Kings Quest Returns (via TellTale)

[Threepwood4life]

from game informer

Telltale has certainly had its hands full lately, working on projects like Back to the Future and Jurassic Park as well as the recently announced adaptations of the comics Fables and the Walking Dead. The company just announced something that may be nearer and dearer to old school adventure-game fans, though. Telltale has acquired the rights to King’s Quest, letting the developer create the first official King’s Quest game in decades.

Telltale isn't saying much about the game, aside from the fact that it's forged a deal that allows for multiple games over several years. I asked Telltale co-founder Dan Connors whether the series' writer and designer Roberta Williams would be involved in the game's production or in a consulting role, and Connors replied, "We really haven’t started looking outside of Telltale yet."

And while the game was announced as being a reboot, Connors says that they'll be looking at the project the same way they did with another high-profile game. "I would say our approach is going to be similar to Tales of Monkey Island. Let’s look at the whole thing, let’s figure out where they left the story, let’s find the most interesting places to go to and embellish upon, and let’s go there. With Tales, it was a wonderful thing to pick up Elaine and Guybrush’s relationship and LeChuck. I think we’ll do the same thing [with King's Quest] and see where all the players fit in and find a time and a place for them to do something new."

The King’s Quest series was one of the earliest graphic adventures on PCs, debuting in 1984. The last official release, King’s Quest: Mask of Eternity was released in 1998. Since then, several fan projects and remakes have kept the series alive, though on an unofficial capacity.

The series’ fate has been uncertain since Vivendi Games, Sierra Entertainment’s parent company, was acquired by Activision in 2007. The last known attempt at a new King’s Quest game was scrapped in 2002.

King’s Quest 2 was the first PC game I ever bought, and I couldn’t be happier that new releases are in the works. There’s a reason why people still care about the series, and new players will have a chance to become acquainted with the world of King’s Quest soon.

[Samnmax221]

Please don't bring Roberta.

[Threepwood4life]

Originally Posted by Samnmax221

Please don't bring Roberta.

Whats wrong with Roberta Williams? tbh I can't see her coming out of retirement for this but I bet shes happy someone like TellTale will do good use with the licence

[Samnmax221]

Originally Posted by Threepwood4life

Whats wrong with Roberta Williams? tbh I can't see her coming out of retirement for this but I bet shes happy someone like TellTale will do good use with the licence

She's kind of a ****ty game designer. Kings Quest was often stupidly brutal, and you'd either get killed or irreversibly stuck with no warning.

[clone2727]

Originally Posted by Samnmax221

Kings Quest was often stupidly brutal

[Giant Graffiti]

What? You guys couldn't figure out the hit-the-snow-monster-with-a-pie puzzle? Pff. Ametuers.

[Samnmax221]

Walk too close to river, fall in and die.

[Snugglecakes]

I imagine this presents an interesting dilemma for The International House of Mojo.

How do you define which games you cover? Anything made by 90s LucasArts employees I suppose... which now means DoubleFine, Autumn Moon, Telltale...

This definition has safely kept Kings Quest out of our midst for decades. And now the can of worms has been opened

So... when are you guys going to add each and every old Kings Quest game to the database? Oh dear I don't feel too well... I actually have a personal "website" that just lives here locally, my own archive of games, chosen by the same rules Mojo uses. I can't put it online because it's full of art and music etc... and has links to launch the games too. So now, if I follow my own rules, I'm going to have to add every Kings Quest game to it. That could take months and I'm not very interested anyway.

Oh Telltale. You've broken it.

[irishmile]

I am fond of the old Kings Quest games... I am looking forward to see what TTG does with it.

[Udvarnoky]

Originally Posted by Snugglecakes

So... when are you guys going to add each and every old Kings Quest game to the database?

Doesn't work that way. If it did, the pre-Telltale CSI games would be in our database. Plus every Sesame Street game ever made!

Heck, there are actually Indy and Star Wars games that we never covered because they did not involve LEC even tangentially.

[Samnmax221]

The database isn't even up right now is it?

[Snugglecakes]

Originally Posted by Udvarnoky

Doesn't work that way.

Aah good, that's very good indeed.

Originally Posted by Samnmax221

The database isn't even up right now is it?

Yes that's bad, that's very bad indeed

Actually the staff are to be commended on the way the site is slowly getting better and better again. The homepage is looking good.

P.S. Samnmax221: Where can I buy my own copy of the game you're currently playing? I lost mine a few months ago.

[Samnmax221]

Originally Posted by Snugglecakes

P.S. Samnmax221: Where can I buy my own copy of the game you're currently playing? I lost mine a few months ago.

Try Cragislist, but be careful. Last time I ended up paying with a kidney

[SyntheticGerbil]

Inserting more Roberta Williams hate.

[ThunderPeel2001]

To be fair, I bet those sorts of problems were with the older games... People were still figuring out what was a good balance back then. (Right?)

Anyways, nothing, anywhere, beats: Ifnkvohgroghprm (= Nikstlitslepmur = Rumpelstiltskin) from KQ1.

Insane puzzle.

[Samnmax221]

Also here's a playthrough of the game Roberta considers to be her magnum opus. Phantasmagoria is just all kinds of unpleasant. It's got crappy mechanics, ridiculous acting (FMV lol), a number of murders, and a brutal rape scene. It adds up to the trashiest horror story ever told.

[s-island]

This is what I get when opening that link:

Viewing this content requires the archives upgrade. In our never-ending quest to wring the most money possible out of our visitors, you now have to pay us to view most of our forum. WOWZERS!

[Samnmax221]

Originally Posted by s-island

This is what I get when opening that link:

****, I didn't think it had drifted into the archives. Unfortunately it looks like some of the videos lost hosting since the last time I looked.

For a taste of this crappy game I'd suggest watching as much as you can stomach of these:
Where's mah drain cleaner
Chapter 2 part one from the Let's Play

The whole game is just incredibly unpleasant and it's pretty obvious that Roberta crammed all the sex and violence in as an attempt to make it "mature".

[StoneFrog]

I always much preferred the Quest for Glory games. Visually and writing-wise, I think they were always superior to the King's Quest games. Plus the nice inclusion of RPG elements would fit perfectly with the "this one's not JUST an adventure game!" vibe I get off of many of Telltale's newer projects. Not only that, but I'm well aware that the Coles have insisted they want to bring the series back: if they could simply acquire funding, a developer team, and a map to Blood Island.

But ah well. I love Sierra's adventure games all the same, and this is one instance in which I think Telltale could do more justice to the IP than the original creator could, at least in this day and age. I wonder if they'll try to continue the seemingly interminable story of the original characters, or do something else? Fantays motifs in the KQ world are generic enough that they could get away with either, really.

Also, I'm new here. Flee whilst you can!

[Snugglecakes]

Originally Posted by StoneFrog

I always much preferred the Quest for Glory games. Visually and writing-wise, I think they were always superior to the King's Quest games.

I agree, they're the only Sierra games I enjoyed back in the day. King's Quest had its moments but was just far too frustrating with not enough reward. Quest for Glory 4, if I remember correctly, was particularly memorable for some reason.

[StoneFrog]

Originally Posted by Snugglecakes

Quest for Glory 4, if I remember correctly, was particularly memorable for some reason.

John Rhys-Davies voiced the narrator. That's why!

[skygoblin]

No matter what you think about ttg charging into this, you gotta admit it's an interesting project. I am eagerly awaiting the first pictures.

[Samnmax221]

Originally Posted by Snugglecakes

I agree, they're the only Sierra games I enjoyed back in the day. King's Quest had its moments but was just far too frustrating with not enough reward. Quest for Glory 4, if I remember correctly, was particularly memorable for some reason.

You should see the Sega Master System version of Kings Quest. Walk down a screen, pop out at the top of the next one in the middle of a river, instantly drowned.

[MusiclyInspired]

This will not end well.

[ThunderPeel2001]

Originally Posted by Samnmax221

You should see the Sega Master System version of Kings Quest. Walk down a screen, pop out at the top of the next one in the middle of a river, instantly drowned.

That's a "feature" of the original King's Quest, IIRC.

[MusiclyInspired]

You don't drown if you swim. Can you swim in the SMS version? I forget.