Hero's Quest...Will Start After the Pillaging

Isn't that convenient. It's almost as if some force is conspiring to keep me in a confined area.

I've written the following in-character, with annotated references to some notes and commentary at the end. It's a slightly different way to approach blogging, but I thought I'd give it a try for a posting or two.

Day 1

At last, I've arrived in Spielburg. An avalanche conveniently closed the valley behind me just as I cleared it. I imagine I'm going to be stuck here for a few months. That means I'd better avoid upsetting the populace too much: If they run me out of town, I've got nowhere else to go.

The guy with the yo-yo turns out to be a "goon," which is an actual race in this game, somewhere between a human and an ogre.

As I wandered in the front gates, a yokel smoking a pipe on the front porch of the sheriff's office greeted me as Sheriff Schultz Meistersson (1). As a thief, I'm always eager to see who represents The Law. Sheriff Meistersson didn't seem like much to worry about, but his companion did: an ugly lummox appropriately named Otto von Goon. He was playing with a yo-yo. He worried me. Dumb people are easy enough to trick, but really dumb people are impossible to trick.

Nothing like confessing your own ineptitude to a complete stranger.

Right away, the Sheriff announced that the town was in need of a hero. Bad move, sheriff. That shows weakness right off the bat. Now that I know you can't protect your little town, the question becomes: will I protect it? Or will I take advantage of its lack of protection? I guess it depends on how much I like the people.

If he doesn't have enough men to handle them, he certainly doesn't have enough to handle me!

I spent a few minutes chatting with Meistersson and grunting with Otto. Apparently, the monsters that come down from the mountains every winter have been lingering longer than normal, and a group of brigands has been robbing merchants. He suggested I talk to someone named "Wolfgang" in the Guild Hall about the monsters, and a merchant staying at the Hero's Tale Inn about the brigands. I figured I'd head to the hall and see what quests were available. As my mentor taught me, there's no point going through the trouble of stealing when you can make your living honestly. Wait...I think that might be the other way around.

On the way to the Guild Hall, I passed a neat-looking little house with an old woman sleeping in a rocker out front. This is the kind of place I feel really bad about burglarizing because--you know--old woman. But she wouldn't wake up no matter how many times I shouted at her, so I figure anyone who sleeps that soundly offers an opportunity too good to pass up.

Well, I wasn't going to log my real purpose for being in town!

The Guild was an empty, drafty old building with only one occupant, an old man dozing by the fire (that's the source of this town's problem: everybody just sleeps all the time!). Heads decorated the walls, and I noted a moose, a saurus, a troll, a gryphon, a dragon, a cheetaur, and an antwerp. Plaques indicated that most of the beasts had been slain by Wolfgang Abenteurer, the guild master (who I took to be the old man by the fire). I logged my name in the adventurer's book and checked out the quest board.

There were six notices posted:

• The healer is looking for a lost ring.
• The healer is also looking for spell components.
• Elsa von Spielburg (presumably related to the Baron Stefan von Spielburg) has been kidnapped.
• Baronet Barnard von Spielburg is missing.
• The castle is looking to capture or kill someone called the "Brigand Warlock."
• Killing or capturing the Brigand Leader will be rewarded with the title "Hero of the Realm."

I woke up Guildmaster Wolfgang and asked him about the various heads and notices. It turns out Elsa von Spielburg was kidnapped 10 years ago, when she was 8, meaning that she ought to be a comely lass of 18 by now. I'll definitely prioritize this one (2). Barnard, her brother, disappeared five years prior, and it doesn't look good: his horse was found with deep claw marks.

Wolfgang also shed some light on why the valley is so cursed with monsters. Baron von Spielburg used to be a "brave protector" and kept the monsters and brigands at bay, but he angered a ogre sorceress named Baba Yaga and she placed a curse on him. Wolfgang attributes to the curse the loss of both Barnard and Elsa, as well as the late monster infestation. The Baron has become a shut-in and is in danger of losing his land.

The dragon, it turned out, was one of two that came to the valley some years prior. The baron killed it (this was pre-curse), but the other flew away and is sometimes still seen flying high overhead. The antwerp was one of many that infested the valley, and it would have been overrun if two "tourists" from Andromeda had not shown up to drive them off. Wolfgang thinks Andromeda is up north somewhere.

It sounded like I needed to head to the castle to get some more information about the baron, his children, and this Baba Yaga, but I figured I'd explore the rest of the town first. My first stop was the mage's shop, on the same street as the guild, and boy did they go in for the flashy presentation. There was an eye above the door that followed me as I walked down the street. As I approached, flames erupted from the sign, and the front door just dissolved. Zara, the proprietor, appeared behind the counter in a bolt of lightning as her familiar gamboled on the shelf nearby.

Zara had several spells and potions for sale, but they were all beyond my purse for the moment. She told me about Erana, a powerful spellcaster who lived in the valley long ago and cast a spell that protects the town against violence and magic. She was buried in a glade called "Erana's Peace" someplace north of town, and it's said that adventurers can heal and rest there. I tried asking her about some of the other stuff on her shelves, but she got annoyed with me and disappeared. Typical mage.

The Hero's Tale Inn was run by Shameen, a Katta from the desert lands of Shapeir to the south, and his wife Shema. He told me that Abdulla, the merchant recently robbed, would be in the inn around suppertime. I took a seat and Shema came out from the kitchen to serve me. She was very scantily dressed, which would have been awesome if she wasn't...you know...an anthropomorphic cat. I dined on some fine lamb stew and left the creatures alone until later.

Cute.

Back at the main entrance, I tested what Zara told me about Erana's spell by trying to knife the sheriff. I couldn't bring myself to do it. But was that a spell or simple self-preservation?

I hope the spell doesn't apply to thievery, too.

The barbershop was closed, so I moved on to the other street. There, manning a booth that read "farmer's market," was--hell, yeah!--a beautiful young woman with long, flowing blonde hair, enchanting eyes, flawless skin, and...hooves. Goddamn it, that's what I get for looking at their faces first. She was a centaur, the daughter of a local farmer named Heinrich Pferdefedern. Oh, what the heck. I asked her out anyway (3). She turned me down flat.

A fine young filly if I ever saw one.

She had vegetables for sale, but I was a bit embarrassed by the rejection so I moved on.

The dry goods store, run by a confused old codger, had weapons, armor, daggers, rations, and ale flasks for sale for when I'm a bit richer. The bakery and butcher's shop were closed, and some kind of barn at the end of the street was locked. A nearby dark alley held only a filthy beggar. That left the tavern next door.

Don't mind if I do...oh, wait, you mean you.

Calling the tavern a "dive" would be an insult to dives. The floor was sticky with beer, and a pool of vomit covered one of the stools. In addition to the bartender, there were four occupants of the tavern: the barber, seated on a stool and nursing a pint of ale, the butcher and baker, playing cards (I could see no candlestick maker), and a goon named Crusher sitting on a chair, blocking a trap door.

I don't understand. Will the answers to my stupid questions be outside?

I didn't feel much like a drink, but it seemed like this was the place to ask about the local thieves' guild, if any place was. Unfortunately, I made the mistake of asking Crusher first, and he threw me out the front door for my trouble.

It was getting late, so I returned to the inn to see if Abdulla the merchant was about. He was, and in quite an agitated state. He related that the band of brigands, including a hooded leader with a high-pitched voice, a minotaur, and a giggling warlock, used magic to blind him and his six guards and assistants, then made off with their treasure. Oddly, the leader spared their lives. He thinks the warlock had "gnome blood" but otherwise had nothing to share but laments. I thanked him, gave him a couple of silver pieces (he was so grateful he promised to take me to Shapeir on his magic carpet once I recovered his treasure; sure, buddy), and left.

By then, it was full dark and the town gates were shut, and I was left with the option of purchasing a room at the inn or trying the non-heroic side of my trade. I decided there were too many great things in town to buy to remain a pauper, and I went about selecting my target. The butcher, baker, barber, adventurer's guild, and dry goods shop were all barred from the inside, leaving my only options the old woman's house and the sheriff's house. Deciding "no guts, no glory," I decided to go with the sheriff's house. It took me a few hours to pick the front door lock--it was a lot easier in the instruction book--but the experience was valuable for my skill, intelligence, and agility.

Who said "Snick"?

The first item I tried to loot was a little box on the coffee table. Unfortunately, it was a music box! When I opened it, it played a tune that woke everyone in the house (4). Fortunately, the sheriff thought it was Otto messing with it, and Otto, who got up in response to the sheriff's yell, was so tired that he didn't see me.

When Otto went back to bed, I wiped the sweat off my brow and pocketed the music box, along with a vase on the mantel and a candelabra on a desk. The desk itself held a few silver pieces. There was a safe concealed behind a painting with another bag of silver. I eyed the three bedroom doors before deciding not to press my luck and headed back outside. Success in my first job! (5).

The result if I hadn't ignored those doors.

The problem was, I still needed some place to sell my stolen loot. The thieves' guild had to be in the trap door below the bar; why else would the goon have gotten so upset when I asked about it? Heading back to the bar, I was distracted by a shiny glow coming from the alleyway. I investigated, and saw a gold piece just sitting on the ground at the end of the alley.

What happened to Erana's spell? (This is actually explained later by Erasmus: the spell missed the alley and the thieves' guild.)

I knew it was a ruse, but I needed to meet some thieves, so I walked into the trap. Sure enough, two hoodlums appeared from behind some barrels and demanded my money. They sure were disappointed when I made the thief's sign! They gave me the password to the guild--"Deutschmark"--and told me to give it to Crusher.

The guild was more dismal than the tavern above it, but at least it was a guild. As I entered, the guildmaster was ranting over the general state of professional thievery in Spielburg. He didn't want to talk with me until I paid the fee of 25 silvers, which I did gladly. (I was happy I saved my money.) At that point, I was able to sell my ill-gotten gains and buy a tool kit.

Intoxicated with my success, I decided to break into the old lady's house while the night was still young. There, I stole coins from her purse, some pearls from her knitting bag, a couple of candlesticks, and gave a petting to her friendly cat. I avoided a covered bird cage in the corner and slinked out.

When I was done selling those items, I had 3 gold pieces and 256 silver pieces to my name--much better than when I started. Unfortunately, I seem to have exhausted my supply of available targets within the town. Maybe there are more in the countryside. Or maybe I'd better concentrate more on being a hero.

A cool mini-game, only available to thieves.

Flush with cash, I decided to challenge the guildmaster to a game of Dag-Nab-It (6), which involves daggers and a dartboard. I bet small amounts of money while analyzing the best angles and force, but I couldn't get anywhere with it (7). After a few games, I was exhausted, but the inn was closed for the night (8). I tried going back to the guild, but it was closed, too. Having nothing else to do, I loitered around the town entrance until morning, climbing up and down the closed gate for exercise, and picking the lock on the barred barbership for practice.

This raises climbing skill, strength, and occasionally vitality.

The next day, I felt so flush with cash that I bought a "flame dart" spell and a healing potion from Zara, a bushel of apples from Hilde the centaur, and two extra daggers and two empty flasks from the shopkeeper. Thus girded, I headed out the front gates to explore!

Now which way shall I go?

Notes and Commentary

1. I'd love for Lori Ann or Corey Cole to comment on the person and place names in the game. They evoke a kind-of Bavarian theme, but do these names--Spielburg, Schultz Meistersson, Hilde, Zara, and so forth--have any special meaning to the creators?

2. Yes, I'm 40, but my character is only like 22, so it's not creepy.

3. Okay, I admit this is a little creepy.

4. The game's music has been very innovative: there's a cool track that plays in the background when you sneak into a house, and the music box in the sheriff's office played "Fur Elise." I'll make a recording at some point during my gameplay. As much as I like the music in the game, it has gotten "stuck" a few times, leaving me with a constant drone in the background, and the only way to get it to stop is to fully quit DOSBox. I'm guessing this is an emulator problem rather than a programming problem.

5. Note how my score kept going up throughout the burglary job. I wasn't planning to rob the old lady's house originally, but I realized that a perfect thief score would depend on it. I've also been getting points for each person I talk to, various things I buy, and many other actions in the game. Since fighters and mages wouldn't be breaking into houses, they get their points through other actions. I know fighters get points for each different type of creature they kill, and mages get points for buying and casting spells. I assume the maximum for all three classes is 500 regardless.

6. Asking the guildmaster about "dag-nab-it" crashes the game--at least in my version. You have to simply type "Play Dag-Nab-It" to play.

7. I spent literally two hours logging the starting positions of the hand, what settings I used, and what the results were before I concluded that there was a strong element of randomness in the game, and success probably depends as much on the "throwing" skill as the settings. Later, after I improved the skill, I was able to win several times.

8. Sleeping is interesting in this game. You have to do it every day or two or you keep getting messages about getting tired. But you can only sleep at night, and only in a few select places: the inn, Erana's Peace (which I'll cover in my next posting), and the hermit's hut (also next time). If there are more, I haven't found them.

I'm really enjoying it so far! I've started over a few times to try different avenues and get different shots--what you've read above is really a composite--but I'm pretty settled into this character for now.

Game 77: Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero

Note: Hero's Quest is the original name of the game that came to be known as Quest for Glory in subsequent editions, including a VGA remake in 1992. Since I'm playing the original game, I'm using the original name for this one. I wrote a preview last week that's worth reading before you get into this posting. As I play, don't forget to read Trickster's take on the game from an adventure game perspective.

Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero
United States
Sierra On-Line (developer and publisher)
Released 1989 for DOS, 1990 for Amiga and Atari ST
Re-released in 1992 as Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero
Date Started: 20 November 2012

Hero's Quest, the first full RPG/adventure game hybrid, is also the first game I can think of in which which the choice of character class really makes a solid difference in gameplay. I'm not saying that it's the first game in which it makes any difference at all, but most of the difference has come down to combat tactics. I can think of only two earlier games in which the character class has made a plot difference: Ultima IV, where it affected the Avatar's starting town; and Demon's Winter, where it changed the nature of the quests in one dungeon plus the end-game wrap-ups.

A player who goes through Hero's Quest as a mage faces a very different game than a player who goes through as a fighter or thief. Some of it comes down to combat, but a lot of it has to do with how you solve puzzles. Every class can succeed in the game, and solve all the puzzles along the main quest, but each has a different tool set. There are entire areas which only certain classes can explore, and mini-games which only certain classes can play. This makes the game very replayable.

Making the key opening choice.

 
My recollection, though, is that a player can get the full breadth of the game by choosing a thief character and starting with a few magic points. If you don't assign anything to magic during the character creation process, you'll never be able to cast a spell, but if you assign even a little, you can build up the skill and play the game as if you were a mage. The fighter (again, this is to the best of my recollection) doesn't have any unique attributes that the thief (or, for that matter, the mage) can't access. The thief is the only character whose very class (and not his equipment or attributes) allows him access to a unique area: the thieves' guild. [Later edit: I was wrong about this. Anyone can make the thieves' sign and get into the guild. But the thief is still a unique character: he's the only one who can start with all of the skills. There aren't enough bonus points for a fighter to get all of the thief skills plus magic, nor for the mage to get all of the thief skills plus parrying.] [Still later edit: as an anonymous commenter points out, you can exploit the game's method of adding and subtracting skill points to give a fighter all possible skills, too.]

I think it's much more interesting to choose one class, dedicate yourself to it, and solve the puzzles with that class's strengths than to try to be a "generalist," and what I planned to do was play this version as a thief and the VGA remake as a mage (Trickster, my colleague at The Adventure Gamer, is playing as a fighter). I am going to assign a few points to magic, though, just so I can cover its basics for the purpose of this review. My primary role-playing choices, and my overall perspective, will all be thief-related.

Creating Chester the Thief

The character creation process is fairly flexible. Based on the chosen character class, you start with certain attribute values and certain skill values, and you have a pool of 50 points that you can assign to either attributes or skills. The key is that if the skill is not one that the class usually employs (e.g., "pick locks" for fighters or mages), you have to invest 15 points to get 5 points in the skill.

All attributes and skills are trainable during the game: they increase as you use them. But if you don't elevate the skill above 0 during the creation process, you can never use it at all. My thief started with 0 in both "parry" (a fighter skill) and "magic" (a mage skill), so to get both of these to 5, and thus ensure I can do everything in the game, I'd have to spend 30 of my 50 bonus points. I did it for magic, for the reasons I stated, but I'm not going to waste 15 points on parrying. My thief will dodge if he wants to avoid an attack. Some players like to try to play a "complete game," getting all of their attributes and skills to 100 before the end (Andy_Panthro announced that he's doing this), but I'm going to try to play the game completely in-character.

The back story to Hero's Quest is a simple one: you've just graduated from the Famous Adventurers' Correspondence School for Heroes, and have walked many a weary mile to the town of Spielburg, in response to an advertisement seeking a hero. You arrive just ahead of a snowfall that closes the only pass out of town, and are greeted by the mayor upon entering the town's front gate.

The game uses an interesting hybrid between mouse control and a text parser. You can left-click to move to a location and right-click to look at things, and there are various keyboard commands for common actions like saving, casting spells, and looking at the inventory. But most of the main action is completed by hitting the SPACE bar and typing in verb-object commands as in a classic adventure game. Common examples include ASK, PUSH, SEARCH, USE, and GET.

Examples of interacting with the world.

It's through this interface that you talk to NPCs in the game, giving conversation a very Ultima-esque feel. You have to watch for certain keywords in NPC dialogue and then ask about them.

"ASK ABOUT DRINKS" got me a list of drinks the bartender offers; "ASK ABOUT DRAGON'S BREATH" got me this.

Combat, when it comes, is action-oriented. You're taken to a special combat screen in which you can use the arrow keys to thrust, dodge, duck, parry (if you put points into it), or cast spells (if you have them). You have to watch your enemy's movement's carefully, attack when he's open, and dodge when he attacks.

This enemy is called a "saurus."

I did poorly in this particular combat (I think I need to adjust the DOSBox CPU settings, plus get some practice). When you die, it's game over. There's no rescue. Fortunately, the game does allow fairly liberal saving.

As you can see, the game makes reasonably good use of EGA graphics, but perhaps more importantly, it makes good use of the sound cards available at the time. There's a background soundtrack that's good enough not to turn off, with the music changing based on circumstances and location. The sound effects are a little more sparse than the music, but they appear when they matter.

As I indicated previously, doing things in the game slowly increases your attributes and skills. For instance, climbing a tree a few times got my "climbing" skill from 5 to 18, my strength from 15 to 18, and my agility from 30 to 32. Every time you visit your character sheet, you can see what skills and attributes have increased since the last time you checked.

The changed attributes are green or red or brown or something.

You may also have noticed the "Score" at the top of the screen, indicating progression on a scale of 500 points. This is an old adventure game staple, of course. My score has gone up from visiting new areas, talking to key NPCs, looking at key items, and solving quests. I don't remember how easy or hard it is to finish the game with a perfect score, so we'll see.

The game has a basic economy. You start with 4 gold pieces and 10 silver pieces (10 silvers=1 gold), and you can spend them at several merchants, including a general equipment shop, a farmer's market (you have to eat occasionally in the game), a magic shop, and a bar. I think money accompanies some quest rewards, but you get a lot of it from fighting enemies in the forest.

Looks like I'm going to be doing some grinding.

The screen shots above are replete with the kind of dry wit and tongue-in-cheek humor that made the Quest for Glory series rightfully famous. As she was the chief writer and designer of the game, I expect it comes primarily from Lori Ann Cole. The dialogue and manuals are full of jokes and obscure references. Some examples:

• "A fighter is one who, when faced with a foe, takes arms against a sea of troubles, and by opposing, ends them." (It's a play on Hamlet's soliloquy if you don't get it right away.)
• "Magic users have a reputation for being mysterious, and much of their time is taken up maintaining this illusion. To this end, mirrors are useful for practicing facial expressions, and a repertoire of moods ranging from 'haughty disdain for fools who ask stupid questions' (ideal for when you don't know the correct answer) to 'complete and utter concentration so don't you dare disturb me' (perfect for catching winks, particularly if you can master sleep with your eyes open), will come in handy."
• Thieves' guild motto: "Thou shalt not steal here."
• "Monsters are the stuff heroes are made of. After all, it is very difficult to rescue damsels unless they are distressed."
• "[Ogres] tend to carry around their prized possessions in chests. It is not clear where the chests come from, why ogres get them, or how ogres even open the chests. These are topics of heated debate among scholars."

The game also likes to give you the occasional humorous message when you click on a random part of the screen with nothing special to look at:

A few months ago, I posted about humor in CRPGs, and I talked about how I hate it when goofiness shows up in an otherwise serious game. I do like a certain amount of wit, however, as well as humor that grows naturally from the characters and settings. Hero's Quest walks the razor's edge sometimes, but in general, I think it's pretty funny--partly because in the game's very title, it establishes an air of whimsy, and it maintains a consistent tone throughout.

Now that I've covered the background and basic game mechanics, I'm going to try to write subsequent postings in-character. Chester, my thief, is a sly, intelligent young man who was kicked out of law school when he was caught breaking into the headmaster's office. Bereft of other possibilities, he decided to take the adventurer's correspondence course and ply his skills as a professional rogue. He's not a bad guy, and he'd rather earn his rewards, but the most important things are those rewards, so if he can't find a way to earn them, he'll just take them. Having arrived in Spielburg, he's not sure if the city is "in need of saving" or "ripe for the plucking." Perhaps a little of both.

Preview: Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero (1989)

I tend to mentally divide CRPGs into two categories--"new" and "old"--with the dividing line being the six years I took off for college and my first job, and thus didn't play any games. I wish I could say this was because I was focused on my schoolwork, but the truth is that my Commodore 64 died just before I started school, and the Mac that I bought to replace it had limited gaming options. It wasn't until about 1998, when I got my first PC, that I bought my first "new" games, and I remember that they were Might & Magic VI and the Quest for Glory anthology. I was blown away by what had happened with games in the years since I had been playing.

Quest for Glory is the name by which Hero's Quest came to be known after Milton Bradley beat Sierra to the trademark. The original version was released in 1989, but most players (me included) are more familiar with the 1992 re-release, under its new name, updated to VGA graphics. I hear there are a few substantive differences, so I'm going to play them both in their respective years, using the opportunity to try different character classes.

Setting up a mage character.

I remember liking the series a lot, even the fifth, which usually gets a lot of grief for switching to action-based combat. (Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire served up one of the most difficult role-playing choices I've ever seen in a CRPG, and I look forward to covering it when I get there.) Even though it's been 16 years, and I think I only played it once, I still have a vague memory of the spatial landscape, and I remember how to solve a lot of the puzzles.

The quest board in the adventurer's guild.

What I didn't appreciate, playing for the first time, is how groundbreaking the series was for both RPGs and adventure games. We've had some examples of quasi-hybrids on this blog before. Beyond Zork was the first, and I played B.A.T. just a few months ago. But these games were fundamentally adventure games that incorporated "RPG elements." Hero's Quest (which may in fact precede B.A.T.; they were released the same year) is the first hybrid whose RPG credentials are incontestable. Unlike the previous two games, it has a true character creation process, by which you select a class, set attributes, and name the character. (And unlike B.A.T., the statistics matter.) It has a skills system in which the skills develop based on use. There are both adventure-game-style puzzles and random encounters with monsters against whom you can grind. Best of all, the puzzles generally have multiple solutions based on class.

To get the lost ring out of the bird's nest, I can throw a rock at it (fighter), cast a spell at it (mage), or climb the tree and grab it (thief)--and nothing stops one class from using a different class's solutions, if they want to take the time to develop those skills.

 
As such a landmark game, it would be worth playing even if being a "hybrid" was its only innovation. But Hero's Quest doesn't just adeptly blend RPG and adventure game elements; it also excels as an RPG. It has an interesting tactical/action approach to combat and flexible dialogue with a host of memorable NPCs. With the three character classes--fighter, thief, and mage--there are honest-to-god role-playing choices; it's the first game I can think of where the character class really matters for more than combat tactics, and it's one of the few games of the era with side quests. I love that the plot isn't the standard save-the-world fare, but rather involves a series of quests to help out a troubled town; It has the same early-level humility I praised in Pool of Radiance.

I remember that Antewerp gave me trouble.

The game also features a sense of humor and whimsy reminiscent of the Zork series. I won't lie: there are times that it makes me groan. But it's generally done with wit and intelligence.

Before The Elder Scrolls series gave us Khajiit, Hero's Quest had Katta.

I'm not actually going to be playing the game until later this month, and in playing, I'm going to try to coordinate with Trickster over at The Adventure Gamer, after he finishes his porn game. I'll be curious what he thinks of it as an adventure game as I write from an RPG perspective. I'm also hoping we can play different character classes so you can get a sense of how the game varies based on that initial choice.

The reason I'm writing the initial posting now is to tell you that Lori Ann Cole and Corey Cole, the designers of the Quest for Glory series, have an active Kickstarter project for a new game called Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption. The game is described as a "turn-based PC RPG with adventure game puzzles and an immersive story," blending the hybrid approach that made Quest for Glory famous with more in-depth NPC relationships. The project closes on November 20, which will probably be after Trickster and I begin Hero's Quest.

It's one of the better designed Kickstarter pages that I've seen, and their ideas for the game sound like a lot of fun. If you're not familiar with Kickstarter, you can pledge any amount you want to support a project, and in this case anything above $20 gets you a copy of the game. You only get charged for your pledge if the project reaches its goal.

I wish Lori and Corey the best of luck, and I look forward to getting into their first game in a few weeks! For me, it's back to The Dark Heart of Uukrul.