KickStarter Jane Jensen's Pinkerton Road Studio & Moebius Closed Down

[Jaesun]

There is a certain small, but very vocal segment of the adventure game community that *really hates* Jane Jensen. Well, maybe that's not quite fair. They really hate The Silver Lining, and fairly or not Jensen is linked to that due to it being set in the KQ6 areas, and crediting her as inspiration. I've never played Gray Matter, but I do know that I love Gabriel Knight 1 & 2 and King's Quest 6, so I will give some money to this project once I have a bit more to dole out.

huh I honestly did not know she worked on KQ VI. That more you know I guess.

Good to see another supporter. I can understand some people just aren't JJ fans (and are HUGE backers of Schafer). I get that.

Voting with your wallet to support independent studios is a voice were we can say fuck you Publishers. And that's what I support. And I still love JJ and feel she will/can pull off some decent Adventure Games. Give us back the fucking games we know and love.

 

[sgc_meltdown]

This woman shall receive my golden shower

 

[Sceptic]

And then the game get's released. The expectations were too high (and most people don't understand how games are made as well). As explained in the Gamespot interview she did work on it, but was in NO full development capacity on the game. And not to mention the development/publisher hell it went through.

Yeah, whoever published/distributed this is an idiot of ungodly proportions. Delaying the US release for months and months? then releasing it in such small numbers? releasing in the US but not Canada? What the FUCK were these people thinking?

As for the reaction... fanboys gonna fanboy I guess. I mean, in terms of the research/attention to detail it's a JJ game through and through. Couple of small things slip through as usual, but then even GK1 was guilty of this and back then nobody cared because the whole package was so good. I don't know how much control she didn't have on the game to be honest, as you can see her touch all over it. Not to mention the FUCKING AWESOME soundtrack done by her husband. Game was atmospheric as fuck, GORGEOUS to look at and listen to, story was better even than 90% of the crap we got in the "golden age", and puzzles, while probably the weakest element, were still as I said better than anything seen in years, not to mention comparing favorably with what was considered good in the GA. Game's got its faults for sure, but TBH even I had pretty high expectations, and while not all were met I was pretty satisfied with the game overall. You really should play it. If you can find it that is, fuck that publisher/distributor for making such a mess. This is even worse than the Last Express fiasco.

There is a certain small, but very vocal segment of the adventure game community that *really hates* Jane Jensen. Well, maybe that's not quite fair. They really hate The Silver Lining, and fairly or not Jensen is linked to that due to it being set in the KQ6 areas, and crediting her as inspiration.

What, really? This is utterly stupid! As far as I know she had nothing to do with Silver Lining, and besides KQ6 is quite possibly the best in the entire series, and most definitely the one with the best puzzles. I'm not a fan of KQ in general, barring nostalgia, but KQ6 really is very good. And GK1 was and still is one Sierra's best games. People are weird sometimes...

 

[made]

Does Jane Jensen have enough "star power" to fund a $300,000 kickstarter like this?

Probably not, that's why she got her jailbait daughter to help. I immediately pledged $250. Rrrrr who could resist that little minx?

 

[Aeschylus]

What, really? This is utterly stupid! As far as I know she had nothing to do with Silver Lining, and besides KQ6 is quite possibly the best in the entire series, and most definitely the one with the best puzzles. I'm not a fan of KQ in general, barring nostalgia, but KQ6 really is very good. And GK1 was and still is one Sierra's best games. People are weird sometimes...

Yeah, really. I agree its stupid, but some people just really don't like her writing. The Sierra fan community can be even more opinionated and difficult to win over than RPG fans.To each their own I guess.

huh I honestly did not know she worked on KQ VI. That more you know I guess.

Yes, she was the co-designer of KQ6, and did pretty much all of the writing for the game. I think that was how Sierra apprenticed a lot of their new designers at the time.

 

[Azalin]

huh I honestly did not know she worked on KQ VI. That more you know I guess.

Yes, she was the co-designer of KQ6, and did pretty much all of the writing for the game. I think that was how Sierra apprenticed a lot of their new designers at the time.

She was probably one of the reasons that KQ6 was one if not the best in the series

 

[SCO]

What, really? This is utterly stupid! As far as I know she had nothing to do with Silver Lining, and besides KQ6 is quite possibly the best in the entire series, and most definitely the one with the best puzzles. I'm not a fan of KQ in general, barring nostalgia, but KQ6 really is very good. And GK1 was and still is one Sierra's best games. People are weird sometimes...

Yeah, really. I agree its stupid, but some people just really don't like her writing. The Sierra fan community can be even more opinionated and difficult to win over than RPG fans.To each their own I guess.

Still butthurt about the voodoo code puzzle i guess

 

[J_C]

Was Grey Matter so well-received that a sequel is warranted? I didn't do more than watch 5 minutes of an LP but I didn't like the style.

In general, the Adventure Game Community Hivemind™ is generally split. Some love it, some hate it.

I don't get it. GM is one of the best adventure games in the last five years. No, in the last decade. It is not without faults, and it is not as good as the golden classics, but it had maybe the best puzzles ever, and it had great atmosphere. For those two, I'm willing to overlook its shortcomings.

 

[Alex]

(...snip) and puzzles, while probably the weakest element, were still as I said better than anything seen in years, not to mention comparing favorably with what was considered good in the GA. (snip...)

I was a little worried about puzzles too, but Mrs. Jensen was kind enough to reply!

Hi, Alex -- thanks for the suggestion. I updated the page with a section about what type of game it will be (casual vs hard core adventure) so I hope that is what you were looking for. If not, please let me know.
Short answer: Yes, more challenging puzzles.

So, I think the chances are good we will get a few good games out of this if the project works.

 

[Sceptic]

Awesome Alex, thanks for posting this! This is good news indeed. Has there been any word on what the "package DVD" will include aside from just the DVDs? I'm definitely putting my money down either way, but if the package is a proper early-90s package with box and manual I'm going for the $100 option.

 

[Aeschylus]

Awesome Alex, thanks for posting this! This is good news indeed. Has there been any word on what the "package DVD" will include aside from just the DVDs? I'm definitely putting my money down either way, but if the package is a proper early-90s package with box and manual I'm going for the $100 option.

The "Old School Big Box" option is the $200 tier.

 

[Stabwound]

I have good faith that fans will vote for Moebius, but I'm surprised that a lot of people are interested in a Gray Matter 2.

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers is the best adventure game, period, in my opinion. GK2 was also great, but would have been so much better in the style of the first game. GK3 I barely got into at all, but I'm trying to again because it's supposed to have a good story in spite of its terrible engine.

I'm surprised to learn after all this time that Jane Jensen co-designed KQ6, which is by far my favorite King's Quest and also in my top 5 favorite adventure games. All she needs is to be given a good adventure game engine and a non-fucked up development schedule and I have faith that she can make a good game.

 

[Hegel]

Gray Matter was a great game, good atmosphere, great music and a thoughtful character development.
The OST alone was more than worth the tag price.

 

[Sceptic]

The "Old School Big Box" option is the $200 tier.

Yeah just saw it thanks. Was this added more recently? It seemed to jump from 100 to 250 last time I looked.

 

[Jaesun]

The "Old School Big Box" option is the $200 tier.

Yeah just saw it thanks. Was this added more recently? It seemed to jump from 100 to 250 last time I looked.

There was a second update today that added it.

 

[Jaesun]

https://twitter.com/#!/TimOfLegend/status/188356232346742784

Another adventure game Kickstarter, this one from Gabriel Knight creator Jane Jensen! http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1005365109/jane-jensens-pinkerton-road-2012-2013-csg (I'm hoping Scott Adams is next.)

 

[Sceptic]

I'm hoping Scott Adams is next.

FAPFAPFAPFAPFAPFAP.

Although... he REALLY doesn't need a Kickstarter if he's making his old-style text games. He could probably pump one out in a couple of months. Not sure how I'd feel about it though... I used to like his games, but this is one of the few cases where it may be nostalgia speaking. I still think his puzzles were great, but I may've been spoiled by Infocom and Legend's incredibly good prose when it comes to the packaging, so to speak.

 

[Grunker]

hell with the game, at which pledge-tier do I get to meet their daughter

 

[Jaesun]

Ugh men. But hey it this get's funded....

 

[commie]

hell with the game, at which pledge-tier do I get to meet their daughter

Hell with the daughter, at what tier do I get to tap Jane? rapistShepard.gif

 

[abnaxus]

hell with the game, at which pledge-tier do I get to meet their daughter

"Pledge $10,000 or more


1 Backer • Limited Reward (9 of 10 remaining)
"STUDIO GOLD MEMBER": Lunch with Jane and Robert at the studio in PA or at a game conference they're attending. A private farm/studio tour (in Lancaster County PA) including a hands-on sneak peek of our gaming morsels in production. Your character design (from previous tier) will be a character in one of our games (name and likeness). All previous reward tiers' incredible goodies!"

 

[kaizoku]

Happy to see this. And backing with 50$.

 

[Grunker]

 

[Keshik]

Well, she's got $100 from me.

 

[kaizoku]

Just a curiosity from http://alternativemagazineonline.co...ation-with-jane-jensen-pinkerton-road-studio/

Is Kickstarter the sole source of funding? Is the $300,000 target enough to make a quality adventure game?

It’s not the sole source of funding. We’re putting in some funds ourselves and our dev team is going to be working at a lower rate in exchange for rev share. So approximately half the project is funded by Kickstarter.

Now, this is the approach I'd like to see from other kickstarter projects.
It kind of pisses me off that the project that does things the right way is the one that gets less feedback.
That is why we can't have nice things.