drdrslashvohaul

What I don't really understand is why these companies don't use the fan games as free advertising for their own work. The buzz created in the communities over the fan games would be the ultimate opportunity for Activision to make some cash.
 
Some simple ideas:
 
Make a new game, and use the fan games' fans to advertise it (see: effectively SpaceVenture...).
Allow the games to continue, but require them to carry advertising for the company's latest products.
Let the fans make the game, and once they're done upload it to the company to sell for a small fee.
Use the fan games to say "hey guys, appreciate you still love our product. By the way, the new SQ collector edition is out..."
 
But, of course, these companies live in the old world, where every pirated copy of a game is seen as a lost sale (it isn't), every borrowed idea damages the worth of the original (it doesn't), and everything that can't be directly monetised can't make money (it can).

I have absolutely no idea why Activision hasn't taken notice after we released the game. It hasn't been as well-publicised as SQ2VGA, but it's not as if it's a complete secret either. We deliberately did our best to fly under the radar when The Silver Lining was C&D'ed, and that seems to have worked. But it's not as if we've taken care to keep the game under wraps since then. On the contrary - we've spammed it to death!
 
Chris Ushko has speculated that not having a number helped, though. There's no way anyone is going to mistake VSB or SQInc for an official installment. And we've tried to avoid directly using the name "Space Quest" where possible. But I think the best way to piss on Activision is to not give a damn. Especially considering how SQ7 was mauled when the team tried to be nice.

Hey, guys. Happy Easter. It's Space Quest Historian time. Yes, with a new intro lovingly rendered by the always amazing Christian Giegerich (the announcer may sound familiar, but don't worry, he's harmless). And some invaluable help from Michael Smith (SokarsStudio) for rendering the video -- apparently, the sheer amount of awesome generated by my special guest left my computer incapable of rendering it.
 
Anyway, enjoy. And sorry for the long, long, long-ass wait. (The guest appearances were filmed back in November/December!)
 
http-~~-//youtu.be/AlHXLJHBO8s
 
Big thanks to Colin Davis, PCJ and you-know-who for being great sports. :)
 
So, episode 2? Umm ... let me think about that ...

\o/
 
Ceeeeeelebrate good times, c'mon (doo doo doo doo)

Seriously, though, I don't play enough adventure games to know how good Incinerations or VSB were in comparison to what is out there (commercial or no). All I know is I enjoyed them immensely. Let's hope at some point the creators of said games choose to make more - even if they aren't necessarily set in the SQ-universe.
 
Well, all I do know is that both stand up well in comparison to the games of the 1990s. Which is high praise.

\o/
 
Ceeeeeelebrate good times, c'mon (doo doo doo doo)

Jess is right. We need to have our own awards and give them only to ourselves. :y:

You're all going to hate this, but...
 

 
So happy 30th, Frans!

The Kickstarter just ended a little while ago. Our goal was $65,000 and we surpassed it to a whopping $127,765 (including PayPal pledges at the time of this writing)!!! A million thanks to anybody here who may have pledged and I hope you'll enjoy the game when it's done! Breaking the $120,000 line allowed us to unlock six of our stretch goals which includes more enemies to fight in the game, more areas to explore, a new unique quest for each of the four player classes, additional 2D animated cutscenes, full-screen closeup artwork in certain scenes (a la KQ5 and KQ6) and a higher level of detail overall, and last but not least, native ports to Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android operating systems with the 16:9 widescreen resolution to go with it!
 
If you still haven't checked it out, I believe you can still donate money via PayPal. The demo is also still available to try if you haven't seen it yet. Once again, thanks to everybody for your support and for believing in us!
 
Mage's Initiation Kickstarter Page

While we were riding the ultimate frontier by communicating via message boards in the late 90's, times have changed and attention spans have decreased even further. I'm not one to complain, though; as much as I love this board, I also love social media and especially Twitter, because it enables me to jump in and out of conversations I wasn't even invited to and meet new people in the process.
 
And, forgive me for saying this, but Twitter is really where the Space Quest action is at the moment. Scott Murphy is on almost every day, talking to fans and muttering some crazy stuff about Formula 1 cars. You can count on at least a couple of interesting tidbits about Space Quest, Sierra adventures or just nostalgic gaming in general. Oh, and we shouldn't forget the official news from the Guys From Andromeda also gets filtered through their joint Twitter profile.
 
So there was some muttering in the corners about maybe we should make a list of those prominent tweeters who are also in on the fun. Maybe this will inspire other people to join Twitter, snoop around and join in.
 
Right, so -- before I post this as a news article or a sub-page, I want to let you guys pitch in, because I'll almost certainly forget someone and it'll make me slap myself in the forehead and I'll grow a bruise and none of the other forest animals will ever play with me again. So, er, here's a list of people I check in on and annoy on pretty much a daily basis:
 

@SlashVohaul
Well, first and foremost, Scott Murphy. He's the most active Guy From Andromeda on Twitter, no contest. Not only does he tweet multiple times daily, he also takes time out to respond to fans and join in on some seriously warped conversations.
 

@Wilcofever
"The other" Guy From Andromeda, Mark Crowe (I bet he's gonna love being called "the other guy"), is also on Twitter. It's fair to say he's not as into it as Scott is, but the Space Pope is frequently prodding him to do some updates. Mark seems to prefer writing on the svrewards.com site.
 

@TheChrisPope
Speaking of Chris Pope, he's on here, too. Well, he would be, wouldn't he? After all, social media's his bread and butter. And games. And maybe real butter.
 

@DecafJedi
Jess Morrissette, a.k.a. Decaffeinated Jedi, a.k.a. the guy who started The Virtual Broomcloset, a.k.a. the guy I never get tired of introducing. He threw himself into Twitter because of the SpaceVenture Kickstarter and, blessed be his kind soul, never left.
 

@Frederik_Olsen
Olzen's here. Yes, Olzen's here. I'm going to duck now because I sense Ferde's about to slap me. Anyway, Fred's one of the most active Space Questers on Twitter, regularly retweeting what's going on around the Wilcoverse. If you sort of want the cliff's notes for what we're doing, Fred's usually a good bet.
 

@SpaceQuestNet
If Fred's not on the case, then chances are, someone minding the official SpaceQuest.net Twitter is. Most of the times, it's pcj and me doing the tweeting, but I know Brandon and some other peeps have the key to this playground.
 

@BrandonBlume
Speaking of Brandon, there he is. Music virtuoso extraordinaire. Don't know Brandon? He did that fantastic 8 minute heavy metal medley of Space Quest IV that I won't shut up about.
 

@JamesMulvale
Better get Mulvale in there, now that we're on musicians. Don't know James? He did that fantastic cover album of the Space Quest III soundtrack that I won't shut up about.
 

@pcjtulsa
Thought I'd forget about you, huh, Patrick? Nah, just slipping you in here next to the musicians. Maybe the fumes will help brighten your day.
 

@JoshoMandel
Josh Mandel, legendary game writer (co-designer of such classics as Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist, Callahan's Crosstime Saloon and, yes, Space Quest 6) is also here, talking with fans and promoting the huge amount of work he's doing for Replay's Leisure Suit Larry 1 remake.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/sticky/default_profile_images/default_profile_2_bigger.png
@Spikey699
It seems like Alistair Gillett of Sierra Music Central is still feeling out what all this Twitter nonsense is about, but he's here.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2536798198/30vbcwpt1e0w0cna1eox_bigger.jpeg
@WarbirdGames
The developer of the game Jack Houston is also a massive Space Quest fan and regularly butts in.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1908006127/image_bigger.jpg
@jdhjanus
Josh Henry appeared out of nowhere and charmed us all with his ability to get excited about pretty much everything.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2975906980/11059e1f2a28964e632d6e7ad8ef95e8_bigger.jpeg
@CadburyWookie
My good friend and long-lost writing partner, Daniel Stacey, is also here and still feeling his way around. But I am actively prodding him to get more involved by relentlessly tagging him whenever I get the chance, and you should, too.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2815697653/602aef4f3033052166dfe91f70538a4f_bigger.png
@Akril15
Everybody's favorite Space Quest fan artist (don't hit me, Chris) dares to speak up in 140 characters.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/586139515/chrisfingers_bigger.jpg
@ChrisUshko
Everybody's favorite Space Quest fan artist (don't hit me, Akril) loves gentle massages and strolls on the beach. Oh, and he made Space Quest Incinerations practically by himself.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2967794663/5c78f88219f7e76e81eb7bf16e887ca7_bigger.png
@IQ_Adventures
Infamous Quests, formerly Infamous Adventures, did the remake of SQ2. Manning the Twitter station is Blackthorne, who, despite his name, frequently goes mushy whenever someone brings up his gaming childhood.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1232129117/ms-dos_00_bigger.jpg
@dosnostalgic
Speaking of people who get mushy easily, er... well, Anatoly doesn't. But he's a hardcore DOS gaming enthusiast who has his daily #MorningDOSTalk, which is almost ALWAYS derailed into a discussion on adventure games by us Space Quest fans.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3178166806/7bed67e0439bc81c085da9fa3a631a11_bigger.jpeg
@SpaceVentureFan
I have no idea who this guy is, but he rocks.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/633662042/icon_128_bigger.png
@Sokarsstudio
Michael Smith is a wonderful man who knows his way around video editing. He helped me out with rendering Space Quest Historian videos, so he deserves a shout-out.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1331718095/image_bigger.jpg
@ChrisGiegerich
Germany represented by the unstoppable force of Christian Giegerich. During the Kickstarter, Chris and I used Tumblr and Twitter to create the Death Of The Day Calendar (deathoftheday.tumblr.com) which we thought was hilarious. Chris also did the intro animation for the new SQ Historian videos that you haven't seen yet.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1182814268/avatar_bigger.jpg
@Bluscreen_Jason
Jason, a.k.a. Skyefyre, was the guy who did the YouTube playthroughs of the SpaceVenture prototypes. He's a fun guy and does comics, too.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2801147895/6fc32b634a8750c23381c5ab4f3c6384_bigger.jpeg
@DutchMagic
Jeroen is a long-time Space Quest fan who digs beer and getting into scraps with @Estirdalin, @SlashVohaul and myself.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3367988029/e5b6f144a0b10d34a119dec241ce8876_bigger.jpeg
@Estirdalin
Graphic artist at @IQ_Adventures and frequent scrapper.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1743917098/c390e965-ab7b-45b9-bb51-320dca264865_bigger.png
@JeysieC
You probably remember Jeysie from the olden days. I hear she was particularly active on the #sq IRC channel when I wasn't.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2424841001/g49xx6l4bir6n77z22tg_bigger.gif
@AnasAbdin
Anas Abdin did the sci-fi adventure game Anastronaut, but more importantly also the kick-ass animation of "Anastronaut misses Roger Wilco by five minutes."
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3185573590/31bf58ebaed626ca8b74536b16679ef7_bigger.jpeg
@Irishmile
Justin lies about being Irish (I think) but he's a fun character nonetheless.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3237076171/92d9207c92ecc055855c38b1e4589384_bigger.jpeg
@AgustinCordes
Agustin is the creator of the indie horror game Scratches and the upcoming Asylum, which was successfully funded on Kickstarter recently. I think he and Scott shower together.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2291380061/s8cqxt04bhmq7z2mml1w_bigger.jpeg
@DisconnectD
Jared deserves a mention purely for his avatar. And also for being a nice guy.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2711230812/eede81ade56aef7730c22fd11ad5d3b7_bigger.png
@StellarSoul2001
"Stellar" occasionally shows up on IRC and usually tweets about either his love for Space Quest or his love for Michael Jackson, depending, I think, on the moon.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2190457839/photo-797_bigger.jpg
@Chrono2012
"Chrono" is almost always on IRC, but he's also on Twitter. Fancy that.
 
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2285145930/2ziwrl4qkk0avyze4f5u_bigger.jpeg
@hansadventures
The maker of the indie game Han Solo Adventures is also a massive Space Quest fan. I mean, check out his avatar. Ain't that freaky.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1162615846/avatar125_bigger.png
@MillieQED
Our British connection Gareth, a.k.a. drslashvohaul, is loose and there's nothing you can do to stop him.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3050158533/a66e57db54d04c5dba6b564eda89e050_bigger.jpeg
@SimoSakari
Our Finnish connection, sensitive poet Simo Sakari Aaltonen, also has a dark hole in his soul which can normally be sated by prolonged exposures to either Space Quest or Cthulhu stories.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3118429544/6129a50c9f9a6ce6cc9284ba73547691_bigger.png
@MrKenAllen
Ken Allen, musical maestro of Space Quest IV and Space Quest I VGA -- and now also the SpaceVenture, is on Twitter, promoting his Under The Half Dome project and being very responsive and kind to fans.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/1988299902/pic_bigger.png
@e1ven
Colin Davis is here. Well, isn't he everywhere? The man at the helm of www.sq7.org brings his wisdom to us -- but of course most of his tweets are about programming, so it's kind of like reading a foreign language.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/71481456/vectorfish_bigger.png
@DopefishLives
This is Chris Geroux who did the Eureka Trash Pickup and Pinkunz on Patrol fan games. He's here. No, really.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/2634572526/d19786f86bdfa20359ef7e44b4adf39f_bigger.jpeg
@Wilcoweb
So is Kevin Wallace, the man who did the Astro Chicken FAQ.
 
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/3331715811/670ef80f68ac55c05be7152c7bb9b53b_bigger.png
@mhaley
Adventure game nut and SpaceVenture supporter.
 
https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/1269518991/IMG_0634_bigger.jpg
@DenisLemire
Frequent FAQ contributor back in the day and die-hard Space Quester.
 
https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3136530777/f11c958769b64dcc8b2c7029d8330bd6_bigger.jpeg
@cshel23
An absolute miscarriage of justice was carried out when Conrad wasn't mentioned on this list. This wrong has now been righted. Conrad tweets about SpaceVenture, Sierra stuff and not much else, really, bless him.
 
https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/3515730462/df1d0b44f275179ca1abb43474143045_bigger.jpeg
@Indendant_S
The gal wrote her own bio, so I'll just let her at it: "If you wanna follow the original hero of the Adventure Game Revival Movement, head on over and follow @Intendant_S." Well, you heard her. Say "yes, ma'am!"
 
(Oh, and I'm
https://twimg0-a.akamaihd.net/profile_images/88255296/twittyfuck_bigger.jpg
@TorbenFrost. Say hi!)
 
That's about all the ones I can remember off-hand (and cheating by going through my "following" list). Feel free to add!
 
This post has been promoted to an article

I was thinking... it may actually be a really good thing that it has taken this long to get adventure games up and running again,
because although I really enjoyed games like SQ4 and SQ6, I think at the time games were always trying to
make use of cutting edge developments in graphics, sound, 3D, etc., and that was sometimes a pain!
 
I enjoyed SQ6, but my computer at the time sure didn't! I remember having some trouble loading things on it
and it being sluggish because of my computer... it wasn't even an old computer for the time, it's just I didn't
have a brand spanking new machine that would play the game 100% smoothly. And I remember SQ4 used to
crash when I was trying to leave SQXII... it would usually hang and then crash.
 
So the great thing with going back to adventure games today is that the developers don't have to chase technology
to make sure their games are "up to date," they can use things that are tried and tested and will run smoothly and look good, etc.
because computers are so much faster today and adventure games don't require the kind of processing power that
a lot of the first-person shooters do...
 
So although something like SQ4 is really difficult to top, I think there is a good chance of doing it, just because
you don't need to fight against the rapid changes in the graphics, sound, etc. that were going on when the
SQ games were made.

Good point.
 
What we need is someone normal.

Aren't we all special? That's what my mother and my school said about me.

Aren't we all special? That's what my mother and my school said about me.

And now that you bring this up, I just thought I'd add: I think I recall Scott and Mark mentioning (or someone else saying they mentioned, during an interview, not necessarily recently, but years ago), that it was because of the "current" (of that time) goings on that Space Quest 4 resulted as such a dark game.
 
However, Space Quest 4 is a jewel of its own species (still worthy of being part of the series, in every respect, I think; yet so unique in its apocalyptic undertone), and I do believe such is one of the most invaluable qualities of a great author and storyteller; that is, to be able to utilize his/her current state of mind, whether on the up or down, to inspire his/her work in a way which brings it to life in an honest and convincing way.
 
I realize we're discussing a comedic series here, but I think the concept still applies. In any form of creative expression, an author's desire must be into it if it's going to be worth expressing to others - and that means if the work needs to ring a little close to home for the author, or to a degree serve as a means of therapeutic outlet, then, all the better - so long as it is balanced and doesn't completely overtake the work.
 
Perhaps I'm projecting too much my own strategy and values here. I'm not certain exactly how Scott and Mark have felt throughout the years; but every work is an expression and revelation of its creator(s), that is unavoidable.
 
Just try and tell me for a moment, even looking at Space Quest 3, that the whole bit about the Software Pirates ruining the series, and the cubicles with the overworked programmers being whipped wasn't a form of comedic outlet, or displacement therapy. And, if you ask anyone, they'll probably tell you they found it funny as hell when they played it.
 
From what I've read here, I have no doubts that Scott and Mark have every ability they need to make SQ7, and if they decided to (even and despite whatever feelings from the present or past that reside) it would still be awesome.
 
It's simply a matter of whether or not they desire enough to do it.

@penguinfan - It's not even about whether the people playing it are "impressionable" or not. It's just absolutely sexist that every female character (bar some wonderful exceptions) appears to have her sexuality (cans) as her most predominant feature... all right... two features.
 
It's not just degrading to women - it's degrading to men. You're telling me and my gender that the only reason I will accept a woman is because she's fuckable. I find that deeply offensive.
 
As you can probably tell by my language and general demeanour, I couldn't give two cyber shits whether any game is "family friendly" or not. I would prefer it to just be "good". I'm not saying sex doesn't have its place, it's just supremely irritating that women continue to be defined primarily in this way. You can look at Joss Whedon's characters for how a fictional person can be incredibly beautiful and sexy, but defined by far, far more than how much of her cleavage is showing on the front cover of the box:
 
 

 
I'm sure the young lady in the cover art is a rather smart woman, who doesn't define herself through her relationships with men and is an independent, well-rounded individual. But - hey - I'm judging a book by its cover. And the cover says "jazz mag". Is there a particular reason why she has to be so scantily clad, other than the fact that you've defined the target audience as priapic 35-year olds living in their parent's basement who cry themselves to sleep wanking over their highschool year books?
 
If you don't think women in computer games can or should be rounded people, you're an idiot. If you have a problem with someone pointing out the inherent sexism of this, you can go eat a bag of dicks.
 
Oh, I'll leave with Joss. For whom I now have a raging boner (because he's a sexy, smart individual, not because he gets his norks out).
 

On a positive and on-topic note, the Kickstarter looks very professional, so I've no doubt they'll be able to pull this off. Not too au fait with the company and the people working on it, but I might check them out. Fantasy has never really been my bag, but it looks intriguing.
 
What I love most about these new games that are coming out/yet to be funded is that it shows that massive explosions and complicated FPS games are not what everyone wants to play. Plot, immersion, imagination and a bit of intellectual stimulation have their place too. While a classic adventure game may not give you hundreds of hours of replay value (although it very certainly CAN do) by putting in lots of "achievements" and "hidden missions", it can be far, far more satisfying.
 
I'll be interested to see how this develops.

@penguinfan - It's not even about whether the people playing it are "impressionable" or not. It's just absolutely sexist that every female character (bar some wonderful exceptions) appears to have her sexuality (cans) as her most predominant feature... all right... two features.
 
It's not just degrading to women - it's degrading to men. You're telling me and my gender that the only reason I will accept a woman is because she's fuckable. I find that deeply offensive.
 
As you can probably tell by my language and general demeanour, I couldn't give two cyber shits whether any game is "family friendly" or not. I would prefer it to just be "good". I'm not saying sex doesn't have its place, it's just supremely irritating that women continue to be defined primarily in this way. You can look at Joss Whedon's characters for how a fictional person can be incredibly beautiful and sexy, but defined by far, far more than how much of her cleavage is showing on the front cover of the box:
 
 

 
I'm sure the young lady in the cover art is a rather smart woman, who doesn't define herself through her relationships with men and is an independent, well-rounded individual. But - hey - I'm judging a book by its cover. And the cover says "jazz mag". Is there a particular reason why she has to be so scantily clad, other than the fact that you've defined the target audience as priapic 35-year olds living in their parent's basement who cry themselves to sleep wanking over their highschool year books?
 
If you don't think women in computer games can or should be rounded people, you're an idiot. If you have a problem with someone pointing out the inherent sexism of this, you can go eat a bag of dicks.
 
Oh, I'll leave with Joss. For whom I now have a raging boner (because he's a sexy, smart individual, not because he gets his norks out).
 

EDIT: Never mind. All the rambling came down to "She doesn't offend me, I don't believe in either hyper-sexualisation or total de-sexualisation of women and I agree with Dan" anyway.

Lots of games that have scantily-clad females can claim this to a certain degree, that the look is just right for the character being portrayed. Funny how many of those AAA titles end up needing to work in such characters, isn't it? I'm sure it's very inspiring to teenage girls who play games -- at least the ones who look like supermodels and consider little strips of cloth to be stylish every-day attire.

VSB was in last year's awards and won Best NPC against tough competition.

I think you could say that about a lot of old Subchan threads.

Language is indeed a weird beast. I reckon it's all made up.
 

Greetings!
 
Seventeen years ago today (November 29, 1995), Roger Wilco's Virtual Broomcloset went live and became the world's first Space Quest fansite.* Since it's never a bad time for navel-gazing, here's a brief history of the early years of the site I wrote back in 2002:
 

Yeah, I know: cool story, bro. The moral, however, is that it's been a blast being part of this community for the past seventeen years. It's grown into something I never could have imagined back in 1995, and on a personal level, it's led to amazing friendships with fellow Space Quest fans around the world.** I've even had the opportunity to fulfill a lifelong dream and co-design my own series of short adventure games as part of this wild ride. You probably heard about that last part, because I haven't shut up about it for the last five months.
 
With the Two Guys back and the SpaceVenture on the horizon, there's never been a better time to be part of the Wilco World Wide Web. Thanks for all the support through the years, folks. It's greatly appreciated!
 
Jess
 
* And quite possibly the world's first adventure gaming fansite. They jury's still out on that.
** Well, mostly Denmark.

thats fine if you are kickstartered out, the idea of this topic was to post kick starters that need more attention. If you know someone who might be interested in whatever gets posted here, or if you find kickstarters YOu want to bring more attention to, post em here and hopefully we good space quest fans will spread the word as far as we can :)