Original Post
In another thread, it was mentioned that nobody seems to want to do adventure game projects anymore. That's not entirely true, and I thought it would be worthwhile to repost my list of promising adventure games in development here, so people would be sure to see it. Except for A Vampyre Story, I'm only focusing on the independent freeware adventures. A Vampyre Story. This game was just announced in The Inventory a few days ago. Some former LucasArts employees got together and started a company called Autumn Moon Entertainment. Perhaps it's not coincidence this announcement came soon after LucasArts perturbed thousands of fans by cancelling their sequels to Full Throttle and Sam & Max. Their site is new so you'll have to find out more about it from the latest issue of The Inventory. The game looks SWEET. King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has A Silver Lining. The graphics are beautiful and in 3d, and significant progress is constantly being made. It's guaranteed to be more of an adventure game than King's Quest VIII was. Apprentice 2: The Knight's Move. A personal favorite. The first game is short (about an hour long) but seriously enjoyable with great music. The developers are putting the finishing touches on this sequel right now. Quest for Glory 2: Trial by Fire remake. A 1:1 remake of the original EGA classic, with updated graphics and a soundtrack composed by Tom Lewandowski, who manages the Quest Studios site. Pretty awesome. Rise of the Hidden Sun. A western-themed game. The graphics are quite remarkable, and the creator has been making good progress. He's also looking for another artist or animator to help out. Quest for Infamy: So You Want To Be A Villain. An alternative to the Quest for Glory series, this one casts you in the role of a villain. They've already released a demo to beta testers, so we can expect to see their demo soon. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis 2. Another Indiana Jones fangame. This one seems quite good, and they do have regular news updates, though not always about their game. I'm not quite sure how far along it is. Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth. This one is done in the style of Fate of Atlantis. So far, it has been kind of a slow project, but the graphics are awesome, and the music is good. Revenants. This is a survival horror game, and has a very good playable demo. I'm really looking forward to this one. The developer uses AGS, and has also made a hugely successful cult classic titled Pleurghburg: Dark Ages. Shadowplay. The art style is most intriguing, and the storyline sounds fascinating. It's being made with AGS. The developer doesn't have a web site, so the link takes you to the AGS Forums announcement. Bad Timing. I haven't heard too much information about this one, but I like what the developer has done so far.
I'd also like to mention a few of the better independent freeware adventure games that have been made. This is by no means an exhaustive list: King's Quest: Quest for the Crown. This is a remake of Sierra's classic game, with new graphics and an original soundtrack. King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones. This isn't exactly a remake of King's Quest II. It's an original game with an revamped storyline, based on the elements of the original King's Quest II. It's quite beautiful with new graphics done in the VGA style of Sierra games from the early 90s and an original soundtrack. There's a digital speech pack, including the voice of Josh Mandel as King Graham, who originally did the voice of Graham in Sierra's CD releases of King's Quest. Out of Order. I like this one. It's quite fun, has a good story, good puzzles, and good humor. Play it, you'll enjoy it. Apprentice. This is the story of Mortimer "Pib" Pibsworth, who wants to become a wizard. It's a short game, and the graphics style is very "Lucasartsian." Maniac Mansion Deluxe. A remake of the classic with updated graphics. If you've never played Maniac Mansion, now's the time to play it. The New Adventures of Zak McKracken. A Zak McKracken fangame. Well worth playing if you're a fan. Enclosure. If you like the old AGI text parser games, you'll like this one. It's a murder mystery set in an oil drilling station in the Subarctic. 5 Days A Stranger. This is another murder mystery, made by quite a good writer. It's very atmospheric and very fun to play. The Adventures of Fatman: Toxic Revenge. A Batman spoof, this was a commercial game now released as abandonware by its author. Free for download at The Underdogs. The Uncertainty Machine. This has gotten rave reviews, and the story, graphics, and puzzles are quite good. It was recently taken down from its web site for some reason, but it's available for download at The Underdogs.
I'd also like to mention a few of the better independent freeware adventure games that have been made. This is by no means an exhaustive list: King's Quest: Quest for the Crown. This is a remake of Sierra's classic game, with new graphics and an original soundtrack. King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones. This isn't exactly a remake of King's Quest II. It's an original game with an revamped storyline, based on the elements of the original King's Quest II. It's quite beautiful with new graphics done in the VGA style of Sierra games from the early 90s and an original soundtrack. There's a digital speech pack, including the voice of Josh Mandel as King Graham, who originally did the voice of Graham in Sierra's CD releases of King's Quest. Out of Order. I like this one. It's quite fun, has a good story, good puzzles, and good humor. Play it, you'll enjoy it. Apprentice. This is the story of Mortimer "Pib" Pibsworth, who wants to become a wizard. It's a short game, and the graphics style is very "Lucasartsian." Maniac Mansion Deluxe. A remake of the classic with updated graphics. If you've never played Maniac Mansion, now's the time to play it. The New Adventures of Zak McKracken. A Zak McKracken fangame. Well worth playing if you're a fan. Enclosure. If you like the old AGI text parser games, you'll like this one. It's a murder mystery set in an oil drilling station in the Subarctic. 5 Days A Stranger. This is another murder mystery, made by quite a good writer. It's very atmospheric and very fun to play. The Adventures of Fatman: Toxic Revenge. A Batman spoof, this was a commercial game now released as abandonware by its author. Free for download at The Underdogs. The Uncertainty Machine. This has gotten rave reviews, and the story, graphics, and puzzles are quite good. It was recently taken down from its web site for some reason, but it's available for download at The Underdogs.
