Thanks for Playing. As Usual You've Been a Real Pantload

February 11, 2012 9:30 AM

Remember the janitorial space opera Space Quest? Well, so do a lot of other people. Starting with The Sarien Encounter, hapless janitor Roger Wilco was thrust into more and more absurd adventures, which came to an abrupt end with Space Quest 6. For years, Roger has been left hanging with no resolution to his story, and no new adventures, but all that has changed with the release of two fan made sequels; Vohaul Strikes Back and Space Quest: Incinerations. And for those of you who just can't get enough Wilco related hilarity there is a fan made VGA remake of the famously punishing Space Quest II. (Previously) Remember to put the gem in your mouth. All of these fan made games are pretty good, but you don't have to take my word for it.
posted by dortmunder (24 comments total)

Never before has a banana been so deadly.
posted by The Whelk at 9:33 AM on February 11

No Mac version? I am sad.
posted by starvingartist at 9:35 AM on February 11 [2 favorites]

SQ3 was the first game I ever finished. Tears of joy people. Tears.
posted by PenDevil at 9:38 AM on February 11 [2 favorites]

They've sure got their hate on for the original Space Quest 2. It ranks up there with King's Quest 3 as the greatest adventure game of the 80s. Which is to say that it's really, really bad, but still not as bad as all the other crap out at the time.

And they're 100% wrong when they say that Vohaul didn't show up in the original.
posted by Yowser at 9:41 AM on February 11 [2 favorites]

It was a fateful alignment of the stars that brought Gary Owens on board to narrate the CD version of Space Quest IV, but his acerbic commentary made that game. (What else was he doing at the time? Making dinosaur DVDs?)
posted by JHarris at 9:43 AM on February 11

And they're 100% wrong when they say that Vohaul didn't show up in the original.

He was? Are you sure?
posted by zarq at 9:46 AM on February 11

Betleguise Betleguise Betleguise !
posted by The Whelk at 9:48 AM on February 11

My weekends are officially occupied...! Thanks dortmunder, you just brought 1989 back in a very awesome way!
posted by channey at 9:52 AM on February 11

This guy is playblogging through all the classic adventure games. He just finished Leisure Suit Larry I and is moving on to Maniac Mansion next.
posted by euphorb at 10:04 AM on February 11

He was? Are you sure?

Yep. Pay close attention when you read the Astral Body cartridge in the underground room on Kerona (spoilers).
posted by jedicus at 10:04 AM on February 11 [1 favorite]

Ugh... looks like they retconned it into two different people, who are naturally clones of each other.
posted by Yowser at 10:13 AM on February 11

euphorb, that blog takes me back. King's Quest II was my first experience with the non-text based adventure games. It took me forever to open those doors, and we used to pass pirated copies of the original Leisure Suit Larry as kids. Man, let me tell you, that was some coveted contraband back in the day.
posted by dortmunder at 10:27 AM on February 11 [1 favorite]

As far as I choose to believe, it really ended at SQ3.
posted by Brocktoon at 11:13 AM on February 11

jedicus: " Yep. Pay close attention when you read the Astral Body cartridge in the underground room on Kerona (spoilers)."

Wow. Holy cow.
posted by zarq at 11:14 AM on February 11

Space Quest I is the reason I can type 60 words a minute. If you couldn't type fast enough, you would die. Thanks Sierra!
posted by cotterpin at 11:35 AM on February 11 [4 favorites]

Space Quest 3 was the first PC game that I was addicted to. I compared every adventure game I played to it... did I like it more or less than SQ3?
posted by sngbk at 11:59 AM on February 11

Yeah Space Quest was a pretty good comedy space janitor game, but Planetfall is still, in my opinion, the pinnacle of the genre.
posted by St. Sorryass at 1:28 PM on February 11 [3 favorites]

Just found, not entirely appropriate but still fun: a list of interpreter bugs from Infocom games.
posted by JHarris at 2:46 PM on February 11

Man, this is the only thing in the universe that makes me LONG to own a PC.

I prefered King's Quest To SQ, but I really do credit these Sierra games with my typing speeds and my capacity for logic and problem solving. The 3rd in both series are the pinnacle of awesomeness and some seriously formative shit for me as a kid.

Thanks for this post!
posted by guster4lovers at 7:10 PM on February 11

No Mac version? I am sad.

The Mac version is now available!
posted by jedicus at 11:42 AM on February 12

I never did work out what the orat on a stick was for.
posted by inpHilltr8r at 11:15 PM on February 12

Space Quest 2 and King's Quest 3 were the only 2 adventures games I had exposure to for a period of like 3 years. I slogged dimly through SQ2, each achievement a damn near relevation from God (or more likely: an older teenager who was better at it...) but oh I was stuck at various points for weeks on end.

KQ3 I had zero idea how to progress. Reading up on it now, I still probably couldn't finish it. WTF, Sierra.
posted by Theta States at 12:32 PM on February 13

Oh wow, reading his game summaries is surprisingly vindicating. Years of childhood frustration, dissipating...
posted by Theta States at 12:45 PM on February 13

I never did work out what the orat on a stick was for.

It's part of an alternative way to kill the Annihilator. It's trickier than the usual way but nets you more points.
posted by jedicus at 3:51 PM on February 13