[Johnathon]

I'll be perfectly train-of-thought honest here: When I just read Zane's post, it struck me exactly what he's talking about. Worded very unbiasedly, straight-to-the-point, clear.

I agree completely with that concern, and it's a miscommunication that can potentially keep others from thinking any more seriously about looking deeper into the project.

Hopefully the 4th update will have cleared that up for anybody who bothers to come back and take a look. The sketch demo has been an indicator of ease-of-interactivity and speed-of-programming potential, from what I gather, personally, and not to be confused as a representative demo in any "completed" sense.

[Spybreaka]

What is with the rampant negativity in this thread. Seriously guys, wth?!

I think everyone needs to take a chill pill and recognise a few key points:

Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe are not professional actors. They may also not be the most charismatic people. This is not important. They are not making a goddam movie.

These guys are pioneers of the adventure game scene. The first adventure game I ever played was Space Quest 2, and it is one of my most favourite of childhood memories. I was only 8 years old and vividly remember playing the game with my Dad. It captured my imagination and started a long obsession with adventure games from thereon in. Space Quest 3, 4 and 5 were, in my view, brillianty executred and combined true science-fiction with a healthy dose of humour and some brilliant artwork. From the dystopian future portrayed in Space Quest 4 to the strange worlds and abandoned space stations in Space Quest 5, these are some of my most memorable gaming experiences.

I think that some of the posts in this thread are at the very least disrespectful towards a pair of gifted game creators. Sure, their own spoken performances in the pitch video may lack the polish of other kickstarter campaigns, but this is not their forté. They are storytellers for the gaming medium, not for the camera. Give them credit where credit is due, and let's give them a chance to show us they've still got what it takes to put together a great game. God knows they worked under some trying circumstances towards the end of their tenure at Sierra.

tl;dr - back the damn project already

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...s-of-space-que

[subbi]

Spybreaka,

Just stop it already with the fanboyish act.

If people cannot speak up anymore on these forums regardless of tone of voice without being addressed directly to change their message, then what's the whole point of having these forums in the first place.

If you look for a place where all posts are regulated to the point where only positive contributions are allowed, then I suggest you look elsewhere.....at least I still hope that unbiased or unfiltered contributions are still welcome here!

It seems pretty clear to me that some donot appreciate any negative (or even constructive) comments concerning various kickstarter campaigns, especially if it hits a personal favorite of theirs....and this at least has put me off in offering any additional contributions on these matters, but I sincerely hope that others will and still can do without being held responsible for killing the adventuregame genre or something equally absurd.

[Spybreaka]

Originally Posted by subbi

Spybreaka,

Just stop it already with the fanboyish act.

Oh man. Sigh.

If people cannot speak up anymore on these forums regardless of tone of voice without being addressed directly to change their message, then what's the whole point of having these forums in the first place.

No idea what the tone of your posts were like, but when I read through this thread I sensed a lot of negativity. Many comments basically varied between "man that video was shit" to "bah I never liked Space Quest anyway". If you think the latter then what the hell are you doing in this thread, if the former, I contest that most people could have been more constructive with their criticism.

It's not easy to put together a slick video after 20 years out of the scene. All I'm saying is that we should give these guys a break and see what they can do. Judge them on their past performance, not on their PR efforts.

[zane]

This is what i would do if i was them: scrap the "demo at 200k" and instead announce a date (soon) for when theyr going to release the next demo, allowing enough to time for them to make somthing that can impress. These things are bound to lag, but this kickstarter was poised for great growth until the second they released that first "demo".

[Erwin_Br]

I'm looking forward to the game very much. The negativity in this thread is not something I would worry about. I heard a lot of negativity around Jensen as well, and she's doing just fine! Tim Shafer is one of a kind, he's recognized well beyond the realms of adventure gamers. Even he has criticasters, though I must admit they are rare.

[pcj]

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

Tim Shafer is one of a kind, he's recognized well beyond the realms of adventure gamers. Even he has criticasters, though I must admit they are rare.

Indeed, he can do PR very well (and games of course, too). The Two Guys are excellent game developers and I don't see any reason to fault them for not being amazing at PR as well. (Though I understand if that doesn't help their cause any, it's no reason to count against them)

[edk]

Anyone done the latest survey? What's your favourite SQ?
The time ripper for me!

Funding is slowing down now just like Larry...

[pcj]

They've posted a new video, which is awesome:
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...e/posts/228665

[Johnathon]

Hey guys!

I've had quite a bit on my plate the last 4-5 days, so I hope I'm not possibly repeating anything here.

Just wanted to clarify/reassure: regarding the composition of the final product, Scott and Mark are taking an out-of-the-box approach with this, which is pretty exciting (they still have a solid vision of what they want to do, but they're experimenting quite a bit with some possible fan interaction (examples would be the death sequence voting and such). More importantly (I presume), for many of you: Only the prototypes/demos are/were being programmed in html5. A final decision for the coding of the finished game has not been decided. Regardless of which, the choice will provide for crisp, smooth gameplay (Scott and Mark have assured), AND they have clearly promised unique handdrawn background art, animations, and a fantastic multimedia experience as we have come to expect from any Space Quest Game.

The final game will be completely independent/standalone, bootable from your disk and NOT require Chrome nor any other browser.

Exciting news: For those of you who haven't heard the "closing comments" recording that appeared on guysfromandromeda.com after playing through the first prototype...

"We have definately been on the path of acquiring the Space Quest IP and we haven't hit a dead end in the road. No promises, but we definately have not given up." - Scott Murphy, May 8th, 2012

"Yeah... about that, we've definately looked into acquiring the Space Quest IP. That hasn't happened, but it's very much up in the air. It's not completely out of the question, but we are definately moving forward with the idea that we are doing a completely original space adventure. Know that whatever we do, it's going to be in the spirit of Space Quest absolute-lu, and it's going to have the humor that you guys have come to expect from us, as we've said over and over again, and we are gonna deliver on that. You can count on that." - Mark Crowe, May 8th, 2012

[thejobloshow]

The Tex Murphy Kickstarter has already superseded this one. Makes me feel sad to be honest. Then again, you can't take it as a blight to the Two Guys - the Portal (1986) Kickstarter is REALLY struggling.

The sad reality is the success of these Kickstarter's is completely dependant on media exposure. We can pretend that it's 'us' making a difference, but it's still the gate keepers that will determine whether adventure lives again or not.

[Erwin_Br]

Originally Posted by thejobloshow

The Tex Murphy Kickstarter has already superseded this one. Makes me feel sad to be honest. Then again, you can't take it as a blight to the Two Guys - the Portal (1986) Kickstarter is REALLY struggling.

The sad reality is the success of these Kickstarter's is completely dependant on media exposure. We can pretend that it's 'us' making a difference, but it's still the gate keepers that will determine whether adventure lives again or not.

I'm still confident this project will reach its goal. I've seen other KS campaigns that looked like a lost cause after the initial surge. They all made it in the end.

The Portal guys made a big mistake with canceling their previous campaign and setting up another one with an adjusted goal. That cost them a lot of their original backers.

[wilco]

They need friends in the media like the Republique kickstarter guy had to give it a big push...

Also they need to focus in giving more info about the game... please show a decent demo at $200.000!

[maladroid]

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

The Portal guys made a big mistake with canceling their previous campaign and setting up another one with an adjusted goal. That cost them a lot of their original backers.

But do you really think they could have made that impossible-looking goal of 900k? I remember checking out their page out of curiosity and they never got past 15-20k or so, if I remember correctly. To be perfectly honest, I think setting the goal lower was the only way they could ever stand a chance but even so nothing else seems to have changed much in their page. The pitch video is exactly the same, as far as I can tell, and so is most of the supporting material (which is well laid out, I must say, if perhaps a bit overloaded). Seeing as projects like Jensen's, Tex Murphy and the Space Quest guys are having a hard time reaching their (more modest) goals even having the nostalgia factor going for them, I cannot fathom how Portal 1986 is hoping to raise that kind of money. But then again I had not even heard of that game until now, so there may be something there that I am unaware of.

[zane]

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

The Portal guys made a big mistake with canceling their previous campaign and setting up another one with an adjusted goal. That cost them a lot of their original backers.

lol, rest assured knowing that cancelling and restarting is not one of the causes for that projects failure.
If they hadnt cancelled, theyd MAYBE have a total of 17k or so with the project about to end.

[pcj]

New $45 and $75 tiers: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...e/posts/229426

[Erwin_Br]

Originally Posted by zane

lol, rest assured knowing that cancelling and restarting is not one of the causes for that projects failure.
If they hadnt cancelled, theyd MAYBE have a total of 17k or so with the project about to end.

Well yeah, I agree that their original goal was unrealistic. The reboot didn't help and only made it worse. You only have one chance to make momentum. If you misstep, you won't pick up that same speed again.

[Monolith]

Originally Posted by Erwin_Br

Well yeah, I agree that their original goal was unrealistic. The reboot didn't help and only made it worse. You only have one chance to make momentum. If you misstep, you won't pick up that same speed again.

Not true. The project already received $185k.

[pcj]

There's supposed to be an interview with the Two Guys on Gamasutra today. Can't wait!

[pcj]

Also, Ken Williams (founder of Sierra) backed the project and left some nice comments.