Adventure Gamers - Forums

This bit of news has just leaked recently. No idea if it’s going to be an adventure or something else, but he did state in his Facebook post, that “it’s going to be something old school Sierra fans might like”.

Ken’s been doing the game with a small team for 6 months and is not ready to tell more about it. Roberta isn’t officially part of the team, Ken is picking her brains about the game though.

Here’s SQ Historians video about it:

And here’s a post Ken Williams posted on Facebook

Hi all—I don’t want to say too much, because:
a) I’m trying to focus on the game, and Facebook can become a full-time job, and there are only 28 hours in a day
b) It’s too soon. I probably shouldn’t have leaked that I’m working on a game. There will be a time when I want all the publicity I can get, but it just isn’t that time yet.
Anyway .. here’s some answers to questions (a pre-emptive faq):
What are you working on?—It is indeed a game, and it’s one that is very mainstream. Roberta talked me out of the educational game and into something more people would enjoy. I’ll say what it is about six weeks from now. In the meantime I just want to be head-down focused.
When will it be done?—Our goal is November, but that probably isn’t realistic. We’re pushing hard though.
What platforms will it be available on?—I don’t know. Certainly Mac and Windows. I hope eventually it will be on most platforms and in most languages. A lot will depend on how people like it.
Can you give me a hint?—I hope not!
Can I beta test?—Possibly. Send me an email - .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). I won’t respond but I will put your name on a list of possible beta testers. I don’t know yet how many we’ll want or how we’ll choose them, or even what we’ll be looking for. I’m inclined towards fewer people who have the time to take it more seriously and put in more time. I’m guessing beta testing can start in August (or, at least hoping!).
Can I do the music? the box cover? character voices? the foreign translation? the porting to Apple ][? Probably not. We will need help with foreign translation and porting to other platforms, but the box art, voices and music are already handled.
Is the game any good?—I have said that I do not think a small team can produce a product that is competitive in today’s world. I still believe that. The major studios have nothing to fear from this game. It’s an incredible accomplishment for a small team, and those who play it will find much to love. But, I am not kidding myself that this will sell millions of copies. That said, I do think traditional Sierra fans will be very happy.
What’s Roberta’s involvement?—So far, her involvement has been important, but minimal. She was the original inspiration for the game, and has been consulted almost daily. But, in terms of hours spent in front of a computer it is 99% Marcus and myself. We’ve been filling all spare time 7 days a week. Roberta will get more and more involved as we get closer.
What’s the game’s exact current status?—The whole game is there, but with scratch graphics. That’s one reason for no screen shots. We wanted to rough out the whole game and then make a second (and, third and fourth) pass to replace the placeholder graphics and animation and start polishing things. If you saw the game today I doubt you’d be impressed. You would need a LOT of imagination. That’s how we planned it and that’s how it is.
Is this the beginning of a new company?—I have no idea. Marcus (my partner in this effort) is in this for the long haul. He’s young and has the ambition and talent to do something great. Whereas, I am happily retired and more excited about having an excuse to create and write code than I am about building a company. I do think people will like this game and that it will be the start of something. But, what that is, and whether Roberta and I will hang in there, or if this was just a fun one-off I do not know. At this point I don’t want to think much beyond solving bugs and polishing the game. All of that said, I do have more ideas for things to do and have surprised myself (and, hopefully you) by what we have accomplished. I would have thought it impossible to do what we have done, but with a good set of tools and a lot of focus and hard work, big things appear to be possible. I can’t imagine ever not waking up and going to my computer. So, we shall see!
    Ken Williams

Happy about the game being released.

Captain Blondebeard - 27 May 2021 06:47 PM

Happy about the game being released.

You are? No longer any problems with “anger” and “feeling uncomfortable”?
Weird to see a post changed into the opposite of its original message.

Luhr28 - 27 May 2021 10:30 PM

Maybe I’m just not business-minded but something about the attitude of “I’m here talking about the game but I can’t release any details about it” rubs me the wrong way.

Yes, me too. Doesn’t help that the Sierra games are a thing of the past for me. I loved them in the ‘80s, I don’t love them now. With the exception of the GK series.

To me, Ken’s comment reads out more like a cautious modesty rather than a shrewd business tactic. The news about him doing a game escaped a bit sooner than he was originally intending to come out with it, so he probably wants to keep the expectations small. He does state, that he doesn’t believe a small team such as his can compete with bigger groups, so he and his team develop the game to a state where they feel it is presentative rather than create false hype around it.

Luhr28 - 28 May 2021 04:57 AM

Yes, well, forgive me for failing to see the cautious modesty in a statement like “this will sell millions”...

He’s actually saying the exact opposite.

Luhr28 - 28 May 2021 05:13 AM

Still, if there’s enough there to say it’s an incredible accomplishment and Sierra fans will love it, there’s enough to give a basic description of what the game’s about. Otherwise it’s just hype.

Nothing about what Ken has said reads out as hype, it comes out more like “manage your expectations.”

If saying something like “old Sierra fans will like it” comes out as hype to you, then so be it.

Captain Blondebeard - 27 May 2021 06:47 PM

Happy about the game being released.

This could be pretty amazing, I also want details, we will see if we get them anytime soon.

Karlok - 27 May 2021 10:49 PM

Yes, me too. Doesn’t help that the Sierra games are a thing of the past for me. I loved them in the ‘80s, I don’t love them now. With the exception of the GK series.

Kind of the same for me as well. The last two Sierra games I played were Shivers and Lighthouse. Both as part of community playthroughs. I enjoyed both of them. Brought back good memories. But neither were as good as I remembered them being when I played them “back in the day.” So, if the target audience is former Sierra players, then the aim might be a little off.

I’m old fashioned. If it has enough haystacks, insect monarchies, bowls, and dead fish, I will probably love it.

Karlok - 27 May 2021 10:18 PM

Captain Blondebeard - 27 May 2021 06:47 PM

Happy about the game being released.

You are? No longer any problems with “anger” and “feeling uncomfortable”?
Weird to see a post changed into the opposite of its original message.

If I edited the message I did so for a reason. I do not appreciate you quoting something that is not there.
I can be uncomfortable and angry, while still being happy about the game. I’m uncomfortable and angry over the “scoop”.
We cannot discuss it but if you follow AG (obviously you do) you will understand very soon.

There’s a small bit of additional info for this, apparently, Ken is just coding the game, he’s not designing it. So, in that sense, it would be wrong to call it Ken’s game, but I guess that’s how it will be known unless the designer is revealed to be someone with a name.

I do believe, this whole game is a result of Ken’s book. I did get a sense from it, that his happiest time at Sierra was when he was coding the systems for other people to create games with. He said it many times, he’s not a game designer, he’s a coder. So I guess, he got an itch from his book to try game coding again, on a small scale, in order to see if he still has what it takes.