seen is them explaining how The Silver Lining is their "take", "vision", "fan-fiction", etc. Once again, I may have missed a comment that might have leaned in favor of what you're saying, but as far as I've seen, they've been nothing but professional when discussing their positions in this project. Also, when they are saying that TSL is "true to the series", I think they are referring to the content being integral to the King's Quest story. They aren't insinuating that it is a "true King's Quest". Clearly, that would be up for debate, as it is right now.    

As to your last point: Cesar in quite a few interviews during the release of Episode I stated his intention was, probably after Corridor 9, to negotiate with Activision to get a commercial license to develop commercial sequels to Sierra franchises. He even hinted at making another King's Quest game if they got a commercial license:

http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/games/blogs/screenplay/fit-for-a-king/20100713-10858.html

"Did you want to be able to charge for it? (TSL)

CB: Like Katie said, not for this one. However, we would like to be able to produce games from the rest of the Sierra catalogue in a commercial way. If we were able to pull this off without a dime, imagine what this team could pull off with a commercial license! And so, we are looking forward to speaking with Activision in the future and see if we can make a deal so that we can bring back series like Space Quest, Gabriel Knight, and, why not, another entry in the King's Quest series."

http://www.digitalspy.com/gaming/levelup/a235841/kings-quest-silver-lining-off-cuts.html

Should The Silver Lining prove popular, would you consider developing a fan-made sequel to any of the other Sierra franchises, such as Space Quest?

[CB]: "Corridor 9 is our next big project and although is not a Sierra franchise but a completely original one, we at Phoenix Online Studios want to be able to bring the glory days of Sierra back. Our games will always carry with them the Sierra philosophy of making games, because Sierra On-Line and its team of amazing people shaped us into who we are today. So, like Katie said, no, we would not do another fan sequel, but we would definitely do a commercial sequel to any of those games, and it would be a dream come true (I'd personally give anything to help Jane Jensen create a new Gabriel Knight). Hopefully, the world will see what we've done with King's Quest in The Silver Lining, and see that those other franchises would be in great hands if developed by Phoenix Online."

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/29291/Interview_Phoenix_Online_Studios_Talks_Kings_Quest_Sequel_Whats_Next.php

And the fan project has become part of bigger goals for Phoenix Online Studios: "In the same way Telltale has been bringing back the LucasArts magic, we want to do the same with the Sierra magic," says Bittar. "We would love to work on the Sierra franchises -- all those great games from the past that have been forgotten. There's so much history."


http://www.honestgamers.com/news/5765/article.html

HG: It seems that a lot of your team had worked on The Silver Lining around other careers. Based on the experience that you had working on this project, is game design something that most or all of your team would like to do full-time if gamers or publishers like what they see and ask for more?

Of course! That's our goal at Phoenix Online Studios. We spent all this time creating great relations among the team members, and we now feel as a family ready to take a bigger challenge, and to start creating our own original IP and, also, hopefully, being able to work out something with Activision, the owners of the Sierra IP, to bring some of those franchises back into the market. We are very interested in doing something with IP such as Gabriel Knight, Space Quest, Quest for Glory, and all the other great Sierra franchises.

On the other hand, we also have an upcoming commercial project that is now on pre-production stage. It's a fully original story and it's called Corridor 9, and it revolves around the story of a scientist, a woman called Faith, who is looking for the cure to death in an post-apocalyptic world. It's a story that poses questions of religion vs science, and man vs machine. We have taken all that we have learned about what worked on The Silver Lining, and we are currently constructing our production plans based on that. It will be a very atmospheric game, a sci-fi story with hints of horror, and everyone in the team is very excited about it!"

waltzdancing

One must accept all kinds of criticism because it is the only way to grow and learn as we have done with all the fan feedback we have been receiving, however you are basing all this negativity on only a small part of the game.

You as the game player have only touched the tip of the iceberg and have only seen a small part of the story. This game is brilliantly written and give a wonderful touch on the game with a sense of urgency that seemed to lack in the previous games. This game is not geared toward just and older audience as my 10 year old sister loves to play the game as I test. Today's audiences want blood, gore and how many times you can shoot somebody before they die. Kings Quest is about family love and how one man has spent his life fighting to keep his family safe. That is what makes a true Kings Quest game.

As a long time Kings Quest fan, I don't mind the transition to a darker game because you have an adversary who is more powerful than anything Graham has ever had to face. It would be a sort of a let down if Shadrack was a guy who shot rainbows and daisy while his minions were kidnapping, threatening bodily harm, and trying to kill you. Personally I hope Shadrack comes at me with everything he can must because this is the moment everyone has been waiting for since KQ6.

All I can say is to not knock the game until you have played episode 2. You have seen the cover of the book, so to speak, and read the quick summary on the back. Play episode 2 learn a bit about what is going on and then judge whether or not you truly like it. Don't judge a game based on other reviews but on your own personal game experience and if you don't like it then don't play it, but at least give it a chance and keep an open mind.

wilco64256

Cesar, the problem isn't so much the direction as the fact that you've stated a goal of yours is to get a commercial license for all of Sierra's franchises. That's going beyond a subjective fan project where it's your vision, and making your ''take'' into an official sequel. As someone who grew up with these games, who has loved these games since I was 4 years old, I find that a bit insulting to myself and other fans.

So you would prefer it if Activision just continued to sit on the IP and there was never any actual official work every done on the old Sierra series of adventure games ever again?

How exactly would it be insulting for a group that's able to obtain the permission of both the current owner of the Sierra IP and the blessing of the original creators of these games to pick up where they left off?  I don't see anybody else actually putting forth serious effort to do that.  We're all huge fans of the series too or we wouldnt' be doing what we're doing - and there are quite a few other fans who would likely love to see some of the Sierra franchises expanded after all these years.  We all love remakes of the originals, that's all kinds of fun, but people also love to see new stuff come out, and I hate to break it to you but the original creators are done - they're not going to continue any of those series, and Activision probably isn't going to start making new "x Quest" games on their own.
Weldon Hathaway

Lambonius

Actually, relatable IS the proper adjective form of relate--for some reason the spell check just doesn't accept it.  ;)

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/relatable

While I'm not crazy about the darker tone of TSL (or the overly negative tone of jackinthebox's posts lol), I'm willing to give the rest of the game the benefit of the doubt and at least play it before I put all my marbles in the "down with TSL" camp.   :P

Incidentally, it's funny that the Harry Potter series should come up as an example--I actually thought the books got progressively worse as they got darker--and it was that darker tone that ultimately ruined the series for me, especially the God-awful last book, which removed everything I loved about the earlier books entirely, and focused on one dreary death-ridden slog to the final battle--which itself was the icing on the crap-cake--particularly when [spoiler]Rowling kills off like half the supporting characters that we had grown to love throughout the course of the series.  Just terrible.  Blech.[/spoiler]  The first two books were amazingly witty and charming, and the way the school was portrayed and the creative silliness of the classes and lessons were a real joy to read about.  Going down the dark emo path in book three (and then getting even worse from there) was about the worst decision Rowling could have made, in my opinion.  There are points in the later books where I just wanted to punch Harry in the face, he was so whiny.

I just don't understand why people automatically think that for a series to mature, it needs to "go darker."  I don't get it.  Dark does not equal deep.  I just don't understand why people seem to always equate the two.  KQ6 was easily the deepest game in the series, and it really wasn't "dark" at all--at least not in the way the later Harry Potter books were.  The impression KQ6 leaves on most people is that of a beautiful love story, with the hero overcoming impossible odds to save and be with the one he loves.  My wife even teared up during parts of it when I had her first play through it with me (which was an awesome experience BTW, and highly recommended if your wife/girlfriend is at all into games.  :))

TheReturnofDMD

Quote from: Lambonius on August 17, 2010, 06:58:36 PM
Actually, relatable IS the proper adjective form of relate--for some reason the spell check just doesn't accept it.  ;)

http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/relatable

While I'm not crazy about the darker tone of TSL (or the overly negative tone of jackinthebox's posts lol), I'm willing to give the rest of the game the benefit of the doubt and at least play it before I put all my marbles in the "down with TSL" camp.   :P

Incidentally, it's funny that the Harry Potter series should come up as an example--I actually thought the books got progressively worse as they got darker--and it was that darker tone that ultimately ruined the series for me, especially the God-awful last book, which removed everything I loved about the earlier books entirely, and focused on one dreary death-ridden slog to the final battle--which itself was the icing on the crap-cake--particularly when [spoiler]Rowling kills off like half the supporting characters that we had grown to love throughout the course of the series.  Just terrible.  Blech.[/spoiler]  The first two books were amazingly witty and charming, and the way the school was portrayed and the creative silliness of the classes and lessons were a real joy to read about.  Going down the dark emo path in book three (and then getting even worse from there) was about the worst decision Rowling could have made, in my opinion.  There are points in the later books where I just wanted to punch Harry in the face, he was so whiny.

I just don't understand why people automatically think that for a series to mature, it needs to "go darker."  I don't get it.  Dark does not equal deep.  I just don't understand why people seem to always equate the two.  KQ6 was easily the deepest game in the series, and it really wasn't "dark" at all--at least not in the way the later Harry Potter books were.  The impression KQ6 leaves on most people is that of a beautiful love story, with the hero overcoming impossible odds to save and be with the one he loves.  My wife even teared up during parts of it when I had her first play through it with me (which was an awesome experience BTW, and highly recommended if your wife/girlfriend is at all into games.  :))

Exactly. I mean MoE, for all it's faults, made the story deeper (though it also made it darker sadly)--It was a very Arthurian, Medieval Romance epic tale that had it been done right could have surpassed KQ6 in terms of depth. Mature =/= dark and emotional.