jocolloman

I'm not sure whether it was wise for Mojo to publish that article. It's fine for forum debate, but the claims are too speculative and unsubstantiated to warrant an article on the subject.
 
I find it quite hard to maintain objectivity on this issue, because of my personal dislike for Paul Trowe that has grown after watching his behaviour over the past few weeks. I backed Leisure Suit Larry, and I don't regret that, nor do I want my money back, but he's making it hard for me to remain as excited about the project as I once was. I find myself almost wanting to believe the worst about him when claims like this surface.
 
If we look at Gamespygeek the evidence is rather damning. The Myspace page had a photo of Trowe on it. The name "Jiminy Drambuie" is clearly a pseudonym. The style of writing is the same as Trowe's. He seems to have the same beef with people as Trowe does, namely the Two Guys / Chris Pope, and Wisecrack. The whole Myspace page mysteriously vanished as soon as the story broke. Now people have said "why would he publicly support the Two Guys and secretly undermine them at the same time?" Well I think it's quite plausible that he's merely being two-faced to protect his public image. He was almost forced into apologising here for his behaviour in a thread about the Two Guys, because people were turning against him. The sincerity of that apology is questionable, he could still be pissed off at them, and we know from Twitter/Facebook that he's an angry man, so the only outlet for his true feelings is via an anonymous account, and people are always at their most honest when they're anonymous. While that's going on he can publicly play the nice guy urging people to support them, and hope that no one is any the wiser. Of course, none of this evidence amounts to solid proof, it wouldn't hold up in a court and could be argued either way, so it comes down to our personal feelings to dictate which conclusion we believe. Personally I can't escape the feeling that Paul Trowe would be more than capable of this, just judging by his past actions and comments as an indicator.
 
With the issue that Irishmile raised on the Replay forums, having two people posting from the same IP address is always suspicious. The people did have a plausible excuse though, that they work together. People naturally befriend their work colleagues, discuss their interests and opinions. It's foreseeable to me that two people who formed a friendship via work would back the same project and share a similar opinion on events. I know that I told all my friends about the campaigns I was supporting, in order to get them to pledge too, and typically when I discuss how I feel about something with a friend it's because I know they will agree with me. The fact that they come from Chicago, as does Ken from Wisecrack could also be seen as a little suspect, but Chicago is a big city, so it's hard to draw much from that other than co-incidence without something more substantive. Again, it's a lot of speculation, but I feel the argument of sabotage is much more of a stretch to make here, and I'm more willing to extend the benefit of the doubt towards everyone in this instance.
 
I think it's a shame that everything got so blown out of proportion here. Wisecrack were misleading in their original approach, but had someone just politely messaged them and asked them to change the wording of their campaign then things could probably have been cleared up easily. The fact is that all the media involvement, threats of lawsuits, and mudslinging across social networks, all done by Paul Trowe, merely made Wisecrack look like the victims, and tarnished Paul's own image. Had Wisecrack refused a reasonable request, then I wouldn't be inclined to support them at this stage, but it's in fact Paul's unreasonable behaviour throughout that has really turned many people, including myself, against him, and made me more inclined to support Wisecrack. At the end of the day I want to see a positive, inclusive, adventure game community, where as many projects get funded and games get made as possible. There needs to be camaraderie and mutual support amongst small developers, and not in fighting and sabotage. In my eyes I feel that Paul Trowe is going to have to go a long way to redeem himself. Whether some of the claims about him are true or not, he's already done a lot of damage to himself without the help of anyone else.
 
 

This annoys me a little. All the campaigns seem to support the idea of "Kick it Forward", yet because they all decided to launch in such a small period of time, it means they can't take advantage of this. I can understand the eagerness to capitalise on what they see as a shimmering new opportunity, but had they waited a year then they could have received a helpful cash injection from one of their former colleagues who had already produced a successful finished product.

Rahul I love your work, really do - and seeing the amazing recent prototypes I'm 100% on board with using HTML5 for the game.
 
....but can we get that HTML5 plea page to validate as HTML5? :)
 
http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fhelpthetwoguys.handcraft.com%2F&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&group=0
 
Thanks :)

LSL promised boobs right from the get-go. The SpaceVenture "female protagonist" thing didn't really hit until last week. ;)

Damn.. that explains a lot unfortunately. Hopefully that didn't torpedo the whole thing..
 
Moving right along, good news that we can see more info. Am i the only one who wants to see some sketches and music rather than play prototypes? :)
 
Also, will we see a comment by the 2 Guys saying something ala LSL and Jane Jensen's Kickstarters, i.e. "If we're successful, we'll look at the SQ IP again, so make this game a reality!".

Who calls XKCD a kids comic? They're insane.

There's also a huge gap between $500 and $1000, and again from $1000 to $5000, that needs to be filled, too. I've been championing a P+D tier at $750 and $1500.

I'm going to be compiling the best recordings and covers of my game music for my youtube channel, youtube.com/mrkenallen. And I would like your help finding the best of the best. You can PM me or post links publically in this thread. And thanks in advance for your help.

So not only the Two Guys and Gary Owens, but GLaDOS and Yakko Warner as well? Don't mind me, just gonna throw in a pledge here.
 
Also, that animated opening of theirs is totally epic. I felt like my game's opening credits had just gotten served.

Seeing as the guys are shooting for $500,000, I've increased my pledge to $500. I understand they want a quality game but am concerned that there goal may be a bit high. I hope I am wrong.

Nough said...
 
http://kck.st/JVeY2T

I'm against console versions on Kickstarter for the simple reason that they are not able to provide a version free of charge to backers. If they want to do a console version with the proceeds from the game after it has been released, go for it.
 
Personally I'm hoping for a Linux version, or at the very least a Linux friendly version (one that can be easily played in Wine).
 
I'm trying to minimize my Windows use.
 
Anyway, I'm just hoping for classical point of click. I won't play it on iOS, Android or whatever, but as long as we don't see a touch interface being the lead, I'm cool with them.

Hey, here's something most people don't know.
 
The pound sign on the phone keypad is actually called "octotherp" and the star key is "sextile". I learned this while doing the sounds for one of the SQ4 puzzles where you have to punch in a code on a number key pad. I just called Sierra Telephone and asked to speak with an engineer, told them I was working on this game and I wanted learn what frequencies that were used to generate the sounds you hear when pressing the buttons.
 
The engineer was eager to contribute and looked it up for me. As he read each key name and the frequencies, he used the word "octotherp" and I asked, "what's that?" Then he used "sextile" and volunteered that is was the asterisk key.
 
Little-known fact, now slightly less little-known.

Nobody's deleting Paul's account.

(Oh, you already asked.)

And ice cream...

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

Fixed that for you.

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

I've got all the plot overview I need. It's a sci-fi adventure comedy made by the Two Guys. Will it be as good as Space Quest was(/seemed) back in the day? Maybe not. But I don't care. Expectations will almost certainly not be met as much as we'd like, even if it WAS a Space Quest. But it WILL be good and I just want them to keep making games. They're bound to find their stride even if they don't right away.