6 ms·

This game was such an insane strong part of my childhood that when I think about the present day many years later it feels like a dream. I try to imagine in my

by Exuma 2y ago

This game was such an insane strong part of my childhood that when I think about the present day many years later it feels like a dream. I try to imagine in my current life having the same sort of "connection" to a game and it just feels impossible. Everything around me feels like "just" a game, show, material object, whatever... but space quest 2,3,4 all feel like they are fundamentally part of my DNA, intertwined with it.

thyrox 2y ago
I feel that for music. During my teenage years I used to listen to the same songs over and over on my walkman. I still remember 99% lyrics to the whole albums. The music used to have such a strong connection. Nowadays there are 1000+ songs in my playlist I can't even recollect 20% lyrics nor there is a chance in hell that I would listen to every single song on the entire album let alone every single song by tthe same artist. It's like if I don't like the first 10 seconds, it's hide song and Spotify makes sure I never have to listen to that again. Even though some of my all time favorites are songs I hated at first but then there was no hide song button. Sorry I digress but yeah the connections you make in childhood are really something. I just hope it's my age and not the technology responsible for this and the youth of today feel the same connection too.
- caf 2y ago
  I still try to find time to sit down and listen to an album from start to finish - it's kind of like the musical equivalent of spending an hour in a gallery exhibition of a single artist's work.
the_af 2y ago
Same feelings but specifically about Space Quest II. I played SQ I way later in life, and SQ III didn't resonate as strongly with me. The rest were no longer EGA "text input" games either. SQ II brings back memories. I learned some of my English with it, too. I remember the feeling of satisfaction when I discovered I could "rub berries" on Roger Wilco ;)
- sedatk 2y ago
  SQ III had a hilarious Sierra HQ part.
  - the_af 2y ago
    Oh, don't get me wrong, I liked The Pirates of Pestulon. It's also the last EGA SQ to my recollection. Call me weird but the limited palette of EGA graphics appeals to me. It just didn't have as big an impact on my young self as SQ II.
  - Gormo 2y ago
    Leisure Suit Larry III, released around the same time as SQ III, also has a very similar fourth-wall-break at the end of the game. The Sierra team must have had Blazing Saddles on their minds in the late '80s.
  - HellDunkel 2y ago
    The sierra adventure games presented an overly simplistic world view and then the devs subverted that. It still amazes me today.
  - aricz 2y ago
    Scumsoft Software and Elmo Pug, the fat dude that walked around whipping the programmers. Scumsoft Software was of course Sierra On-Line, and Elmo Pug was Ken Williams. They did get away with it, Ken Williams approved :D
  - lance_ewing 2y ago
    That scene at the end, where they land in the car park of the "Redwood" building in Oakhurst where the Sierra offices were, was one of my favourite parts. Like many of you I'm sure, I dreamed of one day working for Sierra in that building.
- macksd 2y ago
  I actually attribute my high typing speed to the practice I got with OPEN DOOR, TAKE KEYCARD, CLOSE LOCKER, LOOK CAULDRON. Police Quest, King's Quest, Space Quest. Good memories.
MrMetlHed 2y ago
I was just delighted that "free little dude" worked on rescuing the creature early on in that game. It's also the first game I've ever played of the sort (as like a ten-year-old) and I spent weeks and weeks with it.
brandall10 2y ago
Space Quest III was my first Sierra game and it definitely has that hold. But so many of their games from that period really were so special, Police Quest II, LSL III, Hero's Quest in particular I ended up playing roughly together. There was something really magical about those text driven EGA Sierra games. To me it was a goldilocks level of emotional/creative connection between Infocom and the later point and click VGA variants.
- lance_ewing 2y ago
  I bought Space Quest II and III on the same day, back in 1989. I think it was on a Saturday morning, and by the end of the next day, I'd already finished Space Quest III. But Space Quest II took a lot longer, more like 2 months to finish. Having lived the game for longer, my memories of SQ2 are fonder.
  - brandall10 2y ago
    That's wild. Never played II but I do know it's regarded as a classic. What do you feel the difference was for you? Just did a quick google and this person puts both on the level of the hardest Sierra games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-1XyI72hvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-1XyI72hvY
    - lance_ewing 2y ago
      I can't remember what the specific puzzles in Space Quest II were that I got stuck on. I think the first one was probably still down on the planet. And I can't say for certain now why I was able to finish SQ3 so quickly. I guess things just seemed to flow. I certainly finished SQ3 quicker than any other Sierra game I played, by quite some margin. The others took at least a few weeks, if not months. This was obviously back in the days before the Internet, and I hadn't yet discovered BBS boards either, so it was just me and my brother trying to work it out.
      - brandall10 2y ago
        That's amazing you guys got through that game so quick with no outside help. They did sell hint books that started off blank with a marker to uncover the hint. I got one for most games I played. As a rule I'd get stuck on some part for more than an hour, come back a day later, and still be stuck, then I'd uncover a hint. Generally using it a half dozen times to get through a game. https://www.sierragamers.com/hint-books/ https://www.sierragamers.com/hint-books/ Fun fact - Sierra made more $$ on hint books for the first LSL than the game itself due to piracy issues.
ErneX 2y ago
Same, this was the 1st game I had on the first PC we had at home. And I didn’t even know English so I played through all of it using an English-Spanish dictionary and lots of patience.
elbelcho 2y ago
I have very similar feelings. My dad worked at a steel mill and was friends with a 'computer guy' at the mill who gave him a copy of SQ2 for me to play at home. I played that game relentlessly but was pretty young so I was confused by a lot of it. Anytime I was really stuck, I would ask dad to ask the 'computer guy' how to get past a certain point and I seem to remember he would kindly provide hints, but not outright solutions. It's probably been 35 years since, but I even remember with some detail a dream I had related to that game. It really had a big impact on me.
- rikthevik 2y ago
  I'm not sure how my dad (Mechanical Engineer) would have figured this out, but I think he ran the DOS equivalent of `strings(1)` to dump the list of strings in old Sierra games (I want to say KQIV), to find hints about what might be possible. I wonder if he remembers. It was probably much cheaper than whatever Sierra hint hotline I wanted to call at the time.
mavamaarten 2y ago
I have the same feeling about the first games I played "seriously". You know, some games you know of and have played as a kid, but some game was the first game that you consciously invested time in to finish it. For me it was some super weird Shrek-themed clone of MarioKart on the Nintendo GameBoy Advance. As a kid I really didn't see it as a MarioKart clone, just a fun game I wanted to finish entirely. I absolutely forgot about it and only recently saw some YouTube video about what a weird game that was. Seeing that game again with its soundtracks and weird sound effects and clunky mechanics really triggered that exact feeling of a "connection" that you speak of.
dclowd9901 2y ago
I started with 6 but then went back and played 1-5 and yeah, definitely part of my core person. Actually SQ also is intertwined with one of my favorite “early internet” stories. There used to be (back when websites were primarily hosted by geocities and bored college students) a fan site for space quest. I reached out to the owner of one of the biggest SQ sites and shared my love of the titles and love of the site (via email of course). I was about 14 at the time. He reached back out and told me he had copies of the original games he could send me for something like $40. This was all of the original games in their original boxes on floppy. Even then I was a bit worried about just sending some dude across the country $40 for something with the hope they’d actually come through (this was like… 1997) but he absolutely did. A couple short weeks later and all the games arrived exactly how he described them. I was over the moon. True believer overnight. I think it’s like the solar core of whatever optimism I hold onto anymore. Jess, if you’re out there, you’re a real one. Hope I connect with you again someday.
- lkramer 2y ago
  Both Jess and his website are still out there: https://wiw.org/~jess/roger2.html https://wiw.org/~jess/roger2.html
  - dclowd9901 2y ago
    What! I could never seem to find this site again! Thanks!

by Exuma 2y ago

thyrox 2y ago

I feel that for music. During my teenage years I used to listen to the same songs over and over on my walkman. I still remember 99% lyrics to the whole albums. The music used to have such a strong connection. Nowadays there are 1000+ songs in my playlist I can't even recollect 20% lyrics nor there is a chance in hell that I would listen to every single song on the entire album let alone every single song by tthe same artist. It's like if I don't like the first 10 seconds, it's hide song and Spotify makes sure I never have to listen to that again. Even though some of my all time favorites are songs I hated at first but then there was no hide song button. Sorry I digress but yeah the connections you make in childhood are really something. I just hope it's my age and not the technology responsible for this and the youth of today feel the same connection too.

caf 2y ago
I still try to find time to sit down and listen to an album from start to finish - it's kind of like the musical equivalent of spending an hour in a gallery exhibition of a single artist's work.

the_af 2y ago

Same feelings but specifically about Space Quest II. I played SQ I way later in life, and SQ III didn't resonate as strongly with me. The rest were no longer EGA "text input" games either. SQ II brings back memories. I learned some of my English with it, too. I remember the feeling of satisfaction when I discovered I could "rub berries" on Roger Wilco ;)

sedatk 2y ago
SQ III had a hilarious Sierra HQ part.
- the_af 2y ago
  Oh, don't get me wrong, I liked The Pirates of Pestulon. It's also the last EGA SQ to my recollection. Call me weird but the limited palette of EGA graphics appeals to me. It just didn't have as big an impact on my young self as SQ II.
- Gormo 2y ago
  Leisure Suit Larry III, released around the same time as SQ III, also has a very similar fourth-wall-break at the end of the game. The Sierra team must have had Blazing Saddles on their minds in the late '80s.
- HellDunkel 2y ago
  The sierra adventure games presented an overly simplistic world view and then the devs subverted that. It still amazes me today.
- aricz 2y ago
  Scumsoft Software and Elmo Pug, the fat dude that walked around whipping the programmers. Scumsoft Software was of course Sierra On-Line, and Elmo Pug was Ken Williams. They did get away with it, Ken Williams approved :D
- lance_ewing 2y ago
  That scene at the end, where they land in the car park of the "Redwood" building in Oakhurst where the Sierra offices were, was one of my favourite parts. Like many of you I'm sure, I dreamed of one day working for Sierra in that building.
macksd 2y ago
I actually attribute my high typing speed to the practice I got with OPEN DOOR, TAKE KEYCARD, CLOSE LOCKER, LOOK CAULDRON. Police Quest, King's Quest, Space Quest. Good memories.

MrMetlHed 2y ago

I was just delighted that "free little dude" worked on rescuing the creature early on in that game. It's also the first game I've ever played of the sort (as like a ten-year-old) and I spent weeks and weeks with it.

brandall10 2y ago

Space Quest III was my first Sierra game and it definitely has that hold. But so many of their games from that period really were so special, Police Quest II, LSL III, Hero's Quest in particular I ended up playing roughly together. There was something really magical about those text driven EGA Sierra games. To me it was a goldilocks level of emotional/creative connection between Infocom and the later point and click VGA variants.

lance_ewing 2y ago
I bought Space Quest II and III on the same day, back in 1989. I think it was on a Saturday morning, and by the end of the next day, I'd already finished Space Quest III. But Space Quest II took a lot longer, more like 2 months to finish. Having lived the game for longer, my memories of SQ2 are fonder.
- brandall10 2y ago
  That's wild. Never played II but I do know it's regarded as a classic. What do you feel the difference was for you? Just did a quick google and this person puts both on the level of the hardest Sierra games: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-1XyI72hvY https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-1XyI72hvY
  - lance_ewing 2y ago
    I can't remember what the specific puzzles in Space Quest II were that I got stuck on. I think the first one was probably still down on the planet. And I can't say for certain now why I was able to finish SQ3 so quickly. I guess things just seemed to flow. I certainly finished SQ3 quicker than any other Sierra game I played, by quite some margin. The others took at least a few weeks, if not months. This was obviously back in the days before the Internet, and I hadn't yet discovered BBS boards either, so it was just me and my brother trying to work it out.
    - brandall10 2y ago
      That's amazing you guys got through that game so quick with no outside help. They did sell hint books that started off blank with a marker to uncover the hint. I got one for most games I played. As a rule I'd get stuck on some part for more than an hour, come back a day later, and still be stuck, then I'd uncover a hint. Generally using it a half dozen times to get through a game. https://www.sierragamers.com/hint-books/ https://www.sierragamers.com/hint-books/ Fun fact - Sierra made more $$ on hint books for the first LSL than the game itself due to piracy issues.

ErneX 2y ago

Same, this was the 1st game I had on the first PC we had at home. And I didn’t even know English so I played through all of it using an English-Spanish dictionary and lots of patience.

elbelcho 2y ago

I have very similar feelings. My dad worked at a steel mill and was friends with a 'computer guy' at the mill who gave him a copy of SQ2 for me to play at home. I played that game relentlessly but was pretty young so I was confused by a lot of it. Anytime I was really stuck, I would ask dad to ask the 'computer guy' how to get past a certain point and I seem to remember he would kindly provide hints, but not outright solutions. It's probably been 35 years since, but I even remember with some detail a dream I had related to that game. It really had a big impact on me.

rikthevik 2y ago
I'm not sure how my dad (Mechanical Engineer) would have figured this out, but I think he ran the DOS equivalent of `strings(1)` to dump the list of strings in old Sierra games (I want to say KQIV), to find hints about what might be possible. I wonder if he remembers. It was probably much cheaper than whatever Sierra hint hotline I wanted to call at the time.

mavamaarten 2y ago

I have the same feeling about the first games I played "seriously". You know, some games you know of and have played as a kid, but some game was the first game that you consciously invested time in to finish it. For me it was some super weird Shrek-themed clone of MarioKart on the Nintendo GameBoy Advance. As a kid I really didn't see it as a MarioKart clone, just a fun game I wanted to finish entirely. I absolutely forgot about it and only recently saw some YouTube video about what a weird game that was. Seeing that game again with its soundtracks and weird sound effects and clunky mechanics really triggered that exact feeling of a "connection" that you speak of.

dclowd9901 2y ago

I started with 6 but then went back and played 1-5 and yeah, definitely part of my core person. Actually SQ also is intertwined with one of my favorite “early internet” stories. There used to be (back when websites were primarily hosted by geocities and bored college students) a fan site for space quest. I reached out to the owner of one of the biggest SQ sites and shared my love of the titles and love of the site (via email of course). I was about 14 at the time. He reached back out and told me he had copies of the original games he could send me for something like $40. This was all of the original games in their original boxes on floppy. Even then I was a bit worried about just sending some dude across the country $40 for something with the hope they’d actually come through (this was like… 1997) but he absolutely did. A couple short weeks later and all the games arrived exactly how he described them. I was over the moon. True believer overnight. I think it’s like the solar core of whatever optimism I hold onto anymore. Jess, if you’re out there, you’re a real one. Hope I connect with you again someday.

lkramer 2y ago
Both Jess and his website are still out there: https://wiw.org/~jess/roger2.html https://wiw.org/~jess/roger2.html
- dclowd9901 2y ago
  What! I could never seem to find this site again! Thanks!