Sierra King's Quest Remakes + Point and Click Fun

[Nightcrawler]

Have any of you guys played any of the King's Quest's remakes?

I've played AGD's (formerly Tierra) remakes of King's Quest 1+2 when they were released and they were spectacular. The expanded content fit in well and the graphics and sound were top notch. They used the same voice actor for King Graham that was in the official King's Quest series. They truly made these games feel like King's Quest and live up to Sierra's standards. Definitely some of the best fan remakes I've ever seen.

I have not yet played Infamouse Adventure's King's Quest III remake yet. I don't know if it can live up to the same standards AGD set for KQ1+2 remakes.

It's great to know the entire series is available at the VGA standard now comparable to King's Quest V and VI. I notice Quest for Glory II and Space Quest II got the same remake treatment. I haven't been able to find the time to play those yet. I don't think Police Quest 1 or 2 are up to VGA standard yet in any form either.

Those Sierra Quest Adventure games (King's Quest, Quest for Glory, Space Quest, Police Quest) were true classics and a golden era of PC gaming.  I was looking for more modern games that recreate this experience. The Broken Sword Series seemed good. I started them, but somehow got distracted at some point and forgot about them.

So, share your love for point and click adventure games!  

[snark]

Thanks for the links, these are neat. I did not know that these had been re-made. The originals were great! KQV was fun on NES, but the
voices on the PC version were even better. If I have the time, I may pick up the SQII remake, that was always fun!

[Nightcrawler]

I briefly got to try out King's Quest III remake the other day. It looks like they tried to match King's Quest I+II remake, however the voice acting doesn't seem to hit the mark. It doesn't quite seem to reach the same genuine feel the other remakes did. However, I didn't play very far.

Nonetheless, I can see they really put a lot of effort into it and it looks like a worthy remake. Had I never played the AGD remakes, I doubt I'd have anything negative to say about it.

Hopefully I get around to playing further soon. I kind of got sidetracked starting to play Shadow Hearts instead!  

It's been a long time since I've been physically able to really play through an entire game. Near 2 years. So, I'm enjoying myself.  

I guess there aren't that many fans of the Sierra Adventure game golden age here. You guys really owe it to yourselves to give some of those Quest games a try. They don't make them like that anymore! There's something for everyone. Space Quest for sci-fi comedy, King's Quest for quirky fairy tale spoof adventure, Police Quest for serious drama, Quest for Glory for a mix of them all, and Leisure Suite Larry for the uh... people who like freedom of expression! Yeah, that's it.

[snark]

There is a fan-made Space Quest freeware game that has creative graphics. "Space Quest the Lost Chapter" which takes place between SQ II and SQ III.  Its pretty good but typo-intensive!

http://frostbytei.com/space/screens.html

Here is someone's let's play of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgZ3a4kEHZ4

[Nightcrawler]

An update to this topic. AGD did end up also remaking King's Quest III! I have not played through in it's entirely yet, but it's already another stellar remake. I have to say it's done to a higher quality than the previous KQ3 remake from Infamous Adventure (which is also not bad and probably also worth a play through!). I should also note they received legal fan licenses to do these games.

I have to say it again, these guys really captured the Sierra spirit and did the games justice. I can't praise them enough! They are looking to try and negotiate something for KQ4, but they are looking to sell it this time around as spending years making free games has grown tiring. I would gladly pay for a KQ4 remake from them and other Sierra classics, so I don't mind. They are just that damn good at it!

They are also working on an original game. It should be interesting to see what they produce when the content has to be entirely original.

[Next_Gen_Cowboy]

should also note they received legal fan licenses to do these games.

Is this common? I've never heard of it, but it is really awesome that they would be granted that. Obviously you're going to put more effort into something like that, and obviously you don't have to worry about the negative reprecussions. I guess because I'm only really familiar with the console side of things I've never heard of this being done.

[Nightcrawler]

No, it's not very common. However, occasionally there are a few nice companies around. And occasionally some public strong arming can convince some others. Vivendi Universal used to be one of those companies.

Here's an interesting bit of story for you. Vivendi had also issued a non-commercial fan license to some people making The Silver Lining, a freeware King's Quest fan game. Then, during development Activision acquired Vivendi and then revoked the fan license that Vivendi had given out! As you might imagine, that caused a bit of a public backlash. Eventually, they reconsidered and gave the license back.

So, at least the story ends well and Activision, the current owner of Sierra's properties has provided fan license for both The Silver Lining that Phoenix Online is doing and and the remakes that AGD is doing. AGD has completed the games they were given license for. They are now interested in seeking license from Activision involving commercial sales for future games. Nothing has come of that yet.

From what I have seen in the fan license realm, they are possible, but rarely given. When they are given, they are typically non commercial and something the company feels is commercially non viable for them. They're not going to let you do it for an iPad and release on iTunes for example.

Honestly, I've also seen it seems to work better when you don't ask first and then when they shut you down see if agreement can be reached for continuing legally. Simply asking nearly always results in a no. When they see you actually have something that could be good for them, then they might take a serious look. This is what happened for Sarien.net. They planned it that way and it worked.

I wish more companies would provide fan licenses... I also wish it was easier to determine who owns the rights to old properties where companies have liquidated or property has changed hands many times.

[D--]

I wish more companies would provide fan licenses... I also wish it was easier to determine who owns the rights to old properties where companies have liquidated or property has changed hands many times.

Try finding who owns Data East IP today ... As I recall, their IP was broken apart and sold at flat cash rates to whoever wanted to buy it. At one point, you could have owned the rights to River City Ransom and Karnov for a mere $340 each.

[Gideon Zhi]

Try finding who owns Data East IP today ... As I recall, their IP was broken apart and sold at flat cash rates to whoever wanted to buy it. At one point, you could have owned the rights to River City Ransom and Karnov for a mere $340 each.

How do you go about doing this?

[Nightcrawler]

How do you go about doing this?

It's probably easiest to simply infringe enough to have them come to you! 

[Gideon Zhi]

How do you go about doing this?

It's probably easiest to simply infringe enough to have them come to you! 

If they haven't come after me yet, I'm not sure they ever will :p I want to legitimize some of these things.

[Nightcrawler]

If they haven't come after me yet, I'm not sure they ever will :p I want to legitimize some of these things.

You need to make new material using their property. Then, take that and any modified works of their property, and start selling them. Then, if they still don't come after you, you may as well claim ownership of the property because nobody is going to stop you!

[Nightcrawler]

Another quick update. Infamouse Adventures released a remake of Space Quest II. I haven't gotten the chance to play yet, but it looks well done. One by one they are all getting brought up to VGA standards one way or another.