Sierra Relaunch (Fictional, folks...)

[Tawmis]

So, inspired by the Why the #$%^ing new Sierra $%^*ing tanked so #$%^ing hard. (if you read the thread/watch the video, you will get my little joke with the link)

So - let's say that you were put in charge to ensure that Sierra Games (the relaunch) takes off. In this fictional world - Odd Gentleman has not created their episodic King's Quest.

Now, it's your job to launch the new Sierra Games - one game at a time. You have full access to any and every Sierra game (including subsidiaries such as Dynamix games).

What are the top 10 games you'd relaunch - in order (1 being the first game/series, 10 being the last game/series), the idea that the first game would generate the most revenue then, the next, then the next. Feel free to add ideas as to what each game would try to achieve, do, or have in it to spice it up and create some conversation.

[Rath Darkblade]

1. Quest for Glory. And then another Quest for Glory. And then ... you get the idea. (Sorry). But I'd get Lori and Corey on board from day 1.

2. Possibly Leisure Suit Larry (with Al Lowe on board). I know that whole concept of LSL is dated (and LSL1 has been remade to death), but I had some ideas for some different LSL games (like these.)

3. Police Quest, possibly? There are enough people out there re-making SQ and KQ games.

4. Jones in the Fast Lane is crying out to be relaunched. It's a charming game in its own right, but ... could it be re-made? I don't know. It needs some more thought.

5. I'd love to relaunch Gabriel Knight, but I'd be afraid to do it without Tim Curry on board.

That's all I can think about right now... more later, perhaps.

[Tawmis]

1. Quest for Glory. And then another Quest for Glory. And then ... you get the idea. (Sorry). But I'd get Lori and Corey on board from day 1.

2. Possibly Leisure Suit Larry (with Al Lowe on board). I know that whole concept of LSL is dated (and LSL1 has been remade to death), but I had some ideas for some different LSL games (like these.)

3. Police Quest, possibly? There are enough people out there re-making SQ and KQ games.

4. Jones in the Fast Lane is crying out to be relaunched. It's a charming game in its own right, but ... could it be re-made? I don't know. It needs some more thought.

5. I'd love to relaunch Gabriel Knight, but I'd be afraid to do it without Tim Curry on board.

That's all I can think about right now... more later, perhaps.

Wow, not even a mention of King's Quest!

[MusicallyInspired]

He said "enough people are remaking KQ and SQ", but I think that misses the point. This is as if you're an official with an official license paid to make money for ActiVision and revitalize Sierra. Not some fan remake group who makes them for free. And you have all the resources of ActiVision's money. What could you do with King's Quest and Space Quest with THAT? There aren't enough official efforts to revitalize KQ and SQ.

[Collector]

This^

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

Given the popularity of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, there's clearly an audience for female-led period detective stories. Laura Bow would be a natural to fill that niche, and the late 20s/early 30s setting, as we know, lends itself beautifully to visually captivating art direction. Given the influx of fantasy games from other companies, I feel this property could be given special attention to maybe make Sierra stand out from the crowd. Blend history and fiction together to bring that era back to life.

[Tawmis]

Given the popularity of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, there's clearly an audience for female-led period detective stories. Laura Bow would be a natural to fill that niche, and the late 20s/early 30s setting, as we know, lends itself beautifully to visually captivating art direction. Given the influx of fantasy games from other companies, I feel this property could be given special attention to maybe make Sierra stand out from the crowd. Blend history and fiction together to bring that era back to life.

I've not heard of Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (but I am pretty out of the loop these days)! So would you brand this as another Laura Bow game, I assume?

[Tawmis]

For myself...

1. I'd launch King's Quest. I'd take it back to sort of what it's roots were - a story that weaves various "fairy tales" into it. I'd even go as far as to "borrow" some of Disney's more popular movies (Tangled, Frozen, etc), as "types" of fairy tale characters you might interact with. I'd target it for young adults, but also a mixture with enough for regular aged adults to also enjoy it. Naturally, in this fictional world, I'd love for Roberta Williams, and possibly Jane Jensen helping flesh out the story elements (since I think Roberta has a great mind, but Jane can really bring in the story telling, as we've seen).

2. I believe the next biggest game would be Leisure Suit Larry. While, yes - outdated (or not dated enough in Larry's case? Natch!) - I actually enjoy the concept idea (though I've not played it) of the new Leisure Suit Larry with Larry trying to make it in today's world. I'd also bring this back to the original - where Larry doesn't actually score with any of the ladies (except the final one). I thought that was some of the charm of the first one, because while Larry was a schmoozer, all of the ladies ended up playing him and using him, and getting the best of him. So it'd be kind of fun to have that happen again, where all the ladies know Larry's after one thing - but the last woman, he has to go out of his way to prove that he's legitimately attracted to her. (Maybe even make it with dialogue trees, so like Bioware, depending on what you do with the other ladies, it gets back to the final one - and the harder you hit on those other ladies, the more the final one requires to earn enough trust with her). End the game with Larry eventually getting the woman to go on a date. And just as they're about to kiss - something happens to interrupt the kiss - and leave the crowd wondering, "Will there be another Larry Laffer game?" (Maybe have Patti finally show up, saying, "There you are Larry!") Nice little cliff hanger.

3. Quest for Glory. I think the versatility and how popular RPG games are these days (like Dragon Age), the Coles have done so much to expand on their world - that I feel like there's so much rich content to build off of. Make a big Quest for Glory game, that's like Dragon Age - and in this game, you actually go back and revisit the previous locations. Maybe even make it like Pillars of Eternity if you want to "restore" - it asks you questions about how you did things in the previous games, and bases your character on those choices to impact the world. Again, make it like Bioware (and Pillars of Eternity) where what you say and do has reflections and consequences to the rest of the game, world and characters you interact with. Add factions to various things, so if you help one group you gain faction with them, but perhaps lose faction with another.

4. Police Quest. Bring back Sonny Bonds - and fast forward quite a few years. He does a few more missions, but sets up to retire with Marie. His son, just turning 18 has decided to join the Police Force as a rookie. So the first few missions are you as Sonny Bonds, then it switches to you as his son Jim. (This has a double meaning; as Jim is often a name for James; so James Bonds? But also a nod to the original Police Quest writer, Jim Walls). So as Jim, you're learning the ropes and land in the Narcotics division. A new drug has hit Lytton, and you need to find out the source and track it down - and take the big boss down and stop further shipments. I'd include some "dirty cops" in the game; so maybe do the dialogue thing, yet again - and the way you interact with certain officers will provide (or hide) clues from you (based on if you're telling too much to a dirty cop). Have the potential for "shoot'em up" type game segments (similar to Mass Effect) where the difficulty can be changed, or pressing ESC allows you to simply pass it (and not get points for taking down those bad guys).

5. Gabriel Knight. I think Gabriel Knight would do well, as the world seems to be into ghost hunting and the supernatural stuff (just look how long the show Supernatural has been running). Let Jane do what Jane does best and give us the charming, charismatic and sometimes annoying, Gabriel Knight. I'd love for Tim Curry (Gabriel Knight) and Mark Hammill (Mosely) to reprise their roles; but if Tim Curry couldn't because of health, I'd actually love Dean Erickson to come back. No offense to the person who voiced the GK1 remake, but they're missing Gabriel's... charm. (Something sounds off about how they do Gabriel, like they're trying too hard to imitate Tim Curry's take, rather than make it their own).

I'll start with those 5 for now.

[Semi-Happy Partygoer]

Miss Fisher is an Australian TV show. I believe it's gained international popularity too. My point was that there's clearly interest in the 20s female detective genre. A relaunch of Laura Bow could no doubt be aimed at that demographic.

[Rath Darkblade]

Here: Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries. According to wikipedia, at least, only 3 series were made, the last in 2015. However, it certainly gained international popularity: it's been adapted in 120 territories worldwide, including Canada (Knowledge Network), UK (UKTV network), France (France 3), Norway (TVNorge), Poland (Canal+), and Eastern Europe's Viasat networks, as well as Italy's Rai 1 channel.

In North America, it was first on Acorn TV only, and then premiered in the United States on PBS in 2013.

However, Netflix holds broadcasting rights for all three series in several countries, including the United States, Denmark, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and Canada.
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Coming back to Tawm's topic... what - no love for Jones in the Fast Lane? I think it's a fun idea. It was a little like "Game of Life" in its time. Perhaps Joan Jett could be your computer opponent - and it would become "Joan's in the Fast Lane"!
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I wouldn't dare to touch Space Quest without involving The Two Guys from Andromeda. Perhaps Roger's getting on a bit (how long can you cruise the galaxy, after all?) and he wants to retire and hand the legendary Golden Mop to a rookie janitor. But an enemy of Roger's issues a challenge - which Roger, without thinking, accepts. He is - of course - immediately captured by his enemy and held hostage. His successor remarks: "What a pity. He only had three days until retirement."

Where would it go from there? Well, The Two Guys from Andromeda know best...

[Tawmis]

I wouldn't dare to touch Space Quest without involving The Two Guys from Andromeda. Perhaps Roger's getting on a bit (how long can you cruise the galaxy, after all?) and he wants to retire and hand the legendary Golden Mop to a rookie janitor. But an enemy of Roger's issues a challenge - which Roger, without thinking, accepts. He is - of course - immediately captured by his enemy and held hostage. His successor remarks: "What a pity. He only had three days until retirement."

Where would it go from there? Well, The Two Guys from Andromeda know best...

I would love if they had the chance to flesh out and focus on his son... Maybe do something similar to Leisure Suit Larry 3 where the game alternates between controlling his son and controlling Roger, as they work (unknowingly) towards the same goal.

[MusicallyInspired]

That's a neat idea.

[Tawmis]

That's a neat idea.

I have those occasionally. Rare. But it does happen.

[Datadog]

The new "Quest for Glory" is my launch title. But it's built with the budget and scope of a Bioware-style action-RPG, while written by the Coles. It's the easiest series to transition into modern gameplay and has potential for mainstream appeal.

My second would be "Laura Bow", but I'd envision it more in the style of the "Nancy Drew" games where it's a shorter, lower budget release, but you can safely release a new game every year and gradually make more numbers back during each Steam sale.

For smart-phones and iPads, I'd bring back three new games for casual, family gamers:
"Dr. Brain"
"Jones in the Fast Lane" and
"Mixed-Up Mother Goose"

Then I'd pick three passion projects to release as traditional, non-episodic 2D games:
"King's Quest"
"Gabriel Knight"
"EcoQuest"

Providing everything else is going well after eight games, I'd relaunch "Shivers" as the company's signature horror title and make it into mini-series of shorter, but sweet "trapped in a creepy place at night" horror vignettes.

My tenth would be a high-risk release, but an interesting cap on Phase 1: "Police Quest", but re-imagined as a reverse "Grand Theft Auto", or a modern-day "L.A. Noire". Basically, it's an open-world police simulator, rather than a point-and-click adventure, but it still restricts you to act by-the-book.

Not touching "Space Quest" or "Leisure Suit Larry". Not until Phase 2, anyway.

[MusicallyInspired]

I would love to play a Quest for Glory game in the style of The Elder Scrolls. Oblivion or Skyrim, I'm not picky. But aside from being first person and with TES's combat, also more heavy attention given to to puzzles and dialogue. So instead of an adventure game with a lot of RPG elements blended in, it's an RPG game with a lot of adventure elements blended in. Still a blend, but from the other direction.

At one point someone was making a recreation of QFG1 in Oblivion I believe it was. I don't think much came of it. I'd have played that, though!