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(re: I’m back!!!) Cool! I just returned from a weekend trip down in the Seattle area as well, visiting former Sierra staff to scan more content for the musem here as well as Larry stuff for Al Lowe’s website. Exciting stuff let me tell you, and rest assured I am working hard to get this stuff online for everyone to see.
It was a very hot weekend!
Besides that I also finally got a cheap copy of the Quest for Glory strategy guide as well as a really cheap copy of Black Cauldron for Tandy with a near-mint map, manual and cover-flap-booklet (though the box itself is somewhat frayed on top and bottom).
Brandon Klassen, archivist ~ SierraGamers.com admin / dev team ~
(re: Goofy’s Word Factory) Wow! This was some difficult research! I had to abuse archive.org quite a lot.
“I don’t know if this game was released, and why it was possibly cancelled. The box shot is from an Sierra/Disney Personal Computer Software -ad. Here’s what it reads on the ad:
“Today, Goofy starts his new job at the word factory. As words move along the conveyor belt, it’s his job to sort them out, dropping each in the chute where it belongs – nouns in the noun chute, verbs in the verb chute, and so on.
He can carry each word to its proper chute, but that takes time. Or he can throw the words, but he’ll have to watch out for the passers-by. Goofy sure could use your help. If he does well, he may even get promoted.”
I have a 1986 Sierra registration card that mentions Goofy’s Word Factory with these computer platforms and even prices: Apple II ($29.95), Commodore 64 ($24.95) and PC ($29.95). The prices suggest the game would have been released and available for purchase, but then it would be odd since nobody knows about it — why would it be so forgotten?”
(re: What about new sequels?) but my question is: the creators of the original games…..which of them are still working for sierra? and did they want to make new titles?
Hmm, old question, though still interesting I guess. Now of course, with Sierra shut down and with Vivendi having no interest at all in adventure games, none of the creators of the original games are working for Sierra anymore. As for did the creators of the original games want to make new titles? Probably, though there are factors such as Johann mentioned as well as others. Some of the “blame” for the “slump in quality” that you mention Johann may also lie in the changing gaming market and how Sierra’s games were marketed to that market. The early nineties brought some of Sierra’s strongest adventure games – certainly toward the mid-nineties and late-nineties, the effect of the diversification process is more obvious – and this is where we can look back and see how Sierra experimented with taking adventure games to the next level. And I wouldn’t say of any of those games, such as KQ: Mask, KQVII, Phantasmagoria, Torin’s Passage, etc., that they failed as adventure games. That is a controversial statement for sure. I would say instead, that they were indeed experiments of taking adventure games to the next level. It’s only too bad Sierra didn’t get the chance to learn from what they did in those games and keep making adventure games, either sequels, or new adventures. I believe if they would have, they would have perfected the new forms of adventure games that they were exploring, bringing them to the same excellence as they did with the form of games such as Space Quest 4, King’s Quest 6, etc, that had so many years to develop, from the very beginning with the original King’s Quest game.
(re: Restricted messages)
I’ve been saving all these emails of replies and comments. I just looked through the past 3 days and did not see anything from the FAQ folder as of yet. On the other, I’ve been letting other people know important updates as they come. (o:3 BEAR
(re: “Derek Karlavaegen”) I have all the editions… but I’m at work once again. I might check when I get home… In the meantime, Jane worked with Roberta on KQ6 of course, so if Jane got the credit for the manual, I’d still consider anything in it canon as far as Roberta is concerned. Regardless if Spear borrowed the name from Jane / Roberta or if it was the other way around, that doesn’t make anything that Spear wrote canon. I guess I’m just a purist, I only consider the facts in the games themselves and their manuals to be the authority on what is King’s Quest. Still, as I mentioned I do remember there was a quote from Roberta on one of the Companion books… so I’ll look up that and check the different editions when I get home today, unless of course someone beats me to it.
Brandon Klassen, archivist ~ SierraGamers.com admin / dev team ~
(re: So WHO WAS John Magpie anyway??) Is there anywhere online I could read an issue of InterAction?
That’s what we’re trying to do here, get the whole collection online for reading. Brad hasn’t updated us for a bit though. Somewhere in all the mess of this message board you’ll find a sample issue that was finished, one of the early ones before the mag got the title InterAction.
I’ll have to make a sub-forum here to put all the old discussion regarding creating downloadable copies, so that this can remain a place where discussion about the mag itself can happen. I’ll also put a notice at the top of this forum that indicates the status of the project for easy reference without digging through all the threads here. Hopefully Brad will notice this and drop in with a comment as to the current status. If not, I’ll email him.
Brandon Klassen, archivist ~ SierraGamers.com admin / dev team ~
(re: Restricted messages) Yikes!
That’s something that was fixed YEARS ago. It appears some old code must have gotten uploaded, which explains some other bizarre behavior. I have to go out now, but will be back in about three hours, and dig into it.
-Ken W
(re: Contacting Ken and Doug MacNeill re: Gold Rush ?) As far as we know they are doing well! How long ago did you email them? It’s possible they were too busy to reply, they forgot to reply, they didn’t want to reply (?)… I have been meaning to get in touch with them myself, regarding archival material as well as to invite them to join this site. If you want, you can email me (just click on my name) about the nature of your inquiry and your information, and then I will mention it to them when I contact them this week and see if I can get a reply for you. Or, you could always email them again yourself with a friendly reminder about your previous email. I find that friendly reminders are sometimes needed and usually get a good response.
Brandon Klassen, archivist ~ SierraGamers.com admin / dev team ~
(re: Restricted messages) Hmm, good point, you’re right. Ken, do look into that soon if you can. It was my FAQ post I believe in the admin area that has appeared in the New Messages listing. If that is happening, other messages may be appearing in the New Messages listing as well for users who don’t have access to certain groups. Did anyone who is getting the daily / weekly emails see the FAQ post I made appear in their email? That would be good to double-check that as well while we’re on-topic.
Brandon Klassen, archivist ~ SierraGamers.com admin / dev team ~
(re: I’m back!!!)
Welcome back! I just returned home from a great trip to Seattle (I live in N. Carolina). It was hot and bright the whole time – not the Seattle I imagined, but great nonetheless. The 5 Point Bar rocks. Don’t miss Archie McPhees, either. My friend Steph has a public access show called “Ballard Rocks!” – I may appear in the Seafood Festival segment, depending on the editing. The next showing is on August 7th at 11:00 PM on SCAN TV. If you’re in town, tune in!
(re: What about new sequels?) I believe it all came down to corporate decisions. If a game didn’t sell (e.g. Phantasmagoria 2 and Torin’s Passage), or if it did sell well but didn’t fit into new corporate strategy (e.g. more Laura Bow and Conquests games), then a sequel didn’t get made.
Although, already by the early nineties Sierra seemed to be moving away from its adventure game company roots. During this diversification process, the focus shifted from producing adventure games to trying out many different products and genres. In my opinion, this decision was to some extent behind the slump in quality of Sierra products experienced in the mid nineties. (Because of a lack of focus on its core product / audience.)
(re: PQ 2 Copy Protection)
Kimmie at the Sierra forums might be able to help you with copy protection. Here is the link to the forum. If you can’t find a thread that relates to your question, just post a new thread and she’ll read it. Hope this helps!
http://community.vugames.com/WebX?13@46.kdEVdQPPBaj.24257163@.ef9400b
(re: “Derek Karlavaegen”) Brandon was right – Derek is in the KQ6 manual. The version of the KQ Companion that I have came out at the same time as KQ6 (third edition?) and it does mention Derek Karlavaegen in reference to other games, but the forward refers to KQ6 and the land of the green isles, so now I’m wondering if all the Derek Karlavaegen stuff was added at around the same time KQ6 came out. Does anyone have an earlier edition of the KQ Companion?
-emily
(re: GDI.DLL file and 999.pal errors)
OK! I fixed this error.. I had to install a patch that would let me install the DOS ‘install.bat’…since the CD only had the Windows setup. If anyone else had this problem, let me know and I’ll gladly help! 🙂
(re: “Derek Karlavaegen”) I belive the proper spelling is “Derek Karlavaegen”
Google pulls up some results, something about a computer in KQ3.
(re: Derek Karlavegan??) I could be mistaken, but I think this Derek fellow was mentioned in the companion book but not in the actual manual. And, I think he comes up in the KQ Companion for earlier games (like KQ4?), which would indicate that he was used in the KQ Companion before KQ6 was written. But I’m also at work so I can’t look right now.
Also, I’m pretty sure the KQ6 manual was written by Jane Jensen, not Roberta.
-emily
(re: Sierra is gone) Yep, Codemasters moved into that office when they purchased The Realm (MMO game, originally developed there at Sierra). Last year (July), though, Codemasters sold The Realm to our company Norseman Games. We are continuing development on the game. Not sure if I can post a shameless plug, but the site for the game is (still) at
Link: http://www.realmserver.com(http://www.realmserver.com) (re: Derek Karlavegan??)
If I remember correctly (and someone will correct me if I’m wrong), Derek K. first appeared in the KQ6 manual. That means that his identity at least was created by Roberta / the KQ6 design team and supported by Roberta. As for the general creativity and add-ons by Spear, I myself wouldn’t treat it as canon Sierra material – but as the guides are authorized by Sierra, well, I guess you can consider them semi-supported by the designers. Isn’t there a quote from Roberta on the KQ companions? I’m at work so I can’t check right now. They are interesting books, though I don’t always like Spear’s writing or concepts.
(re: Maybe Ken can clear up the magazine name change.) You have it correct. We did get contacted by the Sierra Club (or, at least that’s how I remember it) — saying that our company newsletter was too similarly named to theirs. I have a vague recollection that we went through a few different names trying to settle on one that made everyone happy.
My brother John came up with the name InterAction – which was a huge hit. I can’t believe Sierra’s new owners scrapped the magazine within months of the takeover. It was a key part of our success.
Oh well…
-Ken W
(re: PQ 2 Copy Protection)
I don’t know where you can download the copy protection for this one, but one of the mug shots that comes up belongs to Jesse Bains. If you keep typing Jesse Bains you’ll get it right eventually.
-emily
(re: So WHO WAS John Magpie anyway??)
Is there anywhere online I could read an issue of InterAction?
(re: Freddy Pharkas medical recipes etc) I downloaded my copy of the Freddy Pharkas manual from the site Brandon gave. Al Lowe also has the text at his website, but the PDF with all the old-timey text and pictures is really fun to read.
🙂 emily
(re: So WHO WAS John Magpie anyway??)
Oh wow… excellent question! I loved the Magpie… I would always save that column for last because it was my favorite part. There was always some tidbit to get you excited; some clue as to an upcoming followup to your favorite series. Those were the days… I loved that freaking magazine!
(re: GK Tourism)
Man I would love to visit some the GK places! I live in The Netherlands so visiting Germany or France isn’t that difficult but unfortunately I don’t know anybody who wants to come with me. Most of my friends rather go the beach, bar or club on their vacation and get totally wasted and do the same thing the next day! Ow well that doesn’t sound bad at all 😉
(re: Phantasmagoria music and trailers) Hey! Sorry it took me so long to upload the files but I just got back from my vacation! Anyway here are the files. Have fun!
Grtz,
Bobske
Consumite Furore Lyrics
Consumite Furore mp3
Take A Stand Lyrics
Take A Stand mp3
Rage Lyrics
Rage mp3
Phantasmagoria – Trailer
Phantasmagoria II – Teaser Trailer
Phantasmagoria II – Trailer
Phantasmagoria II – Trailer Music mp3
