Most of you would already be aware that Lori and Corey Cole have a Kickstarter project up for a new game called Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. I could try to describe what it is they're up to, but instead I want to encourage you all to pop over and check out the video, details and huge range of rewards on offer. It should be quickly apparent that Hero-U will be more RPG than adventure game, but then that was always Lori's interest to begin with. Despite Hero's Quest being one of my favourite games of all time (we'll soon see if it stands up to my nostalgic memories), I'm happy to see the couple making the game they want to make today rather than the one they know for certain that their fans would want.
http://www.kickstarter.com/
For those of you that are not aware, Corey gave up his time a few months back to answer a bunch of questions here at The Adventure Gamer. I say we head on over to Kickstarter and thank him for his generosity by helping fund his new project. Now who's with me!?
These guys played a huge role in a lot of our early gaming lives, and are a massive reason why this blog exists in the first place.
Below is a post Corey recently put up on adventuregamers.com. I'm sure he won't mind if I repost it here.
"Would it make more sense to make a game “much like” Quest for Glory? Hard to say. In any case, between the original Hero’s Quest and Quest for Glory 5, development budgets ballooned from $250K up to over $2.5M. Even if it was “only” $1.5M, that’s too much to ask on Kickstarter.
You can’t step into the same stretch of river twice. The Quest for Glory games were a unique combination of Lori’s and my background with the tools we had available at Sierra. If we had been working for a company with different tools, we would have made an entirely different game.
In fact, when I designed Castle of Dr. Brain - using those same tools - I would argue that *it* was an entirely different look and feel from Quest for Glory. Based on reviews and comments, people seem to think it was just as fun. Did lightning just happen to strike twice in the same place, or did I actually know something about designing games? A little of each, I’d say.
We tend to look at games, films, etc. with the unique perspective of being able to see the finished product. Will Hero-U be as much fun to play as Quest for Glory (pick your favorite number)? That’s impossible to tell. Filmmakers all think they’re making great films, but only in hindsight can we find out which ones were right about which of their films. Peter Jackson did an amazing job with Lord of the Rings, but I found his King Kong disappointing. Am I looking forward to his take on The Hobbit - knowing that he’s changed a lot of things? You bet I am!
What Lori and I will promise is that we are putting the same work and dedication into Hero-U as we put into each of our other games. We still have the same “gamers sensibility” that we applied as a yardstick each time. Hopefully we’ll be funny. Hopefully the dialogue will work as well as it did in Quest for Glory. Is it possible we’ll get this one wrong? Sure it’s possible - but I don’t think it’s the way to bet.
Of course, you can always “wait and see”. But then the game might not happen at all. It’s pretty much up to you, the players, to determine the fate of Hero-U. If you want higher production values, support at a higher level and get more of your friends to support the project. For now, we’ve designed a minimalist style that can be implemented within a reasonable budget. It’s more important to make sure that we can complete the game than to promise a level of polish that we won’t be able to fund.
It’s all about the story… and the puzzles… and the characters… and the game mechanics… and the play balance. :-) Those are where we’ll be spending our time. In the meantime, the only promise we can make is that we will work hard to create the best experience we can. Really, that’s as much as anyone can promise."
Next Codename: ICEMAN post will be up tomorrow. I'm half way through (the post that is, not the game).
ReplyDeleteAlready in! The QfGs were never my favorites, but it's still important to support the effort.
ReplyDeleteExcellent Trickster! Glad to see an official posting of this here! :)
ReplyDeleteI backed them (bringing to total number of kickstarters backed to 21!).
ReplyDeleteI kinda feel like they'll make something worthwhile, and the pitch sounds pretty good. I'm sure it'll be very different to QFG though.
Also worth noting are the (recently kickstarted) Quest for Infamy: http://infamous-quests.com/home/index.php?page=qfi
and also Mage's Initiation: http://www.himalayastudios.com/games/mages/#about-the-game
Both these indie developers cut their teeth on remaking Sierra adventure games, and I hope their original works can give us something good to play.
Thanks for posting this, Trickster! I've been told our writeup is slightly confusing to adventure gamers. The bottom line is that we're making the same type of game as Quest for Glory, but much more focused on a single character (and character type). We think we can craft a tighter story this way, and also allow more choices for the player about how his/her character plays.
ReplyDeleteThe major change is in the graphics. We simply can't afford to make a Sierra-style 2.5D Quest game. However, we have excellent artists, and we will make the game look good. It will mostly use tiled graphics, with Sierra-style backgrounds for key scenes. We think you'll like this game as much as our older ones.
In that case, I'm definitely laying some cash down to make this happen. I must agree though that the Kickstarter write-up seems to suggest it would predominately be an RPG, albeit one with adventure style puzzles. Personally I would describe Hero's Quest as an adventure game with RPG style character development, so I imagine that's where the confusion might come from (it got me). In the end I guess neither is incorrect!
DeleteYou've already got a quarter of the funding down, so things are looking very positive. Exciting times! :)
Yeah, that's the problem with genre boundaries and preconceptions. Our need to stick things in clearly labeled boxes makes different people label the same item different ways depending on where they sit.
DeleteFor you, QfG is an adventure game with RPG style character development, but for the Coles it's a RPG game with adventure style puzzles.
This is one of the reasons there was a long time without seeing any genre-breaking games.
Developer: "I want to make a game."
Publisher: "What genre? RPG, FPS, RTS, what?"
Developer: "Oh, I want to create a new experience combining different elements from different genres and not be limited by the rule books."
Publisher: "NEXT!"
Now though, with the indie scene flaring up and kickstarter-style funding available, we've got more fresh ideas and width in the market than in a long time.
I like it.
Alright, I've selected my reward and laid down my cash. Now the wait begins...
ReplyDeleteThat's the funnest part! The waaaaaaiiiiting. Plus of course joining in on the fun of sharing comments and the like with everyone else there. :)
DeleteAmazing news, Trickster! Shadowgate (yes, the one that got 35 points when you played it) is getting a remake! It'll go live on Kickstarter friday 9AM EST.
ReplyDeleteIt's live now!!
Deletehttp://www.kickstarter.com/projects/zojoi/shadowgate
Strangely, despite giving Shadowgate a pretty low rating, the reimagining looks pretty cool to me. With some better technology, improved interface and puzzles, it could be a much better experience.
DeleteOnce it's released you can add it to your list again. ;)
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