lobotomy42

I remember them fondly, and have already pledged.

The PC version got such glowing reviews that I pre-ordered the Xbox 360 version. Looking forward to it!

I know what you mean. I guess I am mainly okay with long pointless descriptions as long as it is entertaining, which Freddy Pharkas definitely was. I definitely prefer the dark, cynical humor of Scott Murphy, but I never felt like the Mandel stuff in SQ6 was out of place. Man, I haven't played any of these games in years, possibly a decade or more. I should really go back and see if I still feel the same way. Considering how much I used to obsess over Space Quest, it's kind of nuts to think about how long I've gone without any of the games being installed on any of my computers.

I actually have mostly positive feelings about Josh Mandel, mainly because of his work on the under-rated Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist. Space Quest VI was a severely troubled project, and its terrible-ness reflects that, but I still found many of the jokes to hit the right spot.

...And Moebius is the runaway winner. So for those of you waiting to know what exactly you get for your $16 the answer is: Moebius. It looks a lot like Gabriel Knight, actually -- even more so after reading the "extended" backers-only pitch. Here's the description from kickstarter:

Whoa, hey there, Troels....how long have you been there? Have you been lurking in this forum for years? I was trying to remember where I'd seen your name before...did you write that huge SQ FAQ some years back? I have not been on those SQ fansites for a long, long time... Also, I just watched the narrator audition video with Gary Owens, which considerably improved my spirits about this project. (That, and I went outside, and it was warm and sunny and pleasant.) So I promise my cynicism will end now!

Yeah, that's the interview which includes: This is not the sort of statement that is easily walked back or explained away, which is why I'm surprised the two even managed to reconcile, if they even have. EDIT: Also, thanks for reminding me of that. I just re-read it. This is such a great interview, and Scott's dripping cynicism still makes me smile.

PSA: The voting begins at 9pm EST tonight, so if you have a strong preference for one of the three pitches, then you should get your pledge in now.

I don't care about Minecraft, Notch's programming skills, or most of anything about Notch, but hot damn am I excited about a programming-based video-game.

Is it possible? Sure, it's possible. But it still comes across like he's just throwing in more and more unsubstantiated promises in the hopes of grabbing the kickstarter cash.

Well, the sketchiness factor increases: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012/04/10/replay-trying-to-bring-back-space-quest-kings-quest/ AFAIK, Telltale already signed a deal with Activision to produce King's Quest games, although I suppose it could be non-exclusive and/or not cover remakes. (But why on Earth would Telltale have signed such a deal? And even if they hadn't, why would Activision want two competing products on the market around the same time?) Talking to Roberta Williams is great, except for the fact that she has absolutely no control over this. Does anyone have better information than me?

So this is the argument I just don't understand. Obviously it's Bioware's game and they can do or not do whatever they want with it. It's one thing to say "No, this ending is what we meant, it's actually really good, and we stand by it." But if you take as your premise that "the ending is absolute shit," what is the harm in changing it? Is the idea here that people complaining on the internet are inherently wrong because they complained on the internet?

UPDATE: The voting has been moved up to next weekend, so we should be able to see a concrete design to pledge towards soon. Hopefully this will also give her a second shot at getting in the news cycle. http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1005365109/jane-jensens-pinkerton-road-2012-2013-csg/posts

1) This is the game that made her nerd-famous: http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/gabriel_knight_sins_of_the_fathers It has not aged terribly well, mainly due to the general Sierra-ness of it, but it is the game that put her on the map. Its sequels are also very well-regarded, although each exists on a completely different technology stack. GK2 was made when FMV adventures were trendy, so its....FMV. And GK3 was Sierra's first serious stab at doing adventure games in full 3D. It's interface is widely hated, although I think it's actually really neat. GK3 is by far my favorite - you can explore a bunch of different locations and eavesdrop on many totally optional conversations, and a lot of plot threads are moving at once. It has also not aged perfectly, mainly because the centerpiece of its plot was later used in the novel The Da Vinci Code. The writing in all three is highly-regarded among the adventuregamers.com crowd, though, for what it's worth. 2. You get one of the two games they will make in the next year, either the kid's game or the "GK-style" game to-be-voted-on. I can only imagine that they let you choose, because who on earth among her supporters would choose the kid's game?

Ugh, still haven't broken the $100,000 mark. It *kills* me that her project is struggling like this while so many of the other "throwback" projects seem to rocket to their goal in a few days.

Even if the games in that cycle are delayed, you still get them. The details page makes this more clear - at $16, you get one game, at $50 you get both the kids game and whichever of the three options she mentions is voted on the most. (Seems likely to be Moebius, at this point.) She mentions having multiple studios to work with, so possibly she hands one game to each? From the interviews she's given, it sounds like she and Holmes will mostly occupy producer/director roles, since they don't plan on staffing up themselves.

I was a huge fan of Tales of Symphonia and Abyss. I played Vesperia, but I never really got into it. I'm on the fence on Graces. If I didn't already have a huge backlog, I might consider it more seriously.

To be clear: I was not at all trying to be down on Gray Matter or Jensen. If anything, the opposite - I think she's a great designer and if this kickstarter goes well, could finally put her in a position to do something on her own terms. It's safe to say I care more about the fate of this kickstarter than any of the others so far. So I would encourage all of her fans to contribute!

The best part of this interview is that, like all things, it eventually comes down to her opinion on the ending of Mass Effect 3: http://www.gamespot.com/news/gabriel-knight-designer-launches-pinkerton-road-6369623

It's kind of a shame (not really) that Tim Schafer set the bar so high. I feel this project of Jensen's will be lucky to hit its $300,000 goal. Which means we'll be getting one AWESOME HILARIOUS HIGH-BUDGET adventure game from Double Fine and then several well-written-but-low-budget projects from Jensen's new company. Having one hugely successful project will make all the minor successes seem like letdowns in comparison. :-/ As for Jensen herself, my sense is that she's definitely still designing adventure games for Sierra in the mid-90s. That's definitely the vibe Gray Matter was going for and didn't quite hit. Her casual games (which I haven't played) seem to be attempts to cram an adventure game plot into, well, tiny casual games. My sense is that her plotting is still pretty good, but she hasn't really figured out how to scale down her visions of Hollywood B-movie thrillers into indie-game budgets.

If you watch the video, they make a joke about that.

Well, I'm super-excited about the Jane Jensen kickstarter and super NOT excited about the LSL one, so this is a no-brainer for me.

I actually feel the opposite. I love Chris Avellone's projects, despite the bugs, but I am supremely unexcited about Wasteland 2. I'd much rather contribute to an original project than to a sequel and "spiritual predecessor/successor" of another franchise. Must kickstarter begin replicating all the problems of traditional publishers?

Just like everyone that finished the game thought Bioware was pulling their leg...

I'm no fan of the ending, but the cupcake thing is *really* passive-aggressive and immature. Do we know how many people were actually involved in this?