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Vivendi Shuts Down Indie King's Quest Title

Posted by Zonk on from the not-every-day-has-a-silver-lining dept.

edwardmolasses writes "An ambitious King's Quest fan game, in development since 2000 and nearing completion, has been shut down after a cease and desist letter from Vivendi Universal Games (formerly known as Sierra Entertainment). King's Quest IX: "Every Cloak Has A Silver Lining" was to be an alternative ending to the popular King's Quest series. The first chapter was to be released this winter. Some project stats: 40+ volunteer staff spread over five continents, 2000+ page script, 9 chapters, 450 characters, original theme music, and voice acting. Some screenshots can be seen here."

44 comments

  1. Nostalgia by MyLongNickName · · Score: 3, Interesting

    Anyone else remember the original King's Quest? If I remember correcectly, the worked with a palette of 16(?) colors. I believe the authors weree innovative in using pixelation/color combinations to make it look like they had 256 colors to work with. Of course, my memory isn't so great, and my numbers could be off.

    It is amazing how much fun I could have with such cheesy graphics, and low memory requirements. Somehow, I think games became less fun when the imaginatino requirement got removed.

    Don't get me started on Zork.

    --
    See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    1. Re:Nostalgia by etherlad · · Score: 2, Interesting

      You're misremembering somewhat.

      The original King's Quest (1983) was one of the very first games released for the (at the time) brand-new IBM PC. It was fantastic for the time, but looking back it's painfully obvious that it was sixteen colours. (Screenshot)

      Several years later (1990), they re-released it with newer graphics, but it was still 16 colours. This is probably the one you're thinking of. 1990 was also about the time they switched over to VGA (256 colours), so all subsequent Sierra remakes got the VGA treatment. (Screenshot)

      --
      Soylens viridis homines es
    2. Re:Nostalgia by MyLongNickName · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Here's a snippet of what I was misremembering:

      After "Sammy Lightfoot," someone told me that there was a way on the Apple to determine when video-blank occured [the brief period between frames that occurs roughly sixty times per second]. If that moment could be determined then other animation techniques that would be much faster could be employed. By combining the page flipping with the now discovered perfect timing, it was possible to display several more true colors on the Apple; up till then, the "twenty-one colors" bragged about by Ken Williams was accomplished through dithering. For example, display one color on one page and another on the other page and flip the pages at perfectly timed intervals and the two colors appear as a brand new color just as yellow and blue when combined produce green.

      All that work for 21 freaking colors ;)

      --
      See my journal for slashdot ID's by year. Mine created in 2005. http://slashdot.org/journal/289875/slashdot-ids-by-year
    3. Re:Nostalgia by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Remakes of both KQ1 and KQ2 (plus music and voice packs for both games) can be downloaded from http://www.agdinteractive.com/ (the group that did the remakes.) No poking around on IRC required and for what ever reason, Vivendi seems to not care about this group's work as much as the KQ9 group's not even finished game.

    4. Re:Nostalgia by mink · · Score: 1

      The IBM PC version of KQ1 was 4 color CGA. If you had a PCjr. or Tandy you could get 16 color EGA mode.
      Check out this website for details.

      --
      Well I've wrestled with reality for thirty five years doctor, and I'm happy to say I finally won out over it.
  2. Transforme it by imr · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Change all problematic art and release it.
    And dont forget to change the script to include some kind of parody of vivendi, like in shrek. You know, you need to hit them at the heart of their soul.
    But with retractable batons inside.

    1. Re:Transforme it by Mondoz · · Score: 1

      They have a soul?

      --
      /sig
    2. Re:Transforme it by synaptik · · Score: 2, Funny

      And maybe rename it to Qing's Kwest. :)

      --
      HSJ$$*&#^!#+++ATH0
      NO CARRIER
    3. Re:Transforme it by warmgun · · Score: 3, Insightful
      Change all problematic art and release it.

      That would seem like a daunting task. Judging from the screenshots of the first chapter, the game may take place in numerous settings from the older games (especially 6 "Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow", arguably the best one). The "art" in this case seems to be most of the 3d models and textures. Removing King's Quest from this project would remove any reason to make it, IMHO. I really hope this gets sorted out somehow. I loved the the King's Quest series and Vivendi's end to the series, King's Quest 8 Mask of Eternity, was a travesty. I seriously doubt Vivendi is going to make any profits from the King's Quest brandname, so why not let it go ahead? It's not like they were trying to make money. They don't even have ads on their site!

      Whilst writing this, I realized what's going on: http://www.gametap.com/. Sierra, aka Vivendi, has got some games on there it seems, but no adventure games of yore. So let's see how this plays out.

    4. Re:Transforme it by imr · · Score: 1

      $ help
      Hint: Follow the link, look for references to retractable batons, you will get it.

  3. This can hardly have come as a surprise... by Senjutsu · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They didn't honestly expect a big conglomerate to do the nice thing and not notice them, did they?

    That said, all they need to do is change the project name to Qing's Kuest and tweak the art-work.

  4. Although... by vertinox · · Score: 1

    Who says development has to stop... You just have to be less public about it and give up your name as the author. Distributing all your works source (with or without a GPL/BSD type license since legally its a moot point) wouldn't hurt either. Although, I do suspect that when most groups get a cease and desist letter they publicly announce they have to cease and desist just to get the sender off their backs.

    --
    "I am the king of the Romans, and am superior to rules of grammar!"
    -Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor (1368-1437)
    1. Re:Although... by Bastian · · Score: 1

      Not sure the GPL really would help. Possibly if you just want to get the game out there, but if your main goal is to avoid legal action, then having already spread your work in a fine mist across the world and making it effectively impossible to stop the problem at its source may just be interpreted as begging for harsher treatment.

  5. Ahh.. good ole King's Quest by Datamonstar · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Man, that brings up some fond old memories. I remember saving my allowance for the collector's edition on CD-ROM and the happiness that ensued once I finally got it. Many a time imitating the narrator's voice: "Sir Grham eats the cookie..." And Roberta Williams is the first game developer I rememeber knowing by name. Part 3 was my favorite, although the lovely graphics in part 4 were breathtaking to me at the time. Man, I, for one, would have quickly bought a copy of the indie game had it stayed alive. Long live the king.

    --
    The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.
    1. Re:Ahh.. good ole King's Quest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Informative

      You wouldn't have had to buy the indy game. It was going to be a free download. The thing I don't get is why there is any debate at all about what to do now that Vivendi has contacted them. Their FAQ already said that should these kind of issues arise they would consider changing all the names of people and places and keep moving forward.

    2. Re:Ahh.. good ole King's Quest by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

      I can't be the only one that jacked off while looking at Roberta. Hot damn, I'm getting a woody just thinking about her now!

  6. A sad state of affairs. by SpiritMaster · · Score: 5, Interesting
    While I have to salute the KQ9 team for their graceful acceptance of the end of their project I can't help but think this is just another nail in VU's coffin of respect. First of let me point out that while VU does own the rights to KQ shutting down non profit organizations that operate purley for the enjoyment of gamers is just another way of saying 'we don't care about our gamers unless they pay us for the priviledge'. Even this to some degree is disproved by the lack of patches many of their games need yet never seem to get. Assuming for the moment their reason behind the shutdown is because they may have a sequel coming, there is no reason that one must cancel the other, since i'm sure both could be enjoyed equally.

    In addition to KQ9, SQ7 may also be next to come under the axe, although they are apparently in talks with VU and Phoenix Online Studios about this new turn of events. All this being said I hope that VU will come up with a slightly better reason than 'because we said so' since it only encourages people to see VU as another namless corporation that is more concerned with grinding out endless titles for the sake of money. At the end of the day however VU is, as VU does, and it seems it will continue to follow the Microsoft creed of 'if its original, buy it up and make more money'.

    1. Re:A sad state of affairs. by RaggieRags · · Score: 1

      Agreed. The only thing they accomplished with this is showing what kind of pricks they are. This project has been going on for a long time, and now that the team have done all this work and about to release, VU decides to shut them down? If they had a problem with this, they could have said so right off the bat.

  7. Re:Too bad they were shut down by MachDelta · · Score: 2, Insightful

    They may have tried. Some companies won't respond to "fan mail" asking for permission to do something with their game/universe/whatever. Only after it becomes a definable entity (read: been worked on for years) do they step in with a C&D.

    Personally, I think any business that intentionally puts an end to FREE fan-created work, is shooting themselves in the foot. They should be embracing and nurturing their fans' love for said products, not trying to squash it! But hey, telling customers HOW they HAVE TO enjoy a product seems to be a popular trend these days. :\

  8. all in one! by alexandreracine · · Score: 1

    Yep, and it fit all in one 1.44Mb disk :)

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    No sig for now.
    1. Re:all in one! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Does it? I thought it came on a single 5.25" 360kB floppy.

  9. Comment removed by account_deleted · · Score: 1

    Comment removed based on user account deletion

  10. Yup by joshsnow · · Score: 1

    ...and change the name too. I suggest Monarchs Mission, every cloak has an Ag lining...

  11. Who to Contact by koko_99_2001 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I've sent an email to Vivendi's tech support. They told me to email: games.comments@vugames.com Guys, PLEASE send your complaints on what Vivendi did to the KQIX project to this email address! Hopefully, we'll let them know how much we all support this project and they'll be willing to come to an agreement with the team!

    1. Re:Who to Contact by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
      Bwahahahahaha!

      Oh wait, you were serious?

      ...

      BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

    2. Re:Who to Contact by FreyarHunter · · Score: 1

      Yes, I did send a comment in. Hopefully, there will be enough people to get VU to realize that they just can't be jerks about thier stuff. As far as I know, they aren't even developing for that series anymore. If so, why do they hold on to it like that when you can't even buy it from VU either?

      --
      Empathetic-- 94% You tend to walk in someone else's shoes a hundred miles before pointing a finger.
  12. Re:Too bad they were shut down by bersl2 · · Score: 1

    Only after it becomes a definable entity (read: been worked on for years) do they step in with a C&D.

    Would not the doctrine of laches then apply?

  13. Would be horrible if Pirates STOLE the source code by Confessed+Geek · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Wouldn't it be TERRIBLE if the source code was STOLEN by Software PIRATES and put on a P2P network! All those years of work Free to download for anyone without any control by the original authors...

    All those people out there using the software and the people who volunteered all their time for the love of the game wouldn't be able to do a thing about it! How tragic.

  14. Wow, what jerks by Drachasor · · Score: 5, Insightful

    So, Vivendi doesn't want KQ9 to be made. I can understand that. I might disagree, but I can see their corporate view. (Even though the popularity such a game generated might help Vivendi sell an official KQ game in the future).

    What amazes me is how vile a tactic Vivendi used. KQ9 was in development since 2000. 2000! That's 5 or 6 years of work done by 40-odd people. After all this work, when the group is almost finished, Vivendi then decides to tell them they can't release it. Thus essentially turning 5+ years of work into a waste of time. This just seems evil and cruel.

    For those that don't care about the immorality of this, it also is horrible from a marketing viewpoint.

    I didn't even know this project existed a day ago, but I'm going to avoid Vivendi products in the future after this.

    -Drachasor

    1. Re:Wow, what jerks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You'd think they'd just say, "Hi, we like the work you've done. Let us publish it, sell it, and take 60% of the profits, and we'll let you keep working on it."

    2. Re:Wow, what jerks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This is Vivendi we are talking about. The game was going to be a free download, so they would just take 100% of the profit from a retail release and call it "fair."

    3. Re:Wow, what jerks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Vivendi then decides to tell them they can't release it. Thus essentially turning 5+ years of work into a waste of time. This just seems evil and cruel.

      You must be aware of the fact that many corporate executives are socipaths and assholes. What would you expect from them? Behind this decision there's someone congratulating him/herself of being so cruel and laughing at the naivety of the KQ9 team.

      Welcome to capitalism.

    4. Re:Wow, what jerks by blckbllr · · Score: 2, Interesting

      This may seem a bit overdue, but it seems like there could be a viable defense of "laches." "Laches" is a legal defense whereby the defendant (e.g., the makers of KQ9) states that because the plaintiff (e.g. VU) knew of the ongoing activity and did not take action to stop it, that the plaintiff cannot now claim that there has been violation. Unfortunately, this would probably require that the defendant show that the plaintiff "knew" that the defendant was engaged in some sort of unpermitted activity. "Knew" in this context may be constructive (e.g., through notice) or actual (e.g., actually visiting the webpage for KQ9).

      Given that the game has been in development for 5+ years, one could reasonably make the argument that VU was not actively monitoring their copyright in "King's Quest" (assuming that copyright violation is the claim).

      I do not know whether the "non-profitness" of the activity matters for copright infringement/violation purposes, but I think the "laches" defense would be a stronger claim. My two cents.

    5. Re:Wow, what jerks by CFTM · · Score: 2, Insightful

      To be fair to Vivendi, you must take in to the account that most fan projects never make it as far as this one did. As a large corporation, it was probably on their radar but why pay the legal hounds when 9 out of 10 of these things end up folding on their own. I would have loved to see the game released but they paid for that intellectual property and they have to perserve the brand name. KQIX could have released and been a terrible product; no matter why Vivendi did their name would be tied to that product.

      It's easy to get angry at Vivendi but the people who worked on this project new the risk they were taking and Vivendi has all the power. If you want to call them vile, do so for how they treat customers/employees but not because they killed a project that could have adverse affects on their brand.

  15. Re:Too bad they were shut down by Blue_Nile · · Score: 1

    I remember reading about this in a couple game magazines 1-2 years ago minimum. It would have had to have been on Vivendi's radar for awhile...

    --
    Si Hoc Legere Scis Nimium Eruditionis Habes
  16. Re:Too bad they were shut down by MachDelta · · Score: 1

    Would not the doctrine of laches then apply? It could, but the result is no different than the xxAA going after file sharers. One individual (or small group of people) versus a very large multi-million dollar company. It just doesn't happen :\

  17. Re:Too bad they were shut down by FreyarHunter · · Score: 1

    It's easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask permission....

    In some cases...

    --
    Empathetic-- 94% You tend to walk in someone else's shoes a hundred miles before pointing a finger.
  18. Old Sierra games by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I wish someone would go through and properly remake all of the Hero's Quest (later known as Quest For Glory) games so that they were less bug-ridden. I loved finally getting my hands on QFG4, only to find that the CD version has no patch for the fatal crash-to-DOS bug within the first screen when you don't click on just the right pixel.

    Thanks, Sierra!

  19. Good for Vivendi by EvlG · · Score: 1

    They own the IP for a franchise they developed/paid for.

    Why wouldn't they expect to make a profit from this franchise since they invested in it?

    Why should Vivendi allow another party to exploit its franchise without any way for Vivendi (the franchise owner) to benefit?

    1. Re:Good for Vivendi by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I fail to see where the exploitation occured.

      In my opinion it would be the same as George Lucas/Lucasfilm trying to shutdown fan-created novels about the Star Wars Universe.

    2. Re:Good for Vivendi by SyncNine · · Score: 1

      The difference is that Lucasfilm licenses specific authors to write stories about their books -- authors who then publish them, and give Lucasfilm a slice of the pie for having sold books about their characters.

      Fan-fics are protected because they're not being sold (legally) and because, well, free speech and freedom of the press are ... constitutionally guaranteed.

      So, write whatever you want. Write a Graham of Daventry hentai yaoi fan-fic involving Roger Wilco, Sludge Vohaul, Rosella, the Seven Dwarves, and maybe Orat. Post it all over your website. I'm sure they won't stop you. Just don't create a free game based solely on their intellectual property. That's not covered by constitutional law.

      I don't agree with what Vivendi did, at all. But I do agree that it is THEIR intellectual property, and if they are so arrogant and care so little about what their fans want ... Well, let them run themselves out of business.

      They *SHOULD* have hired the team and let them continue work -- and been happy having complete control over it. Sure, the game would have sucked wind because Vivendi would have ruined it, like they ruin everything else -- but at least it would have been released. Isn't that what everyone wants?

      --
      To the darkened skies once more, and ever onward.
  20. Such a waste... by Icupnimpn2 · · Score: 1

    The screenshots look great and I have a lot of respect for the people who contributed to the project but... When has a project like this reached completion? The Chrono Trigger remake looked even better and that one met the same fate. Five years of hard work and devotion? That time and creativity could have gone into an original product and then no one could tell them to cease and desist. Sigh...

  21. What about Peasant's Quest? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Does this mean the game from the makers of Trogdoor is in peril?

    "Throw Baby"