Sierra is back.. sort of..

[BigJKO]

So, Sierra is back! Well, almost.. Ok, just in name, really.

 

Apparently they're now revived as a sort of.. small scale or indie label of sorts. They're going to help studios with creating either their own, original game or a game based on Sierra's exisiting IP.  This is probably the best realistic result to come of a Sierra revival.

 

First games to be developed with the help of the new Sierra is Geometry Wars 3, now in the hands of former Bizarre Creations designers at Lucid Games, and a new King's Quest game by The Odd Gentlemen, creators of P.B Winterbottom.

 

I have absolutely no idea what to expect from an Odd Gentlemen King's Quest game.. which is pretty exciting.

 

I hear a lot of "it better be point and click!" on the webs, but is there any reason it can't just be direct-controlled like the old Quest games?

 

Interview: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2014-08-12-sierra-quality-and-passion-will-always-pay-off?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=european-daily

 

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.

 

http://blog.theoddgentlemen.com/post/94565660054/the-odd-gentlemen-are-pleased-to-announce-their-nexthttp://blog.theoddgentlemen.com/post/94565660054/the-odd-gentlemen-are-pleased-to-announce-their-next

 

All this said, I'm not a huge King's Quest fan.. but it tickles my nostalgia nonetheless..

[syntheticgerbil]

It's strange to me because in the case of Sierra games, I feel fans cared more about the creators than the brands. At this point what potential fan even knows what a King's Quest is?

[BigJKO]

I'm not entirely sure that's true, judging from the positive reactions to these news. But the more hardcore Sierra fans have obviously had nothing but the creators to look toward ever since the bigger names left Sierra and it closed down.

 

I'm happy that Ken and Roberta have seen and liked what Odd Gentlemen are making. This could just be PR babble, though, who knows..

 

EDIT: Speculation: Maybe Ken Levine could now design a new SWAT game.

[syntheticgerbil]

Well if that's the case, I want Super Giant's next game to be Willy Beamish. Also maybe they could just hand the Space Quest license to the Spaceventure guys. They are working so hard but I think everyone forgot that they were making something. The main character is completely switched and not Roger Wilco though.

[Tanukitsune]

Frankly, I do care more for the creators than the titles, I've at least liked almost all of Jane Jensen work, while I don't remember anybody saying anything nice about the LSL remake or The Silver Lining or the Quest for Infamy fan sequels...

 

Also, you're right! I completely forgot about the Two Guys From Andromeda, I guess I'm really that not into Sierra anymore.

 

I've also seen that when some people are nostalgic about Sierra games, they DEFEND how B.S. unfair and illogical they can get, which makes wary of any game made for Sierra fans. Wanna bet some fans will be angry if DOESN'T have a ton of un-winnable scenarios?

 

Hmm, since the article mentions Graham telling various tales to his granddaughter, so the game might be episodic, but that's all I can guess, I'm curious if it will be a "hardcore" (a.k.a. broken and unfair) adventure pandering to old school Sierra fans only or will be more like a normal adventure, or something more narrative driven like a Telltale game? Or maybe something completely different? 

 

I don't like that we don't even have an alpha screenshot or some visual tidbit to tantalize the fans, all we have is the logo. :|

[BigJKO]

I'm going to go ahead and assume that this isn't going to be a strictly classic adventure game with stupid, unfair puzzles. I don't think that's Odd Gentlemen's style judging from their games.

 

Which, of course, means some die-hard fans will probably be upset about this new King's Quest.

[Merus]

Also maybe they could just hand the Space Quest license to Size Five Games.

[Tanukitsune]

We're talking video games, of course fans will be upset, it's what video games fans do!

 

What else have they done besides that P.B. Winterbottom game? They don't seem that experienced, so it's kinda weird to see them handling King's Quest all of the sudden. Although I'm pretty sure this isn't the first time a small company with only a few games under their belt have dealt with a relatively popular I.P., it's still weird to me.

[feelthedarkness]

I get bummed when things get introduced totally divorced from their creators. There is something funny about this kind of super targeted nostalgia because Sierra had some real bad years at the end, with some bad blood before the plug was ultimately pulled on their remaining publishing shell. Also, I think every original Sierra creative lead is trying to kickstart their old game, so this must feel like salt in that wound to them.  

[Merus]

Funny thing though; I'm on-board for a King's Quest game that's riffing on its own mythology instead of real-world mythology. I'm  hoping it's a video game version of Big Fish.

[Bjorn]

Funny thing though; I'm on-board for a King's Quest game that's riffing on its own mythology instead of real-world mythology. I'm  hoping it's a video game version of Big Fish.

 

I'd be down with that.  My fuzzy memories of the older KQ games kind of make me think that they were already like a Big Fish story. 

[feelthedarkness]

they later ones were schmatlzy Don Bluth cartoons, and then a hard right into Tomb Raider.

[Ben X]

Also maybe they could just hand the Space Quest license to Size Five Games.

 

[GavinTheAlmighty]

This news really pleases me.  King's Quest was what really got me into gaming in the first place - my family would play the games together and try to figure out the ridiculously unintuitive puzzles.  Then we'd swear at the game and bust out the hint book, but it was a bonding experience.  It may be misguided allegiance to the series that represented gaming genesis for me, but I'm very excited to see what they can come up with.

[Merus]

Wanna bet some fans will be angry if DOESN'T have a ton of un-winnable scenarios?

 

Well I know I'm going to be disappointed if there's no potential to make drastically wrong decisions. One of the reasons LucasArts games drifted towards goofy comedies is because they have no way of providing tension with consequences.

 

Certainly the Sierra model (with exceptions, like Quest for Glory) had lots of problems, and the Infocom school of design they inherited from has mostly been discredited (or adapted, as The Last Express does). However, it's been nearly 20 years since Chainsaw Monday, so I think it's reasonable to expect the design of these games to have moved on- both from Sierra's school of design, and Lucasarts'.

[Ben X]

It's unlikely, but one thing they could do relatively easily is contact all the fan KQ remake teams and help polish them up/release them commercially (perhaps in a bundle).

[BobbyBesar]

Frankly, I do care more for the creators than the titles, I've at least liked almost all of Jane Jensen work, while I don't remember anybody saying anything nice about the LSL remake or The Silver Lining or the Quest for Infamy fan sequels...

 

If we're handing series back to their original creators, somebody should really give Quest for Glory back to the Coles. They....really seem like they need it. (I backed Hero U, but ...it's rough)

[feelthedarkness]

Haha, yeah. I feel sort of bad when i see the updates. I think I backed at a tier that lets me put my name in something, and I honestly didn't do it. I'm hoping they can pull it out. they should have got back to EGA style.  

[chummer]

So Sierra Online's old HQ burned down in a wildfire.

 

Is this part of Bobby Kotick's purging process?

 

No, of course not. But it gives me a chuckle to imagine Kotick walking away from the building in slow motion as he throws a match over his shoulder or something.

[Dewar]

I guess it could have been worse, they could have resurrected the name to launch their new digital distribution platform like a certain other company I know of.