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Jim Walls (Police Quest) is going to make another game!
I’m very curious about this. Police Quest is one of my all-time favourite games, and I’d go as far as saying that it’s the most important Sierra game for me personally, after the Quest for Glorys. It’s a game that I fell in love with at a very young age, and I still feel it’s a wonderful adventure despite many of the well known flaws.
The rest of the series’ never quite grabbed me the same way. Perhaps because I never got around to playing them before they were rereleased on CD, and by then they were already old. And Codename: Iceman is, frankly, a disaster area of poor game design. In other words, I hope the new project won’t be a solo show, design wise. Ideally, Walls would do the writing and plan out the situations, but get some help with the actual puzzle design to make sure things aren’t unfair and we’re never asked to steer a submarine or something.
I’m sure I’ll back it regardless. If nothing else, just as a thank you for Police Quest 1, and out of curiousity.
I totally understand people’s concerns regarding Jim being out of the game industry for quiet some time. I played the the first to PQ games in the early 90’s, I can’t really recall if they were among my favorite AG’s, but I am however happy that more Sierra vets are getting back into the business again. 
Anticipating:The Devil’s Men
Recently played:GK1 Remake (4), A Golden Wake (3), Child of Light (4) Memento Mori 2 (4) Face Noir (3.5) Tex Murphy: Tesla Effect (4) Blackwell Epiphany (4.5),Broken Sword 5(4.5), The Shivah Remake (4.5), Monkey Island 2 Remake (4.5)
Top 10 Adventure Games:Tex Murphy: Pandora Directive, Gabriel Knight:The Beast Within, Broken Sword:Shadow of the Templars, Gabriel Knight:Sins of the Fathers, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis, Tex Murphy: Under a Killing Moon, Lost Horizon, Grim Fandago, The Longest Journey, Blackwell Epiphany
Jim Walls has been out of the industry just as long as practically every other sierra developer. I’ve never played Blue Force, so I can’t comment on the quality of the game…but judging by the videos, I can agree that its nothing like the PQ series. Though that’s kind of the point of a kick-starter. Asking for money and input. Experience is experience. Sure he no longer works in the force, but guess what? That is what research is for. He was an officer, thats all the experience he needs to make a game. I find all of this judging a little insulting. Of course Blue Force wasn’t like PQ. It wasn’t developer by the same team. Walls was the designer in both Blue Force and PQ….the difference? Again, the team.
Show a bit more respect and faith in the man. lol
Stuart Bradley Newsom - Naughty Shinobi || Our Game: Shadow Over Isolation
I’d focus on getting this funded before discussing the details. PQ is probably the most underrated of the Sierra games and if there is a huge battalion of die-hard (no pun intended) fans then they are well hidden.
Saying that, I find the prospect of police game of the quality of Open Season or The Vengeance more exciting than any of the other Sierra-related kickstarter projects on offer right now.
There are a lot of PQ fans. Its just you don’t mention anything Police related. Its not cool you know? lol Yeah that sounds stupid but thats how a lot of people act.
Not sure what you’re getting at. If I have to bring up the police to get a mention of Police Quest, why don’t I have to mention kings and space to prompt the constant discussion of King’s and Space Quest?
Silliness aside, it’s not unreasonable to claim that it appears to be a less popular series judging by how infrequently it is talked about. If I remember correctly, the HeroU kickstarter struggled and QFG is more popular than PQ.
Not sure what you’re getting at. If I have to bring up the police to get a mention of Police Quest, why don’t I have
Popo’s beaten us down! They be hateen.
Stuart Bradley Newsom - Naughty Shinobi || Our Game: Shadow Over Isolation
The very first Police Quest was possibly my favourite game in the time before discovering Lucasarts(film). I also had some fun with Police Quest 2&3, but I never managed to complete those back then. PQ1, however, I knew by heart. I didn’t like PQ4, and I never tried the PQ-Swat 1&2 games, but from what I understand, these were made after Walls left Sierra. Codename Iceman made a really bad impression and I don’t think I ever tried Blue Force as it’s visuals put me off.
Like Kolorabi, I’ll back this project as a thank you for PQ1 and also because I’m curious to see what he can come up with, but I’ll admit that, as many others in this thread, I’m quite sceptic, not only to how good the game can be, but also to the chance of a successful fundraiser. After all, it’s been 25 years since he made a game I truly liked. I’m not gonna sit on the sideline being sceptic without doing my bit though.
I think how he decides to run the fundraiser is what’s gonna determine it’s success. Offcourse he’s no Tim Schafer, who’s probably the only person in the world who could raise more than a million for an AG, but I think if he manages to run an interesting campaign, with lots of updates and community interaction, then he should be able to do as well as the other Sierra vets at kickstarter.
Pendulo Studios attempt at a fundraiser for their game “Day One” is probably the most perfect example of how NOT to “run” a crowdfunding campaign. First of all, they’re relatively unknown globally (compared to Lucasarts and Sierra) meaning that they needed to run one hell of a smooth campaign to be able to raise the same amount of funds as the Sierra-vets (which was what they were asking for).
Seemingly oblivious to something so obvious, there was little to no community interaction, very few updates, and those that were, were about previous games, and not the one that needed funding. They would ignore most comments that weren’t written in Spanish (as if they didn’t need support from outside of Spain or Spanish speaking countries), and be rude to those who got frustrated over their lack of participation in their own campaign. And no wonder that people got frustrated when they were seemingly more passionate about the project than Pendulo themselves.
Offcourse, it didn’t help that they chose not to run the campaign through Kickstarter, but rather through gamesplanet lab, which isn’t nearly as established (atleast not for adventure games). Their argumentation as to why they made this decision (not being native Americans) was also pretty weak, since at the same time, Revolution (who’s also a European company) were running their Broken Sword 5 Kickstarter campaign successfully.
Pendulo didn’t even seem willing to explore the possibility of launching their campaign through Kickstarter, and they were clearly annoyed by people who kept making this suggestion or asking for some reasonable explanation as to why they didn’t care to try it. They also failed to realize that the reason people kept asking the same questions over and over again was because they weren’t properly answered.
I doubt that Mr. Walls is gonna make nearly as many mistakes with his campaign as Pendulo did, (I mean, how could he possibly?) so I’m quite confident that he’ll have a much better chance than they did
Duckman: Can you believe it? Five hundred bucks for a parking ticket?
Cornfed Pig: You parked in a handicapped zone.
Duckman: Who cares? Nobody parks there anyway, except for the people who are supposed to park there and, hell, I can outrun them anytime.
This is promising, there have been no real police games for a long time now and I used to love Police Quest (and Blue Force) as a young lad. I just have doubts on some of these returning developers on whether they can create a good game in the modern world. I’ve backed many of them on Kickstarter though so have faith. L.A. Noire is probably the closest thing I can think of to a modern day cop adventure game with the police procedures but it wasn’t that similar to Police Quest.
This is promising, there have been no real police games for a long time now and I used to love Police Quest (and Blue Force) as a young lad. I just have doubts on some of these returning developers on whether they can create a good game in the modern world. I’ve backed many of them on Kickstarter though so have faith. L.A. Noire is probably the closest thing I can think of to a modern day cop adventure game with the police procedures but it wasn’t that similar to Police Quest.
I’m also curious about this. The PQ series was appealing not just as an adventure game, but as a “tactical simulation”. I recall it also being used as a teaching tool for actual police officers.
But these days few gamers, if any, will be interested in the type of gameplay PQ offered. That is, driving around and arresting traffic violators. Jim could either focus more on an adventure mystery, like perhaps a detective or private investigator trying to solve a case, or keep it with the PQ-style tasks and puzzles.
It will be very interesting to see what he develops.
This is promising, there have been no real police games for a long time now and I used to love Police Quest (and Blue Force) as a young lad. I just have doubts on some of these returning developers on whether they can create a good game in the modern world. I’ve backed many of them on Kickstarter though so have faith. L.A. Noire is probably the closest thing I can think of to a modern day cop adventure game with the police procedures but it wasn’t that similar to Police Quest.
I’m also curious about this. The PQ series was appealing not just as an adventure game, but as a “tactical simulation”. I recall it also being used as a teaching tool for actual police officers.
But these days few gamers, if any, will be interested in the type of gameplay PQ offered. That is, driving around and arresting traffic violators. Jim could either focus more on an adventure mystery, like perhaps a detective or private investigator trying to solve a case, or keep it with the PQ-style tasks and puzzles.
It will be very interesting to see what he develops.
Not that my opinion is more valid than any other but I would prefer it to dwell on the police side of things, especially since Walls is an expert on it. You could say it’s more “adventurey” to be a free roaming PI, but approaching a problem from the highly regimented role of the policeman is something unfamiliar to most gamers - and therefore very adventurous, if you think about an adventure as being a journey into the unknown. There’s huge untapped potential there. Haven’t we got enough detective games anyway? 
Not sure what you’re getting at. If I have to bring up the police to get a mention of Police Quest, why don’t I have
Popo’s beaten us down! They be hateen.
Note to self: Avoid replying to Monolith’s posts from now on.
Note to self: Avoid replying to Monolith’s posts from now on.
Note to self: Don’t be ghetto around Oscar.
Stuart Bradley Newsom - Naughty Shinobi || Our Game: Shadow Over Isolation
But these days few gamers, if any, will be interested in the type of gameplay PQ offered. That is, driving around and arresting traffic violators.
It worked for LA Noire…
It worked for LA Noire…
Did it really?
How many adventure gamers stopped doing the street crime missions after a handful? My bet is: most of them.
No variety, coupled with the clunky driving, shooting and fighting, made all the L.A. Noire street crime a tedious and repetitive experience. The best thing about it was that it was optional so you could simply ignore it.
The truth can’t hurt you, it’s just like the dark: it scares you witless but in time you see things clear and stark. - Elvis Costello
Maybe this time I can be strong, but since I know who I am, I’m probably wrong. Maybe this time I can go far, but thinking about where I’ve been ain’t helping me start. - Michael Kiwanuka
But these days few gamers, if any, will be interested in the type of gameplay PQ offered. That is, driving around and arresting traffic violators.
It worked for LA Noire…
Although far from what made PQ work. I can’t wait to follow proper protocol, live a life as an officer not through a cinematic film quality, but as a borderline simulator, the way the original games were.
Stuart Bradley Newsom - Naughty Shinobi || Our Game: Shadow Over Isolation
The Himalaya Studios / AGD Interactive guys have revealed in the comments of their Mage’s Initiation Kickstarter that Jim talked to them about working on this project.
I’ll admit, that makes me feel loads better about the whole thing. When I first heard about this I had the same concerns about Jim having been out of the industry for so long, a PQ game not really fitting in with today’s audience, etc. But 1) Himalaya really knows what they’re doing from a “classic adventure game” standpoint, and 2) Britney Brimhall (one of the original team members - she’s Anonymous Game Developer 1) is a police officer, so she could provide the same sort of perspective Jim did to the PQ games.
Obviously there are no details yet on what such a game would be (or if they’ll even end up working together on it), but in that context it starts to make a lot more sense…
Interesting, thanks for the heads up, fov. I think Jim and Himalaya Studios/AGD would make a very nice pairing.
edit - found a comment by Britney Brimhall
Thanks guys for donating and pushing us past the $40,000 mark. SO EXCITING! I appreciate you pushing us into the next tier, BigD!
And YES—this is my DREAM, to work with Jim Walls on a Police Quest type adventure game, and I think it would be the perfect collaboration. It feels as if all my experiences in life, and my team’s experiences, have sort of led up to this exact point, making us the perfect fit to work with Jim on this game. We’ve been discussing this, and he mentioned us in his last interview.
It’s funny, because I want to finish up “Mage’s”, because I’m so excited to get started on a Police adventure game. Yet at the same time, am so excited about “Mage’s”, because it’s turning out so well, and is the type of game I’ve been wanting to play for Ages (being a huge fan of Quest for Glory style games)! Two amazing games. I have to remind myself to take it step for step, but it feels like Christmas being able to work on two such fulfilling projects.
As we finish “Mage’s”, and I continue patrolling, I am certainly getting more and more ideas for an upcoming Police Adventure:) Every day on the street is really like a lifetime lived. A single day would be enough fodder for a grand adventure game!
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