Telltale's King's Quest license pulled by Activision

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Comments

  • edited April 2013
    Except tons of adventure games are on the market.

    Not really... I'm lucky to find one adventure game in a genre I care about every few years...

    It's not the living breathing entity it was in the 1980's and early 1990's when every company out there was making adventures, and for the most part making excellent ones.
  • exoexo
    edited April 2013
    Man. After a year of telling people this game was dead, only to have them dance around in the KQ forum saying, 'No way man, it is going to be Suuuuuper cooool!", I find this news to be wonderful. TTG would not have put out a KQ I wanted to play. KQ is dead, long live KQ!
  • edited April 2013
    OK, so you were right. Fair enough. Just don't rub it in or we'll have a flame war on our hands. :)
  • edited April 2013
    Between this news and Lucasarts shutting down, it's been a terrible day for adventure game fans. The writing's been on the wall for a while now, but I still thought Telltale would surprise us and release KQ some day. I still don't understand how a company as secretive as Telltale could announce a game they weren't certain to make. I suppose Jurassic Park must have really done a number on their schedule.
  • edited April 2013
    MtnPeak wrote: »
    Oh, please. Telltale didn't jump start a damn thing. They just tried to suck some additional life out of superior, classic series. First, they try to act like the savior of adventure gaming, and now they tell us to move on and to leave those kinds of games in the past. The whole "we have done our part and it is time to move on an evolve, you don't need us anymore" self-serving baloney from TTG is one reason I am glad that Activision yanked back its licenses from Telltale.

    They're not telling you anything. Your take on this is lulzy. Telltale has not done anything different than what they've done for years, and they've never taken a moment to personally address you, so stop with the sob story.
  • edited April 2013
    Can you say though why Telltale refused to say anything about King's Quest being cancelled until yesterday and even then only to a gaming news website and not their own blog?

    Or did they only admit to it because Paul Trowe let the cat out of the bag about what Activision was doing?
  • edited April 2013
    MtnPeak wrote: »
    new Roberta game

    In my opinion, the only person I can imagine continuing King's Quest, the way I imagine most people wants it to be continued, is Josh Mandel.

    Activision is in it for the money, Telltale wants to tell stories, Roberta... Roberta doesn't look like an adventure game designer, I read her interviews, and I never got the impression she was in it to design adventure games, I think she was in it to move the industry forward and King's Quest was her way of doing it, I cannot imagine her wanting to make an adventure game like they used to be made twenty years ago, which is what I think a lot of people would want a King's Quest sequel to be.

    But Josh Mandel is an adventure game designer, he is a master when it comes to verbal feedback, he understand the importance of a good plot but also the importance of puzzles and subtly hinting the player in the right direction, I can imagine him being happy making games with twenty years old gameplay and art style. Not only that, but he understands King's Quest more than Roberta ever does I would risk saying, in term of plot, tone and gameplay, he knows what fits in a King's Quest title and what doesn't.

    So, unless Josh somehow manages to land himself a seat at the helm of a King's Quest sequel, the King's Quest license changing hands is just more of the same to me. The same uncertainty and skepticism.
  • edited April 2013
    she was in it to move the industry
    SHe definitley had a 'tech and toys' aspect to her development. She liked coming out with new technological ideas. Although towards the end, the industry was speeding past her, and Sierra was becoming one step behind in general.
  • edited April 2013
    I knew it. I knew it!
  • edited April 2013
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    Can you say though why Telltale refused to say anything about King's Quest being cancelled until yesterday and even then only to a gaming news website and not their own blog?
    I guess that's a "no" then.

    I know you're under contract, Puzzlebox, so it's maybe not your fault, but it still sucks being left in the dark for ages when the game was really cancelled many months ago.

    If you ask me, TTG needs to rethink their PR policies, but I think even you know that--you just can't do anything about it.
  • edited April 2013
    Chyron8472 wrote: »
    I guess that's a "no" then.

    I know you're under contract, Puzzlebox, so it's maybe not your fault, but it still sucks being left in the dark for ages when the game was really cancelled many months ago.

    Actually it was Puzzlebox's personal decision to cancel the 'King's Quest' game. Others at the company disagreed but Puzzlebox was adamant. Damn you, Puzzlebox! :p
  • edited April 2013
    No, I meant it's maybe not her fault that we were left in the dark about KQ's cancellation until Paul Trowe forced the issue.

    I did also say that I recognize the probability that she has no control whatsoever about whether TTG have a bad PR policy, despite the fact that she's supposed to be the voice of the company to those who care enough to bother visiting the company forums.

    EDIT: Suffice it to say that I wish she could help to show that the company actually gives a fart about the fans, and--despite my not knowing to what degree she has any influence on the subject--I'm somewhat annoyed that she isn't.
  • edited April 2013
    St_Eddie wrote: »
    Actually it was Puzzlebox's personal decision to cancel the 'King's Quest' game. Others at the company disagreed but Puzzlebox was adamant. Damn you, Puzzlebox! :p

    Oh, so that's what happened.

    c1n.jpg
  • Since when did this turn into a King’s Quest thread?!
  • edited April 2013
    Since the King's Quest section got closed down.
  • edited April 2013
    Noname215 wrote: »
    Since when did this turn into a King’s Quest thread?!

    Since the first post of the thread...
  • edited April 2013
    SON... I AM DISAPPOINT. >8/ But, then again, I guess I wouldn't want to have seen King's Quest resemble Jurassic Park in any capacity.

    Edit: But, still. Took you look enough to announce this. I mean, really. REALLY.
  • edited April 2013
    BagginsKQ wrote: »
    BTW, I think King's Quest might be cursed ;).

    Three games cancelled. Now we have to watch for Activision's IVth attempt ("we have plans of our own").

    Which may already be cancelled, LOL.

    This might be true! It's soooo sad!
    I love Kings Quest VII! I hope a new game will be out one day.
  • ProfanityProfanity Banned
    edited April 2013
    King's Quest 9: Medieval Bowfare
  • edited April 2013
    So Activision, huh? Grrr. Go back to Guitar Hero, that's what I say!
  • edited April 2013
    TomPravetz wrote: »
    So Activision, huh? Grrr. Go back to Guitar Hero, that's what I say!

    Don't encourage them. They're probably contemplating a next-gen reboot.
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited April 2013
    I wouldn't mind an updated Guitar Hero game. I thought they were quite fun.

    As long as that doesn't mean that Activision would try to shoehorn King's Quest into it like they tried to do with Brutal Legend.

    Just imagine: King's Quest: Lute Hero

    *shudders*
  • edited April 2013
    Jennifer wrote: »
    I wouldn't mind an updated Guitar Hero game. I thought they were quite fun.

    As long as that doesn't mean that Activision would try to shoehorn King's Quest into it like they tried to do with Brutal Legend.

    Just imagine: King's Quest: Lute Hero

    *shudders*

    Would the town theme from KQ5 be one of the songs?
  • JenniferJennifer Moderator
    edited April 2013
    They'd want to sell it to the masses, so I'm sure it'd be full of pop and/or rock songs.
  • edited April 2013
  • edited April 2013
    Or out of tune music classics from Frankie of Avalon, the Minstrel/Thespian...
  • edited April 2013
    Jennifer wrote: »
    That's a tad harsh. It's always a good thing when series creators come on board, but franchises can be continued quite well even after the original creators leave. Curse of Monkey Island continued the Monkey Island franchise quite well without Ron Gilbert and Dave Grossman (since they left LucasArts by that point) and (mostly) without Tim Schafer.

    The Codemasters Leisure Suit Larry games weren't panned because they didn't have Al Lowe's involvement, it was because the developers failed to make them in the spirit of the originals.

    I don't think a great new King's Quest is an impossibility, even without the involvement of Roberta Williams (or even without Jane Jensen, Josh Mandel, or anyone else who ever designed a King's Quest game). Adhering to the spirit of the franchise is the most important thing.

    I thought Larry MCL was alright like any other licensed games, but that is the problem. MCL didn't feel like a LSL game, but more of a licensed game that was developed by a company that makes games from popular television nd movie franchises - High Voltage, a company that actually makes licensed games like Family Guy and Harvey Birdman made MCL.

    Rather than the game being an extention of the original series in spirit by expanding the mythos, it is more of reminder of how great the series was by referencing the ying yang out of it. Referencing past events of popular episodes (if we are talking about tv shows) is what a lot of licensed games do - I suppose the origins of such a practice came about in the '80s where video game adaptions of movies were popular. Such a practice shouldn't be done with actual game sequels or video game adaptions of tv shows since both properties aren't confined to pre-existing storyline like video game adaptions of movies are. Using references from the past LSL game made MCL more dependent on the pre-existing LSL mythos rather than making a completely new game that goes beyond the older LSL storyline like a true sequel, and thus expanding the mythos.

    I think this was an issue with The Silver Lining series - rather than expanding the mythology with an org. Storyline like the Space Quest fan games, TSL was too dependent on KQ6 despite rewriting some of the pre established, official KQ mythology.
  • edited April 2013
    Originally Posted by Jennifer
    I don't think a great new King's Quest is an impossibility, even without the involvement of Roberta Williams (or even without Jane Jensen, Josh Mandel, or anyone else who ever designed a King's Quest game). Adhering to the spirit of the franchise is the most important thing.

    Well said.

    Maybe if Activision does a good job with their new Vicarious Visions-developed Gabriel Knight game (an assumption that this is what Jensen's Mystery Game X is), people will be singing a different tune about the potential for Activision to do a great KQ game and other new adventure games.
  • edited April 2013
    One can only hope.
  • edited June 2013
    They're not bringing back King's Quest anymore.
  • edited June 2013
    Could I get a source for that please?
  • edited June 2013
    Could I get a source for that please?

    Ask Santa or the Easter Bunny.

    Aren't we just doing random killjoys?

    No, you will never become president or prime minister and if you wanted to be a pro athlete, you should've put down those cheeseburgers more than a decade ago.
  • edited June 2013
    Johro wrote: »

    No, you will never become president or prime minister

    HA I'm prime minster of the spare button sometimes put on the inside of your coat.
  • edited June 2013
    Johro wrote: »
    Ask Santa or the Easter Bunny.
    Thought so.

    My thinking is, given how much press and 'fan' reaction Telltale's cancellation got, Activision's got at least something planned to capitalize on the IP. I'd be VERY surprised if they canceled it.
  • edited June 2013
    Thought so.

    My thinking is, given how much press and 'fan' reaction Telltale's cancellation got, Activision's got at least something planned to capitalize on the IP. I'd be VERY surprised if they canceled it.

    COD maps based on classic Sierra locations, including Castle Daventry, the Xenon Dome, the streets of Lytton and Raseir.
  • edited July 2013
    Yeah because as we all know Activision has so much respect for game series and games based on TV they acquired like how they made Skylanders Spyro's Adventure making it barely based on Spyro then removing Spyro's name complete, Family Guy Back to the Multiverse which is extremely short, The Walking Dead Survival Instinct, and finally not making a Crash game for 5 years while cancelling other Crash games.
  • edited July 2013
    I miss Crash.
  • edited July 2013
    I think Naughty Dog should buy Crash back off them.
    (They might let it go if they really can't see themselves making anything from it)
  • edited July 2013
    I would rather have Sony at least buy it back then give it to developers we know who can make good games like Sansaru Games, Naughty Dog etc.
  • edited July 2013
    COD maps based on classic Sierra locations, including Castle Daventry, the Xenon Dome, the streets of Lytton and Raseir.

    CoD: Lytton would actually be pretty sweet.
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