Kickstarter Corporate sabatoge from the Larry HD developers?
http://mixnmojo.com/news/Is-Paul-Trowe-of-Replay-Sabotaging-Other-Kickstarters
http://www.adventuregamers.com/forums/viewthread/172/P90
It seems that one of the Producers over at Replay Games tries to sabatoge development on Space Adventure, and close down a few other "competing" kickstarter plans as well.
Based on posts on the Replay Games own kickstarter page, they were hoping to get the Two Guys and other Sierra alumni to join Replay Games, so they would have a better chance at getting into the Sierra license, partnering with Telltale if they had to.
Some at various forums that discovered this noted it looked like Trowe wanted to create a Sierra 2.0, with him being the next Ken Williams.
He may have since admitted to it, and apologized about this to the Two Guys... But wow!
http://www.spacequest.net/index.php/topic/286-controversy-paul-trowe-on-the-two-guys/page__st__20__p__2266#entry2266
But after that do you think Activision would trust him enough to even share in the Sierra license, let alone give it to his company? How much of anything he or his company Replay Games has claimed in the past can be considered true?
http://www.adventuregamers.com/forums/viewthread/172/P90
It seems that one of the Producers over at Replay Games tries to sabatoge development on Space Adventure, and close down a few other "competing" kickstarter plans as well.
Based on posts on the Replay Games own kickstarter page, they were hoping to get the Two Guys and other Sierra alumni to join Replay Games, so they would have a better chance at getting into the Sierra license, partnering with Telltale if they had to.
Some at various forums that discovered this noted it looked like Trowe wanted to create a Sierra 2.0, with him being the next Ken Williams.
He may have since admitted to it, and apologized about this to the Two Guys... But wow!
http://www.spacequest.net/index.php/topic/286-controversy-paul-trowe-on-the-two-guys/page__st__20__p__2266#entry2266
But after that do you think Activision would trust him enough to even share in the Sierra license, let alone give it to his company? How much of anything he or his company Replay Games has claimed in the past can be considered true?
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If people don't want it being 'mentioned', maybe they should have deleted it from the websites? Of course some people find 'removing' websites akin to destroying 'history'.
Ironically, speaking of Trow;
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trow_(folklore)
Has anyone played Bard's Tale (several songs sung by trow)?
Trow chosen one song
"You are pretty much a fraud, and for that we do applaud!"
Its good that they were able to work the differences out, and that he apologized. Its a good thing, it will have no affect on the release of Larry HD, or affect the other kickstarter campaigns.
However, I still think its probably something that corporate lawyers from Activision, probably will/have taken into consideration, when dealing with them, if questions about Sierra licensing came up. A risk? Oh, well that's not big deal. Not as if they really had much a chance anyways based on what some of the articles were saying. Activision wanting $500,000 for the Sierra licensing and all. It seems only Telltale may have taken the bait...
Ha, whatever that means! It could mean just as much that they are doing to do something with it themselves, they aren't going to do anything with them, or they have already shared rights to someone else (and are not willing to share it with others groups at the same time), and in whatever the situation, they aren't going to talk about it.
But ya, I don't have much 'hope' for Activision. I'm skeptical about them in general. Based on how they have handled other franchises and stuff. Look at development history of Call of Duty for example. They have enough 'corrupt' chickens in the henhouse themselves, as far as corporate lawsuits are concerned. They have many good IPs they just sit on.
Basically, their plan is to bury the series completely.
Bt
People still talk about the debacle of Ion Storm (daikatana among other things), Duke Forever, Limbo of the Lost, and a multitude of other gaming incidents. What makes Paul's situation so unique that we should all just bury it simply because your tired of it?
Mindsets like that are the reason politicians don't have to worry about what they do until the year before re-election. If Paul pulls a successful LSL Reloaded rabbit out of his hat, and then follows it up with another success, then ok - I'll chalk it up to a "retarded phase". But until then, he still has to prove himself... to me at least.
Making fake accounts to speak poorly about other projects? Threatening lawsuits even though Al had given the Sam Suede devs permission to use his likeness? That's unacceptable, especially in a new era where the developers and gamers have more intimate contact than ever before.
It also makes me question the communication between Al and Paul. Either there was none regarding Sam Suede, or when Paul overreacted Al decided he didn't care that Sam Suede had used his name without permission and just wanted to quell the situation. But how could Al and Paul not be on the same page with Sam Suede?
I have nothing against Trowe. I'd overlook his behavior from the standpoint of being human/flawed/etc. and having stretches of poor judgment, but professionally I'd never trust him. Not to mention the bitterness he shows at ex-Sierra devs not joining him to make a New Sierra, or arguing on Twitter and calling his kickstarter supporters "jackasses" (I think that was the word he used) when they had legitimate questions about what was going on with Adventure Mob.
It's a good thing Josh Mandel took the PR reins. But the repeated behavior by Trowe was enough to leave a lasting impression on many people about him and possibly about the production of the game. It wasn't just one isolated incident. It was a string of them. I'm not a backer so I cannot comment on how the game is progressing. However, from what I've gathered in various discussions around the web, they haven't done as much work as one would expect.
I still wish Replay the best, but it's just my simple observation and probably silly opinion that they are very poorly managed, evidenced by multiple instances of public outbursts/shenanigans by Trowe.
Alpha build for the game is expected sometime in the next week or so. I'd say things are moving along at a fairly steady clip.
I just don't believe that somebody like Paul Trowe is worth mentioning or bringing up. ESPECIALLY after what he did. Don't give him any more attention. He's not worth it. I don't believe Paul needs to prove anything. He mistakenly took the PR role when it was never his place to do so. He's not a public figure and should never have been. He's not designing Larry Reloaded or spearheading anything. He's just in charge of Replay Games. He should stick to that job and stay in the shadows and give the people who are actually developing the game the limelight. And he has. I don't believe Paul Trowe should be synonymous with their project because, really, he has nothing to do with it, as far as designing goes. The way it's been, whenever anybody thinks of Replay Games or Larry Reloaded they automatically think Paul Trowe, which is wrong. The only way to fix that is to remove him from the public mind as much as possible. I'm not saying people should stop talking about him because I'm tired of it, I'm saying people should stop talking about him because he's a nobody and doesn't deserve that much attention. He just has nothing to do with anything. Other than his strange obnoxious and selfish attitude, that is.
I interpret them saying the "alpha build" is coming to mean the end of the alpha phase. That is, it would be the preclude to the beta phase. But I'm not a dev so I don't want to guess at something I don't know too well and piss someone off.
The more interesting and exciting news is that a new, modern Larry project is coming in a few months. This new game will apparently have a more robust script than almost any other Larry game, with more opportunity for the player to explore/examine/interact with the virtual environment. That is what I am more focused on. There is a large team of hard-working, talented, seasoned pros (including Al Lowe and Josh Mandel) who shouldn't be bothered or hurt by this silly, tired, old drama that a few forum posters want to try to keep alive.
The new Larry game is looking like it will be a hit. This is great news, since this is the kind of comeback a truly great series like Leisure Suit Larry deserves.
After the news of his sabotage came to play, the troll account stopped posting, but the damage was already done (and as far as I know Paul Trowe never apologized for the Sam Suede sabotoge, only the sabotoge he did to SpaceVenture).
But you're right, now that Josh Mandel is the spokesperson of Replay Games, and Al Lowe and Josh Mandel have full control of the project, Leisure Suit Larry Reloaded seems to be getting on track.
Hopefully the Sam Suede team will be able to successfully try kickstarter again (or find funding to complete their game). Then this whole business can be completely put in the past.
Supposedly Al did consulting work with the Sam Suede developers several years ago. As in, far enough back that Trowe wasn't aware of it. And even once he became aware of the fact that Al *did* in fact work with them, Paul then felt as if they were trying to capitalize on the success of LSL Reloaded's kickstarter. The irony here? Reloaded languished in non development for 6 months, and then jumped on kickstarter to capitalize on the success of Double Fine's new adventure. Either way, he should have handled it quietly, and directly with the Sam Suede guys. Instead he jumped out there, burned bridges, and generally acted like a child.
First - their project is already funded and already going forward. You make sound like the fate of the project rests on not reminding people of the Trowe Troll. Second, Josh wasn't even on board with the project when a lot of this went down. It's not "his" project. He is an employee of replay games, and Paul is his boss. This is, and always has been, Paul's baby. Just because Josh is a stand-up guy does not mean I'm going to turn a blind eye to Paul.
Wow... you make so many comments without knowing anything about what you are talking about. Try reading before writing. I specifically said above (and jennifer repeated it right after this), that Paul's actions killed the Sam Suede kickstarter. So thanks to this "much ado about nothing", you no longer have the opportunity to play an original game that Al Lowe helped to design.
You have the audacity to say that he caused no harm what-so-ever, and then one comment later say, "oh, that's horrible..." Had you simply read what others, including myself, had already written, you would have known about this.
Paul attacks Chris Pope personally (from a fake account no less), and you spin that into "passion"? Well hell, with that mentality, Castro was just passionate about communism. Oswald was just passionate about sniping presidents. The south was just passionate about slavery. No one has ever actually done anything wrong, they have just been "passionate". That's a crock.
People in business don't want to work with "passionate" people who cause bad PR, kill projects, and very nearly kill their own project. What you call passion, others call immature and childish. Paul is very lucky that he managed to get Josh on board, as that man has single handedly brought a level of respect back to the project.
As far as saying the new game is "looking like it will be a hit"... based on what? Some redrawn backgrounds? Seriously man, I'm not saying you should condemn the project, but at least factor in evidence and not just wishful thinking into the equation.
You seem to mistake caution and skepticism (based on real world actions, not made up ones) with irrational dislike. I do not want LSl Reloaded to fail. But like Jennfier, I am extremely skeptical of how far along it is. You forgot to mention in your "Al Lowe recap" above that the release date just slipped again.
All we know about the game is the backgrounds are "almost done", the text is "almost done", and an alpha is out in about 2 weeks that according to Al himself is extremely buggy. Music is being worked on, but it is unclear how far along it is. Those are facts, not hopefuly wishes and fairy dust. And it is also a fact that if you look at when the project started, Oct 11', it has taken them roughly a year and a half to get that far... and yet they only have about 3 months to finish. It is not impossible. But it begs questions, like - will it suffer in the quality department? Will it be rushed? Will the release date slip again?
Those questions are not asked because anyone here dislikes Paul, or any of that. Those questions are asked because of the FACTS that currently exist. You are completely entitled to believe the new game "looks like it is going to be a hit". But unless you can present some facts to back that up, then your opinion holds no weight among people like me who use FACTS to form their opinion.
Sam Suede was never getting funded, give me a break.
Anyway, yes, Trowe made mistakes. But you are trying to use his mistakes, it seems, as a way to attack the whole Larry Reloaded project. It is not fair to the many wonderful, hardworking, talented people (including Al Lowe and Josh Mandel) to try to diminish their work because you can't get over the mistakes of some guy last year.
And, by the way, I want them to take as much time as they need to deliver a game that meets their standards. You make a big deal about moving the deadline back a month. Tell me, how many large projects have you led? You like to snipe from the sidelines in a self-superior way trying to convince people you are right about whatever, while the talented developers are working their butts off to give us the best game possible. Of course, you are perfectly entitled to do so, but don't be surprised when you get called out for being an obnoxious tool. Anyway, I backed the project and have been more than pleased with the amount of updates and material they have shared so far.
Mtnpeak, Exo isn't out to get the Larry Reloaded project. Stop lynching him. Make no mistake, Paul did unspeakable things and he's not the most popular person right now for a fair reason. It's hard for people to trust a company when a man like Paul is leading the helm. It is at the very least understandable. Just because it's a Leisure Suit Larry project means nothing to how Paul might run the company. But I'm not bad-mouthing Replay or anyone else in the company. I just don't care enough. These are just facts.
The reason exo is on Replay's case about their tardiness in getting assets completed is because they did the same thing long before the Kickstarter even came up. They advertised a couple years back that they were working on a LSL remake. And then....nothing. Until the Kickstarter started. Many of us at that time rolled our collective eyes realizing that they hadn't done anything in all the time since they announced they were working on it. And then taking even longer to produce assets after the Kickstarter's end....it's a culmination. And an understandable one.
History that is forgotten is bound to be repeated... If any telling the stories of the condemned serves as a warning for future people who would attempt to stoop so low.