Decaffeinated Jedi

I've channeled all that excess post-Kickstarter energy into revisiting adventure games I haven't played in ages (or at all, for that matter). So far, my selection has included Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkess, Sam and Max Hit the Road, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Next up is the iOS version of Broken Sword.
 
It's like methadone to replace my addiction to checking the Kickstarter numbers every three minutes for a month straight. ;)
 
Jess

I've channeled all that excess post-Kickstarter energy into revisiting adventure games I haven't played in ages (or at all, for that matter). So far, my selection has included Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkess, Sam and Max Hit the Road, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Next up is the iOS version of Broken Sword.
 
It's like methadone to replace my addiction to checking the Kickstarter numbers every three minutes for a month straight. ;)
 
Jess

I've channeled all that excess post-Kickstarter energy into revisiting adventure games I haven't played in ages (or at all, for that matter). So far, my selection has included Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkess, Sam and Max Hit the Road, and Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. Next up is the iOS version of Broken Sword.
 
It's like methadone to replace my addiction to checking the Kickstarter numbers every three minutes for a month straight. ;)
 
Jess

It's Ferde-licious, rock rock! It's so delicious, he keeps those... [girls] on rock rock! :D
 
Er uh- yeah... somethin'

The Talking Bear is all that you would imagine him to be...and more!
 
Jess

Added the Broomcloset's Space Quest 7 news and rumors archive. How depressing.
 
This particular article raises a question worth discussing. Since this is an area where the Broomcloset and SQN overlap in terms of content, how should we proceed? Merge together the SQ7 coverage from both sites into a single article? I think that makes more sense than maintaining two separate pages, but I'd like to hear other folks' opinions.
 
Jess

The redwood building in 2003:
 


With bonus "Talking Bear" interaction!
 


Jess

Thank you for clearing that up for me, Ferde. I figured you had a reason for including my comic there despite its frequent use of official art, and I do appreciate the mention.
 
 

I've got to admit that when I first saw that post, I hadn't read the posts on the previous page leading up to it, and for a moment I thought, "Oh geez -- is he talking about Adventure: The Inside Job??" :unsure: 

I think I've heard something about there being only eight or so basic plots used in literature ("Journey of discovery", "Bitter rivalry/revenge", "Triumph of the underdog", etc.), but I don't know if that's the same thing you're talking about, or if such a concept actually exists (the book where this concept was mentioned was pure fiction). 
(Come to think of it, somebody's take on The Inside Job after seeing my description of it said it all sounded "a bit too Sophie's World" to him -- even though I've never read that book.)

At least he can't use the QFG character for his website.

You really are a slob, Jess. What are you going to do next? Create a website named after a "Space Quest"-character?

Okay, I admit it. While writing Pledge Quest, I ripped several letters -- and, on a few occasions, entire words -- from Infocom text adventures. ;)
 
Jess

Aww! And here I was thinking that it was original design this entire time. Pull my credits track out. I'll not be associated with such laziness.
 
 
;)

Aha! I knew I saw that "the" somewhere before!

Okay, I admit it. While writing Pledge Quest, I ripped several letters -- and, on a few occasions, entire words -- from Infocom text adventures. ;)
 
Jess

Hey, thanks for the mention in your article, Ferde! (Though in light of what you said about disliking fangames with ripped backgrounds and sprites, I'm a little puzzled why you gave my comic a shout-out when I used so many backgrounds from SQ6 in it, especially in the early days.)*
 
On the ripped art subject, I think a fair number of Sierra fangames use ripped/modified backgrounds and/or sprites -- heck, AGDI's first two KQ remakes used a modified version of Graham's KQ5 sprite. TLC and Replicated also have a tiny bit of modified/reused art. I certainly have no leg to stand on when it comes to reusing official art/music/etc.,** and though SQ4.5 wasn't a terrible game, the story and puzzles just weren't enough to draw my attention away from the large amount of reused sprites, backgrounds and locations.
 
A lot of old AGI fangames also use ripped graphics (heck, a lot of them just use modified sprites for the main characters, even when all the other art is original!), but some of them have a quaint sort of charm to them. I've played a game where Graham comes flying out of the sky on his seahorse and commands the protagonist to get meat for his steed (no, I'm not making this up), a game where Roger Wilco randomly runs through a hotel hallway and yells at the protagonist to get out of his way, and another game where the protagonist (an original sprite) can shapeshift into various AGI Sierra characters.
 
I'm also baffled by the "SQ:Inc doesn't follow SQ4.5 canon" complaint. What sort of logic was that person using? "If a fangame uses Sierra graphics/music then it's canon; if it doesn't, then it's not canon"??
 
 
 
 
*There are times I wish I had focused my creative energies on something other than that comic...but that's another bemoanment for another time.
 
**Though I do appreciate the comments. ^_^

Well, after seeing all the cool work from my fellow team members that went into VSB, I've been totally unable to respect the idea of someone wanting to "make a game" by using a resourcer viewer to steal stuff from existing games and stitching them together again with a bunch of possibly half-assed puzzles. I must admit, I don't really mind the legal issues. I'm mainly offended by the whole concept because it is incredibly lazy, and because it's completely screwed-up to design an adventure game by going "Well, this SQ6 screen has this hot spot..." Annoyingly, some fans don't seem to mind this; a while ago, Datadog told me that a fan complained about "Incinerations" ignoring SQ4.5 canon. Canon?! What canon? All this artwork and this music were made to be used in a different context. To claim that such a game has a spot in the canon is completely ridiculous.
 
Truth be told, I've never played any of these games, and I honestly don't intend to. The above reasoning keeps me from ever wanting to try them out.

I hope I am posting this in the right section but did an OSX port of Pledge Quest for an Mac users out there.
 
http://www.mediafire.com/?xe7xr1580q0j61y

It's okay by me! :)
 
Jess

I worked a bit on converting over material from the Broomcloset this afternoon. The following articles are now in the Articles > Ramblings section:
Bea's Diary The Two Guys from Andromeda Story The Unofficial Astro Chicken FAQ Secret Tales from Andromeda (or, a Dedication to Roger's Benefactors) -- by Josh Mandel Twenty Questions I Wish Somebody Would Ask Me About Space Quest (and the Answers I Wish I Had Thought Of) -- by Josh Mandel If anybody feels these would fit better elsewhere on the new site, feel free to shuffle them around as needed. 
Jess

Last night, during the wrap party, they mentioned that they're keeping the Paypal option open for a while longer. They listed some stretch goals for the additional funds:
 
 
550k - Translations (German, French, and I think Spanish, with Portuguese a possibility)
600k - Cluck Y'egger mini game (launched from the game menu)
625k - Cluck Y'egger animated graphic novel drawn by Mark Crowe.
650k - An additional level in the game featuring a playable female protagonist.
700k - EGA graphics mode
 
They didn't mention a specific deadline for paypal pledges or the stretch goals. Hoewver, a number of these can be added pretty late into the development, so I wouldn't expect them to cut Paypal funding until they need to lock down the game and finish it for release.
 
For Paypal pledges, now that the Kickstarter is over, those pledging will not receive any Kickstarter exclusive items like the Buckazoids. I think those paypal pledges that came in before the Kickstarter ended should get them though.
 
 
In addition, they're planning to open up a store for selling SpaceVenture merchandise. They previewed a Cluck Y'egger pilot wings pin that will be available. They also talked about the possibility of another Buckazoid coin with a different design from the Kickstarter exclusive. Purchases from the store will go towards the stretch goals.
 
 
Keep in mind that this is mostly from memory of what was said, and the Two Guys were pretty blitzed last night as well. So all this is subject to corrections or changes when they post the official announcements.

Just something ridiculous that struck me last night...
 

https://p.twimg.com/Au_T2EBCQAMlvvw.gif:large
 

https://p.twimg.com/AvB7yKZCIAAuGEu.gif:large
Search for Fester Blatz on Google Images and create your own!
 
Jess

Who says that a lolblatz must necessarily star Fester?


https://p.twimg.com/AvCacqHCEAIhZ8-.gif:large
Jess

I worked a bit on converting over material from the Broomcloset this afternoon. The following articles are now in the Articles > Ramblings section:
Bea's Diary The Two Guys from Andromeda Story The Unofficial Astro Chicken FAQ Secret Tales from Andromeda (or, a Dedication to Roger's Benefactors) -- by Josh Mandel Twenty Questions I Wish Somebody Would Ask Me About Space Quest (and the Answers I Wish I Had Thought Of) -- by Josh Mandel If anybody feels these would fit better elsewhere on the new site, feel free to shuffle them around as needed. 
Jess

Going to jump on this bandwagon ASAP.