Adventure Gamers - Forums

This whole thing is being blown way out of proportion.  Wegrzyn was clearly being disingenuous NOT to admit Lowe is no longer involved, but of course he pitched Lowe’s name hard.  He’d have been a fool not to.  Lowe WAS integrally involved in the concept, and if one thing will sell this campaign, it’s Lowe’s name. 

Trowe’s reaction was ridiculous.  Even if Replay has grounds for a lawsuit (which sounds dubious at this point), you talk to your lawyers and/or Wegrzyn, not make public threats.

There’s absolutely no reason to suspect Sam Suede is a full-blown scam, in any case.  The project’s been around for years, and we know Steve Ince wouldn’t connect himself to something illegal.

I’m more annoyed about the blatant name-dropping of Beyond Good & Evil.   Even if this project gets funded, there’s no way a game comes CLOSE to BG&E on half a mil. 

Toefur - 31 May 2012 08:48 AM

On that note, how come this game got a news item on AG and Tex didn’t? I know he did when the Kickstarter ANNOUNCEMENT was made, but not when the project actually started.

You just answered your own question.  We won’t ever do two news items for the exact same thing.  Plus a major Tex feature was in the works from the beginning.  That’s far more valuable than a redundant news story.

I have written a blog post on the matter:

http://www.steve-ince.co.uk/blog/?p=1125

Thanks, Jaap.

I hope Al Lowe will clarify matters quickly for everyone’s benefit.

I think it’s only fair that Ken’s name is fairly prominent - he’s the guy behind the game and worked with Al on the original design.  I’m just a johnny-come-lately.

Well, if it is legit, then in order to continue they 100% must get al lowe to do a video in support and confirm that the 10k tier is real. If it turns out they didnt have his support for that tier, it basically invalidates the whole thing (who knows what else theyr being shady about?).
Sure, maybe al lowe was involved in the design process, now he isnt, they just wanted to use his name to help, etc etc. But if they outright lied about getting him to do that dinner without talking to al…. then the plug has to be pulled (or they can enter a competition with portal to see who gets to 30k before their campaign ends). Trust is essential in a kickstarter.

Venture Beat updated their article once again:

In an update, Lowe said in a statement: “I am not involved in any way with Wisecrack’s current production of Sam Suede. I am proud of the work I did on Sam back in 2006. When I left, the game’s design was nearly complete, but the text, where the humor lies, was barely started. I am not personally involved in any legal action against Wisecrack and wish them well implementing my game design without me.”

He added, “As far I know, Replay Games is consulting with Codemasters about what action to take against Wisecrack concerning any Leisure Suit Larry usage, to which Replay has the rights. Right now they’re discussing a cease and desist order but it may go further than that if Wisecrack does not comply and remove any confusion as to my current non-involvement in their project.”

Jatsie - 31 May 2012 01:09 PM

Venture Beat updated their article once again:

[...]
He added, “As far I know, Replay Games is consulting with Codemasters about what action to take against Wisecrack concerning any Leisure Suit Larry usage, to which Replay has the rights. Right now they’re discussing a cease and desist order but it may go further than that if Wisecrack does not comply and remove any confusion as to my current non-involvement in their project.”

This is so bizarre! What LSL usage?! Larry is mentioned a very small handful of times on Sam Suede’s Kickstarter page and mostly in Lowe’s bio. How come Replay has the rights to LSL? I thought they had bought only the rights to make a remake. (And if they have the rights, why wasn’t their Kickstarter about making a new Larry game?) And how are LSL’s rights connected to the usage of Al Lowe’s name? Doesn’t Al Lowe have the full rights to his name? Why is Replay involved in protecting those rights? Does he approve of what Replay is doing or is he indifferent? WTF!!

This is rapidly devolving into a major shit show. I am very glad I didn’t give any money to those leeches at Replay. Phooey!

Paul Trowe’s immature attitude is really getting annoying. It’s not the first time he has acted stupid. This thread will give a further idea of Paul’s behaviour:
http://www.spacequest.net/index.php/topic/286-controversy-paul-trowe-on-the-two-guys/

I partially regret giving money to their campaign. He has to understand that the only reason people supported their campaign was because of Al Lowe and Josh Mandel, people whom I respect. For Paul Trowe I have lost all respect I may have once had.

Wow, this is getting worse and worse. It’s like a car accident, you know you should look away but you can’t.

Like TerminusEst I’m just glad I didn’t give a cent to Replay Games. While I’d love to see a new LSL Paul Trowe seems like the biggest dick ever and I now doubt I’ll even be buying the game when it actually gets released.

TerminusEst - 31 May 2012 01:46 PM

And how are LSL’s rights connected to the usage of Al Lowe’s name? Doesn’t Al Lowe have the full rights to his name?

HA HA HA! Seriously!

I understand nothing of Trowe’s reaction.

I already thought Paul Trowe behaved rather unlikable when he dissed the The Silver Lining project, because it isn’t lead by Roberta and doesn’t cohere with her vision. What vision exactly? There’s no consistency whatsoever just between the last three games of the series, they’re all over the place! Not to forget that a lot of the fan work done involving the King’s Quest series is a lot better than the originals ever were, which is a rare phenomenon, but true nonetheless.

I don’t think anyone can argue that Paul Trowe hasn’t made any serious mistakes in the public social media, but he did post a sincere-looking apology in that thread above. I know the common cyberspace reaction to questionable behaviour is to fling the crap back where it came from and then some, but let’s not forget that Trowe’s company (where Lowe and Mandel work, remember?) is depending on us fans to support them. I’m not saying we should accept anything they do without criticism, but shouting “they’re dicks and deserve no one’s support” isn’t helping anyone - especially not ourselves.

harald - 31 May 2012 03:26 PM

I’m not saying we should accept anything they do without criticism, but shouting “they’re dicks and deserve no one’s support” isn’t helping anyone - especially not ourselves.

I wished for the return of the old classics for over a decade, and I have no doubt a new Larry game could be fun if done with care. I’m super excited about Jane Jensen’s return and Telltale’s upcoming King’s Quest series, and was literally psyched three years ago when Monkey Island came back.

But at what cost do I wish this to continue? I understand your take on this harald, but for me, Trowe’s ridiculous reaction marks a line. I have no desire of supporting people like him with my hard-earned cash. Simple as that.