The developers of the new King's Quest, The Odd Gentlemen, met Roberta and Ken Williams, founders of Sierra and, in the case of the latter, the creator of the King's Quest series. Matt Korba, the creative director of the new King's Quest, posted about the trip, which you can read by following the link, or by reading below:
"King’s Quest has been part of my life, and the lives of The Odd Gentlemen team since we could type, move a mouse, and discovered the puzzle solving powers of pie. King’s Quest is part of us, now more than ever. Its history and its legacy are something we respect and are mindful of. Roberta and Ken Williams created King’s Quest 30 years ago, and we are blessed and humbled to carry on the Sierra legacy. It was very important to us to get the original creators’ approval. We wanted to make sure our vision aligned to what the core of the classic games were.
Last week we flew to Seattle to meet Roberta and Ken. I was extremely nervous. Would they like it? Did we have the right balance of gameplay and storytelling? Would the art style emotionally resonate? As soon as the Williams stepped into the room my anxiety subsided. It was one of the most magical experiences of my career. Roberta and Ken are wonderful people, full of joy, and true sages of adventure game knowledge. We showed them our concept art, the story progression, and finally presented the game.
The room was filled with smiles, laughs, and wows. I even got to have a very intimate conversation with Roberta about what Sierra was trying to achieve and where The Odd Gentlemen as a company is headed. As a designer it was amazing to hear advice from Roberta who has always been an inspiration. Through the meeting we discovered how aligned our creative ideals are.
We left the meeting very energized about the game we are making and then received this email:
To Matt and Lindsey, Bill and Scott,
I, too, wish to thank you for a lovely morning yesterday reliving – to some extent – my old life as a Sierra game designer. I admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, and also somewhat nervous because I haven’t been in the computer game industry (notice I call it computer game industry rather that the video game industry; that shows how far back I go!) in too many years to contemplate! But you guys blew me away with your ideas, your creativity and the beauty of the newest King Quest game. But best of all, I could see that you truly are the ones to take King’s Quest into the 21st century and reintroduce it to a whole new generation. You totally have it down!
I can’t wait to see how it develops, I can’t wait to play it myself – and I truly can’t wait to see how it blows away the competition!!
Best to you
– Roberta
We can’t wait to show you what you showed Roberta and Ken Williams. Here are some pictures from the day, and you can always follow @theoddgentlemen on twitter for the latest updates.
-Matt Korba Creative Director, King’s Quest"
No comments:
Post a Comment