Telltale Games

Anakin Skywalker · 03/11/2011, 08:47 pm

One thing I was pondering was:

Roberta and Jane had worked together on KQ6, and it was a critical and commercial hit, and obviously in this period Roberta wasn't really interested in KQ anymore (She was busy writing Scary Tales, which eventually became Phantasmagoria) and so wanted to hand off KQ to other designers, while still retaining some role in the series.

You'd think that given the success of KQ6, she'd have wanted to keep that team--her and Jane--together. But instead she brought in Lorelei Shannon, who while like Jane obviously took the series in an utterly different, opposite direction.

It just makes me wonder if Roberta wasn't a big fan of Jane's style or where Jane was taking the series, or--perhaps--if she felt upstaged by Jane. I mean usually if a team is successful, you keep them together, you don't dump the other half of the team the next year to bring in somebody brand new.

With KQVIII, it's obvious that for whatever reason, Roberta was interested in KQ again--I guess because she had gotten Phantasmagoria out of her system--and decided to take full control of the series again, so there isn't really as much question about why the lack of Jane.

This isn't a slam at Lorelei Shannon, as I love KQ7, but just a speculative thread.

Daventry · 03/11/2011, 08:54 pm

Gabriel Knight.

Anakin Skywalker · 03/11/2011, 08:59 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daventry

Gabriel Knight.

That came out in December 1993. KQ7 didn't come out until November 1994.
KQ6 was put into development in July 1991 if I recall correctly (it was either May or July) and was supposed to come out in July 1992 but was delayed until that Fall by beta testing.

KQVII was likely put into development then around November-December 1993, which is when GK1's development was winding down, pretty much over with.

Daventry · 03/11/2011, 09:03 pm

Gabriel Knight.

Anakin Skywalker · 03/11/2011, 09:10 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Daventry

Gabriel Knight.

Was pretty much done when KQ7 entered development.
And GK2 didn't come out till December 1995, leaving her free for nearly two years.

Daventry · 03/11/2011, 09:11 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anakin Skywalker

Was pretty much done when KQ7 entered development.
And GK2 didn't come out till December 1995, leaving her for free for nearly two years.

der_ketzer · 03/11/2011, 10:48 pm

Janes horrible writing did not fit the mood Roberta wanted KQVII to have.

wilco64256 · 03/11/2011, 11:28 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anakin Skywalker

Was pretty much done when KQ7 entered development.
And GK2 didn't come out till December 1995, leaving her free for nearly two years.

And when do you think she started working on Gabriel Knight 2?

der_ketzer · 03/12/2011, 01:46 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilco64256

And when do you think she started working on Gabriel Knight 2?

you think of a game for 1 hour and then it is finished. That's how it works. You don't need over a year to make one of these. That would be stupid

Anakin Skywalker · 03/12/2011, 01:58 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by wilco64256

And when do you think she started working on Gabriel Knight 2?

Given Sierra's development cycle, I would imagine late 1994.
I meant to write 1 year instead of 2.

Simo Sakari Aaltonen · 03/12/2011, 02:59 am

LOL. It is a matter of record that King's Quest VI earned Jane her own series. Once a designer reached that status at Sierra, they did not go back to co-designing unless they wanted to. Jane not only wrote and designed the two first games but also wrote the two novels in a period of a few years. She was not available for KQ, nor would it have made either creative or commercial sense to have taken Jane away from her own smash hit project.

The situation was this: First there was KQ. Jane worked on that, but so did and could a lot of others. Then there was KQ and GK, the latter of which was emphatically Jane's creation and something that would simply not have worked with anyone else designing and writing it. Now the company had two extremely well-selling product lines. It would have been foolish indeed to have chosen to support only one of them. Mystery solved.

Daventry · 03/12/2011, 05:14 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Simo Sakari Aaltonen

LOL. It is a matter of record that King's Quest VI earned Jane her own series. Once a designer reached that status at Sierra, they did not go back to co-designing unless they wanted to. Jane not only wrote and designed the two first games but also wrote the two novels in a period of a few years. She was not available for KQ, nor would it have made either creative or commercial sense to have taken Jane away from her own smash hit project.

The situation was this: First there was KQ. Jane worked on that, but so did and could a lot of others. Then there was KQ and GK, the latter of which was emphatically Jane's creation and something that would simply not have worked with anyone else designing and writing it. Now the company had two extremely well-selling product lines. It would have been foolish indeed to have chosen to support only one of them. Mystery solved.

Good job, Simo. You have far more patience than I, that's for sure.

"Mystery" solved, indeed.

Valiento · 03/12/2011, 05:29 am

And Lorelei KQ7 partially because of her work on the KQ6 Hintbook.

Simo Sakari Aaltonen · 03/12/2011, 05:52 am

Thanks, Daventry... Actually, I think what I wrote says the same thing as your answer, only with more words...

Cez · 03/13/2011, 04:09 pm

Actually...

Jane Jensen used to be in the "writers board" of Sierra. The people in the writer's board never became designers. However, Roberta wanting to have more time for herself, brought Jane into KQ6. Jane busted her ass on the game, and Roberta and Ken were so pleased (and I guess impressed) with the work that she had done in King's Quest VI, that they gave her her own series, promoting a writer to designer, which they didn't really do back then. -- Jane did most in KQVI, Roberta, after the initial meeting they had, would only check the build once a month and send a bunch of very very detailed notes back to Jane.

So, rather than Roberta feeling anything against Jane, she was actually more than pleased with her work, and told Jane she now was ready for her own game and asked her to come up with a concept. People in Sierra were not sure that they wanted something as dreary as Gabriel Knight, but Ken, although he was one of the ones that wasn't loving the concept, believed enough in Jane to let her do it.

The rest is history.

Radogol · 03/13/2011, 04:13 pm

So you're BFFs with Jensen now? Pocketful of Gabriel Knight's further adventures confirmed

Cez · 03/13/2011, 04:14 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Anakin Skywalker

Given Sierra's development cycle, I would imagine late 1994.
I meant to write 1 year instead of 2.

GK1 was made in exactly 1 year.

That wasn't the case with GK2. GK2 required 2 years to make. GK3 required almost 4 years.

Cez · 03/13/2011, 04:20 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Radogol

So you're BFFs with Jensen now? Pocketful of Gabriel Knight's further adventures confirmed

We talk sometimes.

But no, we are not working on anything.

Radogol · 03/13/2011, 04:23 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cez

But no, we are not working on anything.

A young man sees what he wishes to see.

03/11/2011, 08:47 pm	#1
Anakin Skywalker Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2011 Posts: 609	KQVII: Why Lorelei instead of Jane? One thing I was pondering was: Roberta and Jane had worked together on KQ6, and it was a critical and commercial hit, and obviously in this period Roberta wasn't really interested in KQ anymore (She was busy writing Scary Tales, which eventually became Phantasmagoria) and so wanted to hand off KQ to other designers, while still retaining some role in the series. You'd think that given the success of KQ6, she'd have wanted to keep that team--her and Jane--together. But instead she brought in Lorelei Shannon, who while like Jane obviously took the series in an utterly different, opposite direction. It just makes me wonder if Roberta wasn't a big fan of Jane's style or where Jane was taking the series, or--perhaps--if she felt upstaged by Jane. I mean usually if a team is successful, you keep them together, you don't dump the other half of the team the next year to bring in somebody brand new. With KQVIII, it's obvious that for whatever reason, Roberta was interested in KQ again--I guess because she had gotten Phantasmagoria out of her system--and decided to take full control of the series again, so there isn't really as much question about why the lack of Jane. This isn't a slam at Lorelei Shannon, as I love KQ7, but just a speculative thread.

03/12/2011, 02:59 am	#11
Simo Sakari Aaltonen Touchie Feelie Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 201	LOL. It is a matter of record that King's Quest VI earned Jane her own series. Once a designer reached that status at Sierra, they did not go back to co-designing unless they wanted to. Jane not only wrote and designed the two first games but also wrote the two novels in a period of a few years. She was not available for KQ, nor would it have made either creative or commercial sense to have taken Jane away from her own smash hit project. The situation was this: First there was KQ. Jane worked on that, but so did and could a lot of others. Then there was KQ and GK, the latter of which was emphatically Jane's creation and something that would simply not have worked with anyone else designing and writing it. Now the company had two extremely well-selling product lines. It would have been foolish indeed to have chosen to support only one of them. Mystery solved. __________________ King's Quest & Space Quest albums www.adventurecompanion.com

03/12/2011, 05:52 am	#14
Simo Sakari Aaltonen Touchie Feelie Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Tampere, Finland Posts: 201	Thanks, Daventry... Actually, I think what I wrote says the same thing as your answer, only with more words... __________________ King's Quest & Space Quest albums www.adventurecompanion.com

03/13/2011, 04:09 pm	#15
Cez Adventurer! Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: shielded by the tallest cubicle! Posts: 111	Actually... Jane Jensen used to be in the "writers board" of Sierra. The people in the writer's board never became designers. However, Roberta wanting to have more time for herself, brought Jane into KQ6. Jane busted her ass on the game, and Roberta and Ken were so pleased (and I guess impressed) with the work that she had done in King's Quest VI, that they gave her her own series, promoting a writer to designer, which they didn't really do back then. -- Jane did most in KQVI, Roberta, after the initial meeting they had, would only check the build once a month and send a bunch of very very detailed notes back to Jane. So, rather than Roberta feeling anything against Jane, she was actually more than pleased with her work, and told Jane she now was ready for her own game and asked her to come up with a concept. People in Sierra were not sure that they wanted something as dreary as Gabriel Knight, but Ken, although he was one of the ones that wasn't loving the concept, believed enough in Jane to let her do it. The rest is history. Last edited by Cez; 03/13/2011 at 04:11 pm.

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03/11/2011, 08:54 pm	#2
Daventry Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 65	Gabriel Knight.

03/11/2011, 09:03 pm	#4
Daventry Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 65	Gabriel Knight.

03/12/2011, 05:29 am	#13
Valiento Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 158	And Lorelei KQ7 partially because of her work on the KQ6 Hintbook.

03/13/2011, 04:13 pm	#16
Radogol Senior Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 168	So you're BFFs with Jensen now? Pocketful of Gabriel Knight's further adventures confirmed

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