Fronzel Neekburm

Here's a bit larger vesion of the render in fullHD resolution: http://tomimt.deviantart.com/art/Employee-of-the-week-483116955

Here's a little something I just finished and you guys might recognize.

 

I'll just leave this here.
 

Replay doesn't own jackshit. They got a license from Codemasters to remake the first Larry game, nothing more. Codemasters owns LSL.

Well, my personal problem with classic Sierra deaths (and hence my love of the retry button) is that - to name an example - it frankly isn't very fair that King Graham, the bravest, most dashing and most cunning knight of all of Daventry, is unable to survive a 2-inch fall. If you're going to make the hero that frail, consider giving him malignant melanoma during his desert hike. No wonder the guy has a heart attack in KQ4; his entire body must be made of glass.
 
Some Sierra games were just illogical and cruel. In games like Gabriel Knight 1 or Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis (one of the few LucasArts games in which you can die, for the few who haven't played it), the deaths seemed very realistic and natural. So it really depends how death is implemented. If it's borderline unfair like my example above, I'd like a "Retry"-button. But if you can spot your own mistake from a million miles away, I'm more than cool with people re-learning how to "save early, save often" instead.

That sentence is all sorts of depressing.

Quoted from: every Scott Murphy interview ever.
 
Just to be fair: Not everything Josh Mandel has touched also turned to gold. Apparently he co-wrote a fairly awful Cowadoody-clone for Nfusion way back when. Still need to get my hands on that one, the combination of comedy writer and WWII-FPS (by the creators of "Larry Reloaded", no less) simply sounds too outlandish to pass up.
 
The Old Man Murray article that tore Roberta Williams to shreds for that statement is a lot more fun to read than her games are fun to play.

Are there actually people in this world who think that Roberta Williams was a good designer OR writer...??
 
I think Sierra really started making great games when they began bringing in the genuine writers to supplement the people who were just "in the right place at the right time." 
 
Roberta Williams, Scott Murphy, and Al Lowe are all outstanding figures in Sierra lore, but none of them is really legendary for their writing/design talent. Before Sierra, the latter two were small-time programmers and Roberta was the wife of the big chief. Roberta in particular led a long series of mediocre titles that were primarily notable for their technical innovations.
 
In any case, Roberta, Scott, and Al certainly don't hold a candle to Josh Mandel, Lori Ann Cole, and most prominently Jane Jensen, all of whom were primarily writers and designers, and all of whom are associated with consistently quality games (criminally underappreciated in Josho's case, despite his talent and passion: the good parts of SQ6, ignored by marketing; Freddy Pharkas, one my favourite Sierra titles; and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon.) 
 
By the way, Mop Jockey, the only thing I really disagree with you about is your repetition of the canard that adventure games are dead (or stagnant or suffering). I don't know how many new adventure game releases annually will be necessary to get people to stop saying things like that.
 
I also don't think you established that Roberta was responsible for the action portions of KQ8. She was a vehement opponent of the industry's trend toward action, calling it a sign that computers were now affordable by the common man instead of "consumers of a certain income level."

Always count on Star Trek as a shining beacon to an enlightened future - by getting rid of of PC altogether.

"In our century, we've learned not to fear words." - Beautiful! Unfortunately, in our century, we seem to be steering in the polar opposite direction.

Nobody really argued that they weren't technically innovative. Even Jimmy, whose post I was referring to, pointed that out: "The main "innovations" just came from the improvement in computers", which doesn't really contradict anything you said. Truth be told, I think the case could be made that by the mid-90s, they were starting to fall behind on the technical front. Compare, say, 1995's Phantasmagoria to something like 1994's Under a Killing Moon (which effortlessly combines FMV with an actual 3D environment), and it really feels like stone age stuff. But that's another discussion for another day. The main issue here is gameplay.

:o Oh no you di'int!
 
I'm not entirely sure if it was the Roberta Williams Collection or the King's Quest Collection, but one of those (or both? :unsure: ) painstakingly chronicled every single technical or narrative innovation in the manual. I suggest you learn to recite those by heart before thou ever darest to to speak Sierra's name in vain again!
 
Just kidding! I'm inclined to agree with you. Considering Sierra's output during that era consisted of churning out sequel after sequel to their handful of cash cow franchises (and before anybody takes offense at that word: the KQ series very nearly went into double-digits, mind you!) to a large degree, I don't think it's unreasonable to assume that Sierra management liked to play it safe.
 
That being said, personally, I don't mind them trying out new things. Optional multiplayer for example sounds interesting and it could really be a cool thing in a family oriented game. I was mostly surprised at the eagerness of the Activision rep to pretty much instantly cockblock whatever momentum The Odd Gentlemen had going as soon as the news were revealed.

Colour me interested. Broadly speaking, I've lost a lot of my enthusiasm for the old Sierra titles, so a fresh start of sorts is not necessarily a bad thing in my eyes. I'll refrain from passing judgement one way or the other, simply because we don't really have any real information about what's going on. Anyone who follows or enjoys video games understands that it's a golden age of hype and bullshit right now, and to get excited over a press release is a recipe for tears. So while I don't expect to necessarily see this amount to much more than a failed experiment, I would certainly like to hear what the folks in charge have in mind.

The official press release:
 
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20140812005879/en/Sierra-Back!!!#.U-o05ONdVoM
Sierra Is Back!!! The New Sierra Launches with an Exclusive Focus on Indie Game Development
The Epic Return of King’s Quest and Geometry Wars3: Dimensions
Headline the List of New, Fan-Favorite Titles Planned to Launch Under the Sierra Brand
 
August 12, 2014 11:31 AM Eastern Daylight Time KÖLN, Germany--(BUSINESS WIRE)--With a renowned history that’s served as the origin for many nostalgic video game characters, worlds and experiences, Sierra™ continues on today in a return to form that fans of great games will love. A part of Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard (Nasdaq: ATVI), Sierra’s focus is on indie studios developing innovative, edgy and graphically unique games, including new IPs and contemporary reimaginings of beloved Sierra classics. Headlining Sierra’s slate of indie games is an all-new King’s Quest™experience in 2015, and a new Geometry Wars™ game planned to launch this holiday season. Additionally, the Sierrateam is well underway exploring other indie projects to potentially launch later this year, and in 2015 and beyond.
“In addition to Lucid Games and The Odd Gentlemen, we’re in talks with a large number of other indie devs, and can’t wait to share more details with fans in the near future.”
In development by the beloved and quirky studio The Odd Gentlemen (The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom), King’s Quest is a fully reimagined version of the fan-favorite Sierra game fit for both the old and new generation of King’s Quest players. Huge fans of the original King’s Quest series, The Odd Gentlemen are crafting a charming new adventure with an awe-inspiring art style, engaging puzzles, and a wondrous interactive narrative brimming with humor. In the new story, King Graham – revered as the greatest adventurer to ever live – shares his life’s adventures with his curious granddaughter, Gwendolyn. It is through these tales that Gwendolyn discovers the true greatness of her grandfather. King’s Quest is expected to make its heralded return in 2015.
Today’s news about the future of Sierra was met with excitement from its original founder, Ken Williams. “We’re very proud of what we created all those years ago with Sierra Online, and today’s news about carrying Sierra forward as an indie-specific brand is very encouraging,” said Williams. “We look forward to seeing Sierra’s independent spirit live on, and are especially excited to see what The Odd Gentlemen will do with King’s Quest.”
Sierra began in 1979 with a single 8-bit Apple II microcomputer, and founders Roberta and Ken Williams’ love for storytelling and new technology that drove a revolution in the adventure game genre, and forever changed the industry. Today, a new wave of independent artists and entrepreneurs are using the same inventive attitude and latest tech to create amazing gaming experiences, and that’s where Sierra comes into play. With the popularity of digital platforms like Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Steam, the new Sierra will cater to the unique needs of each indie studio, ranging from aiding in game development and first party relations, to PR, marketing and digital/retail distribution. Sierra will help foster today’s talent to create amazing video games as it has so many times before.
“Sierra’s goal is to find and work with talented indie developers working on their own amazing projects, or passionate about working on great Sierra IP, and leverage our expertise to aid them in bring these fun and exciting experiences to gamers with the level of visibility and awareness they deserve,” said Bob Loya, Sr. Director of External Development. “In addition to Lucid Games and The Odd Gentlemen, we’re in talks with a large number of other indie devs, and can’t wait to share more details with fans in the near future.”
The first title set to launch under Sierra is Geometry Wars3: Dimensions from the team at Lucid Games. Geometry Wars3: Dimensions is an exciting new evolution of the fast-paced, frenetic Geometry Wars gameplay fans love, and will introduce full 3D action and both cooperative and competitive multiplayer for the first time in the franchise. In addition to a full single-player campaign with 50 unique challenges and over 10 battle modes – five of which are brand new to the series – Geometry Wars3: Dimensions features dynamic and persistent progression, offering players a consistently new experience each time they play. Geometry Wars3: Dimensions is planned to launch later this year.
“Thanks to Sierra, we’re planning to release Geometry Wars3: Dimensions on more platforms than ever before,” said Pete Wallace, Studio Head, Lucid Games. “We’re thrilled to work with the indie team at Sierra to bring the next generation of Geo Wars gameplay to our passionate and loyal fans, and look forward to seeing you all online!”
For the latest information on Sierra, including additional details on King’s Quest and Geometry Wars3: Dimensions, be sure to check out the official Sierra website at www.sierra.com.
About Sierra
Developer-lead and player-focused, Sierra publishes highly curated titles that embody best-in-class efforts from indie developers. From providing development funding and deep first-party relations to marketing and retail distribution, Sierra caters to the individual needs of each indie studio. Sierra will primarily publish on digital distribution platforms including Xbox Live, PlayStation Network and Steam for PC.
About Activision Publishing, Inc.
Headquartered in Santa Monica, California, Activision Publishing, Inc. is a leading worldwide developer, publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment and leisure products.
Activision maintains operations in the U.S., Canada, Brazil, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Spain, Norway, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia, South Korea, mainland China and the region of Taiwan. More information about Activision and its products can be found on the company’s website, www.activision.com.
Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this press release that involves Activision Publishing’s expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future, including statements about Sierra and the expected launch dates for Geometry Wars3: Dimensions, King’s Quest and other potential indie projects are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause Activision Publishing’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements set forth in this release include unanticipated product delays and other factors identified in the risk factors sections of Activision Blizzard’s most recent annual report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. The forward-looking statements in this release are based upon information available to Activision Publishing and Activision Blizzard as of the date of this release, and neither Activision Publishing nor Activision Blizzard assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements believed to be true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of the future performance of Activision Publishing or Activision Blizzard and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond its control and may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.
ACTIVISION, SIERRA, KING’S QUEST and GEOMETRY WARS are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the properties of their respective owners.

You know what would be amazing? If this was legit and their KS campaign actually succeeds purely because of people who pledged $1 only to tell Activision how much they suck in the comment section. :D

You know what would be amazing? If this was legit and their KS campaign actually succeeds purely because of people who pledged $1 only to tell Activision how much they suck in the comment section. :D

This is either an epic troll, or... God forbid they're actually serious about this
 
https://twitter.com/sierra_games/status/498850248115355648
 

"Coming this gamescom! From the critically acclaimed mastermind that brought you the "Transformers" saga, "Cowboys & Aliens" and "Super 8" comes this summer's most highly anticipated interactive movie event OF THE YEAR!"
 

 
(If you haven't heard of this game, google it. Prepare to have your minds blown!)

That sentence is all sorts of depressing.

That sentence is all sorts of depressing.

Yeah, this is true with some, but definitely not all. The comic could probably better represent that if at least one of the people listing off names was a woman. But I don't think it's a gaming or gender-related issue at all. I know lots of friends who, for example, talk on end about how bad-ass their FemShep or Warcraft character is. And when I go to Cons, there's no shortage of women dressed up in "Sailor Moon" or "Soul Caliber"-style costumes. Everybody has their own idea of what they admire in a character, and there's always a handful of very loud people who want to make an issue out of it just as much as there's people who want to celebrate it.

The GOG dev team was talking to me a while back about Shivers. They can't do Shivers because it is a Win only 16-bit game. The only solution for x64 users is a VM. Shivers two has too many bugs on modern systems to run properly They were trying to contact jafa for permission to use his StC installer, but he has faded from sight. He usually responds to me when I email him, but he never responded to GOG, even when I told him.
 
As to the other titles, it is arranging for the licensing that is the problem. Activision is not the easiest company to work with when it comes to IP rights. Outside of newer titles that have API issues on modern Windows, there are few Sierra titles that I have not already solved, so technical issues aren't really the problem. GOG has access to my resources to make them work, as they have done for so many of their other Sierra releases.

Troels, you're just mad that this one doesn't involve a reference to necrophilia! :P
 
Collector, maybe spread around this one instead. Gets the point across without anyone having to endure the smell of scrotum sweat:
 

Troels, you're just mad that this one doesn't involve a reference to necrophilia! :P
 
Collector, maybe spread around this one instead. Gets the point across without anyone having to endure the smell of scrotum sweat:
 

Not going to happen this way. All that is going to accomplish is that you get the illusion of „progress“ while everything stays the same.
 
No, I just loathe the ignorance and self-importance of people who think that reshaping the world in their image will autimatically make it a better place. Especially if they‘re working from a position that people are thinking like idiots who need to be "educated".
 
I‘m not sure if „you" is supposed to refer to me personally, feeding into the ridiculous notion that I‘m somehow conservative or anti-equality or anti-women. Or even anti-feminism, for that matter. Frede did a good job at pointing out that there‘s both perfectly reasonable feminists and that there are raving lunatics.
 
Maybe you should consider avoiding the Hotline Miami series then. Subtlety certainly isn‘t one of its strengths. You‘ll miss out on a great game with an awesome soundtrack though, but at least you won‘t have to face the lazy tropes or stereotypes that the game is playing with.
 
Reminds me of this:
 

Point taken about the lack of LGBTQ protagonists in games though. (I can come up with two: Moebius and Phantasmagoria 2, possibly three if my theories about BioMenace‘s protagonist turn out to be true. Oh yeah, and then there‘s The Sims). Still, I think it‘s silly to assume that LGBTQ lack the capacity to relate to video game characters that aren‘t explicitly introduced as gay. In turn that would mean that if a company released a game with a LGBTQ lead, then the heterosexual players would avoid this game, because they can‘t identify with the main character. And I don‘t think that‘s the case, unless you‘re talking about homophobic shitheads, but there‘s no helping those either way.
 
I say make the game you want to make, just don‘t make any lazy, half-hearted concessions just to get on the right side of a particular crowd of people. If someone wants to make a game that deals with LGBTQ issues and characters, by all means they must make that! Because you‘re absolutely right when pointing out that there are too few about these games and that variety is the spice of life. On the other hand, what I don‘t want to see is random alterations merely for the sake appeasement. Don‘t say: „There‘s too few characters that the LGBTQ crowd can relate to in Street Fighter, so let‘s make Honda gay and Chun-Li transgender.“ The same goes for including token female characters („Let‘s replace Ken with a new character named Barbie“) or token coloured characters („Let‘s make Guile black“). It‘s lazy, hypocritical and insincere and it doesn‘t amount to anything.
 
Wrong, have a look at page 1, that was because of something PurpleTentacle said. Maybe you should be having this whole discussion with him instead. I‘m probably the last person you want to ask, since (as I wrote time and again) I‘m at least partially sympathetic to the cause. I simply get fed up with people who are convinced that their way is the right way and that everyone else must adhere to their every whims or else they‘re backwards troglodytes who need to be "educated". It‘s odd that you‘re telling me that I‘m having an angry, visceral reaction, while you seem to be the one can‘t get past the idea that there are people out there who might disagree with a PC agenda that they consider to equate to censorship. You might think otherwise, which is fine. We both don't know the real motivation behind the examples I brought up. You see benevolence (a sincere attempt to make video games, therefore the world, a better place), I see malice (instead of actually changing the world for the better, a vocal minority indulges in de facto censorship by pressuring designers into catering to their demands). You agree to disagree and move on.

Nah, that was just my own hyperbolical way to say that as far as I‘m concerned the thread has run its course. I for one don‘t really have anything else of substance to contribute and I think that both Gareth and I will agree that we‘re just running in circles now. And yeah, while it‘s nice to have the last word, I don‘t think I‘ve done a good enough job at getting my point across so far for me to warrant keeping the discussion going any further. At this point, the thread just frustrates the hell out of me.