Reboot or continuation?

doggans

Every article keeps referring to this as a King's Quest "reboot". However, in this article, Telltale's Steve Allison says it's "much like we did with Monkey Island", and I think most of us wouldn't call TOMI a "reboot".

So, when they say "reboot", do they just mean "relaunch"? Will it be a TOMI style continuation? Or a KQII+ style reimagining of the existing timeline?

Voodoo Lord

I thought he was referring about the episodic nature of the game and the reprise of the title after a long time, since everywhere else it has been described as a reboot.

doggans

Makes sense, but I'm not convinced that "reboot" wasn't just a poor word choice that spread like a virus.

Honestly, I'm not sure which I'd prefer.

Irishmile

I do not see why it just cant be a sequel... they can totally recap in a storybook like fashion at the beginning and it would be completely fitting for KQ.

MusicallyInspired

I'm totally expecting sequels (multiple seasons) not a reboot of the franchise per se. I think by "reboot" the meaning is actually "relaunch" or "revival."

StingingVelvet

Yeah, hopefully it will be a continuation, albeit one that can be played as an introduction (i.e. no heavy story elements from previous games).

Playing as Alexander and Kissima's son/daughter would be cool.

MusicallyInspired

*Cassima

Irishmile

StingingVelvet wrote: »

Playing as Alexander and Kissima's son/daughter would be cool.

NO! King Graham has not been a playable character in an official Kings Quest game in over 20 years.... its time.

Datadog

Part of me is still hoping it'll be a five-episode re-imagining of the original KQ1 with an expanded story and adventure. Continuing the story from KQ7 on doesn't really excite me unless Roberta Williams is at least directly involved as a story consultant. One has to admit - she did take the series in directions no fans would ever think of. So for a continuation to be official, I feel she'd need some level of creative input.

StingingVelvet

Irishmile wrote: »

NO! King Graham has not been a playable character in an official Kings Quest game in over 20 years.... its time.

I feel ya, I was just trying to think of a way for it to be a continuation and yet feel like a fresh new era for brand new fans.

Rather Dashing

I really would like a sequel. It would make me feel far better about the whole thing. The problem is, Telltale has shown that they hate numbers. Season Three of Sam and Max was only referred to that by a small logo on the spine of the disc after-the-fact.

I hate the idea of a reboot. It comes off as arrogant, especially considering the company that has this license now. A reboot comes off as a slap in the face to everyone who ever had fond memories of the franchise, because it implies that Sierra "did it wrong" but, because the names and superficial surface elements are profitable, they're here to "fix" every mistake by making the series into something it never was and was never meant to be, in an attempt to "modernize" an archaic game when, in reality, it is taking a vastly different approach that was seen as equally valid at the time and declaring it "right" once and for all, and directly insulting anyone who dared to think differently about the matter.

Irishmile

I think they could make a sequel and be vague on when it fits in with the rest.... It could be at the same time as three... or even during six or seven..... Because Graham had to be doing something during those times.

Blackthorne519

I'd like to see it start out again, with the return of "Sir" Graham.


Bt

Focused

Personally, I'm very much hoping for a true sequel that takes place a few years after the events of Mask of Eternity, or perhaps even after The Silver Lining if they wish to take it into account. Either way would work out for me.

And I hope we'll have a new land to explore, instead of re-imagining Kolyma, Llewdor, Tamir, Serenia, the Land of the Green Isles or the Realm of Eldritch. I'd like to see Daventry again though. And new characters too, with the occasional reference here and there of course!

doggans

I'd like to see Daventry, too, although it hasn't seen a whole lot of continuity in geography over the course of the series. :P

Focused

doggans wrote: »

I'd like to see Daventry, too, although it hasn't seen a whole lot of continuity in geography over the course of the series. :P

Yeah, Daventry was only thoroughly explored in the first game, briefly in the third one, and in the first level of Mask of Eternity. We saw it in the other games but it was mostly cut-scene material. I sure would like to see it again somehow!

MisterKerr

As I said in another thread, I'm hoping they do something in between IV and V or V and VI: that is, the royal family has been reunited, but are still all in Daventry. If the series isn't a complete reboot, I believe that'd be the best place to start it, since you can have adventures without having to include or explain all the ancillary characters from the later games, like TSL has done. I mean, it's kind of cool to see Oberon and Titania from VII in the Castle of the Crown from VI, but I doubt Telltale wants to deal with all of that baggage when trying to craft a new game. Setting it between IV and V keeps the the royal family intact, while still giving them an option to do a re-imagining.

Simo Sakari Aaltonen

Like other posters have mentioned, I think it would not be the best idea to shoehorn a new adventure between existing instalments... It would be problematic in many ways, distorting the existing timeline and asking us to believe in the new tale yet obviously without the later instalments making reference to these events.

blueskirt

I think it's a bad choice of word, that's all. Did they reboot Monkey Island, BTTF, Strong Bad, Sam & Max or Wallace And Gromit? Why start now? Why reboot it when they could create their own fantasy IP and not give a dime to Activision? If they got the rights to King's Quest, it's because they want to work with the world in question.

Sixkiller

I think if they do 5 episodes why restrict it to one character? KQ7 jumped back and forth between Rosella and Valenice. Personally I'd like to see them jump between Graham and Alexander, maybe on two different sides of a war. Like Graham was taken prisoner and is trying to escape while Alexander is trying to spring him free at the same time.

wefeelgroove

If the royal family is going to be playable, I would love to see Valenice as a main character again. I loved how she was such a total priss about everything, even moreso than Rosella. I think it would be pretty cool to have each epsiode feature a different character, like Sixkiller said.

Simo Sakari Aaltonen

I think it would be very cool to play as King Graham again, whether as a young man or an older guy. It would be the way to start the series on the right foot - showing proper respect for the original hero and all.

Irishmile

Yeah... Graham is like the Harrison Ford of adventure games... it doesnt matter if he is an old dude you KNOW he is gonna kick ass and look cool doing it.

Lambonius

I can't imagine Graham not being the main character of any kind of reboot/revival of the series after 25 years. I mean, he is THE iconic King's Quest character. I would be shocked if he wasn't the player character in this game.

Chyron8472

I can't either. To suggest the playable character be Alexander's kid would be like asking for TOMI2 to have a playable Guybrush's kid. *shudder* *knock on wood*


If it were a reboot, that would suggest not only playing as Graham but also starting over from the beginning when he was a knight again. Just because something is a reboot it doesn't mean the lore of the original storyline is dumped.

BagginsKQ

Chyron you have a point. Don't know if you play Castlevania games. But the upcoming Nintendo 3DS Castlevania which follows off the Lords of Shadow reboot, will be giving their own interpretation of Trevor Belmont and Simon Belmont in that universe.

Somehow they are connected to Gabriel Belmont, I.E. Dracula.

Even the first Lords of Shadow game had alot of material taken from the original series, but reinterpreted for its new universe.

gamingafter40

If I could vote on it, I would vote for Sir/King Graham being the lead character again. (This may be because back in the day I played King's Quest II, then King's Quest V, and only met Alexander and Rosella a few years ago.) Not that I wouldn't want to see other characters again, but Graham's the iconic KQ character. I think seeing how HE has been refreshed will say a lot about the approach the new design is taking.

elderbatty

^ Considering how long it's been since the last Kings Quest - I agree. It would be wise to start with Graham again and then build it from there. Hell, since TT does things episodic, maybe they could dedicate a chapter to each family member and then build on new characters?

BagginsKQ

Nah, changing the playable characters in every episode would more than likely dilute the story overly much.

Chyron8472

Although, I wouldn't mind having a companion following Graham around, so long as they were more helpful than Cedric.

Kinda like Sam & Max. Max is way more helpful than Cedric.

gamingafter40

Chyron8472 wrote: »

Max is way more helpful than Cedric.

"I was going to mention the poisonous snake, but I really wanted to see the look on your face when it sank its razor-sharp fangs into your pasty royal flesh. SPOILERS!"

exo

Irishmile wrote: »

I think they could make a sequel and be vague on when it fits in with the rest.... It could be at the same time as three... or even during six or seven..... Because Graham had to be doing something during those times.

Bingo. I think this is where they will go with it.

gamingafter40

I'd really like to know what Graham was doing during King's Quest III while Alexander was fighting to get himself home and rescue his sister. I'd feel so much better if I thought he just barely made it back to his throne after dealing with some other crisis; the ending as-is gives the impression he's just been sitting in his throne room, eating bon-bons and beersicles.

BagginsKQ

Actually its stated what was happened to the King and Queen when the dragon invaded during the game (multiple characters describe how the king reacted)...

As per the gnome;

You speak directly to the old gnome. He chuckles softly to himself, then replies, \"It's about time you got here, lad... I mean, Prince Alexander. Welcome home! Heaven knows, we need you. Daventry's been suffering for years now, since that despicable dragon came.\""

""The old gnome narrows his eyes to slits and leans forward in his chair. \"That monster demanded the sacrifice of your poor sister, Princess Rosella, and I'm afraid time is running out. Your parents, the King and Queen, are suffering such grief they have locked themselves in yon castle and refuse to see anyone.\""

As per the Oracle;

"Years ago, a terrible three-headed dragon invaded Daventry, and keeps the people in a state of terror. This monster requires, once a year, the sacrifice of a young maiden.\"

"\"Sadly, your own sister, Princess Rosella, is the chosen one this year. Time is running out for her, your parents, and Daventry.\""

According to Rosella;

"You ask Rosella about your parents. \"Mum and Dad were heart-broken when you disappeared as a baby,\" she explains. \"Dad searched EVERYWHERE for you. Obviously, he never found you.\" \

"You ask Princess Rosella to tell you about Daventry. She replies, \"Hard times hit Daventry right after you were kidnapped. Dad and Mum tried, but it was like they had lost their will.\" Clenching her fist, Rosella continues. \"We were down on our guard, and the terrible dragon came. We all thought it was the end.\""

"\"I was scared, you know,\" your sister answers. \"But, I DID want to be brave. I was hoping my sacrifice might somehow help.\" She brightens a bit. \"Maybe, it did. Because of me, YOU came. Now, we're together again, and together we can put Daventry right!\""

"You comment upon the spoiled scenery of Daventry. Princess Rosella looks disgusted as she replies, \"The dragon did all that. He burnt our countryside, and we were all terrified to even come out of our houses. You don't remember, but it used to be very beautiful.\""

Of coarse, if you are into expanded universe material, two of the King's Quest novels shoe-horned some other adventures between the period... Graham isn't nearly as remorseful as he's described to have been in the game.

The King's Quest Companion also describes the between years period between the children's birth, the kidnapping, the disasters, and the dragon invasion, graham's questionable choice to sacrifice innocent virgins, up to beginning of KQ3, a little bit as well. But it more or less sticks closer to the melancholy doom and gloom period described in KQ3.

Lambonius

Yawn.

gamingafter40

BagginsKQ wrote: »

Actually its stated what was happened to the King and Queen when the dragon invaded during the game (multiple characters describe how the king reacted)...

Thanks for the refresher and additional insights! I went back and looked at my own playthrough notes, and it looks like I only ever talked to the Oracle; I knew Rosella was held captive by a dragon, but not that a distraught King Graham had anything to do with putting her there. The additional backstory remarks from the old Smurf and Rosella seem to have completely escaped my notice. I don't think I ever realized you could ASK characters ABOUT things, Infocom-style, in KQ III. Cool!

BagginsKQ

Well its not so fancy, as to 'ask specific question';

BUt if you type "talk character" you would get a message. In the case of the Rosella and the old "smurf" (heh heh), you can get several messages by repeating the command!

BTW, if you are interested I have the scripts up for Wizard and the Princes and Adventure in Serenia (should be nearly complete), as well as ones up KQ1AGI, KQ2, KQ3, and KQ4AGI and EGA versions, and KQ8. I'm working on putting up the ones for KQ5, KQ6 at the moment. Will get around to KQ7 as well.

You might find some material that you missed!

MusicallyInspired

A few AGI games did have the "ask about..." ability, though.

jonathanfrisby

I really doubt this will be any sort of reboot, or retelling of any previous stories... Telltale seems to like to position their seasons in a self-contained bubble outside of any strict continuity.. Sitcom-style.

The Sam & Max games have some internal continuity in their series, but it's a pretty standalone formula.. And Monkey Island sort of stopped meaningfully advancing the plot after MI2.... (no, I don't consider an eternal, unending series of LeChuck battles and winning back Elaine to be part of the Ron Gilbert or MI "canon").

So it feels like Telltale will probably decide where everyone is, what they're up to, and then have a plot that doesn't really change that. Doesn't mean it won't be any good, though.

BagginsKQ

King's Quest was for the most part always self-contained bubbled stories, with only limited continuity between only a couple of games at the most. The references or a character may return, but the story itself was largely self contained to the world/land being explored in the game.

tomimt

I think it was some of the HC fans, who started to take the contiunity of KQ series a bit too seriously by trying to link every occurance together from all the games. That formed into way too heavy handed use of the black cloacks as some sort of millenia long conspiracy aimed to crumble Daventry.