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."

The popular indie title Machinarium is now available for only $5 as part of a "pirate amnesty" sale. Apparently, the Czech developers are convinced that only a tiny fraction of the people who enjoyed this game actually paid for it, but here's their chance (as well as a good chance for the rest of us) to grab this highly praised game for cheap. There's no excuse to pirate a $5 game, folks. They even released a cool song for the occasion. Grab it while you can!

At long last, here it is. Matt Chat 22: Deja Vu, Uninvited, Shadowgate, and Macventures. I was finally able to get my classic Mac emulator (mini vmac) up and running, so please enjoy--a lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into getting this footage! :)

Good news for adventure game fans--LucasArts is releasing several of its best graphical adventure games on Steam. Of particular note here is The Dig, which is one of my very favorite adventures and a seriously underrated title in my opinion.

FYI--Adventure Classic Gaming has just posted my review of The Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft.

Well, as you can see from the above titles, I'm going to be working on the two games that will appear last in the book. We've still got quite a few chapters left, and the publisher is really pushing us to get this thing done so they can start prepping it for printing.

Philip has just posted our interview with Benoit Sokal, designer of the highly acclaimed Syberia games and a half dozen more recent titles. It's well worth reading for anyone interested in GAG development or the state of the genre.