Noon pacific / 3pm eastern! That means a couple of hours from now. We get to play Gabriel Knight and talk game publishing and production and all sort of video game shenanigans with @danielalbu ʕ•ᴥ•ʔﾉ☆
today, some obscure sierra on-line & dynamix history that shouldn't be obscure yet is due to how gaming culture developed: Front Page Sports Baseball. this just came in the mail, and i'm so glad to finally have my own copy after playing a demo from a CD-ROM Today! magazine cover disc as a kid.
this dynamix-produced and sierra-published title is weird for a bunch of reasons.
first, it's one of the last few DOS-only games that came out in the mid-90s.
second, it runs in hi-res mode using what i suspect is a blend of software-rendered 3D and 2D sprites that were a holdover from dynamix's 3Space engine used in almost all of dynamix's titles. (pic 2) the animation is crisp, the sprites are beautifully rendered in a very compressed colour palette.
third, the Front Page Sports series were massive hits - outselling other sierra/dynamix titles of the time. but no one talks about it, because sports games often get irritated yawns from gamers.
fourth, this game is fun to play. it's not just an average EA sports-style title. the batting/pitching gameplay is addictive, and the simulation of the players and teams is deep.
and finally, there is - unbelievably - still an active FPS Baseball community still modding and developing rosters for the game. someone maintains a tool that generates websites that lets other people see the outcomes of your baseball games like a late-90s ESPN network site 🤣 https://www.silverbox.com/biorhythm/
very rarely i can still find old sierra titles at the thrift store. this is the first time i’ve found a sierra flight sim in the wild: the highly respected Red Baron 3D (3dfx/Glide re-release of RB II) 😍
🔴Rappel amical que The Legend of Skye sera disponible dès ce mardi 2 avril.
Comme d'habitude, je vous proposerai le jour même de sa sortie une review complète du jeu, partageant avec vous mes impressions sur ses points forts et points faibles.😉
An earlier design of Laura Bow from The Colonel's Bequest. The first is from the non-interactive promo release, the second is from the commercial release/final version. Also included, the sketch from the original design document. 😀
@JuliaMinamata@32bitkid I may have mentioned this before, but in the Colonel's Bequest demo, not only does Laura's sprite (like her closeup) have a different hairstyle, her suitcase has green cloth sides that were later removed.
Early screenshots of Leisure Suit Larry 3, from Game Player's PC Buyer's Guide, vol. 2 no. 5 (Nov/Dec 1989).
The comedy club has different-colored chairs. Meanwhile, Patti has a different hairstyle, both arms visible, and no top... #sierra#leisuresuitlarry#adventuregames
Early screenshots of Conquests of Camelot from Game Player's PC Buyer's Guide, vol. 2 no. 5 (Nov/Dec 1989).
Notice that in Merlin's study, the tapestry on the wall has a "fylfot" (swastika) on one side. This was probably meant in the ancient sense of a sun symbol. It was removed in the final game, but the description of the tapestry still mentions it. #sierra#conquestsofcamelot#adventuregames
The very controversial "Nightmare Rock" at the Alabama Hills near Lone Pine, California. Nearly every B-western from the '50s was filmed in the Alabama Hills as well as hundreds of other movies, both classic & modern. The Alabama Hills are public lands. Thankfully, while roadside Nightmare Rock has been painted in various ways over many decades, I have never seen any other street art or graffiti in the area.
I told myself I'd stop buying big box PC games, so check out the 3 big boxed PC games I bought recently: Space Quest IV, King's Quest IV and Conquests of Camelot. #vintagepc#sierra#msdos#mt-32
What I find interesting about the Sierra classic is that after a certain time you always have to eat and drink something in order to survive.
Do you know of another game with similar mechanics?
Dear #California, stay away from the mountains (#Sierra and North State) until Monday or later. There will be high winds and phenomenal amounts of snow fall all weekend. It'll #snow hard all weekend.
When #Sierra handed over the development of #SpaceQuestV to #Dynamix, they let appear their logo in more or less hidden places. On top of that, they integrated the logo of a real sponsor. You can read here whether the outsourcing has affected the usual quality in any other way.