JDHJANUS

I've mentioned this on Twitter, but I REALLY enjoy this show! Looking forward to more episodes!!!! :D Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Yes, Troels is correct. I'm guessing there would be licensing things, and considering that GK1 remake has gone back to being mentioned as far back as the Moebius Kickstarter in 2012, and Sierra was not launched until 2014, I'm guessing it has something to do with that. And *technically*, the first Sierra re-launch title will be Geometry Wars 3 in December. Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I definitely agree there is a lot of subjectiveness in a subject such as this. I, for example, can get seriously scared by games that I can't die in, simply because I startle easily. All it takes is to have something unexpected jump out at me (even if it's not meant to be scary), and I will be scared. Even in real life this often occurs. I'm I'm listening to music on my headphones at work, and someone taps me on the shoulder unexpectedly, I almost always freak out and jump. But I realize that my exaggerated startle response is not something that most people typically have. :) For me, at least, creepiness is directly correlated to fear. If something creeps me out, you can bet I'm going to be afraid, at least at some level. Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I think you can definitely do creepy/scary without death. The game Serena, for example, definitely gave me some serious creepy vibes the first time I played it (and this was when the game was still incomplete in the beta stage!) I was also severely freaked out by Ben Croshaw's Chzo Mythos series, and although you can die in those games, you basically go back to right before you die (like in the Manhunter series). Nevertheless, the first time that the hotel transitions to the "other world" in Trilby's Notes, I freaked out (I was playing the game at night with the lights out, so that probably didn't help). Another good example - after hearing about the game Amnesia from Frederik on the Back Seat Designers podcast, I watched a YouTube video of the first 20 minutes or so. Even though none of the creatures that CAN kill you in that game attacked the player character in the time that I watched, I was DEFINITELY creeped out by it. While death definitely adds a level of suspense to fear, you can still use the sense of dread to evoke fear in a player's mind by playing with their heads...Making them *think* there's something there when there's actually not. I mean, even though haunted houses are obviously fake, there's a willing suspension of disbelief that you have to have upon entering to enjoy the experience. Of course there's no one in there REALLY going to hurt you, but if done well, it can still seriously freak you out. In the same way, if you take a game that uses the environment to evoke a sense that something *might* come out and attack you, whether or not you're actually in any danger, you can still seriously freak the player out. Brandon - I played Maniac Mansion as an adult (just a couple of months ago), and those scenes you mentioned still seriously freaked me out in the same way!!! :) Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

My GOG Library: Beneath a Steel Sky Broken Sword II Remastered Broken Sword IV Cognition GOTY Edition Dreamfall Dragonsphere Gobliiins Pack I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream Legend of the Amazon Queen Lure of the Temptress Return to Zork Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse Sanitarium Simon the Sorcerer Simon the Sorcerer II Simon the Sorcerer 3D Tales of Monkey Island Teen Agent Tesla Effect Treasure Adventure Game Tyrian 2000 Zork Grand Inquisitor Zork Nemesis And, just for fun, my GOG Wishlist: Anachronox Broken Age Season Pass Ether One Deluxe Edition A Golden Wake My Steam wishlist is a bit longer than that. :) Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I feel for me that most of the scary scenes in Sierra games aren't necessarily jump out and freak you out, but rather moody suspensefulness. I agree that Klorox II definitely gave me that feeling...the fact that I didn't know what was coming or what to expect at any point...It definitely gave me the heebity jeebities. Xenon in SQXII is another great example. And although there's nothing really scary that happens, I still remember the first time I wandered around the mansion grounds in The Colonel's Bequest...the mood and coloring are really quite perfect! Phantasmgoria had a few scenes that gave off that vibe, but for the most part, the game is pretty foolproof from dying until the very end. Manannan in King's Quest III used to always freak me out, especially because as a kid I didn't know he was on a timer, which made his appearances all the more frightening for me. I was also afraid of the Dark Forest in King's Quest V as a kid as well. Absolutely most TERRIFYING part for me as a kid (to the point that I would beg my mom or sister to play through that part) was the Troll's cave in King's Quest IV. But hands down, for me, the only time I distinctly remember jumping and freaking out in a Sierra game as an adult was Shivers. Towards the beginning of the game, you find yourself in a situation where you get attacked by one of the Ixupi, but at the time you really don't know what an Ixupi is or where they reside...It literally jumps out at you with no warning whatsoever. Needless to say, that freaked me out (even though the Ixupi itself is cartoonish and not all that scary...just wasn't expecting it). Throughout the game afterwards, whenever you're near an Ixupi, this creepy music starts to play, and you get that "Oh crap" feeling and quickly click out of the screen as fast as you can. It's akin to being on a screen in the King's Quest games and all of a sudden the witch or the dwarf or a shark is there. Or the Sariens on the Arcada at the beginning of SQI. You're like "Oh crap...get me off this screen ASAP!!!!" Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Oh wow! That is incredible!!! Thank you for sharing, Tomimt! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Ack, I haven't even listened to the latest episode yet! (It's been insanely crazy this past week). Will try to listen to it tomorrow! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Ack, sorry I missed it. I was sick this whole weekend, and as a result, I wasn't really around for anything! Glad you guys had fun, though! :D Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Space Quest III is one of the most fantastic boxed games in Sierra's library. The details on the cover are fantastic, and it also came with several goodies, including pig-nose glasses that you can punch out to make yourself look like the Two Guys. If you ever get a chance to pick it up off of eBay or Amazon, Troels, I HIGHLY recommend it! :D Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Ah, well that's good to know. At least we have some sort of confirmation. It would be nice, though, to hear from Douglas Herring just how much of the artwork was actually outsourced. I have reached out to him on Facebook, so I hope to hear something back from him soon! I will keep you updated with whatever I hear! Thanks, Fronzel! :) What are the VIEWs, Andrew? Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

So, I have a question about the art design with the remake. From my understanding, Douglas Herring did a lot of the background art (and he even posted on Facebook about doing the artwork for the Keronean desert, including the giant skeleton). He is credited in the game as both Director and Art Designer. I may have asked this before in other places, but what exactly was outsourced artwork wise with the game, and where is the evidence that this was done? (Not that I don't believe you guys, I just couldn't find anything in the credits or manual about the artwork being outsourced). Has anyone confirmed this with Douglas Herring? If anyone would know, it would be he. Just curious. Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Yes, but I didn't know about that Easter Egg at the time I played that game! ;) I do hear it makes things significantly easier!! :D Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I'll be honest, and I know I'm in the minority here, but I actually like the remake a lot. Moreso than the original. But then again, my perspectives are a bit eschewed for several reasons. 1. I generally dislike ALL of Sierra's AGI games, due to not being a fan of the AGI engine in general. With the exceptions of Space Quest II and Manhunter 2, I really don't like Sierra's AGI games (even the early KQ games). 2. I also dislike arcade sequences in games, and the fact that you can neither skip the skimmer game nor the slot machine in the original causes it to lose points in my book. 3. I think a big part of what colored my dislike for the original SQI was how hard it was for me and my family as a kid. To give you an idea, we NEVER got off of the surface of Kerona. We made our way to the big alien head, but I didn't learn until I replayed the game as an adult what you had to do to understand him in the first place. We never even knew we were supposed to kill the Orat, and I don't think we ever figured it out. And we played it for YEARS! So yeah, that's my perspective. Ken Allen's soundtrack, of course, is amazing, as is Josh Mandel's script writing. And I do like the updated graphics as well. I can appreciate the artistic nature behind the AGI games, and I definitely understand the perspectives of the people who prefer the original. It's just not something that I'm a huge fan of. In response to Troels' and Frede's most recent Back Seat Designers podcast, I suppose SQ1 VGA would be a guilty pleasure of mine. ;) Although, I will say I still prefer SQIII and V to either version of this game. Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I may even be able to come, but I don't know what all is entailed...Plus, I'll have 3 kids around too, so I may be a bit distracted. It's done through some sort of Google Chats thing, not Skype, right? Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Well, then, I guess for argument's sage, what do you guys as a community think when you consider the SQ games? Do you think they're set far in the past, like Star Wars, in the present (i.e. late 80's/early 90's), or sometime far in the future? Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Looks amazing, Tomimt! Thank you so much for sharing!! :D Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I finished Maniac Mansion for the first time a couple of weekends ago, and I've been playing through the game Vohaul Strikes Back in the past week. Once I finish VSB, I plan on starting Zak McKracken and the Alien Mindbenders. :) As far as consoles go, I'm currently playing Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance. Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Thanks for the kind words! And that's an understandable perspective; however, the intent of the story is to be more a of a love letter to the Sierra community moreso than the Sierra games themselves. Thus, the more focus on the community members as opposed to the Sierra universe as a whole (considering that there are quite a few Sierra fanfics spread throughout the web, I thought it would be interesting and somewhat original to instead focus on the community). But there will be more Sierra references and such as the story progresses. But I will say that they will continue to remain on the periphery, while the story focuses more on the community. Thanks again for your response! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

I guess it goes without saying that I enjoy this podcast, but since there are definitely quite a few people here whom I don't interact with on Twitter or Facebook who listen to the podcast, I wanted to get some opinions. What do you guys think of my ongoing story, "Quest for the Two Guys from Andromeda"? There's still quite a bit of ground to cover, as we have some more fun exploits in the King's Quest world for the next chapter (and poor Troels gets picked on some more) before taking a brief intermission and then going on to a world inspired by Quest for Glory. I have several more chapters planning, each one highlighting different Sierra fandoms, but I'm curious to know what everyone thinks of it! Also, if you would like to be featured as a character (either just a random mention or even have a larger role), please let me know! Thanks in advance! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Ack! Thanks, Collector, for noticing. I guess that shows you how long it's been since I've really posted here (I mainly lurk), and I didn't even realize I hadn't updated my profile. O_o Although it is not canon, DOTE brings forth an interesting point: 1. Perhaps the Wilcos are originally from earth and ended up going through Black Hole Bertha to end up on Xenon... 2. Maybe there's another planet in the Earnon galaxy that happens to be named Earth as well? I'll be honest, I don't remember him saying anything about being on earth in DOTE, but I've played several games since then! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Hey guys! I know I suck at checking this forum on a regular basis, but I am trying to get better at it! Anyways, I was talking to my friend Taylor about this, and then after getting Troels' perspective, he suggested I post here and see what everyone here thought. What would you say is the relative timeframe of the Space Quest games in relation to our timeline/universe? Do you think that the Space Quest games are set in the same time/space as our own timeline? The only intersection we truly have is in Space Quest III, where Roger drops off the Two Guys of Sierra's HQ in 1989, but then again, this after going through a BLACK HOLE, so who knows how that warped space/time! Could the Space Quest games be set in an entirely different dimension or universe? Far in the future like Star Trek, far in the past like Star Wars, or on the same time and space as our own universe? Looking through the documentation of the SQ games, SQ1's manual makes it sound like it's set in present day time (i.e. 1986 when the game was first released), as it says that this takes place in a galaxy light years from Earth. SQV's "Galactic Inquirer" has the date of 3009, but there's no clarification if that's BC/AD, or some other time frame altogether. Any thoughts you guys have would be appreciated! Have a great day! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Tomimt, this is INCREDIBLE!!! One of the coolest things I have ever seen! I love the Colonel's Bequest! Thank you so much for sharing!!!! Just to let you know, though: The Link to the Zip file is not working. Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh

Hey everyone! I'd like to introduce myself. My name is Josh, and some of you may know me from Twitter (@JDHJANUS). I've also been posting on the Sierra Planet boards (formerly the Sierra Nebula boards) for years now, and have been a Space Quest fan since I watched my mom and sister play the first 4 SQ games in 1990-1991. I look forward to being a part of the community, and will make an effort to stay active. Glad to be a part of one of the most awesome fandoms in Sierra history! Talk to you later! JDHJANUS Josh