The Return of Al Lowe and Jane Jensen

This is officially my first post on this blog. And what better way to start, than help promote a couple of gaming projects I really hope will see the light of day. We all know that Kickstarter really found it's spotlight after Tim Schafer's gigantous success with his Double Fine Adventure. Good for him, I was a backer of that project as well and just recently watched the first episode of the documentary following the game. Loved it, and can't wait to see how it unfolds.

Anyway, other game creators have followed in Tim's footsteps. Sierra On-Line, my favorite gaming company from the late 80s and 90s, fostered a lot of famous names in the gaming industry, thanks to the successes of King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Quest for Glory, Gabriel Knight, Leisure Suit Larry and other series. The people behind these games have become heroes for many in the gaming industry. Ken & Roberta Williams, Lorey & Cory Cole, Jane Jensen, Al Lowe and so on. Well, now Jane Jensen and Al Lowe has turned to Kickstarter for help to make new games. Kickstarter-fatigue you say? Well, I can understand that some may be getting a Kickstarter overdose, but Lowe and Jensen both have proved themselves capable of making amazing games, and they deserve a chance to do so again. I'll gladly help them both!

Al Lowe, Leisure Suit Larry's father, asks for 500 000$ to help fund a remake of the first Larry game. Initially I was a bit disappointed that it's just a remake of a game we've already have remade once. But if this game is a success, Al and Replay Games will remake ALL the Larry games, and hopefully make new ones as well! Larry Lust in Space, anyone? Fingers crossed!

Larry outside Lefty's, version 3.0

As of right now the project has gotten 245,572$, almost halfway there, with 22 days to go. Go Al!

Jane Jensen, Gabriel Knight's mother, has a bit of a different approach to Kickstarter. She's asking for 300 000$ to help start a gaming company, Pinkerton Road Studios. Here gamers can pay a yearly fee, and they'll get the games for that season. One season is one year. For the first season, gamers can vote on three games, at 300 000$ one is made, at 600 000$ two games. This weekend backers who give at least 16$ will be able to vote for the game they want first, from three games. They all look interesting, check them out here. I think my vote is on Moebius. If Jane's company is a success, she's hoping to get the rights to Gabriel Knight 4! *swoon*. So far, Jane has gotten 109,078$, with 39 days to go. Go Jane! 

I must say that I'm loving this revival (hopefully) of the adventure game genre. Yes, one could say that it never really went away, the other genres just became bigger, but new old-style adventure games from Al Lowe, Tim Schafer and Jane Jensen sounds amazing. Also, Tell Tale is working on a new King's Quest game. And Replay Games stated that if this Larry game is a success, they'll try to get license for the other Quest-games as well. Here's hoping!