Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

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Gabriel Knight
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Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#1 Post by Gabriel Knight » Sat Oct 08, 2011 11:09 pm

So, have many other people seriously considered a remake of King's Quest 5?

While alot of remakes are fun ideas (Maniac Mansion: DOTT style, Curse of Monkey Island 3: Classic Edition), none of them seem to be as essential as the King's Quest remakes were. KQ1 -3 by AGD are actual REPLACEMENTS of the originals in my mind.

A brief history of my experience with Sierra: (skip if you want to get to the good bits)
KQ1 remake was the "first Sierra" game I ever played. I grew up on Lucasarts, and did a bit of research about Sierra about the time KQ1 had just been released. When I downloaded it, I thought it was stunning. I followed the fanseries for 3 games, and then finally gave the original series a shot. I was actually quite disappointed. Honestly, just looking at the complete King's Quest series, only # 6 is any good. It is EXTREMELY good, of course. But # 5 was the most inexcusably dismal in the run. But "growing up" on the remakes of 1 - 3, I became really invested in the world and characters, more so than with any other adventure game series. Which is why I really think the entire run needs to be redone.

Space Quest, Leisure Suit Larry and the others are much sillier, and don't need to be as consistent. But doesn't anyone else agree that we would love a completely legitimate and believable account of the history of Daventry's first family? Honestly, I think a remake of KQ 5 could be the best in the series. Here are some of my thoughts:

Legitimacy:
I don't know much about coding and programming, so you'll have to help me out. But since the art in KQ 5 is already fabulous, would it be that difficult to take all the existing art, add whatever new is needed, and release the game with less man hours and effort? I know the coding would take a lot of time, still, but... This is the only game that needs to be remade because of the story, and not the graphics.

Ideas for the Remake:
Firstly, the game should open with more scenes in Daventry. This could be our second biggest opportunity to explore the land of Daventry again, and really enjoy being Graham for a third and final time. Perhaps we could even get more of a chance to explore the Castle and inner city grounds? But in the opening, Graham should interact with his city and his family. Valanice, Rosella, and Alexander should all appear in this opening, and we see his relationship with them, and his role as king. Also, it would be cool to have some exchanges between Alexander and his father regarding his loneliness, and longing for a wife. (Exposition!!!)

King Graham should be called upon on a political matter that for some reason needs his help. I can't come up with the idea off of the top of my head, but for whatever reason, he should have to leave Daventry, acting as a diplomat. Whatever the mission, it should be very convincing, and is actually a clever decoy initiated by Mordac. But, for whatever reason, Graham should be working for/with Crispin... (more on that in a bit) Perhaps he has been chosen along with several other surrounding kings to form some kind of diplomatic trust, initiated by the famous and benevolent wizard Crispin. (Just one idea) Perhaps the other kings would be the mayor of the quaint village featured in the game, and the corrupt desert vizir? Or perhaps Crispin has called upon Graham to help settle a dispute between the leaders of the town and desert?

Cedric SHOULD be in the game. And here's why: Since he never appears in any other games (not counting the obvious non-canon easter egg in KQII+), it should be easy enough to change his voice/personality. I actually like his look, and he appears in KQ3+, so let's keep it. But he should be a diplomatic liaison to Crispin. His personality should be that of a stuffy, highly dignified regal British gentleman. And while he will be MUCH more likable to the audience, it would be fun if he and Graham do not like each other very much. Their constant dialogue throughout the game could be that of a classic buddy pic. Graham does not like Cedric's stuffy, conceited nature, and Cedric does not like having to be little more than a guide for Graham.

Nevertheless, upon arriving at Crispin's house, some first stage of the plot could get underway. I just have some basic ideas here, so far, but there should be specific reasons from graham to investigate the town and desert (along with much more story structure and guidance as to what he has to do), and Graham can battle a genie, evil witch, and corrupt Baker mob. The idea is that while Graham is exploring this part of the game, he has REASON to do it, and no distracting feelings of fear for his family.

The big revelation midway through the game is that Crispin has been a shape-shifting imposter working for Mordac who has been distracting Graham. Cedric is upset that Crispin might be dead, and they both hurry back to Daventry to find it... GONE! At that point, Graham and Cedric are in this together, and they both set out on the harrowing journey to Mordac's castle.

The big changes for the second half are that Graham ends up growing fond of Cedric, especially when he seemingly gives his life for him, and we get much more character study of Cassandra, and her relationship with Graham. The epic finale against Mordac should end with the revival of a kidnapped Crispin, who can then bring Cedric back to life and restore Daventry and the family. Alexander and Cassandra will be given more screen time together, and all in all, the finale revels in being the last fan-made King's Quest sequence.


So... what do you guys think? Would it be a worthwhile venture? I honestly know nothing about programming, but I am a writer, and would offer my services. But I just think remaking all these games and letting KQV go unfixed would be a shame. I sincerely think it would be one of the best games. Anyone agree?

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#2 Post by Blackthorne519 » Sun Oct 09, 2011 3:42 pm

I think there's been enough re-writing of the King's Quest history. Your writing talents would be better used in creating something of your own making.


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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#3 Post by Lambonius » Sun Oct 09, 2011 9:16 pm

I thought this was joke at first, then I read the thing about the AGDI remakes being the first KQ games you had played, and it all started to make sense.

First, KQ5, as the BEST of the series, is the least in need of a remake.

And second, the light-hearted, not-too-complex story is a big part of what makes it the best.

Try TSL if you want lame, overly complex fangasm King's Quest writing. It sounds like it would be right up your alley.

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#4 Post by Gabriel Knight » Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:35 am

Lambonius wrote:I thought this was joke at first, then I read the thing about the AGDI remakes being the first KQ games you had played, and it all started to make sense.

First, KQ5, as the BEST of the series, is the least in need of a remake.

And second, the light-hearted, not-too-complex story is a big part of what makes it the best.

Try TSL if you want lame, overly complex fangasm King's Quest writing. It sounds like it would be right up your alley.
There's no need to be so negative and condescending, man. This post was asking if anyone else agrees that a KQ5 remake would be a good idea. I'm sure there are many like you who don't. Please offer something constructive, helpful, or kind, or keep your comments to a minimum.
I don't think you're in a majority in believing it to be the best game in the series anyways, as this review from Adventure Gamers would indicate...
http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,743

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#5 Post by Klytos » Mon Oct 10, 2011 1:50 am

I have never considered a remake of KQ5. I think you'll find that people think KQ6 is the best in the series. But those who don't generally think KQ5 is.

I prefer 5 because I love the story. I love the simplicity of the tale which is a man wanting to rescue his family. He encounters obstacles and meets friends. It's classic fairy tale stuff and that's what I love about it. I think it's great Mordac just appeared one sunny day and stole the entire castle and occupants. I've always thought Graham being out for a walk was a miscalculation on the wizard's part, he would've expected everyone to be in the castle, therefore giving legitimacy to the fact he's not after Graham until he reaches the castle at the end.

Not that I particularly enjoyed KQ2+ but AGDI took a game with only bare bones of a story and transformed it into something much different / better. I don't think that's possible with KQ5, I think you'll only take away from what's awesome.

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#6 Post by Blackthorne519 » Mon Oct 10, 2011 2:37 am

Gabriel Knight wrote:
Lambonius wrote:I thought this was joke at first, then I read the thing about the AGDI remakes being the first KQ games you had played, and it all started to make sense.

First, KQ5, as the BEST of the series, is the least in need of a remake.

And second, the light-hearted, not-too-complex story is a big part of what makes it the best.

Try TSL if you want lame, overly complex fangasm King's Quest writing. It sounds like it would be right up your alley.
There's no need to be so negative and condescending, man. This post was asking if anyone else agrees that a KQ5 remake would be a good idea. I'm sure there are many like you who don't. Please offer something constructive, helpful, or kind, or keep your comments to a minimum.
I don't think you're in a majority in believing it to be the best game in the series anyways, as this review from Adventure Gamers would indicate...
http://www.adventuregamers.com/article/id,743
Hey, you asked if people thought it was a good idea. He says no, and his opinion is just a valid. I think it's a terrible idea as well. Like I said, your thoughts, ideas and principles would serve you well in your own story, not dropping them into King's Quest.


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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#7 Post by MusicallyInspired » Mon Oct 10, 2011 5:00 pm

I mentioned before on the TSL boards that it would be interesting to play an alternate KQ5 with some of the original game design ideas intact (Cedric being a helpful and wise owl in game instead of a useless comedic companion with an annoying voice) and things like that, but only as an aside "what if". And with the story largely untouched. It would be more interesting from a gameplay standpoint, basically. I don't like the idea of changing the story so much at all, though.

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#8 Post by Collector » Tue Oct 11, 2011 6:50 am

You will find few KQ fans that would want to see KQ5 changed much. As stated, most were fine with the changes to KQ2 because it was a game that was a bare bones story that served mostly to string together a number of disjointed puzzles. Canon is important to the KQ fans and stretching too far is a deal breaker for many.

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#9 Post by Blackthorne519 » Tue Oct 11, 2011 12:32 pm

Yeah, it's like when Rob Zombie went and remade "Halloween". One of the scariest things about John Carpenter's original film was that there was no clear reason why Michael Myers was on a murderous rampage. He was just "pure evil". That's it.

Zombie's BS version made him have "an awful childhood" wah-wah-wah crap.... it removed all the element of mystery, and made the entire film just another abused kid grows up to be killer Lifetime Network movie crap.

Sometimes, things just don't need an expanded story. People are all obsessed with the psychological ramifications of everything these days, and everything comes out so damn convoluted and so damn unappealing.


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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#10 Post by kingalexander » Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:26 pm

i think it's bad idea. cedric should either be removed or improved though. i always hoped that cedric would die on the harpies island. i was so pissed at both graham and hermit when they managed to save him.

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Re: Serious thoughts about a KQ 5 Remake...

#11 Post by MusicallyInspired » Sat Oct 22, 2011 12:36 pm

Did you really seriously expect anything different?

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