Not interested in adventure comedy...

[Ibanezrg82]

I appreciate what you guys are doing, but seriously.

I am one of many who likes serious adventure gaming. I went to your Al Emmo website, ready to download it for 20.

I liked funny games when I was 12. I got tired of Leisure Suit Larry when I was 15.

I saw screenshots, reminiscent of KQ7, one of the
worst disgraces to adventure gaming.

Is this all the adventure market is, cheap laughs?! I have hated a certain California based software company since they came out with the idea, to not only, eliminate hard puzzles, but get rid of all major icons. Like: talk, use, action, walk, etc. And I really hated KQ7's "light up cursor on puzzle points". If you want to play a funny game, you guys should
load up some of your old Space Quest, or a Larry. You know that company, S,  canned the creator of those games, for voicing an opinion?
The creator of Space Quest was one of the best.
And he got screwed by said California software company.  

If you guys here at AGDI want to do a good game, I am there.
Concentrate your efforts on QFG2vga to please your fans.
I am very mad right now. Probably not at you guys, more at
the frickin sell outs. Sierra was a great company with great games, until the corporate bullshit got in the way.

[Gronagor]

Al Emmo isn't close to KQ7, which was a Disney style adventure game.

Rather like a Larry (like you said) mixed with Freddy Pharkas. That's the game they wanted to make, and we'll have to see what they plan for their next game.

I've had my concerns about the game as well, but I must say I enjoyed it in the end.

[Lambonius]

I'm not sure I would call QFG2 a particularly serious adventure game.  The QFG series is known for its quirky sense of humor, and QFG2 was certainly no exception.  In fact, I'd say it was one of the funniest of the series in terms of random humor and even easter eggs.  If any of the QFG games had anything like a serious tone, it would be QFG3, and even that game had its humorous moments.  Now granted, I'm not as big a fan of LSL as something like KQ, SQ, or QFG, but that has more to do with the games' storylines than anything else.  I simply found certain series to be more engaging.  Comedy definitely didn't have much to do with it.  In fact, some of the greatest adventure games of all time have been blatant comedies.  Day of the Tentacle, Sam and Max Hit the Road, Monkey Islands 1-3, are just a few examples.  Anyway, I'd at least try the demo before completely closing the door on what could be a great new game.  You never know what kinds of things might end up growing on you.

[Shantzy]

Don't know about you guys but I think that among the classics, there's only one series that excel in that department.

It would have to be Gabriel Knight.

Still, aren't there some contemporary titles too?

I haven't played them but what about Amerzone and Paradise by Sokal?
They certainly look like the serious type of adventure games.

[Quest For Glory Fan]

in Sins of the father I laughed almost as much as I did when I played Space quest but that doesn't mean it wasn't serious. Shakespeare's Macbeth is a gruesome tale and a serious tone but still that porter makes me laugh my ass off. Comedy is in anything especially if you look at it objectivly but laughter alone doesn't make a tone. Adventure games are so expansive that in a sense they can cover any and every genre at once.

[Pidgeot]

If you have a DS, you might want to consider Phoenix Wright and the sequel Justice for All. While there are humorous lines in both games, that doesn't change the fact that you're trying to solve murders in order to keep your clients out of jail - and that's not just a matter of searching the crime scene and stuff, you need to actually defend them in the courtroom.

Actually, I don't think I've ever felt as worried over something in a game as I felt when I played case 4 in JfA. I don't wanna give anything away, but let's just say it's intense, particularly near the end.

If you're looking for as little humor as possible, the DS also has Another Code (Trace Memory in the US). Though a little short, it's still good, and jokes are at a minimum. I believe Hotel Dusk: Room 215 also falls into that category, but I haven't actually tried that game yet, so I can't say for sure.

[Shantzy]

I agree with Quest for glory fan, but I think what's being on debate is  humor-driven games. Yes it is hard to take the Space quest game seriously plot-wise because the main plot is about saving two intergalactic game programmers. That kind of adventure game might not be everyone's cup of tea.

I think there has to be some humor at the side even in serious adventure games. As long as it is fitting, doesn't mess up the characters, or renders the story ridiculous.

[Lambonius]

I think what differentiates the Space Quest series from something like Leisure Suit Larry is the nature of the humor.  Space Quest was essentially a series that spoofed sci-fi as a genre, while Larry was something a bit more low-brow.  I can see how someone might be a bit put off by something like that.

I think plot is crucial though, regardless of whether the game is comedy-driven.  It's a lot harder as a player to feel compelled to lead a game character through a plot that revolves around something really stupid as opposed to something a little more intelligent and thoughtful.  Now I'm not necessarily talking about the LSL series per se, because there were some decent plotlines here and there throughout those games, but I think as a whole, the plots in a series like LSL don't even compare to something like Gabriel Knight or even the later King's Quest games.  Even in the Space Quest series, you generally had pretty interesting plots that were wrapped up in a comedic sci-fi shell.

Still, like most things, it comes down to personal preference.

[Ibanezrg82]

I see I have created a true adventures guild!
Speak on, adventurers!

[Ibanezrg82]

Lambonius, if you think QFG was all humour, you are wrong.

The story finally exploded in the original QFG2.

Ever played QFG4? I hear people speak of QFG3 being the best.

QFG4 tied up all of the loose ends. That one was very sad.
There was no humour at all in QFG4.
Even the puns were not funny, considering the game.
The musical score was the best too.
The hero's heart breaks in this one, a true classic.
Tied between his arch enemy, Ad Avis, and the vampire Katrina.

Qfg3 was the worst original, in my book, way too much politics.
Way too easy, and easier puzzles.

At least in QFG4 you got a really damn good story.
Avoozl, was great. One of the best the Cole's could ever create.

Salud to the Coles!!!!!

[Boogeyman]

KQ7 was hardly a disgrace.
Now MoE on the other hand...

[Shantzy]

Lambonius, if you think QFG was all humour, you are wrong.

The story finally exploded in the original QFG2.

Ever played QFG4? I hear people speak of QFG3 being the best.

QFG4 tied up all of the loose ends. That one was very sad.
There was no humour at all in QFG4.
Even the puns were not funny, considering the game.
The musical score was the best too.
The hero's heart breaks in this one, a true classic.
Tied between his arch enemy, Ad Avis, and the vampire Katrina.

Qfg3 was the worst original, in my book, way too much politics.
Way too easy, and easier puzzles.

At least in QFG4 you got a really damn good story.
Avoozl, was great. One of the best the Cole's could ever create.

Salud to the Coles!!!!!

I fully agree except that I thought the humor was very good in QFG4. Let's not forget Baba Yaga's macabre cuisine or the undertakers graveyard humor. I also think the narrator did a good job with puns and ironic tonality.

Well, just my opinion.

[Lambonius]

I also think the narrator did a good job with puns and ironic tonality.

I agree.  John Rys Davies' performance as the narrator not only added a great wisened, classy tone to the story, but it also made the funny lines even funnier, because of the sort of deadpan way in which he delivered them.

Also, I never said that QFG was ALL humor, just that humor was an extremely prevalent trait of all the games, even QFG4.  I suggest that you go back and replay it if you think that the game lacks any humor at all.  There are plenty of explicitly humorous moments in it.  (Baba Yaga, Punny Bones, Igor the gravedigger, Dr. Cranium, Olga and Borris, the Leshy, etc.)  Granted, there is a lot of melancholy in the game as well, and some more somber moments, but the humor certainly isn't dead.  The trick, and in my opinion what makes the QFG games so charming, is getting just the right balance between those "serious" storylines and the humorous moments/characters.  It's when you reach that perfect line that you get a classic game.  And I think all of the QFGs more or less reached that point, even the somewhat more mediocre Wages of War.

[Jontas]

There was no humour at all in QFG4.
Even the puns were not funny, considering the game.

I completely disagree with you and can only conclude that you have a very narrow sense of humor, I found the humor in QFG4 to be very sophisticated, witty and at points briliantly subtle.

The problem I have with so many of your critiques (not all of them, I actually agree with alot of your other comments) is that they are so subjective and obviously a matter of personal opinion, you seem to struggle to seperate those opinions from more grounded and factualy supported statements (in other words critical observations).

[Ibanezrg82]

Fine, I'll stop exagerrating.
Sorry to be such a party pooper on the humour thing.
But, I never saw any humour in the pulling of the plug on the series.
I can't even bring myself to play Dragonfire for the second time (in seven years or something), seeing as my import will
go nowhere.

The funny room was the best. I never get tired of tossing the hero around until he dies from exhaustion, as the jester throws stuff. Of course, the used Saurus salesman is also pretty damn good too. I also liked the likeness of one of the male creators of this game (I dont like to use names), dressed in his hippy garb pulling a hookah, in Wages.
I cant think of many funny parts in Shadows though, and I guess I'll have to disagree. I think the funniest part is when Igor is trapped in the grave.
The narrator, a certain dwarf from LOTR whom we all know, did not come
until a year or so after the game was released, so that doesn't count.

I had a great character, with stats mostly questforglorfied.
I guess he's gonna stay on that 3.5 disk forever.

[Ibanezrg82]

And on Baba Yaga.
She was quite funny when hero turned her "into a species called rana"
She was a long lost enemy turned friend to hero in Shadows, and they
patch things up. She says some very meaningful things to hero in
this one. Under all of her sketchy jokes and puns,
she makes it very clear that she is on his side and probably is in love with
him. That is probably why she helped hero out with Avoozl.

I just want a new QFG, not a remake.
Although, a certain California based software company should have done
it along with some others.

Razzle Dazzle Root Beers, and chase it with the blue frog.

[Quest For Glory Fan]

Quest For Glory had Closure. Kings Quest Space Quest andPolice uest didn't although it'snot like you could do much more. atleast in PQ Sonny Bonds was kind of finsihed off. never played enough to figure out about John Carriere (sp) though. Don't know about the end of 7 or much of 8 but i guess Graham lives happily ever after with his family once it's all said and done. Space Quest fell apart on the way there and our janitor is lost in space somewhere. now other series I can see with a feasable plot comeback but QFG was served to us with dessert and a ribbon. That one is done and if it DOES come back I wouldn't play it if the Coles weren't in the credits.

[Lambonius]

if it DOES come back I wouldn't play it if the Coles weren't in the credits.

Maybe you're jumping the gun just a bit.  There are a lot of amateur game developers who have more than enough skill and creativity to come up with something at least as good as anything the Coles came up with for the actual games, if not something surpassing it, now that we have hindsight on our side and can look critically at the strengths and weaknesses of the Coles' stories and design.  The best thing about the QFG series (other than great stories, puzzles, and gameplay,) was the slick sense of continuity between each installment (even if they overdid it a bit in QFG5.)

Plenty of those amateur developers post regularly on these forums, as I'm sure you well know.  I would certainly trust the AGDs or the fine gents over at IA to make a fitting and kickass QFG sequel, if they ever so desired.  Plus, I'm pretty sure the Coles have retired from game writing and design, though I would think they might be able to be coaxed into helping out from an advisory standpoint.  

Anyway, don't sell these teams short; I think there's more than enough creativity and intellect, not to mention passion going around to get such a job done.

[MusicallyInspired]

if it DOES come back I wouldn't play it if the Coles weren't in the credits.

Maybe you're jumping the gun just a bit.  There are a lot of amateur game developers who have more than enough skill and creativity to come up with something at least as good as anything the Coles came up with for the actual games, if not something surpassing it, now that we have hindsight on our side and can look critically at the strengths and weaknesses of the Coles' stories and design.

I agree. We swear too much by the old greats. And great they were, but there has to be a time to move on and get with the times. I'm not saying lets all switch to arcades instead of adventures because that's what the market is nowadays, but we're robbing ourselves of awesome fresh things by staying in the past. I'd love to see a good Quest For Glory game made today that maybe wouldn't be created by the Coles at all, as long as it followed the spirit of the series unlike Police Quest (which became a completely unrelated SWAT series).

However, truth be told I'd like to see a spin-off King's Quest series with Conner as the hero. My dad loves adventure games and he thought that MOE was the best one. Sure it wasn't adventure but it had a decent storyline. Maybe if people were more accepting of change a little bit King's Quest might still be alive today. In what form or level of popularity by now who knows, but at least it wouldn't have died in, what I believe to be, an untimely fashion.

[Quest For Glory Fan]

I'd still feel guilty playing it if they weren't involved if anything that QFG could be like the LSL without Al Lowe.