/vr/ - Retro Games

Welcome to King's Quest.

I Have No Sword And I Must Scream.

>that whole part
>getting the scarab from the notFates
>finding your way out of the whale and the deserted island
>that f u c k i n g d a r k c a v e

Seriously, this game is not that bad overall but some parts are just a cruel, tortuous test of patience with insane logic.

test

Yaaaay, I did it.

This game had a cool world to explore with nice atmosphere (I now see the KQ2 remake borrowed a ton of stuff from Tamir), colorful and silly out of place characters as per KQ tradition, beautiful graphics and clever-ish puzzles, but man what a SIERRA game it is. Those stairs were a nightmare to navigate. All that bullshit logic. All those DEATHS. Rosella sure is a better swimmer and instrument player than her brother but a two meter drop is all that takes to kill her. Gee. I think there is not a single death I didn't see. I even got eaten by the creature from the Black Lagoon. But honestly, not that I'm complaining about the deaths. They're hilarious. And this is KQ.

This is also the only game with text parser I've completed so far. Are there any good others you'd recommend before I move on to Loom, Monkey Island and KQ5? Specially if they have good art direction.

>>2754083
Do you still have a mouth?

>>2755875

Police Quest is kinda classic and amusing.

>>2757189
No. Roberta Williams took it from me.

>>2757284
Huh. I didn't even know those games existed. Thanks. Any more recommendations?

>>2757375

King's Quest
Police Quest
Space Quest
Leisure Suit Larry
Colonel's Bequest
Quest for Glory

>>2757284
Checking all four tires before driving my vehicle has saved my ass twice irl. Thank you based Jim Walls.

>>2755875

the space quests were pretty awesome and full of randomness as well.

>>2757428
Space Quest was awesome, Space Quests 3-5 were awesome.

Space Quest II was just sadism.

Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
Beneath a Steel Sky
Sam & Max Hit the Road
Day of the Tentacle
Maniac Mansion
Phantasmagoria
Broken Sword
Dreamweb
Harvester
Return to Zork

Fuck, Man it used to be a major video game genre

What, no Gabriel Knight trilogy? Anons, I am disappoint.

>>2757916
>Harvester
Just watch a Let's Play.
It's seriously not a good gameplay experience. Specially in the last sequence.

>>2755875
But did it make you cry?

>>2757928
Tears of frustration.
Then again it kinda spoils the story, knowing that KQ5 stars Graham.

>>2754083
>shit only game designers could come up with
i've never broken a shovel yet and i've dug a fucking lot of holes

>>2757916
Yeah, it used to be "a major videogame genre". And you know what? I'm fucking glad it died and I hope it never comes back. And you know why? Because this bullshit is the 90s version, the spiritual ancestor, of David motherfucking Cage and his "but what I really want to do is MAKE MOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVIES" attitude. I wonder if he and Roberta fucking Williams have ever met up at a convention or something. I'm sure they'd have a lot to talk about.

These travesties aren't "games", and it's a lie for the ages that they were ever marketed as such. They are computer-mediated narratives with light interactivity, where the extent of the player's agency is strictly limited to wandering around finding plot coupons. I mean, don't get me wrong. If you like to wander around for hours solving stupidly overwrought puzzles which are transparently only there to support high claimed playtime numbers, fulfilling fetch quest after fetch quest to unlock dribs and drabs of a story that frankly isn't strong enough to ever get published in any other medium, then sure, I guess, whatever spins your wheels. But don't call the objects of your twisted little fetish "games". They aren't.

>>2757928
You see this bullshit? Do you fucking see it? Roberta fucking Williams was so far up herself that they had to pipe in air through her navel. Even years later, is that the sort of thing you really want to be a part of? Don't you have any respect for yourself, anon? Because it's a lead-pipe cinch that Roberta fucking Williams never did. She wouldn't have wasted so much of your time if she had.

>>2757978
Fate of Atlantis could've totally been a movie, and Sam and Max Hit the Road could have easily been a cartoon movie and they would both stand on their own. And those are just two off the top of my head.

>>2758018
>Fate of Atlantis could've totally been a movie
Its producers obviously wanted it to be, but couldn't get it made as one for whatever reason, so they settled for an inferior medium.

>Sam and Max Hit the Road
Same story, except this time with origins in a comic book instead of a failed film project. Both go to the point I'm making, which is that the point and click adventure genre is where stories go to die.

>>2757978
>They are computer-mediated narratives with light interactivity, where the extent of the player's agency is strictly limited to wandering around finding plot coupons
Pretty much yeah.

Playing King's Quest is like being an actor in a really shitty movie, except the director has a communication disorder, and your biggest challenge is simply figuring out what the idiot even wants you to do.

Every time you get game over in a King's Quest game, just imagine some fat Hollywood kike screaming "Cut! Cut! What the hell was that, Anon? Didn't I tell you you need to mogwagnle fabl the bibnable?" It's basically the same thing. You're being punished for your boss's communication problems.

Thanks for the recommendations, guys. I already knew a couple of 'em, but I've just played Maniac Mansion so far, so I'll try to remember to play the other ones.

>>2757928
Hah, so that's wherer that's quote's from. I thought it was from a computer magazine or something, but turns out it's a Sierra ad. Makes sense they'd toot their own horn and in such a corny way too.

>>2757917
Don't worry anon, I was planning on playing at least the first one. In fact, I recently got it in a GOG sale. Looking forward to it.

>>2757978
I guess you're right, the thing I enjoy about these "games" is basically exploring the phantasy worlds they create and childishly dabbling in the overall sillyness. Call it a childlike wonder or something. Besides, unlike modern David Cage-y stuff I adore how most of these games look, specially the animations and the backgrounds. The death scenes are the best part. I'd say they alone made KQ4 worth it, frustrating as they can be.

So yeah, I see how some of these developers, specially Sierra, were full of shit but I don't really care, and I can bypass their bullshit logic with walktroughs, so these games don't take too much of my time anyway. I'm still having a lot of fun discovering this genre.

>>2758067
(Pic very related)

I guess some people weren't smart or patient enough to figure out the solutions and pushed these games aside and favored shooters and racers, the death of creativity in PC gaming.

>>2758110
>the state of the art has passed me by
>i have yet to come to terms with this
ok then

>>2758110
ayy

>>2758104
>walktroughs
Some times you just REALLY need the solution, I'll admit. But most of the fun was in those short moments when you finally got the right place for an item or the correct combination and you got to proceed. It's a hard earned satisfaction, even if the difficulty is often arbitrary.
But once you got in the "zone" you could understand the adventure game logic and crack most of the puzzles.
But it also helped that the dialogue was funny. The games that aren't often recommended usually don't have very good writing to go with the bullshit puzzles. So there wasn't much of a motivation to keep going.
There's also a difference between "record the ramblings of a madman to unsummon a Lovecraftian monster" and "figure out that the crushed bones you need can be replaced by the boat's jolly roger flag".

"In the beginning, there were just text adventures. You got a description of the scene and then had to type some command like 'walk north' or 'get coin' because it was not possible to do anything more advanced than that. Then came the graphical adventure. I remember visiting my cousin over the holidays (of 1985) and playing King's Quest on his computer. You now had graphics and animation, but still had to type commands at a prompt. I felt that this was taking it only halfway."

-- Ron Gilbert

>>2754083
That's nothing. Wait until you get to the whale tongue.

>>2758158
The graveyard digging comes long after the whale tongue. Unless OP missed getting the bridle, in which case he's screwed.

>>2755875
>Are there any good others you'd recommend before I move on to Loom, Monkey Island

Quest For Glory series. Inarguably the greatest Sierra series ever.

>>2757978
Look at this guy trying to sound smart with his overblown exaggerations. You are dumb. Adventure games are about exploration and puzzle solving. The fact that some games tried really hard to be cinematic or literary doesn't speak to the genre, so you're just showing your lack of historical knowledge and taste.

>>2757980
>being this mad over an ad
Everyone was always hyping their games as way more amazing and important than they actually were.

>>2757978
I'd put money on the bet that you're an icycalm wannabe with about 1% of his understanding or critical ability

>>2757928
Yes, KQ4 will make you cry many, many times when you try to climb the whale tongue or navigate a fucking dark cave with an ogre running around it.

>>2755875
>beautiful graphics

Or as good as you can get with that hideous Day-Glo EGA palette. After they switched to VGA on KQ5-6, now those were great graphics.

>>2758401
>Or as good as you can get with that hideous Day-Glo EGA palette

It's a very 80s color scheme. The Commodore 64's palette is same deal. Lots of bright pastels everywhere.

>>2758348
>Everyone was always hyping their games as way more amazing and important than they actually were.

KQ4 was a legitimately groundbreaking game for the time though because it was the first commercial title for IBM compatibles to support sound cards and also the size, at 2MB it was the biggest computer game to date.

>>2757978
>Roberta Williams on the making of KQ3

"My early games were just glorified treasure hunts where the object was to complete the game by finding items because that was all that memory and storage limitations permitted us. By 1986, we started having more powerful computers with hard disks and greater memory space so I felt it was time to try something more ambitious."

>>2758409
>posed for Softporn Adventure cover
>didn't like poor people playing computer games
>called her early games glorified treasure hunts
Will there ever be a greater game designer than Roberta "Based" Williams?

>>2758139
>most of the fun was in those short moments when you finally got the right place for an item or the correct combination and you got to proceed
Yeah. That rarely happens, but when it does it's glorious. The adventure game that has given me more of those moments so far has been the remake of KQ3, everything flows perfectly in that game. Too bad sometimes some of the most obvious solutions (killing the giant in KQ1 for example) result in you getting less points or worst of all, a dead end like that stupid pegasus/snake business from KQ2. Fuck that. But I guess that opens the posibility to having several solutions and incomes for once, NOT through forced dialogue choices, and really, seems like a good way to make these games more intereactive. Are there any adventure games that emphasize in this a little more than KQ1/2? A friend told me that this is actually explored in the new KQ game.

And yes, the smug tone of the game gives them some charm. Those horrible puns that come with deaths are so moronic I can not love them. The narrator of the KQ remakes brought this to a whole new level. I love that guy.

>>2758158
>>2758306
Don't worry anons, I already beat the game. See?>>2755875 The whale was actually not as bad for me, you just have to climb with the arrow keys on the sides. The part I picured I think is a lot worse, because it's much longer and has that fucking shovel garbage.

>>2757396
>>2758308
Wow, are the QfG games that good? The only thing I know about them is that it's got RPG elements. I really wanted to play them already anyways.

>>2758401
I assumed that was as good as they could get at the time, I don't mind the palette at all. I like stuff like the details in the dark cave (even if that part's bullshit), the faces on the evil trees, and the water bodies. Also I adored the animation. Just look at when the ogre or Lolotte's goons grab Rosella, or how well animated he ghosts from the haunted mansion are. I love all that.

>>2758139
>most of the fun was in those short moments when you finally got the right place for an item or the correct combination and you got to proceed
Yeah, that's the best thing about those games, it feels great when it happens, but when they're this obtuse, it rarely does. It also doesn't help that some actions may rob you out of points or worst of all, result in a dead end. It's a shame, cause if this were to be implemented better it would mean there's the chance to have multiple incomes decided through different actions and not dialogue choices. Are there any adventure games that take advantatge of this? A friend of mine told me that the new KQ does, and a lot.

And yeah, the smug tone that these games have give them a lot of charm. Those stupid puns and taunts after a death are so moronic I can't not love them. The KQ remakes took this up to eleven. I love that narrator guy.

>>2758158
>>2758306
Don't worry, anons, I already beat the game. >>2755875 See? The whale part was not that annoying, you just have to use the arrow keys and stick to the sides of the tongue. The haunted mansion at night is actually much worse, cause it's a lot longer and has that shovel bullshit.

>>2757396
>>2758308
Are the QfG games actually that good? The only thing I knew about it was that it's got RPG elements. Nice, I already really wanted to play them.

>>2758402
Yeah, I was asuming that was as good as it got back then, but in spite of the palette I think it looks great. Stuff like the bodies of water, the details in the cave, even if that part was bullshit; or the evil trees with faces. Also the animation's great. Rosella is really well animated. The ghosts from the haunted mansion too.

>>2758409
And then they went back to those treasure hunts with KQ4. Funny how many good ideas KQ3 had, I think it may be the best of the earlier ones. The remake proves this, as it's a fantastic game when you get rid of the interface limitations and dead end bullshit.

>>2757941
Great point.

>>2758467
Well, that's somewhat true. You have to account for the limitations of software and hardware at the time, though.

>>2758104
That's funny!

>>2754859
That's a good description of most adventure games, especially text adventures.

>>2757925
Can't disagree.

>>2758104
This.

>>2758467
Makes sense.

>>2758479
I agree.

>>2754620
I Have No Quest And I Must Space.

>>2758409
>"The age of gaming has landed upon us a blessing that cinema never could have. If we want to change the past to fit our games better, we can just change it. Our audience won't be expected to have any knowledge of our previous games other than snippets, so we can tell the story we want to tell now, not one that stays faithful to ideas we put in code years ago. This is what brings storytelling in gaming forward, instead of staying within the stale traditions of pulp fiction presented in manuals for games where the story was just atmospheric filler in the manual."

- Christopher Metzen

Ctrl+f 'freddy pharkas'
>phrase not found
Bunch slack jawed faggots around here.

>>2754083
Lol, you made a post about adventure games and included the word scream, did you know there was an adventure game based on a Harlan Ellison story called I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream? Lol

>>2758420
>posed for Softporn Adventure cover

Interesting history, plus Ken Williams actually shows up in the comments:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2014/12/the-odd-history-of-the-first-erotic-computer-game/383114/

The reason Softporn was made as a text adventure is most likely because Sierra feared that retailers wouldn't stock an adult game with graphics. Unlike LSL, it lacks much of any humor and the scene descriptions are incredibly wooden. Most likely because the programmer (Chuck Benton) was a neckbeard who didn't understand comedy.

>almost two years into the 80s
>the cover art still looks so 70s
>all that brown and orange

>>2761270
I like that explination on the bottom. " this is for entertainment only" kinda seems like the disclaimer would have to be quite longer than that these days. which is dumb. their logic waas sound "it's entertainment you plebs, so if you don't like it stop playing, because its not working on you"

>>2761270
The 80s in a cultural sense didn't really start until 82.

>>2761438

See >>2760640

Ken says in there "We never gave any thought to political correctness or offending people. The software industry at the time was in its infancy and the only thing we cared about was making fun, interesting games."

>>2760674
That was a myth circulated by Al Lowe who wasn't even at Sierra back when Softporn was released. As the Atlantic article explained, Chuck Benton developed the game first, couldn't find a publisher, and then Ken Williams was just crazy enough to give him a try.

I grew up with the pre-1992 Sierra games and played the shit out of them, but, man, time has not been kind to these games. The whole mechanic where the entire game can break just by failing to complete one task (thereby forcing you to restart the whole thing or guess as to which save file you need to reload) was just bad game design.

>>2758467
>Are the QfG games actually that good? The only thing I knew about it was that it's got RPG elements. Nice, I already really wanted to play them.
Quest for Glory is the greatest game series ever made.

>>2757978
>plot coupons

>>2761602
Yeh it's rather well-known that Ron Gilbert was extremely critical of Sierra's game design philosophies and that he particularly liked to point out the bit in SQ2 where you can die by picking up a piece of sharp metal on the ground, something the game gives you no prior warning of.

>>2763165
That's just part of the fun. However, finding out the game is unwinnable because you didn't click on the glint in the Roc's Nest in the two second that your cursor was active during the cut scene is a major pain.

>>2763709
>because you didn't click on the glint in the Roc's Nest in the two second that your cursor was active
You have a lot more than two seconds. And it's a big glint, and there's nothing else in the scene. KQ5 has its share of bullshit, but how could anyone think, "gee, that flashing thing was probably nothing, I'll just assume nothing bad will happen if I forget about it and continue on" especially if they've gotten that far in the game?