A while back, there was a project which attempted to remake MoE as a 2D point and click adventure, however, I was wondering if anyone would be interested in instead helping me MoE the way it was meant to be in 1995-1996 (the early stages, before Sierra was sold to CUC). It would still be 3D, but would use very rudimentary and primitive 3D (to emulate the screenshots shown below).
I would probably use the Dark engine, or the 3space engine--Or some variant of the Quake engine. I'm not a programmer, so I'd need programmers and artists who have worked with 3D.
I'd like to use the original "Connor the marble statue of a hero turned to flesh" storyline, along with the original design of the lands featured in many early screenshots, and the larger (and cut in the final game) plot points (like there being two Daventry towns and a seaside town with a Hydra, a much longer Swamp witch story, an underwater level, etc).
Read this history written by a KQ fan named Baggins:
http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Mask_o ... evelopment
It details (with reliable sources and facts) how much change MoE went through from development to release.
Will it bear such hallmarks as the Kingdom of Daventry?... Connor begins his adventure in the Kingdom of Daventry, but he doesn't stay there long. Seven new lands await!... The world of King's Quest: The Mask of Eternity reaches from the sunless Underworld of the living dead through the alchemical plains of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, into the ether of the Celestial Realm--and even to a dark mysterious island temple...
--InterAction, Fall 1996
''Daventry would have been much larger zone, with villages, green forests, and farms. It would have taken place during the day (as opposed to the darkness seen in the current game). At one point during the production they added a darker cloudy sky, before finally settling on the pitch black Daventry in the game. The swamp would have been part of Daventry.
There was apparently going to be another zone near Daventry set by the sea, near a seaside tower, in a green hilly area. Another removed zone appears to have been set underwater, with seaweed, fish, and ancient ruins.
Dimension of Death would have been named the Underworld. The art style of the "Underworld" would have been much different, using a Mesopotamian style rather than the current Egyptian motif.''
Here are some early screenshots and info:
Connor:
Daventry:
----Notice Daventry is much brighter and more ''woodland''-ish, like the Daventry of the original games. The trees are alive, the sky is sunny with clouds, etc--Not like the dead, dark land of Daventy in the final version.
--Castle Daventry would be in the center of a valley (think of the KQ5 intro) and all of the worlds would ''fan out'' from Daventry; There would be no load time between worlds. It would be a wide, open, non-linear world--Like in Grand Theft Auto
Castle Daventry was to be explored in full, with Rosella being seen (turned to stone like everyone else). That was cut too due to budget and other reasons.
You were also to encounter a Lepreachaun inside the Old CastleKeep of Daventry
--The Swamp Witches' role was supposed to be much larger, and she would've had a human form with which to 'lure' Connor to her castle, to kill him--Like many a vile witch in fairy tales. A lot of it was cut due to budget and other reasons. This was
A description of the Swamp witch: ''"In Daventry there is this Swamp, and there is this Swamp Witch in there, and she kinda looks like a part snake, part alligator, and part mermaid."
"She would have been able to change herself into a beautiful woman, to persuade Connor into thinking she was good, and lure her into her castle, before exposing herself, and showing her true form. Conner would have been forced to escape, and fight her for his life. This was removed from the final version of the game as well, and the witch stays outside of her castle. However references to the witch's wiles are still mentioned if you examine the skeletons in her castle. Most if not all info relating to this encounter exists in material relating to the 'Connor mac Lyrr' phase of the game."-Mark Seibert
-Much of the game would've been first person (for example when you're walking, it would be first person). 'Third Person' views would've only been for "story point areas" (possibly conversations, cut scenes, battles). So the game would be primarily first person--You would see the world through Connor's eyes for most of the game. ---Think Doom or Quake.
"One of the earliest phases of the game's story (mentioned around late 1995), Connor, then unnamed was to be a marble statue of a knight that was brought to life at the moment of the cataclysm that turned everyone living into stone. The game was primarily going to be in first-person, and switch to 3rd person for cutscenes, and certain puzzle areas.""
Firebugs would've been in the Hot Lands, but were removed, and Connor would've had to fight them in a unique way since you can't fight fire with fire
Influence:
"With past King's Quest games I focused around the Royal Family," Roberta Explains. "But I've done just about as much as I could with the Royal Family. I knew I needed to bring in a new character, and I wanted the character to be less Disney-ish and more cerebral. The spiritual father of Mask is J.R.R. Tolkien not Walt Disney," she concluded firmly. Connor is very much a new character. He is an inhabitant of Daventry, a kingdom he doesn't rule but whose fate lies in his hands. A terrible curse has turned all of the people living in Daventry, including the Royal Family themselves, into stone. Connor must find the answers behind the curse, including why it's been imposed, who imposed it, and, possibly most importantly, why he alone has been spared the terrible fate of his comrades. Connor is a warrior and it's his combination of strength, cunning, intuition, and intellect that makes him best-suited to save the kingdom."--Roberta
It would seem the King's Quest series has grown up a bit with the creation of Mask. Evidence of this continually surfaces throughout the game but is especially apparent with the central antagonist and Archarchon, Lucreto. His storyline parallels that of Lucifer, the fallen angel whose attempt to overtake Heaven ends him up in Hell.
The Engine:
It was originally designed using the 3space engine that was used in Dynamix flight simulators (the engine from Red Baron to be exact) from the period, just to get an idea of what the replication engine would need to be like.
The Remake would be in 3D but not modern 3D; It would use an antiquated style of 3D graphics to replicate almost exactly what's seen in those early screenshots shown above, with maybe a "Doom" clone engine (there are plenty of free-be Doom WADs, designed from the engine). Basically the idea of this remake would be to create the version of MoE that could've and would've (if not for the sale to CUC) been released in 1996 or 1997.
I've been told the Dark engine would be good for accomplishing this. My goal would be for it NOT to look like a modern 3D game, but like a 3D game from 1996 or 1997.
Summary:
Basically it would be like a Mask of Eternity++ remake. Take the best elements from the 1996 and 1997 versions of the game:
-Keep the '96 graphics with Daventry as a brighter place (live trees, daylight, the Well, the Castle in the Valley, the world radiating out from Daventry with the town and seaside town with Hydra).
-Put in the cut storylines and subplots and adventures (such as searching in the Underwater world for Amethyst, and the element of the sunken ship that's on one of the design notes I showed you--In Roberta's notes she writes that the pirates were about to raid Daventry)
-Put in cut locations such as the Underwater Level, expand Paradise Lost
-Give a more darker, Mesopotamian look to the Underworld and maybe even a darker atmosphere--Like the KQ4 spookiness
-Keep the idea of a mythical Hermit and Island King mentioned in Roberta's note.
-Keep the 1996 version of Connor (with the Arabian outfit, keeping the same outfit throughout the game--No changes of armor) and the story version of Connor as Marble Statue turned to life or (keeping with the Christian elements such as Paradise Lost and Lucreto as Lucifer), take the '97 "Connor the Fisherman" angle.
-Add in more depth to the "Lucreto as Lucifer/Fallen Angel" angle, really make the villain a deeper character.
-Make the Zombies less Mummy looking, more like the KQ6 zombies.
-Keep the idea of the "Green Man" (of myth) which is mentioned in Roberta's note.
-Keep the idea of the "Wood Whisps" mentioned in Roberta's notes.
-Keep the idea of the "Phoenix egg" as an item that needs to be given to an alchemist.
-Give a fulfilling ending where Connor meets King Graham and is rewarded or praised, and allowed to become truly human.
-Keep the subplot of saving the Bandit in the Barren Regions from Roberta's notes
-Keep the ''Dark Abyss'' mentioned in her note
-Keep BOTH the Leprechaun and Red Cap Goblin, put them in separate locations. Maybe turn the Leprechaun into a good character, with a hint of the lightness of KQ5 to his character.
-Make the dialogue modern English like in KQ2-KQVII, or return to the Pseudo-Modern English of the KQ1 Remake.
Sort of like the KQ2+ VGA remake.
I was wondering who would want to work on this with me? I think if done right it could be end up being a great (free) remake version of MoE.
This is a note with some of Roberta's early design ideas:
