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(Fanfiction) Fan Fiction is great for the site!
-Ken W
PS My only caveat is to remind everyone that: Sierra, not I, own the rights to all the Sierra-created characters and franchises. I can’t give anyone permission to do anything with Sierra’s property. I am 99% certain that they don’t care, and even support the idea of fan fiction, and fan art – but, I’ve never spoken to anyone at Sierra about this topic, so I really have no idea. In other words, feel free to post what you like – but, if Sierra ever complains, expect that it may have to disappear.(re: re: Talkspot – or, life after Sierra) “…Ken, how many listeners did those Talkspot shows have, if there was a way to count them? …”
Talkspot did very well at collecting an audience – by internet standards at the time, but very low by any other measure. The highest rated shows might have 300-500 people in the audience, but audience sizes closer to 50-100 were much more typical. This is concurrent viewers – in a given day, 10,000 or more people might view our shows.
Our problem wasn’t audience size, it was our inability to sell ads, and that our economics didn’t make sense. It was costing us more in bandwidth costs, than we could make back selling ads. When you lose 10 cents per hour per viewer, you can’t make it up with volume.
The shows were awesome, but the business didn’t work.
-Ken W(re: Talkspot – or, life after Sierra)
Ken, how many listeners did those Talkspot shows have, if there was a way to count them?
(re: Problems with KQ V —-> Dark Forest)
Well, you’re doing better than I am, I can’t even get my new computer to play KQV. I’ve tried changing the settings and it still won’t work. It has something to do with the 265 pixel color graphics. I guess I could keep trying. Have you gotten rid of the witch and got the heart and emeralds? Have you met the elves?
(re: re: About Mask of Enternity….)
That explains why Moe was such a failure. Too many cooks spoil the broth. It was lacking in plot and the main kq characters were left out. I wouldn’t have a problem with introducing a new hero as long as the other members of Graham’s family were there, and whatever happened to the end of kq vii? The violence and crude ugly graphics were what I hated most. The ending was disapointing. So if fewer designings with a single vision has worked on it, the game might have ended up better.
(re: Phantasmagoria Memories? Questions for Ken or Roberta)
I remember reading in Interaction that the outfit Adrienne wears is the outfit the actress happened to be wearing the day she showed up on the set. Apparently someone who makes those types of decisions (Roberta maybe?) liked the outfit and it wound up being the one she wore throughout the project… for something like six weeks? Would love to know if this is really how it happened.
-emily
(re: Inca Series)
I remember them very well, my favourite was Inca 1, Inca 2 was too weird but it was ok. You can listen to the soundtrack if you put the game cd into a cd player, i think all songs and voices were on track 2.
(re: Police Quest 1 bug)
Oh yeah I got stuck there too 🙂 You have to use the numpad on your keyboard to control Sonny. That way you will get to the last floor.
-Ronny
(re: PQ2 Terrorist help needed!)
Did you drink alcohol on the plane? If yes, that keeps you from being able to shoot straight.
If that’s not it, all I can think of is if something happened between arriving at the airport and getting on the plane – like, did the security guard grab your gun when you went thru the metal detector? (He does this if you don’t show your badge soon enough.) Anything else that could have knocked out the sights, that you could have avoided at the airport?
I have this strong feeling that I had this very problem, I just can’t remember the answer. It’s been 13 years since I played the game! (And alas, my hint book is long gone…)
-emily
(re: PQ2 Terrorist help needed!)
ummm… I’m trying to remember exactly when it happens, but at some point before this your gun gets knocked around. (I think it’s at the motel, doesn’t it get banged against the wall when you open the door?) You have to fix the sights again after this happens, and before you get on the plane.
Also when you do the sights on your gun, make sure you are bringing the poster forward and looking at it. The game will tell you (and you’ll get points, I think) when it’s sighted properly.
Otherwise, I’m not sure what to tell you…
-emily
(re: re: To Ken & Classic Sierra Fans: Gabriel Knight Tribute Complete!!)
Thanks very much to people who enjoy it! I think it’s a bit too long, but it’s my first try at arranging existing music and future efforts (i.e. Monkey Island) will probably be around 5 minutes in length.
Unfortunately, putting that together took a lot of nonstop hard work and I have to go and work on my grades for school, so the Monkey Island one won’t be for a while… 🙂
(re: To Ken & Classic Sierra Fans: Gabriel Knight Tribute Complete!!)
Wow, what a cool concept! You really caught the GK feeling there… And I’ll be looking forward to your Monkey Island montage as well. 🙂
This also made me think… If there would ever have been any more GK secrets (one can always hope) the mystery of Tsar Nikolai II and his family would make a great backdrop to a Gabriel Knight mystery! I haven’t thought of a fitting supernatural connection though, but I’m sure there are good ideas to incorporate for that too.
(re: re: Not a “pure” Sierra game, but…)
I uploaded a PDF of the (US version) manual to the museum in the misc games section. I also upped a couple of JPEGs of a pamphlet that was also in the box. It is a sort of mini hintbook. I thought you might also like to have. Enjoy.
I have several games that I got used without box or manuals. I would love to eventually get the missing documents, even if only in electronic form, if it is of high enough quality.
(re: Not a “pure” Sierra game, but…)
Subtitles?!? Looks like that’s ANOTHER thing I missed out on…but I’ve encountered a few games with that amputated-dialogue syndrome. Like in SQ6, on Delta Burksilon, the subtitles say “Heck, you can’t even say liftbay-relay outlay-array!” but Gary Owens says something like “-ck, you can’t even say…(etc.)”, and when you look at one of the cages in the NanoTech lab, the subtitles say “You see…(new dialogue piece)…a crip thrip.” But Gary just says “Crip thrip.” Don’t you just hate it when that happens?
But one of my beefs with Woodruff’s voices is that in a couple cases when you give something to someone and get something in return, after they’re through talking, as they’re giving the item to you, they start repeating whatever they said initially, but they stop talking once the item is in your possession. Strange.
And a belated thank-you to those of you who have volunteered to scan their manuals. I’m deeply grateful.
Akril
(re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Not a “pure” Sierra game, but…) “Woodruff and the Schnibble” is one of the first games (if not the first) I bought when I got my first CD-ROM.
It was EXTREMELY hard, and I never managed to finished it. Years later, I used a walkthrough and managed to finish it. It is extremely long. It is quite funny.
One thing that annoyed me about this game was that the first few milliseconds of each sentence were always cut-off! (good thing there were subtitles).
I have the original manual (european version, but it is in English), and also the offical “hint-list” that came with the game (2 pages of hints for the harder parts).
I’ll try to scan it this weekend.(re: re: Legality of Fan AGI/SCI games) “…Ken, how much did it cost to register a patent for a game? It seems like it would be expensive, hiring lawyers, paperwork… “
There are a thousand answers to this question. Basically, a patent can cost hundreds of dollars, thousands of dollars, or even tens of thousands of dollars. It’s entirely up to you.
The important issue is the quality of your patent when it is done. There are patents on file that were poorly researched, and wouldn’t stand up in court. There are patents that are so narrow that they are essentially worthless. A perfect patent would be one that will a) stand up in court, and b) is sufficiently broad as to provide you some real protection.
Generally, you get what you pay for with law firms. If you use a no-name lawfirm, you may get a patent for $500 – but, the odds are that you won’t have much of a patent. On the other hand, the odds are good that if you use a top silicon valley firm, and pay them $15,000 you will have a good solid patent when you finish — assuming you had something worth patenting in the first place.
I think we generally spent in the $10-30,000 range for our patents (in legal fees).
I never found that patents did much for us. Frequently I saw someone who would be stepping on one or more of our patents, but it costs money to pursue a patent claim against someone. There aren’t patent police out there who you can call to complain that someone is stepping on your patent.
Here’s what I mean…
Let’s say you patent something, and then see someone who is blatantly (in your opinion) stepping on your patent. Here’s what happens. You call your lawyer to complain. There went $500. Now your lawyer writes the alleged offender a letter asking them to cease their infringement. There goes another $500. Back will come a letter denying infringement. You guessed it – there goes another $500. Now, let’s say you decide to sue. Now we’re talking $200,000 or so. PLUS I’ve seen the following happen: the judge decides to pull the infringing product off the market, but only if you post a bond representing the value of the offending product – which can cost you millions.
The bottom line: patents are good, and it is definitely worth pursuing a patent when you create something original. That said, protecting your patent can be costly, and obtaining a good patent can be costly. It’s not all as simple as some people might have you believe.
-Ken W
PS I’m not a lawyer. Anything I say may or may not be accurate. If there are any intellectual property lawyers who read this – feel free to correct any errors.(re: Legality of Fan AGI/SCI games)
Ken, how much did it cost to register a patent for a game? It seems like it would be expensive, hiring lawyers, paperwork…
(re: To Ken & Classic Sierra Fans: Gabriel Knight Tribute Complete!!)
I’m watching it right now, but I think it’s great! 😀
(re: RE: one for Ken)
I read Hackers late last year and found it to be a fascinating book. It gets a bit dry at times, particularly at the beginning, but it makes me wish they did some kind of sequel– although if you’re looking for a good book on Video Game History, check out The Ultimate Guide to Video Games…
(RE: one for Ken) Heh, I may just have to check out that book. And hey, I’m sure you’re still a fun enough guy! Though you might just have to put out another excellent game sometime soon just to remind us… 🙂 Thanks for the reply.
– Greg(RE: one for Ken)
Greg:
There was a book written about the early days of Sierra, called Hackers, by
Steve Levy. If you can find a copy, it’s actually not a bad book.The incident you mention spans several chapters in the book. Steve Levy
lived with one of our game developers at the time, John Harris – and
whereas
both John Harris and I believe Steve wasn’t 100% accurate in his book,
neither is the book 100% inaccurate.I started Sierra when I was around 24 years old. The average age of our
engineers was around 18. The first few years at Sierra were wild any way
you
look at it. Unfortunately, Steve Levy captured my teen years in a book,
whereas most people are able to forget theirs.Suffice it to say, maturity did eventually set in, and it’s tough for
anyone
who meets me to envision that I was once the fun guy described in the book.-Ken W
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(re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: re: Not a “pure” Sierra game, but…)
Ken — I am still up here in Seattle. Have lunch with Al on a semi-regular basis, keep in touch with quite a few of the ol’ Sierra gang… we should have a reunion! =)
Thanks for the upgraded status, I’ll check it out — this site is fun, and I have sent it to a few of the ol’ gang who are enjoying it too.
-Cheryl
(re: Offer to email old games)
Mate, I’ve just skim read all of these responses and I don’t understand most of it. I’m just a 25 year old teacher from Sydney who fell in love with this games as a kid with my somewhat progressive father. I’ve now managed to lose them all through time and bad organisation. If you can email me (legally) any of the king’s quest or space quest or hero’s quest series I would be profoundly grateful. I have been searching for these games for a long time.
Meg.
