What's up with King's Quest these days?

Aeschylus · Mar 18, 2013

Well, I can recall 3 different versions of the story that I've read, all of which were slightly different. I don't think any of them claim that the sale itself was a hostile takeover, but I do recall an interview with Al Lowe where he related how Ken Williams was basically forced out of the company by the CUC people post-sale.

Blackthorne · Mar 18, 2013

Yeah, due to the nature of Sierra being a public company - Ken had to answer to shareholders, and they wanted to go with CUC... it was kind of a shitty situation for games - but the shareholders were happy.. for the moment.

Bt

Andyman Messiah · Mar 19, 2013

Sceptic said:
Stabwound said:

King's Quest 6 is an absolute classic: one of the best adventure games ever

Click to expand...

Yes it is. And fuck the story (playing KQ for story, Andyman? really?), it had some glorious puzzles, multiple endings and quite a bit of extra content for those who fully explore. It was great.

Yes, Septic. Really.

OMG OMG WILL PRINCE ALEXANDER BE ABLE TO RESCUE CASSIMA IN TIME BEFORE SHE IS MARRIED TO EVIL JAFFAR??!!!

Only reason to play King's Quest 6. Puzzles are easy VGA Sierra-style puzzles and the multiple endings are really just a matter of how many people are invited to the wedding or *gasp* if there will be a RING to put on Cassima's finger (and this is really just for comedic effect, the ring doesn't matter the slightest which was of TREMENDOUS disappointment when I first played KQ6 and forgot to get the ring back from the pawn shop - I hoped I would at least get a death message or something). Look, I guess they're neat and they do change lots of dialogue (AKA STORY), but, eh.

Speaking of QFG5; as much as some people seem to hate it, it really did the best job at wrapping up its series.

Blackthorne · Mar 19, 2013

With QFG5, it wasn't the story, so much, that was the problem for me - it was the shift in game engine and style of play. I've often joked about doing a QFG5 "de-make" to make it match up to, say, QFG4.

Bt

Andyman Messiah · Mar 19, 2013

It was definitely a step backwards when compared to how pretty the previous games looked but that was its only problem IMO. It still played alright.

Blackthorne · Mar 19, 2013

Yeah - I mean, I actually like the game. I don't think it's horrendous, like KQ8 - QFG5 is infinitely playable compared to Mask of Eternity.

Bt

jfrisby · Mar 21, 2013

Blackthorne said:
Telltale's deal with Activision expired; the license is being held by Activision, as are all the Sierra IPs. They're "doing something of their own" with them, as far as I know. The only reason the Larry remake happened is that Codemasters bought the IP years ago, and now licensed it to Replay game.
Activision has their own plans, evidently, so look out for whatever that lump of shit might be.

Sorry to join the forum to reply, but you've repeated this many times in the Telltale forums, but as far as I can tell it is just your speculation (however informed). While it's very likely the case, and was also Josh Mandel's reading of the situation, can you support it with any actual evidence?

Ninja Destroyer · Mar 23, 2013

Jaesun said:
Thanks BT. If Activision is going to so something with it by themselves, DO NOT WANT.

Guys from Phoenix Online Studios were developing The Silver Lining. Quick preview and we see - "inspired by the King's Quest series of the 1980's and '90's, The Silver Lining is a non-commercial game that follows King Graham of Daventry as he searches for a cure to a terrible curse laid on his children by a sinister cloaked figure, and begins to learn that not everything in their lives and pasts is as it seems.".

They had some problems with Activision due to the fan sequel KQ thing.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/activision-shuts-down-the-silver-lining

King's Quest fan project The Silver Lining is being wiped from the face of the internet at the insistence of Activision's lawyers.

Years ago, King's Quest rights owner Vivendi/Sierra granted a non-commercial licence to the project following a brief legal spat.Vivendi/Sierra is now Activision Blizzard, however, and the new owner apparently won't extend the favour.

"After talks and negotiations in the last few months between ourselves and Activision, they have reached the decision that they are not interested in granting a non-commercial license to The Silver Lining, and have asked that we cease production and take down all related materials on our website," read a statement on The Silver Lining website.

"As before, we must and will comply with this decision, as much as we may wish we could do otherwise."

The Silver Lining team had been on track to release the first of five episodes in spring this year.

"We cannot say enough how much we appreciate the support we have had over these years from our fans. Without you, we would never have gotten this far. There would be no game to develop, and no one to develop it for. You have been amazing and steadfast, and we will always remember that and appreciate it more than we can say," continued the post.

"Sadly, after eight years of dedicated work and even more dedicated fans, The Silver Lining project is closing down."
The game's forums have been closed, as were Activision's wishes, but a new area has been created for TSL friends to keep in touch and chat in.

But after that the suits changed their mind.

http://gamepolitics.com/2010/06/28/...grants-license-king’s-quest-game#.UUz91jdfbuw

Phoenix Online Studios, which had received a cease-and-desist from Activision over a fan-made King’s Quest game, has now been given the go-ahead by the publishing giant and will release the first episode of The Silver Lining on July 10.

At the end of June, the development team wrote that Activision reached out a few months earlier with “a desire to revisit their decision.” After some negotiating the cease-and-desist was rescinded and Phoenix was granted a non-commercial license.

Ironically, Phoenix went through the exact same scenario when King’s Quest was still under the control of Vivendi. That publisher too had issued a C&D on the project, only to cave to fan pressure later on and bestow a non-commercial license on the game.

The game, which will be released for free on TSL-Game.com, is described as “allowing gamers to revisit familiar characters and lands inspired by Roberta Williams' beloved King's Quest universe, which captured the hearts and imaginations of millions of fans during the 80's and 90's.”

They are now 4 episodes available to download. The fifth is in the production now. As for gameplay, here is the link.

These guys made also kickstarter for another episodic adventure game, called Cognition. It's focused on detective work (being a FBI female agent with ginger hair; sounds rather familiar

). First episode of four is out, and there is a demo.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/postudios/cognition-an-erica-reed-thriller?ref=search
http://www.postudios.com/cognition/

Jaesun · Mar 23, 2013

I played the first 2 The Silver Lining's. I thought they were OK... but a tad short. Glad to see Activision didn't go full fucking douchebag and shut them down.

DalekFlay · Mar 23, 2013

I can guaran-god-damn-tee Telltale are completely uninterested now in a traditional point and click and have no idea what to do with King's Quest.

DeepOcean · Mar 23, 2013

Yeah, with the success of Walking Dead, they are going to milk the Walking dead franchise until the end of times and still dumbfucks call what they do games because you can click on something in the screen. Yeah, Microsoft Word is the best video game ever.

Blackthorne · Apr 2, 2013

Okay, so now Paul Trowe of Replay has publicly said what I've known for a while.

http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming...whats-ahead-for-replay-games-with-paul-trowe/

According to Trowe, Telltale is out of the King’s Quest picture.
“They had [the King's Quest rights], and we were going to license it from them to make the remakes. I wouldn’t do a King’s Quest without Roberta. [Telltale senior VP of publishing] Steve Allison told me that they have the rights but they don’t have the bandwidth.” Allison offered to look into sub-licensing King’s Quest out to Replay, but Trowe hit a dead end when he brought the conversation over to Activision. ”I talked to the guys at Activision and they were like, ‘No, we’re pulling it [from Telltale] because we’re going to do it ourselves.’”
This is the first public mention of Activision’s plans for King’s Quest since the Telltale connection was first revealed in early 2011. We’ve reached out to Activision for comment and will update accordingly when we hear back. Think about the possibilities though. More Leisure Suit Larry, post-release content updates, a planned F2P casino game, and the possibility of an entirely new game from Roberta Williams. It’s like 1987 all over again. Trowe is just as much excited gamer as he is industry professional, but wouldn’t you be too?

Read more: http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/looking-at-leisure-suit-larry-reloaded-and-whats-ahead-for-replay-games-with-paul-trowe/#ixzz2PJLhtmj5
Follow us: @digitaltrends on Twitter | digitaltrendsftw on Facebook

So there you go. Telltale's deal expired, and Activision wants to do their own thing, which is probably as bowel churning as it sounds.

Bt

Ninja Destroyer · Apr 2, 2013

Activision and adventure games. Does not compute.

Aeschylus · Apr 2, 2013

Seems like the most appropriate possible use for this guy...
:declining:

felipepepe · Apr 2, 2013

Can't wait for a press release that starts with "Following the evolution of the adventure genre that KQ8 paved..."

Jaesun · Apr 2, 2013

King's Quest online DRM Action House EXTREME!!!!!

Ninja Destroyer · Apr 2, 2013

Actualy it will be Queen's Quest, since they want to make it more with the times. It will be a crossover with Starcraft universe. First Heart of Swarm, and now this. It's a good tactic, reminding you of your beloved series. And so old school, that even Ubisoft MMX looks weakly.

RK47 · Apr 3, 2013

Blackthorne said:
With QFG5, it wasn't the story, so much, that was the problem for me - it was the shift in game engine and style of play. I've often joked about doing a QFG5 "de-make" to make it match up to, say, QFG4.

Bt

If that can ever happen...oh god... I was so much liking QFG4's art and setting - I was looking forward to the finale of the series, but looking at the preview killed any enthusiasm for it.
Talks about it going 3d, and combat taking place in the game world - . .. uuuuhhhh...
I never bought it.

Torrented it 2 years ago - and wow. Just epic fail on their part. It never matched the disappointment for Ultima 9 - but it came really close.