PurpleTentacle

Wow, nice job!

Ok, thanks for the response. This year I played several adventure games on my iPhone. Games like Monkey Island 1 & 2 and Fester Mudd were enjoyable and more or less easy-ish to play with the small screen... thanks to their labeled hotspots. I also played Larry Reloaded on my phone and found it almost unplayable since it doesn't have labels. It's unbelievably frustrating not being able to tap with your finger in exactly the right spot and having to make more than five attempts to do something as simple as sit down. Players need to be able to drag their finger across screen to see what they are selecting. Anyway, I am fine with whenever the game comes out. Maybe I will have the iPhone 7 by then, and maybe that phone will have a bigger screen for me to play the game on.

To be honest, I feel nervous about this project because it seems like there is so much left to do. I believe I pledged just enough for the game, and I am not interested in complaining. I have no problem waiting patiently. Hoping for the best now. Still have a few questions, though. Sorry if these have already been answered somewhere. Haven't been keeping up with things very thoroughly. 1) is there an estimated year of release? Are we talking maybe 2015? 2) are we still getting mobile versions? 3) will there be labeled hotspots? I hope so! I don't have much time to use a PC now, and I just saw the demo on YouTube. Labeled hotspots are a MUST MUST MUST for mobile versions. It looked like the hotspots were labeled, but hopefully the font won't be too small. It seemed very small in the demo.

Ok, here's the thing... Paul seems like a first-rate dick. I could never imagine working under him, nor would I ever want to. Paul deserves all the bashing he is getting, and I'm happy to join in. He seems like an underhanded snake the way he has anonymously trolled (allegedly!) other projects to hurt them. I would gladly campaign to keep him from having involvement in the next Larry adventure. Yes, bash Paul. But I would just hate the bashing to target the game itself. Ok, and here is where I say some things that some people might not like, but I'm going to say it. Yes, Paul went way overboard in (allegedly) banning and deleting people's posts. He seems like a petty tyrant and a troll and a child. I was one of those people who got banned. But here's the thing... Paul isn't the only one who had ever allegedly gotten heavy handed or threatened forum banning over repeated critical comments of design choices (which were ironically deemed, by people now wanting nothing to do with Paul, "relentless attacks on Paul."). But all that is over and done with. Not everyone moderating the Replay forum was always an angel, and I don't think dramatically playing a martyr for too long is necessary. Moving forward, I would say that it's great people are supportive of the Two Guys and want to cut them slack over possible problems, but I hope there isn't too much "circling of the wagons" to any criticism that might come up to the point of trying cast out those who express even the same concerns Paul has. I know that people like Tomint and Frogacuda have on various forums expressed legitimate concerns about the progress of SV, and I think we should remember that it's ok to air those honest concerns and that it doesn't mean they are "attacking" or any less of a fan.

I don't know about the previous comment. Are people posting on Steam about this? Don't like that. I would hate to hurt the sales of this game. This was a labor of love by so many people. Encouraging people not to buy the game would probably hurt Al and the future of the series. Does N-Fusion deserve this? I think we should be careful not to campaign against the wrong things, because then we'd be no better than Paul. What Paul did (ban a bunch of people unnecessarily from the forum and trash another project) was inappropriate and rude, but it's not like he killed someone. We'd be shooting ourselves in the foot by trying to harm the game sales. I wouldn't be surprised if concern for the game and wanting it to succeed is one reason why Mandel has kept quiet. For all Paul's faults and quirks, he still seems like a hardworking and passionate guy. Let's not get carried away or pile on too much. And no one's perfect. I want the game to be a huge success. If that means obnoxious Paul gets kudos and cash, then that doesn't bother me. He does deserve a lot of credit. The game is getting its big retail rollout in a few days. I would hope most of us could put aside our bruised egos and annoyances with Paull and root on Larry and wish the game the best! At some point the backlash can be excessive. For example, I saw the official Himalaya twitter account even comment on this, and that sort of disappointed me since they are usually so professional and I wished they had just stayed neutral and not commented.

I can't help but feel sad when I watch this video of Josh Mandel, the "third guy from andromeda," talk about how he got involved with Sierra, his design philosophy, his work on Space Quest, and how excited he was to be back with "the old gang" and how he was full of hope about what Replay Games could accomplish. Now, just over a year later, the hope has apparently turned to disappointment. Video: This better not be the end of Leisure Suit Larry. Even though Replay delivered, it all feels so anticlimactic. The somewhat flawed and unfinished-feeling (at times) remake, combined with all the animosity and bad blood created, make it seem like this was a missed opportunity to do something great for adventure gaming. I hate the idea that Paul is the series' only possible savior. Surely someone else out there will be able to make something happen for Al and the series. I hope. Right?

Irishmile, when did the situation seem to turn sour? Were things better last fall? I believe at one point Al was talking to the press very optimistically about LSL2:R, even, I think, giving a tentative release time frame. I believe he even confirmed that pre-production had begun on it. Then there came a time when it seemed no one wanted to talk about the next adventure game. In more recent interviews Paul and Al seem to dodge questions about a potential follow-up adventure and bring the topic back to the free casino game. Do you think this change is more about possible disappointing sales figures or about Al/Josh maybe having second thoughts about staying associated with Trowe (I don't know their feelings since neither has commented)?

Do you or Jeroen or anyone else here know how LSL:R has been selling? How much has it made? Number of copies sold? Was the feeling that it had already been a success, or were people disappointed? One of the reasons I backed the project was so that it would hopefully lead to an all-new Larry game. This is still a big concern of mine, as I love the series. I hope Paul's alienating behavior hasn't made a new Larry game less likely to happen.

Paul comes across immature in his writing and sometimes a mix between exhausted and rambling on camera. He has an unfortunate willingness to engage in personal, public squabbles and his social media behavior has all the tact and diplomacy of a sledgehammer. Basically, he comes across as the opposite of "professional" or "adult." This doesn't inspire confidence in his company or products. I don't say this to bash him. I just wish he would have recognized that his being so public as the face of the company would not be good for the game. We all have strengths and weaknesses, and PR work is definitely not his strength. Why did he have to post cringe-worthy video updates like, "Paul Trowe tells all"? It was as if he wanted to increase his own "star" and get attention for himself. Some of his whining updates on Kickstarter, in which he begged people not to hate him and in which he took forever getting to the point, were often painful to read. When Josh Mandel took over the updates, the campaign instantly took on a more professional tone. Mandel also graciously engaged with people on the forums in very frank but worthwhile conversations. It was clear that Mandel was incredibly devoted and passionate about the project, but he never lost his professionalism. Mandel deserves a lot of credit for cleaning up the earlier messy impression created by Paul. Paul should have stayed in the background and focused on whatever it is he excels at. I just hope people realize how hard Mandel worked on this project. I also wonder if Al didn't assert himself enough or ever contradict Paul. Paul seems to have a very strong personality, while Al (whom I don't know personally) seems more easy-going. Perhaps Paul got his way on pretty much everything, instead of deferring to the creative talent like Josh and Al. What good would being a "Chief Creative Officer" do if the CEO is micromanaging everything? One thing that's certain is that Josh Mandel is a proven unique and immense creative talent. I have confidence that we have not seen the last of his work.

Frogacuda, I think you are missing an important point in your defense of Trowe. It seemed that Paul was trying harm the project. It wasn't just Paul "being himself," as in, "oh, there goes that Paul Trowe again. Never a two-faced, always up-front. Take him or leave him." No, Paul knows he's a higher profile backer than the rest of us and that his words will get more attention. It appeared that he had been waiting eagerly to say, "we did it, and your project is failing. Haha!" When Paul says, "what are they hiding, and why?" he is apparently trying to spread doubts and increase the pile-on of criticism. Seemed he saw them struggling and wanted to kick them when they were down. It was conniving and malicious from someone who pretended to be their friend and a supporter of what they were trying to accomplish. In other words, it wasn't just the objective opinion of a producer who was expressing an informed opinion for the sake of it. That is what rubbed me the wrong way. And that is without even getting into his unprofessional follow-up rants and punishing of his critics.

This whole situation isn't anything new for the Two Guys. Replay Games is the new ScumSoft, and Paul Trowe is the new Elmo Pug, the ridiculed CEO of ScumSoft before the company's demise. The Two Guys triumphed before, and they shall again!

Monolith_Pig- I also want to see Replay and Paul Trowe out of the picture, as far as new Larry games go. Remember who it was who blabbed about Telltale losing the KQ license: http://www.digitaltrends.com/gaming/activision-is-planning-something-for-kings-quest-franchise-rights-reportedly-recovered-from-telltale-games/ This apparently caused Telltale to themselves confirm the news within days. Do you think Paul Trowe doesn't get a kick out of going around trying to plant doubts about his competitors and those whom he apparently seems to see as a threat? Members of the gaming press, please get to the bottom of the Josh Mandel situation. Why should Paul Trowe be allowed to announce the Mandel news (whatever it is) on his terms, when he wants, and in a way that benefits him? Force him to confront the issue now. I really think Paul Trowe is a poisonous, destructive force within the adventure game community, and the sooner that classic Sierra IP is yanked out of his clutches for good, the better.

The person who wrote the following also posts here and is fair and respected: http://mixnmojo.com/news/Is-Paul-Trowe-of-Replay-Sabotaging-Other-Kickstarters Just a thought. Maybe the Mandel story can be confirmed? But, yeah, I also had the impression that Al was passing the torch to Mandel. I've always thought Mandel is a great talent who had given so much creative content for Sierra games but who never got the top billing he deserved. It finally seemed like he was about to emerge as the "star" designer of some upcoming Replay adventure games. Regardless, I'm sure we'll be seeing a lot more from him. Anyway, put me down as another one who supports and has faith in the Two Guys. I feel like this Trowe idiocy has reinvigorated my support for them! If a completed SpaceVenture will piss off Trowe, then it must happen! :-)

The most newsworthy angle, from their perspective, is probably what happened with Josh Mandel. If I read some earlier posts correctly, it sounds like Mandel is no longer with Replay. That's a big deal, if true. Had this already been public knowledge? I sure didn't know it and I'd been following all the LSL:R updates. Mandel had been announced with great fanfare as their Chief Creative Officer or something. Also, he's the one who did most of the new writing (I believe) in the new game. He was also the main PR guy online for a lot of the campaign and afterwards. Replay's community rep seemed pretty useless (not talking about the forum moderators, who were great), but Mandel was often accessible and always worth hearing from. So, yeah, I can see stories being written about Mandel's apparent departure, if that can be confirmed. Then other details of Paul's antics could be provided as related details to give a broader picture of Replay's standing in the adventure game community. Pitch away!

If people were expecting/hoping for Paul Trowe to shift today to a more apologetic tone, then they are going to be disappointed. Paul Trowe tweeted a sarcastic "thank you" to Serena and others for an increase in Twitter followers he says he got today.

I backed SpaceVenture, though haven't been following things too closely. I also backed LSL:R and have participated in their forum, so I am familiar with Serena's contributions and the other regular posters there. After some people posted that Paul Trowe has acted in an embarrassing way that reflects poorly on the company, it appears they were banned. Don't really know how it all went down, though. All of Serena's and the other banned people's posts over months and months were deleted just like that, apparently. Serena and these people did not deserve that. That Paul Trowe (I'm assuming he did it) would seemingly just ban dedicated fans like that just seems very low and tells me a lot about the guy. I don't understand why anyone would want to work with him. Why is Al sticking with him? Maybe Al has no other choice? It seems Paul Trowe is very insecure. He has to go on another Kickstarter, trash others' work and brag to make himself feel better? I came on to say two things: First, Serena, I think you're probably better off not even having to deal with people like Paul Trowe, who is a very negative force in the adventure game community. And, second, I am confident the SV/SQ fan community will continue to strongly support the Two Guys, despite Paul Trowe's apparent efforts to hurt the project's image.