Is the absence of Roberta an automatic strike against TTG's game?

[thom-22]

Is Roberta Williams' lack of involvement an automatic strike against Telltale's forthcoming King's Quest game?

I say no. In fact, I say no to the general proposition that involvement of the original creator(s) is absolutely required for successful continuation of a franchise. I often see this kind of statement on these forums: "It isn't a Larry game without Al Lowe", "It isn't a Monkey Island game without Ron Gilbert", etc. While these might be true as a practical matter, I'm not convinced of the truth of such statements as a general theoretical proposition.

Note that the question is not "How likely is it that Telltale will produce a good King's Quest game without Robert Williams?" That's an entirely different matter -- dependent on a huge number of factors already frequently discussed on this board -- than what I'm trying to get at here.

When it comes to continuations, the important question to me is, Am I getting the same kind of enjoyment out of the new product as I did out of the existing one(s)? My answer to that doesn't depend in any way on who created the new product. Moreover, it doesn't depend on anything the original creator(s) might have said about their creation(s); my comparison would only be against the existing products themselves and what I personally got out of them, not what the original creators wanted or expected me to get out of them. If the answer is no, it doesn't automatically prove that a new product couldn't have been done well by some other non-original creator(s). And you know, original creators are just as capable of screwing up a franchise -- in the eyes of fans -- as different creators would be.

Anyway, I'm interested in hearing alternative viewpoints on this.

[MusicallyInspired]

No, not for me. After all, we know that Josh Mandel was approached in some capacity.

[danfrias]

No, I don't think it will be a strike against them at all. And as a second point, Tales wasn't completely without Ron Gilbert as he was a "Visiting Professor of Monkeyology".

[LeChuck1986]

No, because even original creators can make bad decisions (like how many didn't like MoE).

[Chyron8472]

Originally Posted by LeChuck1986

No, because even original creators can make bad decisions (like how many didn't like MoE).

This.

Also, Roberta wasn't involved in AGDI's remakes of the first three games, and I thoroughly enjoyed those. Granted the story wasn't completely new... well, actually it almost was for KQ2+, so I reiterate: Roberta's involvement isn't required.

[BagginsKQ]

I would say 'no' because her last 'great ideas' in KQ7 and KQ8 were lacking in many ways. While I like KQ8, her ideas for the game divided the KQ community more so than any previous KQ game.

[KatieHal]

It's not. Roberta's retired, so I'd be more shocked if she WAS involved and wonder what they offered to get her out of retirement!

But I don't think the lack of original creators is necessarily a strike on any game. If the new creators do it right, then their game will fit in with what exists already.