Thursday 1 August 2013

Game 33: Space Quest III - Won!

Roger Wilco Journal Entry 3: "What a rush! After destroying a huge force field generator on Ortega, I opened up an opportunity to visit Pestulon and save the two guys that contacted me through Astro Chicken. It certainly wasn't easy, as I firstly had to get into the complex unseen, then disguise myself as a janitor to gain access to the room where they were being held captive. Just when it looked like we were going to escape unnoticed, it turned out the boss and his guards were watching me all along. Thankfully the little dweeb overestimated his ability to play Nukem Dukem Robots, with his challenge resulting in his defeat and my eventual escape. You'd think after all that I would gain some reward and happiness, but as usual, not all ends well for Roger Wilco, oh no! Our ship was sucked into a black hole during our escape, transporting us to a parallel universe where the two guys I just rescued were hired by a software company called Sierra, leaving me to once again travel off into space on my own. I don't know what awaits me...but let's hope it doesn't involve me risking my life all over again. I've had enough adventure to last a lifetime!"



It's back to Ortega we go!

As expected, my third session of Space Quest III was the last one required to complete it. I’ll save my overall thoughts for the Final Rating post and try to get the rest of my play through wrapped up in this post. So where were we? Oh that’s right, I’d just found out that the Two Guys from Andromeda were being held captive on the planet Pestulon, but had decided to go back to Ortega now that I had the thermoweave underwear to protect me from the harsh environmental conditions. Once I arrived I discovered that I was now able to walk around the planet without melting, so that was a vast improvement over my first attempt. After making my way across a dangerously loose rock section (I failed the first time and plummeted to my death), I looked over a wall to see a “short range scout ship” parked with no-one around. When I walked around the wall to gain access to it, I ran into a bunch of ScumSoft employees, who were using various telescopic and radar devices for unknown purposes. They walked away before I could consider interacting with them, and I heard the ship take off. They did however leave their stuff behind, so I began looking through it, hoping to find something useful.


The death scenes are highly enjoyable in Space Quest III!


So all these planets have breathable air!?

Amongst the equipment were “a telescope, an anemometer on a pole, some seismic equipment, and a crate of some sort”. I opened the crate and found a bunch of detonators inside. I picked one up (10 points), then also collected the pole (10 points), ignoring the anemometer (whatever that is). I didn’t appear to be able to get anything else, so I moved on to the east and then eventually upwards towards the peak of a “decayed cinder cone”. There was a large machine at the top, sitting within a volcanic crater, although its purpose wasn’t clear to me at the time. I entered it, and found myself inside a huge pink and blue metallic room. The room description stated that the machine was a “massive force field generator”, although I’m not sure how Roger would know that. I wandered around inside and then climbed a tall ladder that took me right up to the very top of the machine. There I found a large hole at the peak where the force field beam apparently originated. I had a sudden urge to throw the detonator into it. I can’t say whether it was my memory telling me to do it or whether finding large holes while holding explosive devices can result in only one form of action, but I did it regardless! “The explosion disables the force field generator. You may now travel to Pestulon.” (20 points)


Seems like a safe place to put it. What could go wrong?


Who was in charge of decor around here?

Hmmm…I didn’t even realise that I couldn’t travel to Pestulon. I guess I’d figured that learning about the Two Guys trapped there was all it took to add Pestulon as an option on my navigation screen. This got me thinking though. Since there’s no real reason to play Astro Chicken or indeed visit Monolith Burger at all, it’s quite possible for someone to blow up the force field generator without even being aware of Pestulon. Even though I knew about it, I still didn’t really understand why I was on Ortega or why I might want to blow up the machine. Not very good game design!  Anyway, now all I needed to do was get back to my ship, and this task was made more urgent when I was informed that the detonator had set off a chain reaction of earthquakes. I made my way as quickly as I could back through the large room and headed for my ship, only to find that the loose rock section had fallen away into the lava. There was no other pathway I could take to reach the ship, so I was going to have to jump over the gap somehow. Any experienced gamer would have no problem figuring out the solution, since there were so few items in my inventory at the time. I typed “use pole”, and watched as Roger ran towards the gap and pole vaulted across. “The Romanian judge gives you a 9.5!” (20 points)


So that's why I'm here?!


After practising pole vault with all his brooms over the years, this was never going to be an issue for Roger

There were no further obstacles, so I hopped back into the Aluminium Mallard and accessed the navigation screen. As expected, I was now able to travel to Pestulon, so I set my course and prepared for the game’s climax. Pestulon turned out to be a very green planet, with odd, twisted “trees” all over the place. I decided to head east for no particular reason, and was surprised when the first screen I accessed held the ScumSoft complex! Hiding behind some vegetation, I watched as several guards exited the building, obviously trying to find out what the unidentified craft was that landed somewhere in the vicinity. Suddenly I was given a choice as to what my next move would be. I could “Stay Here”, “Return to Ship” or “Enter ScumSoft”. I hadn’t yet used my invisibility belt, and this looked like a perfect opportunity! I chose “Stay Here”, then typed “use belt”. Roger disappeared, but I was informed that I only had a few moments before the belt’s power pack would be depleted. When the decision options appeared again, I chose to “Enter ScumSoft”, and then witnessed a barely visible Roger running across the grass and straight past the unsuspecting guards into the complex. (25 points)


I'm sure Iggle Piggle and Upsy Daisy are around here somewhere


I'm sure guarding a software company on an otherwise vacant planet that's historically been protected by a huge force field is one of the more rewarding careers

I made it just in time, with the invisibility belt running out of juice as soon as I’d reached safety. My view shifted once inside and I could now watch Roger running towards or away from the “camera”, making his way around a circular hallway. There were exits on both sides of the hall, so I took them in the order I reached them. The first doorway I passed through did something unexpected. While Roger did indeed go into the room beyond, the door simply closed and my view didn’t follow him inside. This wasn’t the first Space Quest game where this had happened, so I immediately knew that this was a janitor’s closet! I typed “look in closet”: “Rummaging about the cramped closet you find a pair of old, grimy janitorial coveralls.” I put them on, finding a trash vaporizer in one of the pockets. “You’ve seen these babies in all the janitorial supply catalogs but your superiors were always too cheap to outfit you with one.” (5 points) I did indeed have the coveralls on when I exited the closet, so I moved onto the next door. This one led to a typical office environment, with numerous ScumSoft employees banging away on their keyboards and manager-types wandering around with clipboards. I remembered the scene from past experience, and knew I had to make my way through the maze of partitions while playing the part of a janitor.


That looks more like a young Gene Hackman than Roger Wilco!


This is pretty much what my first office environment looked like, right down to the partition colouring

As long as I used my vaporizer to empty each bin of its scrunched up paper, the managers would leave me alone, leaving me free to explore the area. Eventually I found a picture of the boss (Elmo Pug) on one of the walls, which I was able to pick up. I seemed to recall using the photocopier near it for something, so I typed in “copy picture”. It worked, so I put the real picture back on the wall and took the convincing copy with me. (5 points) Exiting the maze to the north brought me to the boss’ cubicle area, but I couldn’t really investigate it while he was there. I walked around behind him and gained a view of my spaceship sitting in the ScumSoft vehicle bay. I wasn’t sure how I was going to escape after saving the Two Guys, but put that thought aside as I hadn’t even found them yet. When I walked back inside I found the boss had now departed his desk, so wandered into his office to take a look around. There was a keycard sitting on the desk just begging to be stolen, so I obliged! (5 points) I couldn’t find or think of anything else to do in the office area, so I made my way back to the hallway, hoping to find another doorway I could try out.


An office run by a snotty nosed fourteen year old. Joy!


Honestly, they could have made some of these puzzles a bit harder.

I found one, and this one had a keycard security system on it. I typed “use keycard” and the door appeared to unlock, but then a message popped up saying “Keycard verified. Standby for composite facial scan.” That was obviously what the picture of Elmo was for, so I typed “show picture”. Roger held the picture of the boss up to the scan, and it did the trick, opening the door and letting me through! (20 points) The chamber beyond had four exits, including the one I’d just entered through, and the Two Guys from Andromeda were held captive on a platform in the centre. The two of them were held by green jello, and it was difficult to tell whether they were actually alive or not. At first I couldn’t figure out how I might reach them, as the bridges from all four exits were retracted. I could tell that there were keypads on the walls next to at least two of the exits, but I couldn’t get to them either. I took a punt and typed “use keypad”. Apparently there was one on the wall right next to me, only I couldn’t see it! I was able to make the bridge extend, allowing me to wander across and stand next to the jello. I tried to talk to the guys, but they only responded with “HELPH!”


Please work, please work, please work...


What have they done to you now Han!?

I looked through my very small inventory in search of something that might work. The vaporizer seemed a good bet, so I used it on the jello. It worked: “Thanks dude! It’s great to be out of that green stuff. They discovered our distress message we coded into the Astro Chicken game and sent us here as punishment. Let’s get out of here before we’re discovered!” (245 points) I couldn’t agree more, but before we could begin our escape, the bridge retracted again, and then part of the wall did too, revealing Elmo Pugg and a stack of ScumSoft workers and guards watching us. (-235 points) “Nobody’s going anywhere... heh, heh, heh! You must have thought you were pretty clever, Mr. Wilco, disguising yourself as a janitor. Unfortunately for you, my boys found your sorry excuse for a ship in the woods. Escort this gentleman to the ARENA. You boys haven’t seen a good fight in quite a while.” The three of us were led from the room, reappearing in a huge arena where two giant mechwarrior-style bots awaited. I was led to the white one, while Elmo himself hopped into the gold one. “OK Wilco, the name of the game is Nukem Dukem Robots. The only rule is that there are no rules!”


In other words, I've decided to give you an opportunity to escape, because that's what villains do


Awesomeness!

The aim of Nukem Dukem Robots was simple. Press the J key to punch the opponent and the M key to block, while using the left and right arrows to move the robot back and forward. I ignored the block key altogether, preferring to just wait until Elmo moved his robot into range and pressing M. I defeated him in under a minute, watching with satisfaction as his robot fell through the wall in the side of the arena. (100 points) I climbed out of the robot, and the Two Guys and I bolted through the hole, which just happened to lead to the vehicle bay. We jumped into my ship and took off before anyone could stop us! The game had one last trick up its sleeve though, as short range fighters began approaching me from the rear. I immediately set my shields to rear, then pressed fire as they passed me and my targets locked on. This fight was once again way too easy, as all I had to do was put my front shields up when the target was in front of me and my back shields up when the target was behind me. There was no real challenge at all, and after I took down a few fighters, the remaining enemies simply gave up and went home. (100 points)


Round 1...Fight!


Sayonara suckers!!!!

I was in the clear, and Mark and Scott told me how awesome I was, suggesting we go grab some food somewhere to celebrate! Their tune changed quickly though when I informed them that the ScumSoft employees had deactivated my light speed system, so it was going to take ages to get anywhere. “What! Now I’ll never get any food! Some rescuer you are!” Scott found the Light Speed Maintenance Access Panel and reattached the belt, but since I hadn’t entered a course into the navigation panel, we were thrown into light speed with no destination. We flew blindly through space, eventually hitting a black hole that pulled us in. “A bright light becomes visible in the distance. It grows larger as your ship races toward it. Finally you are hurled out of the blackness into a parallel universe.” This universe just happened to be our own, and the Aluminium Mallard appeared not far away from a little green and blue planet called Earth! We landed the ship just outside a pleasant looking building surrounded by a forest of trees. It was Sierra headquarters, and in a fantastic self-parodying moment in gaming history, the Two Guys from Andromeda introduced themselves to Ken Williams, the president and founder of Sierra On-Line!


Hey, don't be playing with random electronics on my spaceship, you hear me!?


This is actually what the Sierra building looked like! Check out the photo below.


Mark: “Greetings Earthling. We are the Two Guys from Andromeda, Universally famous software authors.” Roger: “And I am Roger Wilco, Space age swashbuckler and all around nice guy.” Ken: “Sooo... You two guys are software authors heh? What are your credits?” Scott: “Ever heard of ASTRO CHICKEN?” Ken: “No.” Scott: “Good! Ken: “How about you two guys come to work for me?”Scott and Mark: “Sounds great! How many buckazoids does it pay?” Roger also saw an opportunity, asking whether Mr. Williams might also require a janitor. The answer was no, so Roger climbed back into his ship, feeling left out but knowing he’d accomplished his mission. “The Two Guys from Andromeda go on to create the Space Quest series of adventure games reaping fame and fortune. They grow fat on their success and soon become burnt out and begin a drunken tailspin into obscurity.” Space Quest III finished with Roger shooting off into light speed once again...course unknown! I on the other hand know exactly what course I will be taking now that this adventure is over. I’ll be trying my hand at a Laura Bow game for the very first time! I should let you all know that I’ll be having a short break before that happens though, as my wife and I will be leaving for a belated honeymoon trip to Tasmania tomorrow morning and will return in five days time. I’ll try to get the Final Rating post done before we go, although I will schedule it for the weekend if I do.


Only Sierra truly got away with this stuff!


THE END

Session Time: 1 hours 15 minutes
Total Time: 4 hours 00 minutes

63 comments:

  1. The anenometer is the device on the right. The light grey top part rotates to measure wind speed.

    OG.

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    1. Ah...wind speed! Didn't look like there was much wind up there on Ortega.

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    2. I thought it measured anenos.

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    3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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    4. Well, anemos means wind in Greek. So it does measure anemos.

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    5. I knew I was right, even if my spelling wasn't

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  2. Have a wonderful honeymoon, Trick! You've done what a great many of us have, and I'm sure you'll agree that it was 'a bit of fun that you probably would have been upset to spend full retail on but given the day and age we only see the former'. (I was not expecting to see an In The Night Garden reference today..)

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    1. Thanks Aperama! And yes, having a little girl means I've seen my fair share of Night Garden. Very trippy!

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    2. I don't understand that show. It doesn't seem to have any value for kids at all, and every episode appears to be exactly the same.

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  3. Not sure if you've covered this already, but was ScumSoft supposed to be a thinly veiled poke at LucasArts? (LucasArts were famous, especially at the time, for creating the SCUMM engine.)

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    1. I hadn't thought of that. Yeah, I guess it's possible! Anyone know for sure?

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    2. Or it might be a parody of SunSoft, famous in 1980s for arcade games, just like ScumSoft.

      Happy honeymoon from me also!

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    3. I always somehow thought of it as Microsoft... I think it's just that it fits in as a generic 'nasty evil baddie' sorta name.

      But there again, maybe someone could go onto the Spaceventure site and ask? (I'm not sure I remember the account password myself, but I do think they have a forum.)

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    4. Come to think of it, Elmo Pugg does look a bit like Bill Gates...

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    5. Yes, it's definitely a reference to Microsoft with Elmo Pugg being a not-so-subtle (for the era) jab at the young and nerdy Bill Gates. The late 80s were a time when folks were first starting to worry about possible anti-trust issues with Microsoft due to their exclusive partnership with IBM. The idea of Microsoft being a repressive,monolithic, and soul-less corporation was a popular trope at the time. The Two Guys tapped right into that.

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    6. I actually thought it was a dig at software pirates

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    7. Seeing that legit software distribution in the 80s and early 90s was shit, I guess it'd mean most of us. XD

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  4. Ooh unexpected! Have a great honeymoon Trickster!
    Also, nice picture of the giant robot; is that some kind of boarding platform or is it just happy to see Roger?

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    1. I must admit I had a little giggle at that screenshot too. So immature!!!

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    2. You *know* if this were a Larry game Al Lowe wouldn't have let that one pass! ;-)

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  5. Have a great honeymoon to Tasmania Tricky! Remember to thank you wife from us for allowing you the time to do this blog.

    And I'm guessing Makka Pakka is still in Skyrim on holiday.

    I was expecting more puzzles here at the end, the last two things to do in the game are action sequences. As I said earlier, SQ3 is fun, but not a classic in my book (after playing it the first time here now). Even though I never completed Astro Chicken, I still beat your score by 6. :p

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  6. While inside the ship, the Two Guys ask Roger if the game was forth $60... I got the whole Space Quest collection for less than 5€. :-)

    Seems like self-references were in fashion at Sierra at the time. The essentially same joke was made at the end of Leisure Suit Larry 3.

    So, your next game is Colonel's Bequest! Be warned though... ;-)

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  7. The first time I played SQ3 I never finished astro chicken so never got the message. I wondered if I had missed something as all of a sudden I'd got to Pestulon with no reference to it being made except in the title of the game, and was wondering why I wanted to save the Two Guys. It wasn't until I replayed it I don't know how much longer afterwards that I finally got that message.
    The story still just seems something tacked on without much thought to give some reason for a few set pieces/planets.
    Anyway, have always enjoyed this one, probably because it was the first Sierra game I owned.
    Have a great trip. Never been to Tassie, it's meant to be lovely. You know you could take a lap top so we wouldn't have to suffer your absence.

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    1. I'm pretty sure you don't have to successfully finish Astro Chicken to get the message. I just failed at it for some time and then left to do something else. When I came back the message was on the screen.

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    2. The message is indeed on some sort of timer, so you don't have to 'finish' the game for it to appear, however you do get 5 points for every chicken you land before the message shows up for a maximum of 50 points at 10 chickens.

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  8. New adventure game release on GOG.com. Jack Keane, half price for the week

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    1. Perhaps more importantly. http://store.steampowered.com/app/9180

      That's right, Billy Blaze is on special!!!

      Oh wait, adventure games, right...

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    2. Thanks Draconius! Jack Keane is Borderline in 2007.

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  9. For caption three, I'll go for a No-Prize and say that the Mallard's navigation system is only programmed with known 'habitable' 'planets' that you can actually reach without smacking into a impenetrable force field (Habitable in that you don't need a bulky environmental suit because there's breathable air, although it may melt you into ooze without fancy underwear) hence why every location, and the only locations are Phleebhut, Ortega, Monolith Burger and (once the generator is dealt with) Pestulon.

    And Trickster is it really bad game design or bad player recall and deduction? You have absolutely no idea why you would want to blow up an impenetrable force field generator?

    'Help us! We are being held captive by Scumsoft on the small moon of Pestulon. An inpenetrable (their mispelling not mine) force field surrounds the moon. It must first be deactivated. It’s origin is unknown to us. Scumsoft security is armed with jello pistols. We’re counting on you whoever you are. Two Guys In Trouble'

    Judging by your final score (702 out of 738 or 36 points shy of maximum) you missed out on precisely 4 things to net you maximum pointage. If you're curious (R0T13'd in case you aren't) as to what you missed here's a list in order of occurrence they are:

    Gur boivbhf fbhepr bs zbarl jura lbh'er syng oebxr. 'Frnepu Frng' ba gur Znyyneq sbe 7 ohpxnmbvqf (10 cbvagf). 712/738

    Gnxvat gur svefg bssre (uvfgbevpnyyl n onq qrpvfvba va n Fcnpr Dhrfg tnzr!) Jura fryyvat lbhe Bevhz lbh bayl trg 2 cbvagf sbe gnxvat gur 350 bssre, 4 cbvagf sbe gnxvat gur 400 bssre gung lbh erpvrir sbe gheavat qbja gur svefg bssre naq n jubccvat 8 cbvagf (6 rkgen cbvagf) vs lbh ubyq bhg sbe gur 425 bssre gung pbzrf guveq. 718/738

    Zheqrevat Neabvq vafgrnq bs yrggvat uvz xvyy uvzfrys. Xabpxvat uvz vagb gur znpuvar argf lbh 35 cbvagf, yrggvat uvz qb uvzfrys ol yhevat uvz vagb jnyxvat haqre gur chyfngvat chfghnyf bs crevybhf qrngu argf lbh 45 cbvagf (10 rkgen). 728/738

    Gurer'f bar guvat ba Begrtn juvpu jbhyq unir urycrq lbh'er 'Jul nz V urer?' pbashfvba fbzr. Hfvat gur gryrfpbcr sbe 10 Cbvagf. Gung jbhyq unir fcryyrq vg bhg 'NUN! Lbh'ir qvfpbireq gur sbepr ornz trarengbe! Naq gung zbba zhfg or Crfghyba.' 738/738

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    1. Ah, it's that first one that's always prevented me getting full points. I never even considered it, but it does seem obvious now that you've mentioned it.

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    2. I never knew about that first one. The others I did. Crazy I would never have thought about that.

      V jbhyq rkcrpg gb svaq zbarl va n pbhpu, abg n fcnpr frng.

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  10. The ending really does cap a rather great game, if very short. Probably the easiest to complete in the series too. Not to worry, the sequel has a few ridiculous puzzles to get the series back on track!

    I wrote about my recent SQ3 playthrough on my blog, if anyone cares to read: http://playedbypanthro.blogspot.co.uk/

    Enjoy your honeymoon Trickster, but keep your wits about you - you'll need them for The Colonel's Bequest!

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    1. And by great you mean "If Monty Python wrote a game, but after brain surgery that replaced funny gags with overdone references"?

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    2. Canageek: I think Monty Python often replaced gags with self-references, even without having brain surgery (the characters are often on the know that they are in a sketch, wonder what the punchline was supposed to be etc.). Even better analogue would be Mel Brooks, whose movies sometimes contain scenes where the characters clearly are aware that it is all a movie - and then there's the classic Daffy Duck cartoon Duck Amuck, where Daffy has an argument with his drawer. What can I say - some of us find breaking the fourth wall hilarious, other's don't.

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    3. I've not watched much Monty Python, mostly just the classic sketches, The Holy Grail, and Spamalot.

      The thing is here, it is barely a joke. When Daffy turns to the camera and speaks what he says is usually hilarious, here it is just...bland.

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    4. I like the gags and references, but I can see that others might not (love Monty Python and Mel Brooks too).

      Comedy in games can often be hit-and-miss, but Space Quest got it right (for me). I'd probably compare it to Futurama in a lot of ways.

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    5. That would be another show I don't watch. I'd much rather watch something somewhat shlocky and bad, like Highlander, then something that doesn't take itself seriously at all.

      On the other hand, I found Sharknado hilarious, so I could just have weird sense of of humour.

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    6. If you weren't aware, there IS a Monty Python adventure game from 97 (it's rather abysmal, but it's slightly better than the two previous which were really just interactive screen savers and such.) Meaning of Life. Kinda derailing the discussion, I know, but humor is something that depends largely on the person... I think a great deal of us have fond childhood memories that make the game feel better, too (but the thought of trapping someone in a gelatinous cube is great no matter who you are, assuredly!)

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    7. I personally find self referential humour works better if it's used sparingly, or as an Easter egg. Making the whole plot and the lengthy ending sequence one giant in-joke that would only be fully effective to the diehard fans of Sierra was a strange decision.

      The joke that worked best on me was one many of you probably didn't see because it relied on me making a few mistakes.

      When I first walked into the accounting area someone called out "Hey,it's an intruder!" And I was killed.

      I then reloaded, found the janitor disguise and, quite proud of myself, walked casually through the accounting area, only to hear someone call out "Hey, it's an intruder disguised as a janitor!" And I was killed again.

      I found that hilarious. interesting that the comedy timing only worked so well because of the sequence of actions I took

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    8. Aperama, what is an interactive screen saver? I thought the point of a screen saver was that you could leave it alone...?

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    9. http://www.appleblossomart.net/screens.php?topic=Interactive

      Some screen savers incorporate simple games so you can move characters around or something - probably for people who don't play actual games on their computer but also don't feel like working for a short time.

      Off-topic: My favourite ever screen saver came with the Lucasarts Archives collection which also introduced me to what became 3 of my favourite adventure games: Sam & Max Hit the Road, Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis and Day of the Tentacle

      http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Star_Wars_Screen_Entertainment

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  11. In case no one has mentioned it, there's a podcast series where Two Guys from Andromeda comment on all the Space Quests. Here's the one for SQ3:

    http://guysfromandromeda.com/episode-008-sq3-commentary-scott-murphy-mark-crowe-host-chris-pope-guys-andromeda-fan-podcast/

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  12. Aww... man... Tasmania? I thought you guys might be aiming somewhere further from home, like Thailand or India, since it's a honeymoon. ;)

    Enjoy yourself, mate! Watch out for them Devils! XD

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  13. Enjoy your trip, Trickster. Don't let a Tasmanian devil eat you.

    I guess you'll miss out on Papa & Yo being on sale, http://store.steampowered.com/app/227080

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    1. There's not much chance of that. They're all dying off with a contagious cancerous growth over their snouts. There's a huge push in the zoos and wildlife parks to breed and release them as well as finding a vaccine, otherwise they're seriously looking at becoming extinct in the wild.

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    2. I'd heard about the cancerous growths, but hadn't heard that it was near extinction level. Weren't there some efforts to establish an island breeding colony or something?

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  14. Not sure what the numbers of Tassie devils are, but the cancer is so aggressive and contagious that current extinction is a real possibility.

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    1. Well, I hope they are able to isolate a healthy population somewhere safe, and reintroduce them once the cancer burns itself out.

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    2. Does chemo even work on them, I wonder...

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    3. I don't think you could do that on nearly a large enough scale; you need a dose schedual, and best case it takes months and months. The best bet would be to isolate ones that haven't been infected yet I think, which I recall hearing a BBC article on a few years ago.

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    4. Them poor marsupialia bastards. Hope they don't go down like the thylacines.

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  15. L.A. Noire (2011 Disregarded) is 75% off on Greenmangaming.com: http://www.greenmangaming.com/s/no/en/pc/games/adventure/la-noire/

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  16. Ankh pack (Ankh 2 - 2006 Borderline and Ankh 3 - 2007 Borderline) 75% off on Steam: http://store.steampowered.com/sub/1691/

    Jack Keane (2007 Borderline) is also 75% off on Steam, cheaper than the current GoG sale of the same title: http://store.steampowered.com/app/12340/?snr=1_4_4__106_3

    Simon the Sorcerer 4 - Chaos happens (2007 Borderline) is 66% off on Gamersgate: http://www.gamersgate.co.uk/DD-SIMON4/simon-the-sorcerer-chaos-happens

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  17. Precinct (The Kickstarter from the creators of Police Quest) has been officially cancelled:
    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/precinctgame/precinct/posts/561652?ref=activity

    They ended up with only about 15% funding (just over 85K), which I'm not really surprised about. Although I backed them the pitch didn't interest me as I didn't see the adventure game in it.

    Now they've switched over to a "staged funding" where you give them money, they give you the game if/when it comes out. You can also buy stuff in their store. After different milestones are met, they'll work on the game. First milestone is a playable prototype for instance.

    I don't see this one working. All rewards are removed, and when you give them money it's gone. It's not like Kickstarter where if the goal isn't reached you won't get charged. What happens if they never get enough to complete the game? I'm assuming the money is lost, and you end up with nothing.

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    1. Yeah. That staged funding idea seems like it'll attract a lot less people/money than the kickstarter campaign did.

      And I don't know if it's just me, but cancelling a kickstarter campaign early makes me much more sceptical about their commitment. If you can't even stick out a 30 day kickstarter campaign when it gets hard, how can I expect you not to quit when developing the game over many months/years gets difficult?

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    2. Cancelling a kickstarter early can be a good idea if it becomes really obvious you aren't going to make it (though there have been games that have pulled it off in the last few days), and you don't want to burn out your target audience shilling for it. Also keep in mind a kickstarter is a ton of work from what I've heard, so if it is obvious that it isn't working, it can be better to stop, reassess, figure out what you are doing wrong, and then restart it when you've got those issues worked out. Perhaps it is failing as there was a high-profile failure last week, or a larger project is eclipsing it. Or you don't have enough of the game done, and in 6 months you can come back with some screenshots, design documents, etc.

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    3. Yeah, I think Jim Walls would be better off cancelling it now and fleshing out the idea for Precinct.

      I am just basically rather turned off with the game design. Way too limited. Instead of letting the players have a free reign of what to do, you are being thrust into situations with multiple-choice questions?

      What is this, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? Hope they rethink on how to make it a better cop simulation/adventure game. Even PQ1 had more freedom than that, for crying out loud.

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  18. I suppose the Star Wars reference is too obvious to get CAPs for spotting? ;)

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  19. How did you manage to go across a dangerously loose rock section on Ortega? I never figured it out and for me the game ended there. I thought I was supposed to use some kind of stick?

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  20. What an enjoyable read! This was one of the formative adventure games for me when I was little, and I honestly had no idea that it was so short! I think the concept of game length was kind of meaningless to me back then. If I happened to finish a game then I would just play it again. I remember finding all Sierra games quite tough, though, and this one in particular I managed to get hold of the official hint book with the red reading window.

    I have memories of finding the robot combat very difficult. Clearly I was not a skilled gamer then.

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