Episode 603: King's Quest
Added 2024-04-01 07:00:07 +0000 UTCIn the 18 years we've been putting out this little podcast, we've never produced a single episode wholly devoted to classic Sierra games. Well, that sin against listenerkind ends TODAY as we peer back 40 years in the past to discuss the monumentally important adventure game, King's Quest. Originally intended as a means to sell a platform that died shortly after its release, this interactive fairy tale unexpectedly went on to define Sierra and spawn many more Quests over the next decade-plus. On this episode, join Bob Mackey, patron Daniel Glass, and Sierra speedrunning correspondent (and Adventure Game Fan Fair affiliate) OneShortEye as the crew gathers to discuss the series that made this California developer synonymous with adventure—and frustration!
Comments
I came to this series in the 2010s and have played through KQ6. This podcast did a great job covering the importance, strengths, and weaknesses of these games. My vote for worst puzzle is the KQ4 whale tongue . As a Lucas Arts kid, I expected not to enjoy Kings Quest, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I hope other adventure game fans who never approached the series can move past their preconceived ideas to give these games a try. Just keep UHS on call and save save save! They literally do not make games like this anymore. Modern adventure games, that I still play and often enjoy, have a hard time capturing this nostalgic feel.
Scott Scallion
2024-04-24 00:34:55 +0000 UTCI am *shocked* but also slightly impressed that the phrase "moon logic" wasn't uttered once during this episode!
Wood Duck
2024-04-21 00:49:32 +0000 UTCI ran out of time to mention during the episode that there was a second fan remake of King’s Quest III, by Infamous Adventures. It’s also very well done, although a bit more fangame-y in its production values than the AGD remake. If you just want to play a breezy VGA remake of KQ3 and don’t want to get into all the fan lore added by the AGD KQ2 remake, I recommend the Infamous Adventures KQ3.
BlueWeaselBreath
2024-04-09 14:10:42 +0000 UTCThe big problem with Ron Gilbert’s “Why Adventure Games Suck” article is that he’s focusing specifically on puzzle design, when adventure games are often much more than that, as was discussed on the Grim Fandango episode, and here with KQ5. The puzzles may suck in both, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t good games.
J.P. McD.
2024-04-08 04:00:36 +0000 UTCPC is my platform of choice and I’ve been playing PC games for 30 years, but I’m much more interested in the games and not the hardware/platforms
Bob Mackey
2024-04-05 18:52:54 +0000 UTCCheck out the most recent episode of A Life Well Wasted for a truly insane story about KQ4.
Andrew Howie
2024-04-04 02:38:41 +0000 UTCLittle surprised that Bob didn’t know what an IBM PC jr was but I’ve learned that retro gaming and retro computing aren’t always the same thing, especially when you look at games that weren’t released on consoles or on PC. In other news a first run ziplock baggie copy of Mystery House went for $14k on eBay today https://www.ebay.com/itm/176306040636
John Simon
2024-04-03 11:25:22 +0000 UTC
