Adventure Gamers - Forums

Ken Williams posted this to the Sierra Chest group on Facebook.  It’s Roberta being shown the new Graham design, which you can clearly see in the photo.  Apparently, he will age as the game progresses, and you can see the designs for him at different points in life here.  Photo by Ken Williams.

Apparently, the first official reveal and look at the game is coming next month some time.

According to Ken, he and Roberta were extremely excited about the look and direction of the new game—he said that the designers really seemed to have nailed what made the old games work so well, and had perfectly translated “what Roberta was going for” into 21st Century technology.  His words, and he explicitly made it a point to say that he wasn’t just being polite. 

[s]Mods, can you resize the image so it fits properly?  I’m not sure what dimensions it needs to be.  Thanks.  [/s]

I fixed it, thanks!

Thanks for posting this, Lambonius. It’s very exciting to hear that from Ken himself! Given the fact that the couple’s been off-radar for so long (well, to most of us anyway), it’s certainly very reassuring to know he’s that optimistic about the new game and its development team.

I also like the idea of seeing Graham at various stages in his life.

Some kings quest fans will hate me for saying this but if this game has a moment as ridiculous and nonsensical as the “Throwing a custard pie at a Yeti” puzzle

I will put it on my worst games of 2015 list lol

Great new info, curious to see the reveal. Here is the aging Graham art cropped from that picture:

i want to play a whole game with 2nd-to-last Graham

OrionO - 29 August 2014 04:10 AM

RockNFknRoll - 27 August 2014 02:51 AM

First off, I WANT to be on my own in a game. I want to not know exactly where to go sometimes. If there is one thing I’m begging of AG makers, it’s to leave me the F alone to figure out the puzzles myself. I love the idea of a big open world full of secrets to discover. To me, that’s exactly what old games were like. There’s nothing about KQ1 that felt “closed” to me. If there’s an item you need somewhere out in the wilderness, there are plenty of ways to clue the player. Red Dead Redemption did that pretty well with the treasure hunting challenge.

YES, YES, YES.

That’s exactly how I feel.

I understand that some people may prefer games with overarching plots that constantly feel “urgent”, and that’s fine, but I like doing my own thing and being able to freely roam in the world, trying to figure everything out.

King’s Quest 4 is a game I always enjoy replaying because I feel so free to do whatever I want and can even swim out to some island. Yes, there’s a plot, but you kind of forget about it at times and get involved with cool, imaginative, fun subplots that put you in such crazy situations like getting swallowed by a whale or exploring a haunted house. That’s how I think the open world vs. plot urgency issue could be resolved; have several smaller, interesting subplots in different areas of the land. It’s okay if the player is more focused on each of those mini stories at the time and if each subplot seems only loosely connected to the others. Having one dominant, restrictive, linear story dictating all the action takes away too much of the player’s freedom.

Having a lot of freedom makes the world feel bigger and more real to me, and I hope the new King’s Quest has that open feel. Also, I would also advocate for plenty of chances for death (adds tension and also makes the world feel more real), but that’s another debate. I’m also hopeful the new game has a grand adventure feel to it (similar to how the classic games had you soaring with an owl over vast lands, facing off with dragons, setting sail for some scary magic island, riding unicorns to evil fairy castles, transforming into animals to escape danger, etc.)

I like how you contrasted it with “plot urgency”, I think you’re right. There has for a long time been a fetishization with story story story being the be-all-end-all of a good game. I like a good story of course, but a lot of those great old games really didn’t always force the story on you as you said, and I think it can be a valid and fantastic design choice.

If I get to throw a pie at a Yeti, this game gets my vote for GOTY.

Bt

I just visited the developer’s Twitter page and it surely gives the impression of a passionate team being honored and thrilled to work on a King’s Quest game. That, coupled with the enthusiasm of Ken Williams (posted earlier) has really boosted up my excitement. I really wasn’t sure what to think of it when it was announced but now I can’t wait to learn more.

Ken and Roberta look great. Very happy to see these pictures. My admiration for Roberta has grown immensely over the years. Same for Ken, a visionary like Disney.

A new Kings Quest…..I have some severe doubts if this is going to work.
I know there is a LOT of nostalgia around this series (which I never understood to be honest), but you need more than nostalgia to bring this back succesfully.

Is the world in 2015 really looking for a new King’s Quest?
(I’m genuinly curious in case you’re thinking I’m being sarcastic)

To me, very much like Larry Suit Larry, and for different reasons obviously, this game is firmly stuck in the 80’s and early 90’s and I’m not sure this will still work.

And are the Williamses gonna be involved? Are they still capable?
Sounds like just a huge nostalgia fest to me….is this going to be the next SpaceVenture?

subbi - 29 October 2014 06:03 AM

A new Kings Quest…..I have some severe doubts if this is going to work.
I know there is a LOT of nostalgia around this series (which I never understood to be honest), but you need more than nostalgia to bring this back succesfully.

Is the world in 2015 really looking for a new King’s Quest?
(I’m genuinly curious in case you’re thinking I’m being sarcastic)

To me, very much like Larry Suit Larry, and for different reasons obviously, this game is firmly stuck in the 80’s and early 90’s and I’m not sure this will still work.

And are the Williamses gonna be involved? Are they still capable?
Sounds like just a huge nostalgia fest to me….is this going to be the next SpaceVenture?

This game isnt going to be “stuck in the 80s” because its being “re-imagined” by a completely different team. To what extent thats a good thing or not remains to be seen. If you scroll up a bit you’ll see that this team recently showed the game to the williams. They liked it, and are not involved with the development at all.
And to even suggest this would be “the next spaceventure” makes it clear youre not paying attention. This is getting the full treatment from activision. There isnt going to be a kickstarter, or years of “will they or wont they”.

How do you know it will get the proper treatment? There was some concern voiced earlier that The Oddd Gentlemen have no credits on any real adventuregame either developed or produced, so why is this going to be any different from other attempts?