KickStarter Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption - adventure-RPG from the creators of Quest for Glory

Oh yeah. I really liked Gabriel Knight games (even the third one), so while I haven't backed her Kickstarter, I've tried to play Moebius after it was released. I don't recommend it to anyone. Horrible 3D, really unlikable protagonist, and gameplay somehow combined both bad old-school and current generation bits. Also, watching too much Sherlock rots one's brain.
Nevertheless, I can't say that I want anyone from old Siearra gang to fail, they've given me too much fun in my teens to feel schadenfreude about their failures.

 

Broken Sword 5's main selling point were the graphics IMHO. And it really wasn't that bad.

 

Funny, even in 90s I couldn't really say that BS series had awesome graphics. The Last Express, on the other hand...

 

I don't think it's a question of today being terribly worse to make a game than it was on the 90's (if you aren't on the AAAs business that is). To make an AGS game today, is probably alot easier than it was at that time with the clumsy tools and technology. The problem is that the Coles were out of the touch with the gamming industry itself for all this time (at least from their fan base) and this hurt them badly.

First they wasted time prototyping all kinds of ideas because they assumed that a game like Quest for Glory would be terribly costly to make (Quest for Infamy, Mage Initiation and Wadjet Eye stuff proven otherwise.) because it costed alot on their days. They really didn't understand too that their fan base wanted a new Quest fo Glory type game and not something else from them (especially with them gone from years and no Quest fo Glory game in sight.), the game looked like more of a rogue like than an adventure game and that almost cost them the campaign. I really hope they recover from this and yes not hooking up with the people that are making cheap adventure games today and trying to reinvent the wheel was a big mistake.

 

I didn't say that its impossible for a small team to make a good game, and I've played Heroine's Quest, which proves the point. My point was that when they were active developers for Sierra, their products were AA-level titles of that time. But AAA now and AA back then are two very different beasts. And, well, it looks like they still wanted to make not just an old-school QfG4 sequel (with which most of the fans would have been completely satisfied) but to try and make at least A-level game. Sadly, they were out of touch with gaming for too long. I just hope all this situation will end well for them.

 

I think Coles just hooked up with wrong kind of people, I'm not saying bad people, just that some of their original team seriously can not get things done and then they just abandon ships for their own life. Hopefully the new people they hire will turn out to be not only hard-working, but actually competent, especially in area like managing their own life and money and stuff.
Seriously though Coles should go to some north European country will government gives kickstarter money to people for some reason. And I think age will finally get you so I'm worried I might not be able to create any mods for games in my entire life because old age will get me. At least I can write coherent words like a native british speaker.
At least Coreys managed to make a number of good games in their life.

 

Yeah, they could've had it much easier, and I constantly worry about their livelihood. I really, really like the direction they're taking now (mind, I was totally fine, albeit initially underwhelmed, with the original proposition as well, but it clearly cost them), and I'm sure the writing (and C&C) will be great (and for a while now the graphics have been looking pretty enough for me as well), but I just can't help but worry whether it will be able to catch on enough at whatever point they'll (have to) release it.

I actually found Malachi unlikable in a likable way. And I could deal with the generally at best meh animations (and Malachi's freaky armpits) if it weren't for the insanely shitty walking animation (of the protagonist, no less; somehow the others were all much less offensive to the eye). What bothers me most, though, is that, as is usual these days, you can't really fail at anything. (It does however have nice death scenes that don't feel artificial.) The game would be so much better if you had to suffer small penalties when you analyzed something or someone incorrectly. And the only time it didn't annoy the hell out of me when the game said "you can't pick this item up now, but you will indeed need it later" was the pole. All in all, I liked Cognition much more, hilarious glitches throughout and lack of the procedural stuff in the later parts that made the earlier ones stand out aside, but I wouldn't call Moebius terrible by any means, as, silly premise taken in stride, at least it's well-written (and the backgrounds are fine).

 

I don't really care about a cartoony form. Academagia was a cartoony-looking game with very limited graphics, but which ended up being surprisingly deep in other ways. The Coles have shown themselves to be pretty good at creating adventure puzzles that are integrated deeply into the overall mythos of the tale they weave. If the user interface, in-game challenges, and narrative end up being up to par, then graphics and sound shouldn't be a show stopper for anyone for fans of their work.

 

indeed. interest--

 

And to think I only wanted a Quest for Glory. I, I... don't even know what this is

 

We should never forget that the authors themselves never wanted a Quest for Glory game. They're in the rather annoying position of being famous for something which they never really liked and, well, I guess they want to be distanced from that as far as possible. Still, with all these changes and the game already being seriously over a budget, I don't really see how they'll release it anytime soon - in a couple of years at best if ever.

 

At this point I don't care whether they will finish this or not (I won't ask for refund even if they don't deliver anything), only thing that bothers me is the situation with their home-equity loan. Can't find any updates about their financial situation though, but all that flip-floping between the engines can't be good in terms of costs. As I already have said earlier in this tread, I just don't want them to become bankrupt.
Edit: Just read their update. Um.

Poor out-of-touch Coles. They just don't know what they don't know.

 

"we hate quest for glory but please give us muniez because this will be quest for glory's spiritual successor"?

 

Foiled again, shame on me

 

They didn't switch engines exactly, they were using Unity since they tossed the McGuffin's Curse one away, so other parts of the game hopefully wouldn't need too much rewriting.

 

Well, I stand corrected, but switching assets and various middleware is quite costly too, I think.

 

Pretty much. I mean, I guess they don't hate QfG in its entirety and there are parts they love (probably all related to the atmosphere & the story), but they more or less hate the very concept of the game (being an adventure/rpg hybrid). They were totally pressed into it by the executive meddling (yeah, amazingly enough, there are occasions when it actually does help the product). In reality, they always wanted to make just an RPG. Which can be totally seen from the approach they've taken towards the QfG V (if anyone bothers to remember that horror).

So I guess one can say that they want to make a spiritual sequel to the QfG's story and atmosphere. Not sure if that's why the series are remembered, though.

 

Regarding the switch to 3d assets I think it can look great and I don't mind having more rpg in the game as long as the adventure elements remain, too.

I'm indeed more worried about their financial situation then I'm about the game getting released or not being like QfG.

 

which is pretty darn stupid considering that both adventures and rpgs came about as adaptations of pnp rpgs to computers focusing on different things, and thus qfg, as a true hybrid, was pretty close to being the perfect translation since it united the two sides and did so pretty well to boot...

story not so much, atmosphere more like it, but one of the reasons for that was the adventure part of the hybrid. another reason why those games were well liked was the ability to solve puzzles in multiple ways in which your stats did play a role, but puzzles are typical adventure elements, so not sure how that would translate to their pure rpg vision....

meh, it's sad when devs can't see their creations for what they truly are.

 

Bummer about that.

In other news, I have bridge to sell you..... er, game you might like....


Bt

 

I bought your game and have it installed.

Still have to play it

 

Heh - I'm just kidding around; though a part of me does get sad when you hear people throwing shade on their own creation - something you love - but a part of me can understand. Years ago, I wrote a tune that I absolutely loathe and still years later, all my friends still ask me to play it. I hate it, they love it. Sometimes shit you hate becomes successful. But I refuse to think that QFG or Hero's Quest was some fluke; I think it's an amazing combination of RPG and Adventure Gaming, and I thought so 25 years ago when I first booted up Hero's Quest. Sorry that didn't live up to your initial vision, but sometimes your initial vision was crap and what comes out instead turns out to be something really great.


Bt