The return of the King


Your VGA remake of King’s Quest hit every detail just right. Can you walk me through the process of remaking that game? Did you have to play the original King’s Quest a hundred times and try every possible combination of actions to see the results, or was there an easier way?

AGD#1: We're glad you think so! It was really quite a task. We divided tasks for the game, each having a certain amount of work to do, and made a huge effort to keep each other motivated the whole way through. We would somewhat make a game out of completing animations, sending them to one another, running back, doing a background—just seeing how much we could accomplish per day. It was a bit difficult, though, being on different sides of the world in completely different time zones!

We did all of the backgrounds first, using screenshots from the original game as a guide to get all the backgrounds correct. I created all the dialogue pictures while on a train ride to Austria. AGD#2 had a book on King’s Quest that included every little detail you could ever imagine on the game; that was a great resource for figuring out scoring issues, and all the combinations of actions, etc.

Much of the game-making process was really tedious, but also an amazing experience. For instance, it took days for AGD#2 just to type in ALL the background comments for the game by hand. It took us months to animate the few characters that were in the game. The things that we thought would take the most time took the least, and vise versa. The good news is that, over time, we've become much more efficient, and can complete much more in a comparatively tiny amount of time.

Is the King’s Quest VGA remake your first completed adventure game?

AGD#1: Yes! We'd previously worked on one where we'd had no control over the outcome, which is still going but won't likely see an end anytime soon. Our first attempt at game making where we actually had full control was successful! And now, with our team expanding, it looks like our slightly larger group project will be successful as well. This is really exciting for us, as our next game is huge—a bigger undertaking than probably any fan project has attempted, and it's also very original. It's true that you must be motivated to complete a game. But most people also forget that motivation alone won't finish it—you also need to put in a hell of a lot of hard work as well.

What did you learn from making this game that has helped you in working on King’s Quest 2 and Quest for Glory 2?

AGD#1: Basically everything. From digital artwork, to scripting, to what makes good game design, to communicating with team members, to converting files. How to make games fast, efficiently, and well.

If you continue to do remakes, do you see yourselves only doing classic Sierra games or perhaps turning to other companies' games as well?

AGD#1: We have quite a few Sierra games up our sleeves that we would like to remake. But, we won't eliminate the possibility of making remakes of games from other companies. We just want to bring back the good old adventure games. Sierra had a lot of them, but they weren't the only ones.


King’s Quest 2: Romancing the Stones


In the King’s Quest VGA remake, you stayed very close to the design of the original. One of the more exciting things about your King’s Quest 2 VGA project is that you're apparently changing some things around—including the title. [The remake is subtitled "Romancing the Stones," in contrast to the original's "Romancing the Throne.] What was it about the original King’s Quest 2 that you felt needed to be changed?

AGD#1: Everybody has differing views on this topic. Some people loved King’s Quest 2, and some people thought it was below the quality that it could have been. I personally liked it. But, a lot of the puzzles were rather illogical, and people were just randomly scattered throughout the land of Kolyma. After reading [Tierra contributor] Cadbury Wookie's ideas for a story, we realized that King’s Quest 2 could be turned into a much more complex game, almost on the level of the Quest for Glory games or King’s Quest 6. We wanted more history, more logical puzzles, more interaction with the characters, and overall more fun and better game play for the players. We want it to be a memorable experience, standing out along with the better games of the King's Quest series.

CADBURY WOOKIE: I felt that the basic story outline had merit. However, a skeleton needs a body. I tried to give the game more depth, and more purpose. Each of the three main quests have been expanded. Characters have been explored. Plot twists and sub-plots have been added. Certain elements have been altered a tad. And there is an additional and original—not to mention important—general thread running through the game. Always leave yourself open to a sequel. Also, you'll know I didn't like something from the original game if you can't find it in this one!

Next: favorite King's Quest moments...