Designing Quest for Glory VI.

[Collector]

Itchy feet make the heart go yonder?

Wrong choice of words. QFG5 ended with... some general attempt at closure? Somewhere in that ballpark?

Are you not familiar with the term "the seven year itch"? It fits because of an inner urge that can overwhelm what should be a contented, complete existence.

[Datadog]

Hmm... this sounds like it could easily be manipulated by the hero. "Verily, fetch me a pint of beer!"

I'd add a patch for that. Not only do they get low EXP for collecting things they don't have to leave town for, but they'll charge you for delivery, get a boost on their intelligence, and eventually start stealing the beer, leading to a crime rise.

So on their road, the intro shows them riding on wagons and taking various forms of transportation across different lands, until they reach the city of Romeria (which would be, as you might have guessed) based on Rome, with coliseums, pillars everywhere, a senate, the whole bit. The hero finds Romeria is a city in desperate need of a hero.

A Rome-themed game wouldn't be a bad direction after Silmaria. And it would certainly accommodate all the game's endings since Rome borrowed a lot of its culture from Greece. If you end as a king, you could start the new game in a Roman palace and you'd be under constant attack by assassins. But end as a hero and you can start somewhere on the streets, with the city guard keeping their eye on you. You could do the whole game like "Dragon Age 2" where the map is largely just a city and you don't venture far outside its gates.

Are you not familiar with the term "the seven year itch"? It fits because of an inner urge that can overwhelm what should be a contented, complete existence.

Ah, this is the context you meant. In that case, yes, while QFG5 might be one of the few Sierra series to have something close to a definite end, I still see opportunities where it can continue should a forum topic like this arise.

[Tawmis]

The Republic of Romeria seems to point to the Roman Republic. This region already has a name - Nova Roma. Magnum Opus is from there.

It's funny because I wanted to do something other than Nova Roma. Because the Nova Roma I know predates the Quest for Glory Nova Roma, I believe: http://marvel.wikia.com/wiki/Nova_Roma

Towards its end, the Roman Republic was definitely corrupt and riddled with crime. Some of the elected officials, who did try to reform the system to help the poor, were murdered. So there's a very sound historical basis for all this.
Maybe someone could try to assassinate the hero, too.

That's what I was basing my new city on - was a lot of the things that actually happened in Rome.

- Sirens, Harpies, Satyrs, and Chimerae are all Greek monsters, not Roman ones... although I may be nitpicking here - but I wonder if we can find something specifically Roman, or else you'd have QfG fans saying "We've seen Greek things in QfG5!" Then again, the Lemures (ghosts in QfG5) are Roman, not Greek. So perhaps we can have some leeway here. Still, here's a (very brief) list of Roman legendary creatures, which are different than the Greek ones. The Basilisk is definitely Roman, not Greek - maybe we can use it!

I would be fine mixing and matching. I was just trying to find monsters we've not seen too much of.

- A bit of nitpicking, but Medusa is not a monster (and neither is Gordon!) I think you're thinking of a Gorgon, Tawm. The Gorgons were three sisters who were cursed by Athena, because Poseidon had his wicked way with them in one of Athena's temples. Of the Gorgons, Medusa is the best-known (but "Medusa" is her name, not a description). I re-wrote the legend of Perseus and Medusa a couple of years ago, so I know it extremely well.

Well Gordon is my landlord so ...

I know the lore of Medusas, but I wasn't sure how well it would translate into QfG... So I went with the Medusa we see in (the original) Clash of the Titans.

- Satyrs are well-known for being drunk and lustful. How faithful one of them would be as a sidekick, I don't know. I would guess that the Satyr would constantly be arrested as a bloody nuisance, and the hero would have to bail him out of jail.

Getting the hero in trouble would be part of the Satyr's job.

[Tawmis]

- A bit of nitpicking, but Medusa is not a monster (and neither is Gordon!) I think you're thinking of a Gorgon, Tawm. The Gorgons were three sisters who were cursed by Athena, because Poseidon had his wicked way with them in one of Athena's temples. Of the Gorgons, Medusa is the best-known (but "Medusa" is her name, not a description). I re-wrote the legend of Perseus and Medusa a couple of years ago, so I know it extremely well.

I know the lore of Medusas, but I wasn't sure how well it would translate into QfG... So I went with the Medusa we see in (the original) Clash of the Titans.

Actually - upon further thinking - it might be a quest to help a single Medusa remove the curse that's been bestowed upon her (by some powerful, scorned lover, rather than a god/goddess) - so now you're going back and forth between her and the wizard to undo.

[adeyke]

Personally, I think there's a bit too much overlap in Greece/Roman mythology, both in how they actually affected each other and in how they're conflated in the popular understanding. I'd rather have a game take place in a really new-to-QfG setting, like Asia or pre-Columbian America.

[Tawmis]

Personally, I think there's a bit too much overlap in Greece/Roman mythology, both in how they actually effected each other and in how they're conflated in the popular understanding. I'd rather have a game take place in a really new-to-QfG setting, like Asia or pre-Columbian America.

An Asia culture one would be pretty cool, actually!

I just don't know enough about the culture that could be used for monsters and the like that our hero would encounter.

[Datadog]

An Asia culture one would be pretty cool, actually!

I just don't know enough about the culture that could be used for monsters and the like that our hero would encounter.

I'd really like to see a five-game arc takes place across the West Pacific coasts. Start in Australia, move the Hero up through India, China, Japan, and Siberia. Very different mythologies, cultures, monsters and biomes to choose from.

[adeyke]

That sounds like a really cool idea.

[Tawmis]

Personally, I think there's a bit too much overlap in Greece/Roman mythology, both in how they actually effected each other and in how they're conflated in the popular understanding. I'd rather have a game take place in a really new-to-QfG setting, like Asia or pre-Columbian America.

An Asia culture one would be pretty cool, actually!

Decided to do some super basic research online and came up with this...

The character generator would be similar to what I mentioned in Police Quest (you can specify hair color, eye color, skin color, even gender).

I'd design Quest for Glory VI with the original hero talking about his tales... and how he (unintentionally) inspires one of his listeners to pack up and see if he (or she) could be a hero.

So on their road, the intro shows them riding on wagons and taking various forms of transportation across different lands, even oceans, until they reach the city of Yokoana. (Based on Japanese and Chinese cultures)

Our hero learns that Yosei (a term for fairies) have recently descended on the land and wreaking havoc. The people of Yokoana have lived in peaceful times, sharing the lands with the Yosei - but something has these creatures acting strangely.

Our hero decides, this seems like something he/she could look into. Our hero gets a visit in their dreams from a being called Shinigami (The God of Death), who explains souls are being prevented from ascending.

Our hero is told to visit the Emperor of the land, but discovers that the Emperor has fallen ill and can not be seen. The Emperor's Xiezhi (lion with horns) prevents the hero from seeing him.

If the hero talks to the Xiezhi, it knows when they're lying. It will only let them pass when it has gained the assistance of the Baku (see below).

Creatures they could encounter:

Mogwai - Common creatures (demons) found in the land; treated as Goblins were in QFG1.

Jin Chan - The Money toad; it's a toad that the hero inserts coins in it's mouth to cross an impassible swamp back and forth.

Xiao - Odd, playful, and mischievous monkey like creatures. Think along the lines of Meeps.

Our hero learns that the Emperor is plagued by endless nightmares.

Akashita - a beast over floodgates; it could be guarding it (preventing water to the farm lands). Our hero needs a way to defeat it.

Amabie - A mermaid that prophecizes harvest or epidemic. The hero encounters her in a pond, and she essentially tells the hero how they're doing (based on what she foresees)

Hibagon / Hinagon - Which is essentially the same thing as "Big Foot" or "Sasquatch." I'd want this solved peacefully, not Pie-In-The-Face-Fall-To-Your-Death.

Preta - Which is a foul spirit (who died horribly and now is full of evil). There's more to it, but that's all we need.

Baku - Creature that devours dreams and nightmares. Our hero needs to convince it to help someone (by doing something for the Baku) to free the Emperor of his bad dreams. This allows the hero to interact with the Emperor.

Amazake-babaa - A cursed woman; to follow her is to fall ill, to not, get a cedar leaf on their doorstep. The cedar leaf is used to cure someone who has fallen ill.

Zhenniao - Poison birds; our hero has to climb up to their nest and extract poison that's used to fight the main villain to weaken them.

Our main villain:

Amanojaku/Amanjaku - A demon that unleashes one's darkest desires; convinced the fairies to frolic and use their magic freely, rather than hiding - then used the magic to prevent the spirits from ascending - then through that uses the energy of the spirits to increase his own power.

[Collector]

How about India with its mythologies? I think that Kali Goddess of Destruction should provide ample ideas the equal of Avoozl. The list of their mythological characters is very long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_l ... _mythology

[Tawmis]

How about India with its mythologies? I think that Kali Goddess of Destruction should provide ample ideas the equal of Avoozl. The list of their mythological characters is very long. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_l ... _mythology

Wikipedia is where I did my "basic" research for the previous post. All of the creatures mentioned are a part of either Japanese or Chinese lore.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm, I don't know much about either Japanese or Chinese folklore. Sorry.

As for setting - have you thought about where/when this will based on? If China, then I'd recommend the War of the Three Kingdoms - I don't know it very well, but I know enough that China was divided into three, which caused a civil war. That backdrop should provide lots of opportunity for conflict within the state - are you for or against the emperor? etc.

If we're basing it on Japan, then probably the time with the best backdrop for conflict is the Momoyama period, a short but spectacular epoch that resulted in the unification of Japan, the invasion of (and withdrawal from) Korea, and the rise of a new shogunate under the Ieyasu clan. Alternatively, you can try the Edo or Togukawa period, which immediately followed. Japanese society was united under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyo. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, "no more wars", and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. (So maybe we might even see some Noh theatre!) ^_^

[Tawmis]

Hmm, I don't know much about either Japanese or Chinese folklore. Sorry.

As I said, neither did I. But went through Wikipedia and found some lore, and threw together a baseline to work out of (had this been a real game design).

As for setting - have you thought about where/when this will based on? If China, then I'd recommend the War of the Three Kingdoms - I don't know it very well, but I know enough that China was divided into three, which caused a civil war. That backdrop should provide lots of opportunity for conflict within the state - are you for or against the emperor? etc.

If we're basing it on Japan, then probably the time with the best backdrop for conflict is the Momoyama period, a short but spectacular epoch that resulted in the unification of Japan, the invasion of (and withdrawal from) Korea, and the rise of a new shogunate under the Ieyasu clan. Alternatively, you can try the Edo or Togukawa period, which immediately followed. Japanese society was united under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional daimyo. The period was characterized by economic growth, strict social order, isolationist foreign policies, a stable population, "no more wars", and popular enjoyment of arts and culture. (So maybe we might even see some Noh theatre!) ^_^

You don't know the lore, but you know the history!

[Datadog]

You could also check out "Journey to the West" as a reference point for Chinese folklore. It's the story of the Monkey King and his three companions as they travel across the country and through the afterlife meeting gods, demons, and dragons. Like "Three Kingdoms", it's one of their most famous and influential stories. Tons of movies and TV shows made about it too.

If you haven't been to China, it would also be worth checking out some of their famous landmarks for ideas. The country is diverse enough to be its own mini-Europe. Notable places, besides the Great Wall, would include the Forbidden City, the Longmen Grottoes, Shaolin Temple, and the Terra Cotta Army, and that's just what little I saw. There's still places like Mt. Everest and the Zhangjiajie National Forest (the place that inspired "Avatar") that would provide excellent backdrops.

[Rath Darkblade]

Ooh! Or, if we're going back to Japan, the story of the Forty-Seven Ronin is legendary.

For a Japanese depiction, Hana yori mo Naho is excellent. For a Westernised one, 47 Ronin is a good introduction to the full story (even if it doesn't meet the high Japanese expectations).