Another sappy thank you letter...

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Gabbahey
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Another sappy thank you letter...

#1 Post by Gabbahey » Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:26 pm

Dear AGDs,

While I'm sure you must get tons of these, I have to bug you with another thank you note. I tend to ramble, so I apologize in advance..

One of my fondest childhood memories was playing Sierra games - especially with my father. It began when my father brought home our first personal computer, the PC jr. I don't remember how old I was, but I do remember shortly after seeing King's Quest I for the first time.

I looked forward to playing Sierra games more than little else. Sitting down at the computer and playing them took me to places I never had dreamed, and with their "cutting edge" technology, I felt as if I were there with the characters in those lands. Being able to experience those adventures with my father made it all the more special to me. Some kids play ball with their dads, some kids go hunting. My father/son moments, at least for me, centered on the time we sat together playing. As I grew older, I could play more and more independently, but my father still managed to connect with me, as while I would get frustrated seeing no solution to whatever puzzle was in front of me during the game, my father would play late at night so that he could help me the next day (remember the swamp/dive nonsense in Space Quest II??). I remember finding his saved games one night - what a guilty pleasure that was! No more frustrations! I could cheat my way through! Then came the hint lines, BBS calls, it was a quick decline from the days of enjoying the game without help :)

So, as soon as I could get my daughter near a mouse, I have tried to introduce her to those games. Obviously, her being three years old (when I started trying..) wasn't all that successful, but as time has gone on, I've tried various other games. I hadn't had much luck... Until three nights ago.

It was after her bed time, but her door was open, and I had just downloaded your latest remake version of King's Quest I. While I have played through all of your games (several times... Well, I still haven't tackled QFGII, but I'll get there..) I installed it and was playing the intro when I saw my daughter behind me at the door. She asked me what I was doing, and I told her. She walked over, and immediately asked to play for a minute.

Now, I'm sure I'm projecting a lot into her reaction that probably wasn't there, but I swear I saw the same look in her eyes I remember feeling when I sat down with the original King's Quest when I was a kid. However, instead of living the dream then, I told her to go to bed and we'd try in the morning.

The next morning I asked her if she remembered playing the game last night. As soon as I reminded her, she asked me if we could go play. An hour and a half later, she had knocked the troll off the bridge after finding the carrot, enticing the goat, and taking the goat to the bridge. She had found the bowl, filled it with stew, given it to the woodcutter's wife, and taken the fiddle... the list goes on and on, and to be honest, I didn't help her all that much. We learned early how to save (ooooh I remember those days, forgetting to do that..), and by the end, she was interacting with everything on screen, including saving, all by herself. I think ver 4.0 adding the narrator added the most enjoyment for her (since she can't read yet).

She just finished the game last night. There were a few spots that were a little too scary for her, so I helped her through those as quick as I could. It was even better that, like my father and I, shared the complete frustration trying to catch that freakin' eagle... and, just like 'back in the day,' I broke down, came to the forums, figured out where to put my little feet, and she cheered as loud as she could when we finally hitched that ride.

So.. wow. With your hard work, countless hours (of free labor!) of time, and dedication to revive the magic of old Sierra, you have allowed me to relive my absolute favorite childhood time with my own daughter. I'm not sure how many of the developers have children of their own, but I sure wish I could express in this short note my gratitude for being able to share that with her.

When we finished KQI, I told her that there was ANOTHER game, and there was the same look I gave when I was a kid, followed immediately by, "where is it? Where is it?" I told her that in this one, we get to go find a princess locked in a tower, and boy did that send her over the edge. While I'm a little nervous that some of the themes in your KQII remake may not be quite ready for a 4 year old to digest, I'm hoping we can move through those moments quickly... But now she's asking me hourly when we can play it. I told her, just like I remember my father doing, "be patient.. good games take time."

Sorry for the rambling. Thank you, thank you, thank you, for everything.

eriqchang
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Re: Another sappy thank you letter...

#2 Post by eriqchang » Sat Jan 31, 2009 7:56 pm

This is such a beautiful letter. And it reminded me of the passion and excitement of those good old days.

What is that special something about Sierra games that brings us all together? I'm sure it's a combination of everything - the love, the hard work, and the feeling of being able to take some time off in your day to go somewhere magical.

There is nothing like being able to share that with new friends and family.

Great post! :)

Blackthorne519
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Re: Another sappy thank you letter...

#3 Post by Blackthorne519 » Sat Jan 31, 2009 9:59 pm

Yeah, Gabbahey wrote me a nice letter like this when we did KQIII. It's great to get notes like these.


Bt

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Re: Another sappy thank you letter...

#4 Post by Anonymous Game Creator 2 » Sun Feb 01, 2009 2:43 am

Thanks for the story, Gabahey! These are the kinds of inspiring emails we used to receive all the time when we first released the King's Quest I remake years ago.

These stories are particularly uplifting because they're not just about how people admired the work that went into the games, but also the ongoing legacy being passed down from generation to generation, keeping the Sierra adventure gaming spirit alive. To know that these games are capable of enthralling even the post Gen-Y age-group shows how timeless the adventure genre continues to be and how there will always be a place for it, even for generations to come. I have always seen the timelessness of adventure games as being similar to celluloid films. The format doesn't change much over the years, because, being primarily story-driven, it doesn't really need to. It's timeless and traditional, yet still appeals to modern audiences just as much as it did to audiences of the 1920's/30's. Adventure games are the same.
But now she's asking me hourly when we can play it.
If that's not an incentive to get KQ2's remake out the door, then nothing is! :D

Gabbahey
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Re: Another sappy thank you letter...

#5 Post by Gabbahey » Sun Feb 01, 2009 2:34 pm

Blackthorne519 wrote:Yeah, Gabbahey wrote me a nice letter like this when we did KQIII. It's great to get notes like these.


Bt
Wow, I can't believe you even remember that! Well, like I said (I think I remember saying this..), King's Quest III was my absolute favorite of the series. And, keeping with that theme, Space Quest II was my favorite of that series, so I'm patiently waiting for that one as well!!!

To all, keep up the great work!

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