Decaffeinated Jedi

pcj is right, as usual. Without the team in place to carry out the plan, all the executive decision-making in the world isn't going to make this happen. Especially not in a week's time.
 
Who came up with this half-baked idea in the first place?
 
Jess

Some news snippets from todays live podcast with Chris Pope
 
Ken Allen MAY be involved with SpaceVenture's music. Chris's response to a question asking about this was "maybe he is, maybe he isn't"
 
Gamasutra article is coming very soon. It had to get pushed back a little bit but it is coming
 
Last twenty-four hours of kickstarter should see a massive increase in funds (as has been the case with other Kickstarters) but the Two Guys are not just banking on that
 
Scott and Mark are soon doing a podcast with commentary on each Space Quest game
 
The Minecraft project is not dominating time, Brandon Bloom Blume is heading that up and Chris’s time is being spent organising press and promo right now in what he's calling the two week blitz
 
To clear up confusion, the double GOG package will be on the $150 tier
 
Reddit AMA is coming very soon and should be a very interesting experience
 
There will be a live, online wrap/chat party after the $500 000 is met

Hey, gang!
 
I've had an idea kicking around for the last few days, so I thought I'd throw it out there for the community to digest. Inspired by the guy who created a short LucasArts-style adventure as a job application for Double Fine, I thought it might be a fun idea to create a one-room AGI adventure to promote the SpaceVenture Kickstarter.
 
My concept was a short adventure featuring a Space Quest fan completing a couple of puzzles (finding his/her wallet, accessing his/her computer, etc.) that culminate in the character pledging to the campaign. Of course, the whole thing would end by encouraging the player to follow up with a real-life pledge.
 
I have some general ideas about the design and writing, but I have absolutely zero knowledge of AGI -- so I can't really pull together the graphics, sound, and programming on my own.
 
Is there anybody out there with AGI experience that wants to work with me on putting this together? Clearly, the timetable is tight; I assume we'd want to wrap it up within the week. Having never played with AGI, I have no idea whether that's even feasible.
 
That said, it seemed like a fun idea. I'm curious what you folks think...
 
Jess

I have to say, Frede, I completely agree with your final line. I loved Cabin in the Woods because it was a big "fuck you" to the audience. Every comment I heard coming out of the cinema was about how the ending sucked, yet it was a work of genius. Granted, Joss Wheddon could just sit on a wooden chair and flip the bird for 90 minutes and I'd pay £10 to go and see it.
 
In fact, this may be a better way for Scott Murphy to raise money.

"IT'S A FREE GAAAAME, AND YOU DON'T EVEN PAY..."
 
Jess

Also - the comments on the video suggest that quite a few people don't understand irony.
 
As Jess's sister might say, "IT'S LIKE RAY-EE-AIN-ah ON YOUR WEDDING DAY..."

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/spaceventure/two-guys-spaceventure-by-the-creators-of-space-que/posts/235514
 
Brilliant move :)
 
I used to think of my pledge in terms of paying for the new game, plus a little extra to support the project.
 
Now I'm thinking of it as retroactively paying for the entire SQ series, from which I've never legally purchased a single game.
 
Pledge UP'D! :D

I have done plenty of these things... here is the newest.

Yeah I've got some ideas sprouting in my head for Hero..

Saw somewhere that the Tex Murphy folks were making up fliers and posters and stuff for gaming stores, comic shops... So I thought I'd make a little thing to throw up in random places. Don't know that it'll do anything, but I'll just enjoy confusing people. If anyone feels like making something more counter-friendly for shops... That might work too.
 
So here's a poster that requires a Monolith Burger decoder ring.
Link to a PDF below with 6-per sheet, ideal for sticker paper.
 
 

 
Sheet of 6 x 8.5x11 - http://www.aultenavr.../tgakick-6x.pdf
.PSD - http://www.aultenavry.com/tgakick.psd

I could be convinced to participate. :)
 
Jess

Were we really teenagers when this whole Wilco World Wide Web thing started? Time flies when you're debating why a main character's hair changed colors between sequels...
 
Best of luck with the marathon! It's been ages since I've actually sat down and played the Space Quest games. Maybe I'll have to give them another spin sometime soon and rekindle those memories.
 
Jess

One thing that sets this Kickstarter apart from the others, and can really be used to form a different compelling narrative, is that the prototypes show something actually being made. As Penny Arcade and others illustrated, it can be hard to trust your money to some guys whose last major product was released in the early 90s. It's been 20 years - how do we know they still have what it takes? A series of prototypes that shows the Two Guys working on a game is a great way to make clear early on - before the money has been committed - that they're focused on actual game development, not just talking about it.
 
If you guys can help form that narrative towards the media, I think we might be able to create an interesting additional angle. "Hey! These guys ARE the only ones putting out something before the Kickstarter is over! What about the others? What have they got to show for it? A bunch of videos?" There's an interesting conversation there waiting to happen.

That's something I've really been meaning to mention. The IP.Board software is pretty nifty -- certainly some of the nicest forum software I've used (and I've used quite a few).
 
Thanks for all the hard work, team!
 
Jess

That's something I've really been meaning to mention. The IP.Board software is pretty nifty -- certainly some of the nicest forum software I've used (and I've used quite a few).
 
Thanks for all the hard work, team!
 
Jess

Guys, is it true that Roger Wilco IS NOT trademarked? Well, then why even care about the license? You could even spin a story out of the fact that Roger isn't in the Space Quest timeline anymore. this is science fiction after all. If Roger is safe and usable in future stories, everythings dandy, isn't it?

http://vimeo.com/42309304
 
This post has been promoted to an article

Scott did mention an article was going up on Gamasutra tomorrow. So that's nice.

I think this is probably one of the biggest problems we're facing right now. The gaming sites covered Double Fine like crazy -- and rightfully so. There was perhaps slightly less coverage for the Leisure Suit Larry Kickstarter, but it was still out there (including a two-part profile by Forbes). Along the way, the media has already presented two dominant Kickstarter narratives:
 
1) "Wow! This Kickstarter thing is for real! Look at how much money DFA raised!"
2) "Hey, remember Leisure Suit Larry? Kickstarter can bring old classics back from the dead!"
 
Since the Two Guys' Kickstarter mirrors the second narrative so closely -- and since Kickstarter gaming projects aren't as novel as they were a couple of months ago -- it's not easy to convince the gaming news sites to give it virtual ink. I know I'll mailed at least a dozen myself trying to "sell" them on new developments, different angles, and other factors that set this Kickstarter apart from the pack. I've had some luck (as have others), but Kickstarter fatigue is tough to beat.
 
We know this project is something special. We just have to convince the gaming sites that it's special enough to merit a little more of their attention.
 
Jess

I think this is probably one of the biggest problems we're facing right now. The gaming sites covered Double Fine like crazy -- and rightfully so. There was perhaps slightly less coverage for the Leisure Suit Larry Kickstarter, but it was still out there (including a two-part profile by Forbes). Along the way, the media has already presented two dominant Kickstarter narratives:
 
1) "Wow! This Kickstarter thing is for real! Look at how much money DFA raised!"
2) "Hey, remember Leisure Suit Larry? Kickstarter can bring old classics back from the dead!"
 
Since the Two Guys' Kickstarter mirrors the second narrative so closely -- and since Kickstarter gaming projects aren't as novel as they were a couple of months ago -- it's not easy to convince the gaming news sites to give it virtual ink. I know I'll mailed at least a dozen myself trying to "sell" them on new developments, different angles, and other factors that set this Kickstarter apart from the pack. I've had some luck (as have others), but Kickstarter fatigue is tough to beat.
 
We know this project is something special. We just have to convince the gaming sites that it's special enough to merit a little more of their attention.
 
Jess

My contribution...
 
http://youtu.be/8Jh3gYci8G0
 
Jess

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

Without wanting to sound too much like a Philistine...
 
Most people aren't going to care about a bit of audio quality loss. Most people listen to music through playback equipment which isn't the best in the first place. The people who are going to want/need the lossless quality stuff are going to be proper music fans and musicians. In that case, the full fat files could be e-mailed to people on request or held on some sort of external server given the lower demand.
 
I think MP3 at even what a pro might consider a low bitrate would be perfectly serviceable for 90% of the people who might want to download these files. Such as me, for example.
 
Commence flaming.

Damn Rome, damn their numerals and damn you!