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Space Quest creators create kickstarter for a new Space Adventure

59 points| e1ven | 14 years ago |kickstarter.com | reply

31 comments

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[+] untog|14 years ago|reply
This is awesome. I've long since accepted that the adventure games I grew up playing aren't profitable enough, so it's fantastic to see Kickstarter step in as a way to create and fund these days. I loved the Space Quest series and was disappointed to see it slowly fade and disappear- you'll bet I'll be contributing to this. I was laughing just reading the description.

Next: a sequel to Star Control II. Please.

[+] gavanwoolery|14 years ago|reply
Yeah, I actually twittered Paul Reiche about kickstarting a real Star Control 2 sequel. SC2 might not have the biggest fan base, but I would argue it is probably the most passionate :)
[+] primigenus|14 years ago|reply
It's not super obvious from the page but the thing that sets this project apart from all the other is that they're going to build a HTML5 demo game during the Kickstarter period based on fan feedback. This is a great way to show that these two guys who haven't been in the gaming scene since the 90s are able to work with modern technology to build a solid multiplatform release that makes use of today's gaming paradigms (like touch support).

I know I'm excited and I invested up a tier on principle because this is what I want to see more of rather than just someone coming out and saying "here's a HD remake of a game I made in 1987" - nostalgia-driven I'm sure, but the reason we love these guys is because they're supposed to be able to create something new, not recreate things they made when they were young.

[+] peterkelly|14 years ago|reply
There's some info at http://martinkool.com/post/22706224644/how-i-brought-html5-t... about the HTML5 stuff they're going to be doing, which looks extremely cool. I think that in addition to promoting the kick-starter campaign it could be a great demo of what can be done using today's browsers. I'm really looking forward to seeing what they come out with.

The demo was done by Martin Kool, who previously ported some of the early space quest and other Sierra games to HTML & Javascript, which can be played online at http://sarien.net/

[+] zandorg|14 years ago|reply
It'd be nice if the Infocom guys could get a text adventure on Kickstarter!
[+] tdicola|14 years ago|reply
Check out the modern interactive fiction scene, there are some great games being made by passionate people today. The annual competition always has some good stuff: http://www.ifcomp.org/
[+] stock_toaster|14 years ago|reply
Seems like a bit of a high budget cutoff. I wonder if that has the opposite effect, of making fewer people donate because they think it will never be met, as apposed to people donating to 'see how high we can get it' after a lower threshold has already been met.

I hope they make it though. :)

EDIT: after reading more about it and watching the video it does seem like a pretty ambitious undertaking. fingers crossed

[+] melling|14 years ago|reply
There are a lot of ambitious projects on Kickstarter. Here's one that I hope makes it but which has a long way to go:

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mightytreehouse/dome

Anyone here from Kickstarter? I was thinking that a cool feature for the site would be to have groups, kind of like SETI @ Home groups. People from HN or Reddit, for example, could have groups then we could see how much each group contributes. There was a 10" rocket engine that recently got funded (barely) and it seemed like a great HN sponsored project.

[+] troymc|14 years ago|reply
I thought it was bizarre that they'd have all those voice-over artists come on and say they'd be involved. When I think Space Quest, I don't think great voice-overs, I think quirky graphics and offbeat plot, all conveyed by text. Do modern adventure games now use voice-overs instead of text? (The last ones I played were the Sierra games of the 80s.) I think I might hold off on supporting this game until I see what they make.
[+] highace|14 years ago|reply
Bit disappointed that it isn't gonna be another actual Space Quest starring Roger Wilco, I'd definitely be up for that.
[+] bitops|14 years ago|reply
In all likelihood that's what they wanted too, but the IP is restricted.
[+] bigethan|14 years ago|reply
So I loved Space Quest, loved these guys stuff. But does it feel like this trend of Kickstarting adventure games has jumped the shark a bit? Their video was high quality, but also painfully unwatchable. I could feel them wanting to hit the kickstarter lottery more than wanting to actually be doing this.
[+] jerf|14 years ago|reply
Hasn't the rush to be the first to declare some trend still in its infancy has jumped the shark itself jumped the shark?
[+] SaigonKick|14 years ago|reply
That is probably due to the audio post-processing... the video was great, but I found myself wanting to turn on subtitles.
[+] fforw|14 years ago|reply
Oh how I not miss dying all the time because I clicked 2 pixel in the wrong direction.
[+] nona|14 years ago|reply
Well to be fair, in those days pixels were, like, HUGE! ;-)
[+] vl|14 years ago|reply
How about iPhone/iPad version of Space Quest before this grand project?

Also, their physical/digital pledge structure is extremely confusing, gonna do $30 pledge, seems like a nice balance.

[+] egypturnash|14 years ago|reply
Read all the way to the "special thanks" section at the bottom:

Not coincidentally, Martin is responsible for Sarien.net and for bringing some of Sierra’s classic games (including Space Quest) to the iPad. Check out his site.   

[+] e1ven|14 years ago|reply
I'm sure they'd love to -- Hell, I'd give a kidney to be able to, but those rights aren't cheap. Last I heard it was 250K + a hefty per game royalty.

They are doing this as a "spiritual sequel" if you will. They aren't spending kick starter funds on buying back the rights.