Amazing blast from the past.

[Rath Darkblade]

Here's a review of QfG1 from the time of its release! If you look hard enough, you can find ANYTHING on the interwebz.

https://archive.org/details/ACE_Issue_3 ... ew=theater

Mind you, I wasn't looking for this. My eye was drawn to the Terry Pratchett interview on page 68. This was more or less a lucky find.

[goatmeal]

Wow. That reviewer really was "down" on the RPG elements of HQ. He was expecting a more "traditional" rote RPG of its day, not the awesome hybridization that went on to define the entire QFG series...

[Tawmis]

Yeah.

They clearly are more of the standard fare of RPG (just go kill things; not do specific favors for towns folk)

[DeadPoolX]

It sounds like the reviewer was expecting a party-based game with better combat mechanics. To be fair, HQ is not a particularly good RPG; it's a great Adventure/RPG hybrid, but if you go in expecting an RPG, you will likely be disappointed.

I can go either way on having a solo hero or a party-based game, but I definitely agree with the reviewer's comments regarding combat. The first three games had terrible combat controls, but that was a product of its time. Action-oriented gameplay on computers (before the FPS genre appeared) was rarely decent, let alone actually good.

I sometimes joke to Maia that combat in HQ/QFG1-3 amounted to little more than mashing the keypad and hoping you outlast your enemy. I'm surprised the Coles didn't opt for turn-based combat. Maybe that would've been more complicated to program.

[Tawmis]

I sometimes joke to Maia that combat in HQ/QFG1-3 amounted to little more than mashing the keypad and hoping you outlast your enemy.

Having just replayed Hero's Quest, that is an accurate description of combat - especially in the beginning. Not so much later, if you play a fighter and take time to build up stats.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. The reviewer also expected the "hero" to have a more fleshed-out background, like Alexander (KQ3) or Larry. The hero of Hero's Quest/QfG is, obviously, whatever you decide to make of him.

I sometimes joke to Maia that combat in HQ/QFG1-3 amounted to little more than mashing the keypad and hoping you outlast your enemy.

It's more or less true; the combat element of the QfG series can be challenging to a thief, especially in the first game. The "throw rocks and run away" tactic can only take you so far.

It would be nice if, in QfG, you could sneak up on a monster and backstab it (as thieves/rogues are supposed to do). But I guess someone in Sierra was scared that backstabbing would be regarded as EVIL(TM), even if you were backstabbing a goblin. "Can't have a hero backstab something! What would the reviewers say?!" etc.

[Tawmis]

It would be nice if, in QfG, you could sneak up on a monster and backstab it (as thieves/rogues are supposed to do). But I guess someone in Sierra was scared that backstabbing would be regarded as EVIL(TM), even if you were backstabbing a goblin. "Can't have a hero backstab something! What would the reviewers say?!" etc.

I think it was more of a mechanic.

Since a lot of the monsters "randomly appear" into the screen (except the "goblin camp") - it makes it very difficult to even use something like a "STEALTH" skill that could have been added.

[Rath Darkblade]

Hmm. You're right, which raises another question: does the "Stealth" skill come into play at any time, then (except for story reasons, e.g. sneaking into people's houses and stealing their stuff, or - more seriously - sneaking in QfG2's Rasier and stealing the blackbird, etc.)?

IIRC, that's all the stealth skill can be used for (but you can use it to blackjack people too, in QfG5). Of course, if you're not stealthy enough for some of these things, it's game over.

[DeadPoolX]

Hmm. The reviewer also expected the "hero" to have a more fleshed-out background, like Alexander (KQ3) or Larry. The hero of Hero's Quest/QfG is, obviously, whatever you decide to make of him.

The QFG series reminds me more of early Sierra games, where the game itself acted as if YOU were the character instead of the character having a defined personality. The first two Space Quest games, for instance, allowed you to type in your own name, and as far as I know, Roger Wilco only became the canonical name for the character in SQ3. Before that, I think "Roger Wilco" was a default name used if the player didn't choose anything.

On this subject... did the Hero in the QFG series ever have a canonical name or was it always whatever you typed in? I never tried leaving the name blank.

Hmm. You're right, which raises another question: does the "Stealth" skill come into play at any time, then (except for story reasons, e.g. sneaking into people's houses and stealing their stuff, or - more seriously - sneaking in QfG2's Rasier and stealing the blackbird, etc.)?

IIRC, that's all the stealth skill can be used for (but you can use it to blackjack people too, in QfG5). Of course, if you're not stealthy enough for some of these things, it's game over.

Couldn't you use stealth to get around the minotaur in HQ/QFG1? You're not trying to steal anything then, but I guess that could count as a story-related reason.

And on that note... the QFG titles get really amusing when you have a character that has a shared skillset (i.e. a character with both Thief and Wizard abilities) because it seems to confuse the game.

Maia always played single-class characters because she felt it was more "true to the game," but I never had any such issues. Then again, you're talking to someone who walks around Skyrim using mods to become Iron Man or Darth Vader, and casting spells that cause fiery trains to rain down from the sky.

[Rath Darkblade]

On this subject... did the Hero in the QFG series ever have a canonical name or was it always whatever you typed in? I never tried leaving the name blank.

I think the Fan Nickname was "Devon Aidendale" - and this name was given in the prose-style writeup for the official strategy guide, too. Even TV Tropes says so. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ ... stForGlory

And on that note... the QFG titles get really amusing when you have a character that has a shared skillset (i.e. a character with both Thief and Wizard abilities) because it seems to confuse the game.

Sorry, I don't understand. You mean the game titles (like "Trial by Fire" etc.)? They don't change.

I also gave my thief magic abilities, because it made the game a tiny bit easier. And yes, I've modded the hell out of Skyrim ... but only to add additional NPCs (e.g. Inigo, who is very cool ), or architecture mods to make towns different from each other (e.g. to make Whiterun look very different from Riften) ... or armour/weapons mods, or magic arrows (to complement the existing magic swords etc.), or holiday mods (to make the game less grim!)

Oh, yes -- and making the daedric artefacts a bit stronger and more special ... and so on.

I wouldn't try to become Darth Vader or anything, though. I tried a mod where you meet Sauron, beat him up and steal his mace -- but after a bit, the game isn't challenging any more. As for spells that make fire rain down from the sky ... isn't that Alduin's job?

[DeadPoolX]

On this subject... did the Hero in the QFG series ever have a canonical name or was it always whatever you typed in? I never tried leaving the name blank.

I think the Fan Nickname was "Devon Aidendale" - and this name was given in the prose-style writeup for the official strategy guide, too. Even TV Tropes says so. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ ... stForGlory

But "fan nickname" isn't the same thing as canonical name given by Sierra Online (like they did with Roger Wilco). Whatever fans came up with is largely irrelevant.

And on that note... the QFG titles get really amusing when you have a character that has a shared skillset (i.e. a character with both Thief and Wizard abilities) because it seems to confuse the game.

Sorry, I don't understand. You mean the game titles (like "Trial by Fire" etc.)? They don't change.

I know I shouldn't laugh, but that was too funny.

Rath, using the word "title" the way I did doesn't refer to the games' actual names. It's simply another way of saying "QFG games." You can do the same thing with books and movies as well.

I tried a mod where you meet Sauron, beat him up and steal his mace -- but after a bit, the game isn't challenging any more. As for spells that make fire rain down from the sky ... isn't that Alduin's job?

You're missing the point. The reason to use mods (or at least, the reason someone like me uses a mod) is to cause complete chaos, and truly screw with the game's engine and all characters in it.

[Rath Darkblade]

On this subject... did the Hero in the QFG series ever have a canonical name or was it always whatever you typed in? I never tried leaving the name blank.

I think the Fan Nickname was "Devon Aidendale" - and this name was given in the prose-style writeup for the official strategy guide, too. Even TV Tropes says so. https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ ... stForGlory

But "fan nickname" isn't the same thing as canonical name given by Sierra Online (like they did with Roger Wilco). Whatever fans came up with is largely irrelevant.

True, but if that name appeared in the official strategy guide ... doesn't that make it a "canonical" name? *shrug*

I tried a mod where you meet Sauron, beat him up and steal his mace -- but after a bit, the game isn't challenging any more. As for spells that make fire rain down from the sky ... isn't that Alduin's job?

You're missing the point. The reason to use mods (or at least, the reason someone like me uses a mod) is to cause complete chaos, and truly screw with the game's engine and all characters in it.

Fair enough. I use mods in Skyrim for three reasons:

1. to make the game a little easier - e.g. magic arrows (to join the magic swords/maces etc.);
2. to make the game more realistic - e.g. depictions of Viking/Roman armour for the Stormcloaks/Empire, respectively;
3. to introduce new, interesting and/or more realistic characters (e.g. Inigo), who sometimes have their own quests and/or storylines.

I've tried fan-created quests, too -- but only the ones that keep to the Elder Scrolls lore, and aren't there just to create chaos (e.g. by creating thousands of people to fight huge battles, thus crashing the game). Sorry if that's boring.

[goatmeal]

True, but if that name appeared in the official strategy guide ... doesn't that make it a "canonical" name? *shrug*

But the official strategy guide was not produced by Sierra. It was produced in conjunction *with* Sierra, but artistic license was in play here by the guide's author, especially since the gameplay was expanded into story form; after all, you can't have the character's name be [PLACEHOLDER] for the entire guide.

From the reference section for the Quest for Glory: The Authorized Strategy Guide entry on the QFG Omnipedia, here is a quote taken from to the defunct link to the Coles's old The School For Heroes website:

http://www.theschoolforheroes.com/stude ... php?id=152

"And by the way, mentions of "Devon Aidendale" and Willowsby (or Willowdale or whatever the name was) drive me crazy. Devon was just the name Paula Spiese chose for her QG hero, and she used him in the strategy guide she co-wrote with Lori. Those names have no "official place in the canon", except of course they've been enshrined on Wikipedia because they're part of a published book."
...
"We did not name the hero, nor his starting village, for a reason. We wanted every player to imagine their own hero's background so that the player would really become a part of the story. So it's frustrating when I see other people adopt Paula's fantasy as their own. Still, if that makes the game more fun for you, go with it!"

[Rath Darkblade]

Aha! I didn't know that, goatmeal. I just saw "official strategy guide" and thought it was by Sierra. Thanks for correcting me.

And I agree -- if you don't want to name your hero "Devon" whatever, there's nothing to stop you from calling him anything you like