Johnathon

This crap is my bread and butter :D

Alright dudes, Sucks having to tell you this, but while I've set up two more campaigns (Yahoo/Bing and Facebook) using my web account promotional coupons, I can't seem to get them to run without attaching a credit card. Google Credit was pretty straightforward, in that it just let me use up the coupon; but I've been trying to get these other two to work, but they don't offer prepay options, and require a real credit account before they accept the coupon, and seeing as that I'm not able to keep a close enough eye on these things 24/7 and my credit card accounts (all of them), are nearly maxed out, I just don't see myself going that route. The google campaign may turn out to be the only thing I could have done to further help promote the SpaceVenture, and looking at the pace it's been running, I'm worried that even with that little extra help from me (and all of us here), it still might not make the goal. What has this world come to in the last 20 years? :(

Very amusing indeed. :)

Colin, I'm so glad to be reading this. I was hoping some others might be inspired to do the same. And, thank you Chris and Troels, but trust me, I'm no saint. I've had those ad credits for two years, and hadn't used them. It was no skin off my back; though I'm very glad I had them to use for a cause such as this. I REALLY want to see the Two Guys successfully take off with their new company. :)

Alright dudes! The credit has been used up. Between yesterday and today, the google ads received 253 clicks leading to the spaceventure (guysfromandromeda.com, so they could see the whole website first, and then be lead to the kickstarter). The ad itself mentioned the kickstarter and encouraged surfers to pledge at least $15 :) I've been a bit swamped the last few days, so I haven't gotten around to using the facebook and yahoo credit yet, but I'll be doing that very soon. P.S. Had wound up changing the daily quota to $90 per day to get more action.

Alright, so... I had $100 worth of advertising credits that came with my website account and which I had never used. I decided to go ahead and plug in a campaign for the SpaceVenture Kickstarter on the google search engine. These ads, according to google, should begin almost immediately. PLEASE, do NOT click on them if you are already aware of the kickstarter - as they will stop running once my promotional balance is used up. To try and avoid excessive clicks from being used up, I have them set to display only twice per day maximum to any given unique web surfer. Also, given that the balance is for only $100, I have the quota set to $3.45 per day. What this means is that you may not see these ads at all if the quota gets reached quickly each day; though assuming the adds cost $1 per click (I can't remember exactly what they cost), that's still about 100 more people being led to the SpaceVenture Kickstarter. I also have credits for facebook and yahoo. I'll be setting those up next. Sincerely, Johnathon

I hope this apparent downhill trend isn't the result of perturbed fans post the initial prototype. Is it just me, or wasn't the amount up beyond 140k yesterday? :(

Highlighting... lol... is this Reader Rabbit...? There was never any highlighting in the Sierra adventures, was there? :D

I find it interesting how the GamerBoomers Forums and SpaceSimCentral gave no criticism at all. They straight up embraced it and gladly. SpaceSim even posted news about it on their homepage. I wonder if the crowd at AG's are more of the mythological/fantastical/serious-down-to-earth genre types? I can't say cause I've never spent any time there before. EDIT: And pcj, the Try Again function of SQ6 was pure genius. I LOVED that about the game.

Mark Crowe! :) First site of him on the forums in history, you say? And I missed him by 4 days. :mellow: To answer the earlier question Scott had, I think a combined GUI and PI would be fantastic! It's why I decided years ago to use both in my fan project, and everyone I can recall who's commented on it, including Troels fairly recently, enjoy the idea of it.

I may hold off on utilizing this at the adventuregamers forums until the demo is ready for them to see (having reached the 100k mark). :D

It's the Two Guys, dudes!!! Whatever it is, it's gonna be worth it! I just pledged $100. Thank goodness for credit cards. :)

Mr. Trowe, I'll admit I was quite uncomfortable being in the position of correcting the CEO of a company employing some people I have 'idolized,' for lack of a better way of putting it, as well as even stepping up in defense of another of my 'idols,' whom I'm certain can take care of himself (the whole thing just seemed really awkward, and I took no pleasure in it); but I'm glad you were able to pick up on the sincerity of our concerns and take them at face value. I'll agree with others here that your recognizing of the mistake has required a great deal of courage and humility, and for that sir, you have earned my respect. I consider this thing just as though it had never happened. I believe if people are understanding and a bit more thoughtful than average, they can easily find that there are good reasons for everything. We are all human, and every one of us has our 'breaking' and 'boiling' points. I don't believe anyone could have rightly assumed that you didn't have a good reason for portraying yourself the way you had been (whether for lack of sleep or whatever else), unless they were also completely blind to their own faults. And for whatever it's worth, I would like to admit to you that I am not blind to mine. I unfortunately have learned this lesson on more than one occasion (once as recently as this very last semester, as I have gone at times for 46 hours without sleep because of emergencies to tend to in studio). I have had two courses in psychology as well, and I am aware of the effect that lack of sleep can have on a person's behavior. It literally causes temporary mental conditions, especially when it reaches the point of insomnia. I am certain with all the excitement and stress you have had to cope with regarding your new company/breakthrough, you have had your share. It is the intensity of times like these that we truly become stronger and better prepared for the future; and it's not a lesson easily forgotten, because even if we can rest at peace with ourselves knowing that all along we meant well but had only suffered a skewed perception due to the stress and strain, quite unfortunately we wind up affecting others outside of ourselves, and that's what hurts more. In short, I understand completely, and I don't see anything that has happened here as being something that is reason for a continued disdain from us to you. All is forgotten. When I look at you now, I don't see this angry bitter person. I see a fellow human with completely normal human thought processes and all the pros and cons that come along with it.

What's worse is that in doing all that burger slinging, I didn't save myself any trouble, because I still had to acquire the atm card to progress with the game. :(

Is there going to be a cameo appearance of Roger Wilco in the new 'SpaceVenture'?

Mr. Trowe, Let me start by saying I respect the fact that you are willing to come here and post, whether to defend yourself or not. And you are right, we know very little in comparison to you, considering your history and relationship with Scott Murphy. I'll even admit, perhaps in my first post just above, regarding this issue, I was being a bit careless and taking a bit of a premature stance, without knowing everything that is going on. I realize that you said this would be your only post here, but in case you're stopping by at all just to read anything that happens next, please consider the following which I would like to say in response to that post, and it does come from the heart: You are a public figure, at least to us "kids" you are. Your initial comment as posted on Ken Allen's wall regarding the Two Guys, carried alot of negative vibe in the way it was phrased. It sounded much like jealousy at the fact that a mere fan was getting attention from Scott Murphy, and not yourself. It reeked of envy classic and old as known in every human story and legend. As you put it, in such similar words, 'some guy he doesn't even know, and not [you].' It would indeed be foolish for us to assume that we know you, nor that we understand your merit vs. unmerit completely, based upon a single comment, and judging what from else you have to say about Scott Murphy, it seems you are convinced that you have your reasons for being upset with him, and Mr. Trowe, I will not challenge that, because I admit that would be nosy and imprudent of me; however... You consider the way you phrased that comment, and posted it for the whole online community of fans, and try and tell me honestly that you haven't made a public and hurtful mistake. REALLY, if you're mad at Scott for something he did/didn't do to you, way back when, then keep it between yourself and him, and if he doesn't want to talk about it, that's between the two of you... And, when you DO decide to post things like that in public, don't do so in a way which allows other indications of jealousy or bitterness to creep in, which is directed at a fan, in front of hundreds of fans. We admire and respect Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe, and we ourselves, like Chris Pope, are fans. It is only natural for us to want to jump up and defend him when we see this. I'll admit that some people here have gone overboard and I do not approve of the intensity of their responses, but you must know, for your own good (not excusing our mistakes here at this board towards you, but...), you must know that as a public figure, your degree of unprofessional behavior is naturally more offensive than ours. Ask yourself, who is it you're more angry with; with whom is your anger most appropriate: Scott Murphy or Chris Pope? Bashing Chris, by subtle implication or mere thoughtless remark, does no good for your reputation with us. And, if your anger with Scott IS appropriate, and yet so long ago and personal to the two of you, is it not such poor etiquette to make a scene in front of all of us, just when Scott Murphy is getting set for a new project we are all greatly looking forward to? If it's none of our business, don't bring US, into it, Mr. Trowe. This having been said, I find it very, VERY sad (and I am speaking from the heart, not for the sake of further criticizing you) that you are willing to post old trash about Scott here, in front of all of us, that is really quite personal and hurtful. Even if for the sake of defending yourself, and clarifying what is, in your mind, rational behavior on your part in front of the community, there is NO EXCUSE for this kind of harmful flaunting of personal, sensitive information. Slander is false, Gossip is true; regardless of which one you claim to be pushing forth about Scott; both are wrong and inappropriate for you to parade. It's quite immature of you, and it shows your friendship for Scott, if I dare infer, is less selfless than desirable. I wonder what he would have to say regarding your "friendship," knowing you're willing to take such cheap shots at him. You should be the better man, and realize the effect you have on Scott publicly, which may be irreversible once you cross a certain line, and wouldn't it be horrible if you came to realize you could never undo the damage you cause to his reputation, having burned it into the minds of the online community, even after you realize you were inappropriate? One can be right, and at the same time, be a... jackass. Being correct about the facts and going about it in a justified and respectable manner, are two completely different things. I think you're hung up on the fact stage, and being a little thoughtless as to how you're coming across and whom you're affecting. Very sad, Mr. Trowe, but I do respect your personal knowledge of/with Scott Murphy (assuming any of it is true, and for the record, I do NOT simply out of principal!), and do not wish to dig into that any deeper. I nonetheless stand behind my initial comment regarding the tone of your remark, and of how it was misfired partially at Chris Pope, and I certainly stand behind what I've said here regarding your SAD and distasteful kick in the nuts you've given Scott Murphy, at this public message board, regarding some of the apparently most personal and sensitive information (To Scott Murphy: I respect you very much, am looking forward to your game very much, and I do not believe everything I hear). I may be somewhat of a kid, Mr. Trowe, and I may be quite unprivy to what you know; but it doesn't take much to know that what you're doing and the way you're doing it is malicious, regardless of if there is ANY good you see in it or of whether you are correct about it to ANY degree. You must act higher than this. I stand behind that, and I encourage you to take these words very seriously if you have any heart. - Johnathon

Don't really know much about anything that's going on with this, and I will resist the urge to place this scenario within one of those metaphorical 'boxes' I have collected, so that I can scrutinize it, despite that to me it seems all too classic of a scenario. Enough rambling. I will say this much: everything about the Two Guys, what they've done, what they're doing (and the way they're doing it), and what they can do is reason for excitement and anticipation of great things. Their spoken as well as unspoken language shines of true artistic desire and ability, and for the implied reasons which can make something like game designing so great. I believe them to be very inspired for what they've set out to do, and their actions speak to me that they have something great up their sleeves. They've got moxie. I find this to be one of those scenarios where another's criticism speaks even more of the victims' potential and ability to be envied than it does of the offender's incompetence. In other words, I suppose I could say to Mr. Trowe, "because they have the choice and they can do what they see fit with it, with or without your understanding or approval of it."

Welcome back, dude!

Very nice (Y)

Agreed, and it may also be worth mentioning that in the case of Sierra (now Activision holding the copyrights to the games), the Space Quest Series has been very well-published, distributed, and documented over the last 26 years, and so it is arguable that a registration of the trademark through the USPTO would not be necessary for Activision to win any court case regarding the matter. It simply isn't "guaranteed" that they would.

I remember the time when I actually made that thousand or so burgers, because I was unaware of the ATM solution and was young and impatient to move ahead with the game (this was before i ever had access to the internet for cheats). It took me a frick'n week to make all those burgers. Absolutely nuts I tell you.

Ah....... No... BONES about it. I see. :)

I still comprise approximately 7/16's German, 3/8's French, and the rest a tiny mixture of Deutsch, Cherokee, and Blackfoot (all according to elders in my family whom I believe on every word simply because I'm not that into the hobby of geneaology (sp). Additionally, I am a descendant of John Hancock on my father's side, and a descendant of the original Hatfields (of the "Bad Blood" incident) on my mother's.

I can't belive it's that simple. Perhaps I remember it wrong.

Guys, I can clarify: I'll only speak on what I know for sure (the rest I learned within the last few months but just don't remember for certain). A work is techincally considered copyright simply by the autrhor writing the C with the circle around it, on his/her work (though this does no good if there is an infringement case (authors are advised to have their works registered so that if there is an infringement claim, the process is easy). Same goes for TM (TM is not register with the USPTO, yet simply for a person to use it indicates his/her intent to consider said design his/her trademark. It is best to register trademarks to avoid issues when claiming a dispute for infringement. One may wonder what is the point of not registering, when the government will not gaurantee to stand behind you if you haven't registered through their systems (otherwise, think about it, it's your word against theirs); but it does seem to help deter those who are not educated on the matter. Now, the stuff i can't claim I remember perfectly accurately: patents expire after 20 years, to avoid uncontrolled monopoly; yet extensions can be filed in some caes (patents don't apply to these adventure games, as far as I know (just trademakrs and copyright). I don't believe that trademakrs expire, yet it seems Roger Wilco was never a "registered" one.