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Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, from the Quest for Glory creators - now or never
oasis789
USARegistered User regular
USARegistered User regular
Like RPGs but bored of monster slaying and fetch quests? Wish games had more meaningful plots and memorable characters? Join novice thief Shawn O'Conner as he attends the hallowed halls of Hero University (think Hogwarts meets D&D) and navigates the trials of college life. Your choices determine whether he becomes a noble hero, a ruthless villain, or some mix in between. You decide if he will use force or finesse, persuasion or cunning to overcome obstacles and accomplish goals. But remember, all choices inevitably have consequences. And that's just the freshman semester of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption.
What is Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption?
Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is an upcoming fantasy RPG set in a university for adventurers, where you play a thief who was caught and has been sentenced to reform school. If the bullies don't get you, the midterms will, or the extracurriculars in the catacombs below.
- Turn-based tactical combat with emphasis on stealth, deception, and traps, oh my
- Adventure game style puzzles with multiple solutions
- Tough decisions that affect branching storyline
- Deep interaction and relationships with NPCs and their hidden agendas
The game designers have very strong views on adventure game and RPG genre conventions and this game is supposed to tip all these sacred cows over.
Who's making it?
Designers: Lori and Corey Cole, the creators of the classic Sierra Quest for Glory series, adventure/RPG hybrid Shannara, and puzzle game Castle of Dr. Brain. Basically, they made the games of my childhood.
Developers: Andrew Goulding, founder of Brawsome, developer of the Jolly Rover and MacGuffin's Curse adventure games. Haven't played those games yet myself, but they seem fun from the LP videos.
Art: Among others, Eriq Chang and John Paul Selwood, who did the artwork in the Quest for Glory II remake, which was done pretty.
What is Quest for Glory?
Quest for Glory was a series of adventure-RPG hybrids in the Sierra line (King's Quest, Space Quest, Gabriel Knight etc) that combined RPG elements into the traditional point-and-click adventure genre, with storylines that borrow heavily from folklore and mythology, and a brand of humor that emphasized puns and wordplay.
The games were a lot of fun because they had puzzles with multiple solutions depending on your character class, descriptions and dialogue genuinely worth reading and laughing at, and character import - characters from the 1st game could bring their stats and skills all the way to the 5th game. They even had a secret class (Paladin) that was only available through import if you had played a certain way in the previous games. There were many, many ways to die in the games, and all of them were fun enough to try once before reloading. Here's one of them from QFG4. Some fans loved the series so much, they remade one of the games (and a bunch of other Sierra games).
Hero-U is being planned as a similar five-part series, with each game focusing on a different class character.
Tell me more!
I can't do better than to point you to their site and some of the more informative articles about it:
- Kotaku interview
- Rock Paper Shotgun interview
- RPG Codex interview
- AdventureGamers interview
- Game homepage
- Pitch video
If you have questions ask away and I'll try my best to point you at the game designers' answers.
oasis789 on
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I still haven't made the jump because while I
From what I can tell, kicktraq projections are just a linear trend using the previous days up to that point, it's not using prior kickstarter data or update frequency or comments or page views or anything like that, so it's not very useful unless you believe pledges are approximately distributed uniformly over the days of a campaign. The most relevant comparison are the previous ex-Sierra campaigns like Larry, Pinkerton, Spaceventure which have similar targets and audiences, and all the action there was at the end... I'd say it's far too early to call this one way or the other.
I haven't played the Brawsome games myself, can't tell if they're forgettable or not, but I don't think Hero-U will be. You can tell from the interviews, updates etc that the Coles really believe in this game, they've been thinking about it for a long time, and they're putting their names on the line to make sure it's worthy of the fans trust. The thing that's most important to me is that this project is really what Kickstarter was originally about: funding something that is promising, that wouldn't otherwise be made, and that is self-sustaining - the Coles can go on from this success to make the next in the series, as they've been planning.
I'm looking forward to Hero-U, to what the Coles are going to bring us. It may not be a traditional Adventure Game, but neither were the original Quest for Glory games. Some people are turned off by the top down tiled approach, but I have fond memories of those types of games including the Ultima series of RPGs which were exactly that, top down view, tile based world, until EA created VIII and IX. I trust the Coles from their prior games, I trust that the puzzles will be narrative and character driven not an obstacle course of trying to figure out what the designer intended you to do with a paper clip, a wad of gum, an old tin can, and two left shoes. I trust the the world and characters will be rich, deep, and engaging, with the right blend of humor and seriousness as in their previous offerings.
I also think it's great that Corey Cole has committed to personally porting the game to Linux after it's complete. He'll being doing it on his own time, without taking any of the funding away from making the game as great as it can be initially for PC/Mac, simply because he knows there are fans out there who are clamoring for it to be on their preferred platform. So he's going to do it himself! That's dedication to your fans right there.
Sure Kicktraqs projects it just falling short, but I think as long as it gets close, the backers will make sure it reaches the goal. The kicktraqs projection to no reason not to back. If the project doesn't get funded, you don't get charged, so it costs you nothing. If it does get funded, then you get a new game for $20. I don't think that's a lot to ask. I'm sure the game will be entertaining, certainly worth the price of a couple movie tickets. I've spend $20 on worse things.
Don't let ambivalence toward the programmer deter you. He might have created his own games, but he's not creating this one, the Coles are. So if you love QFG, give them a chance. Think of it like Precipice Episode 3. Maybe some people didn't love Zeboyd, or thought Breath of Death and Cthulu Saves the World were forgettable, and they're the team behind Precipice, but they gave Episode 3 a chance because it was Jerry's game, not theirs. I think Episode 3 turned out great. I also think giving the Coles a chance is worth it. They won't disappoint, just like Jerry didn't.
I hope the Coles don't give up.
3DS: 1650-8480-6786
Switch: SW-0653-8208-4705
I believe this project will succeed, because I'm doing my part to make it happen. I think it's worth my time and effort to bring back something that I believe in.
The Coles won't give up, and I won't give up.
There's such a thing as a self-fulfilling prophecy. The more people believe in something, the more people want to be a part of it.
And the funny thing is, belief costs little. Kickstarter doesn't charge your card unless the campaign reaches its funding target. It even sends you reminder emails before the campaign ends.
QFG was THE game that got me into PC games. I owe the Coles at least for that. Also, their particular brand of humour deserves recognition. Their games were making me laugh back in a time when humour in games was a rare thing.
That's exactly how I feel about it. It's also what got me into PC gaming, and is the first Kickstarter project I've backed.
Who can forget hilarious characters like Erasmus and Fenrus, Keapon laffin, Ali Chica, the Saurus salesman, or Dr Cranium?
Let's not forget the University is located in Silmaria, and the Famous Adventurer may or may not make an appearance, and most importantly, THERE"S MEEPS!
We also need to remember, that even if a TRUE QFG6 were to come to fruition, after Dragon Fire "The Hero's" story was concluded so he wouldn't be the protagonist anyway, and I couldn't imagine "QFG6" being much different from what we're getting for Hero-U
I played the Quest for Glory games for several years and it was always my secret indulgence. I had some friends who played D&D, but I was always afraid to play because of my propagandized ignorance of the game. I was in my school library one day in 1994 when I noticed a paperback novel left on a table. The cover caught my attention. The red dragon in the background looked very similar to the cover of Hero’s Quest. I checked out Dragons of Autumn Twilight and the rest is history. I started reading fantasy novels like crazy, my friends noticed my interest in fantasy and invited me to play D&D, and I remain an avid fan of fantasy and RPG to this day. I even DM a 3.5 edition campaign of Dragonlance which you can read about on our wiki!
For me, Quest for Glory was a catalyst for fun, excitement, and socialization far beyond what the series offered in hours of play-time. I owe a lot to the Cole’s for their creative influence throughout the Quest for Glory series. This Kickstarter is my opportunity to repay the enjoyment they’ve provided me both monetarily and with zealous support!
I'd personally rather seen this succeed than the Obsidian kickstart.
That said, this kickstarter definitely doesn't advertise to me the same way others have.
Yeah, there was a lot of learning by doing....
So the official website has been completely revamped. It's well worth a look even just for the new art! I attached a nice one below.
With the campaign coming to a close and still a ways to go, it's now or never folks.
Even though the kickstarter is over, you can still be a part of the game through Paypal, check it out here.