Sierra led the way in the early 1980s when it was the first to move from text adventures into adventures that were graphical. First with Mystery House and then a series of games created using the studio's Adventure Game Interpreter. These included the original King's Quest, and its immediate successors. AGI was a 16-color vector graphic program that allowed sound effects, music and protagonists to move around scenes using the arrow keys. You still had type "lift plank" or "get ring" in order to interact with the objects, but there was a nice visual to go along with it.
AGI's glory days lasted until 1988, when it was replaced with the Sierra Creative Interpreter. This updated scripting language would eventually allow for hundreds colors and digitized voices in games like King's Quest 6 King's Quest 6 is generally considered the best in the series. It still has a few dead-ends that you won't know you've fallen into if you don't talk to a specific person or pick up the right item at the right moment. This unfortunate characteristic of the series is less prevalent. This is the game you'll remember fondly from your childhood.
Brandon Kouri's first videogames were King's Quest 5, 6, and 7, as well as Myst which he played along with his father and sister. When he went back to the beginning of the series, he first saw AGI's large pixels and power walking characters. Kouri says, "I was enthralled." "Something about this really caught my attention, and I wanted more information about how it worked."
Each era has a distinct feel. When I replay Quest for Glory - So You Want to Be a Hero, I'm just as likely to return to the EGA original or the VGA remake. Not only because of the simpler graphics but also for the greater options a parser-based interface offers over a more modern pointing-and-clicking interface. You feel more engaged and present when you try to find the right phrase to type in order to perform an action.
Kouri began experimenting with smaller projects, such as his own version Oregon Trail. He then wondered what King's Quest 6 might look like if it was made in an older scripting language. Kouri had no idea that his project would last 18 years.
Kouri admits, "I didn't work on this every day for 18 years." "There were times when I worked feverishly and for a long period of time, and other periods where it was dormant." The progress was slow and took a long time. I often found it difficult to motivate myself to work on the project. I got tired of the low resolution graphics and the typing interface. I had a hard time trying to figure out what a player would be typing. The AGI system is not designed for KQ6, so the memory strain was a major problem.
When Kouri's motivation faltered, he would go back to his favorite AGI Game, Mixed-Up Mother Goose. This game does for nursery rhymes, what King's Quest 6 did for stories such as Arabian Nights and Alice in Wonderland. "I think [Roberta] Williams voice shines through clearly and beautifully." It's absolutely beautiful, and a beautiful work of AGI engineering."
Kouri also didn't realize that other players were interested in his remake of King's Quest 6. He had been working on the project for several years before he uploaded to YouTube a video showing his progress. "I was surprised that a small group very passionate people demanded it be completed and released," he said. "Would have never guessed."
His work was located on "a disassembled PC in a closet 1,500 kilometers away from me." He was inspired by the ardent YouTube commenters to dig out his computer and continue working during the pandemic. In 2024, he finished the work 18 years after starting and released it for free on kq6agi.com. It was quickly circulated on forums, YouTube and Reddit. Kouri claims, "I am not connected to retrogamers or the gaming world." "Within a few days of the release of the game, I've seen people playing it with the Nintendo DSi and Game Boy Advance. I've also seen it played on old Tandy computers and monochrome Hercules displays. I had no idea that this community existed."
The King's Quest 6 remake is a look at an alternate timeline in which Roberta Williams and Jane Jensen were the stars of the King's Quest Series with only a quarter of pixels, no voice-acting, a soundtrack made up of bleeps and a text parser. It's an interesting artifact that lets fans of the original game see it with new eyes.
Kouri says, "I suppose a personal pie in the sky' fantasy of mine would be to know that the Williams and Jane Jensen were aware of this game." "However I would hope they would appreciate it. I feel a bit weird creating something based on another's intellectual property. I am reminded of a Julie & Julia scene where Julia Child is angry at Julie Powell for using all the recipes from her cookbook."
What would Kouri tell the King's Quest 6 creators about his love for their work? "I would thank you for my childhood. Thank you for the joy and wonder which continue to inspire my imagination even today. This game is a gift from me to you. It is a gift from me to you.
Interesting news
Comments