We're like a bad penny - We always turn up. It's Episode 8! Did we cut the show down, or has it grown into something we can't control? You'll have to listen to find out! Matt Barton, Bill Loguidice, Christina Loguidice, Chip Hageman, and I - Chris Kennedy - give you the latest in listener bliss.

Click here to download the show.




Segments and approximate times below:

• Matt Barton on Indie games and their quest to save us from lack of originality in today's games (4:06)
• Chip Hageman on Commodoreserver.com (21:35)
• Christina Loguidice on the use of videogames in medicine (36:32)
• Bill Loguidice's first computer roleplaying experience (45:25)
• Chris Kennedy and videogame remakes (1:11:16)

As always, we'd really appreciate any feedback you have to offer on the episode. You can leave comments here, email us, or review the show on iTunes. You can also subscribe to our RSS Feed.

Tonight, we completed King's Quest I.

Our approach was quite different. We didn't know what to do about a giant in the game - how to defend ourselves, kill him, etc. We knew this from the previous night. Before starting the game tonight, Laura said that she wanted to discuss what to do next in the game. I was a bit shocked and said that I didn't really do "pregame." Rather, I just load up a game and play. So we loaded it up.

...but perhaps having a pregame exercise is a great idea when it comes to adventure games...

Day 2 of KQ1 was a true reflection of the nature of any given adventure game - We had to start over. The fun factor remained despite this, and we found ourselves establishing that "adventure gaming rhythm" that you want to have during gameplay.

I have several new years resolutions for 2011. One of them is to replay most of my library of Sierra adventure games. I started this year out by playing the original version of King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown. I played the game with my wife, and she hasn't played it before. I am therefore titling blog entries like this one "Play it Again for the First Time."

Well, here it is, episode 76 featuring Roberta Williams' monumental adventure game, King's Quest. This is the game that inspired the genre of point-and-click adventures that is still producing games today. Enjoy!

King's Quest: Your thoughts on the world's most influential GAG.Well, the time has come for me to turn my attention to King's Quest, having recently finished the drafts of Pac-Man and Myst. I played through the original King's Quest and a few of the later games, though again they're blurring together somewhat in my mind (will have to go back in to refresh my memory). Naturally, a discussion of KQ will let me talk about the PcJr as well as EGA and the early PC game industry. It'll be fun to talk about the many spin-offs, though I don't want to get too far away from the original game.

KQ3 Remake: Can Alexander navigate his way down the mountain without falling to his death a thousand times? I doubt it...

About a year ago, Infamous Adventures released an unofficial VGA remake of King's Quest III: To Heir is Human. While graphically it is impressive with a nice MIDI score, the voice-acting is so cringe-worthy one wonders if it was done on purpose to pay homage to early CD-ROM video game voice-acting! It's worth a try for those who enjoyed the original and it was developed with Adventure Game Studio, a great Graphical Adventure Game toolkit that I need to start tooling around with.

King's Quest III VGA -- Infamous Adventures
Adventure Game Studio