Exposing Decades-Old Secrets in The Colonel's Bequest

[@OneShortEye]

04:13 Source: Colonel's Bequest Design Document, page 11 www.sierrachest.com/gfx/games/LB1/making/CB2V3.pdf 20:40 Source: davidn.dreamwidth.org/627914.html 27:18 This is actually an alligator. Julia is from Canada. We’ll forgive her. 24:49 Douglas Herring was kind enough to answer a few questions over DMs. 31:15 KZbin has been overzealous recently about age-restricting videos for no reason. I felt I was safe with the other deaths, as they were environmental. We’ll see. 32:53 Many Let’s Players will remember this death from their childhood, but have forgotten (or never noticed in the first place) that you can’t get pulled into the closet until Act 2. So, they’ll repeatedly open the closet in Act I, frustrated that they can’t show it off. 35:10 I’ve seen at least one Let’s Player claim this death was random. I don’t blame them, though. It certainly FEELS that way. 38:27 Another side effect of the crack is that the characters all blink and fidget in the same way every playthrough. This means that in the final scene of the good ending, Laura, the Colonel, and Celie all blink at the same time. 40:25 You’re welcome, FlamingBee. :) 40:31 Every single bullet point under “people with a telltale scent” is wrong. For “People Romantically Involved,” you get Col. Dijon and Fifi for free, because you have to see her kiss him to advance time. You do not have to spy on them. The game doesn’t bother to check *anything,* you just automatically get those two. www.benshoof.org/blog/super-sleuth#people-romantically-involved 45:15 SantaClaus points out that "technically, only the act 5 condition requires you to enter Fifi's actual room. To get the perfume credit in act 2, it's enough to enter the screen Fifi's room is on; so just visiting the stairs leading up there will qualify." 48:10 To make things even wackier, there IS a different notebook entry that requires you to look at a cigar. To get the “cigar butt” under “objects requiring close scrutiny,” you have to “pick it up in the secret passage and also look at the Colonel's or Clarence's cigar. It doesn't matter whose you look at but due to script bugs it does matter when. You can look at the Colonel's cigar at any time but you only get credit for looking at Clarence's during Act I in the parlor and Act II in the dining room. The scripts for Act III in his room and Act V in the parlor are missing the line of code that gives you credit. You have no way of knowing this from their responses.” www.benshoof.org/blog/super-sleuth#items-requiring-close-scrutiny 48:14 One of my favorites is “Took Object From Suitcase Of: Lillian”. You don’t get it for taking anything from Lillian’s suitcase. Instead, you get credit for reading her diary, or examining it with the monocle. “Get diary” and “take diary” don’t do squat. www.benshoof.org/blog/super-sleuth#took-object-from-suitcase-of

[@markus5862]

I was wondering how I could play it with the random stuff all accessed? For years the only version I was able to play is the version where Celie is always the choice for the thumbprint. For years I’d love to play it how it’s originally suppose to, with the random deaths. For years I remember Gloria being found dead in the well when my mother and I originally played the game but since then it’s never happened. Now it makes sense. I have a version of the game downloaded and I do play it through scummvm. Does that mean it’s fixed or is there another version I should find?

[@OneShortEye]

@@markus5862 Great question! Remember how the crack is in the game engine? Well, ScummVM replaces the game engine with its own implementation. So, if you play it through ScummVM, you'll never see any of the cracked wonkiness, even if you have a cracked copy. What you'll want to do is run it through DOSBox. If that still doesn't work, try getting the game at any abandonware site.

[@markus5862]

@@OneShortEye so I should try it on dosbox? I have mine set up in the scummvm app on my computer. I have it set up to use the MUNT emulator for my MT-32 sound. Should I try playing it through dosbox instead?

[@OneShortEye]

@@markus5862 Yes, you'll want to use DOSBox.

[@snooks5607]

@@markus5862 was the buggy behavior what you wanted though? in first comment you say "Does that mean it’s fixed or is there another version I should find?" to me that implies you want the proper version of the game and scummvm gives you that.. just to try to make it clear this discussion involves three versions of the game engine, 1) original from sierra, 2) cracked copy-protection with broken random events, 3) scummvm that reimplements original engine with correct randomness. dosbox can be run with 1 or 2 but like oneshorteye said scummvm is a separate engine, even if you feed it datafiles from cracked game it runs like the original from sierra with correct randomness.

[@Darxide23]

Sierra's legendary attention to detail is only matched by it's ability to make the most absurd mistakes and never catch them like programming messages backwards.

[@totheknee]

But we can hardly blame them. The QA team was overworked and underpaid. To the point they tried to unionize with the lead programmer of the SCI engine. But Ken was so backwards and aristocratic that he made Jeff Stephenson's life miserable and essentially fired him for wanting workers to get paid. And Ken still has the arrogance and audacity to whine about the union to this day, even sitting on top of millions. #ThanksCapitalism

[@rovhalt6650]

@@totheknee A capitalist is just a communist with money.

[@hansjuker8296]

A communist is just a spoiled white kid.

[@patternwhisperer4048]

​@@tothekneeis there any place I can read up on this? I'm younger than a lot of sierra games, but some of them were a big part if my childhood (Empire earth, The first kaiser), so hearing how rotten it was makes me sad

[@bojcio]

@@rovhalt6650 this literally means nothing

[@Neptunequeen42]

The choice to present the story like that was absolutely perfect since that's exactly what a mildly interested viewer would have done: play through it blind just making reasonably smart decisions. That said, the framing did make me expect a lot more crazy plot revelations than simply '[SPOILER] did it'!

[@OneShortEye]

Yeah, the mystery in this mystery isn't its strong point. To be fair, if you shoot the Colonel, you get a slightly different story from Rudy. And there's a major subplot that I didn't even hint at. But I wanted the video to focus on things you wouldn't learn from watching a Let's Play or following a walkthrough, and you can learn all about the subplot elsewhere.

[@TehAwesomer]

Spoilers!!

[@redmage777]

@@OneShortEye It would be cool to have an" AGI style" remake where the killer and order in which the victims are killed are randomized.

[@Evnyofdeath]

@@redmage777That would require some hefty rewriting. As the characters are currently written it doesn't make sense for the killer to be anyone but Lillian.

[@Marksider]

Still better than the "plot revelations" in Hugo 2: Whodunit XD

[@pushinguproses]

This was fantastic. Loved learning these new details about one of my favorite games, particularly the changing coffee pot. Details like that really do excite adventure game lovers.

[@OneShortEye]

Wow! I've been a fan of yours for a long time, and it means a lot to me that you enjoyed it. There are so many layers to games from this era, it's amazing.

[@Sheepy007]

Called it

[@BirchMonkey857]

21:00 And if you're not familiar, four-ball carom is a form of billiards that, as the name implies, uses four balls (and no pockets). The object of the game is to make your cue ball hit two other balls in the same shot however many times you're playing to. Really neat that they specifically drew a table without pockets for that. And for the record, I only know this because Yakuza 0 has it.

[@ChaosPootato]

I'm always absolutely floored by the complexity and attention to detail behind these at first glance "simple" games. These people were wizards!

[@alessandrorossi1294]

Yeah I really feel like they put more heart to games then than they do now

[@lulz59]

​@@alessandrorossi1294 That's for sure. Most of what is visible today is AAA games that there is not of love put in the game. There good indie gems out there, but therr is so much games nowadays that is difficult to find such games.

[@RootVegetabIe]

​@@lulz59 It's easier than ever to find games you'll like. Theres a million different ways to discover games based on your preferences. It absolutely is not difficult to find good games these days. This is the worst "back in my day" complaint I've ever read.

[@RootVegetabIe]

​@@alessandrorossi1294 There were countless terrible low effort games released back in the day. Generally, we only remember the good ones. Don't let nostalgia rot your brain.

[@alessandrorossi1294]

@@RootVegetabIe Back then the highs were high and the lows were low, now everything is much closer to average

[@Dark_Jaguar]

THIS game is why I love well designed dithering patterns, even when they aren't on "composite" video.

[@pelgervampireduck]

the graphics are amazing considering they did it with only 16 colors. Monkey Island 1 EGA version is another great example of what was possible back then when the developers and artists pushed the technology to the limits.

[@OneShortEye]

In part of the interview that I didn't include, Julia spoke about how she likes the EGA version of Monkey Island 1 better than the VGA version for exactly that reason.

[@Dark_Jaguar]

@@OneShortEye You're reminding me how much I loved the art of the Indianna Jones Last Crusade adventure game. Now don't get me wrong. I love the art in VGA adventure games too. It's just that skillful use of dithering will never fail to impress. That illusion holds even when the pixels are sharp as glass.

[@BigChiken44]

PC-98 games! The Gods of dithering!

[@dawnbreaker2912]

I feel like some Sierra games overdid it with the dithering at times (even on lower-res 90's monitors, it was noticable). QFG1 and 2 (which I love) are other examples. Mark Crowe struck a better balance, I think (see SQ3).

[@SerosNym]

That 'simulated', narrated playthrough was so cool, I couldn't pull my eyes away from the start to the end. I'm a little familiar with Sierra games but never really played them, never found them to be my cup of tea... but I think if I had played The Colonel's Bequest when I was more impressionable, I would have been utterly fascinated by it. The sandbox nature of it, the advancing of time, movement of the npcs, the attention to detail... it'd have been a cornucopia of imagination for a younger me. And the environments and art look so good! I'm a sucker for that kind of high-fidelity pixelated look.

[@JuliaMinamata]

Fantastic video! This game was a huge design and art inspiration for me. Thanks for telling its story (the actual plot AND the game design) so beautifully. So many new things learned. Well done! And thanks for letting me come along for the ride! :D

[@OneShortEye]

Thank you so much for your time and insight. It was a pleasure speaking with you, and you explained things about the art that I never would have noticed.

[@DarthArachnious]

The references to old movies are usually missed. The boat ride to the old manor is from The Cat and The Canary. The gathering to tell what the will says, even though the Colonel isn't dead, is from The Thirteenth Guest. The murders happening one by one while everyone is in an isolated mansion is from numerous movies. My favorite is The Seven Keys of Baldplate, so I'll mention that one. That movie also features bodies disappearing and reappearing so it works.

[@falconeshield]

Don't forget And Then There Are None

[@marykateharmon]

I'm certain the chandelier falling has to be a reference to Topper Returns.

[@SammiD90]

I’ve been working on building a replica of the Dijon Manor in The Sims 4 for over a year now. So, so, SO many little details that I want to get JUST right. It’s a labor of love; I’ve been playing Sierra games all my life, and The Colonel’s Bequest was one of my absolute biggest challenges. I can’t even fathom how many hours I must’ve put into this game as a kid to try and reach past that P.I. status!

[@OneShortEye]

Do you have any video of that Sims house? I'd love to see it.

[@bluespaceman7937]

I wish you luck!

[@ekatlind]

If you ever finish, I hope you upload a video! I would really love to see it too. :)

[@everythingpony]

Did you make this up or are your u gonna show us?

[@timothymclean]

The density of details reminds me of something Errant Signal said in his _Children of Doom_ episode on...I think it was the Duke Nukem one? Anyways, he pointed out that it was practical for old games to include countless little details; it might only take an afternoon to create the assets and code needed to let Duke flush a toilet or play with a light switch. When the details are half code and 40% text, you could probably implement one or two on your lunch break; all you needed was a good idea and the willingness to spend your lunch break working. (Time estimates assume professional skills, familiarity with the tools, and access to the stuff a game-in-progress is built from.) Making the models, textures, rigs, animations, and so on for little Easter-egg-level details to the fidelity standards of even modern B-tier games takes _way_ longer and _way_ more specialized skills. You need to dig pretty deep into the indie scene before you reach games where this kind of detail can be added so _casually,_ and if your game isn't _about_ mundane details, it's not worth having a few artists devoted to making all the little assets you need to make them work. Modern technology brings a lot of possibilities to gaming, but it brings new restrictions with it.

[@tbotalpha8133]

Yeah, it's such a shame. I genuinely wouldn't object to games devolving graphically, if it meant they could be made more dense in little details again.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Same with asset variety. I finally played Earthbound, and that one section where you go to the alternate dark city really surprised and impressed me. It has a ton of bespoke enemies and assets (although some were undoubtedly palette swaps) and all these little original bits of text - but you're only there for about an hour. It'd be so hard to do a sequence like that today.

[@tbotalpha8133]

@@jasonblalock4429 Yes! This too! Nowadays it's a genuine surprise when a game bothers to include unique assets, like NPCs, environments, items, player-characters or game mechanics. Modern AAA games engage in so much asset reuse, while forcing the player into the same repetitive, cookie-cutter scenarios over and over. And it's almost certainly because of the expense of making anything unique, and the fear of players missing out on something cool if it's not shoved in their face.

[@OneShortEye]

This is an excellent point, and makes sense. Many of the neat details in this game are just text messages, which wouldn't be hard to throw in. These days, yes, I would imagine that creating anything would add relatively much more work.

[@jimsackerman]

My sister and I always talked about the statue floating by in the background, but thought that we were either delusional or had a once in a lifetime glitch... I can't believe you covered this!!! Thank you!!!!

[@username5155]

What makes a great detective: -Who was there? -Who did it? -Why? -What does everyone smell like?

[@mennoknight78]

This game really got under my skin as a 11yo kid. Playing it gave me a lot of stress and yet I couldn't help myself. My memories of it aren't exactly 'fun' but they are vivid.

[@OneShortEye]

Yes, it was stressful! Especially with the time moving unexpectedly.

[@ShufflerTV]

It's likely that Lillian was named after actress Lillian Gish, whose film career spanned from 1912 to 1987(!). Great video btw, I'd never even heard of this game before this popped up in my recommendations.

[@thegblob]

Spectacular artwork in the game. And that spiritual successor too.

[@nychold]

There's also a glitch in the game I found accidentally. There's a point when Lillian is sitting on her bed, but she refuses to respond to you about anything. If you go into the secret passage and look into the room, the game says she's not there.

[@Law2120]

I remember playing this at school in the 90s. My teacher brought in a copy and some of us would play it. I didnt get it at the time so i just wandered around. A couple years ago I came across a copy of the game, and meant to play it, but havent gotten around to it. This video really makes me want to go get it from my moms place and play it on my old 486.

[@hercrabbiness]

I loved this video! I don't know much about The Colonel's Bequest compared to The Dagger of Amon Ra, but both games are so chock full of detail that I learn something new every time I play. That's probably what makes Laura Bow my favorite series. :)

[@ultidestru]

Your LP of this game was always one of my favorites! (^^)

[@OneShortEye]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I love Dagger of Amon Ra as well. There's SO much going on in that, it's hard to keep it all straight. Hope you're doing well. :)

[@speabody]

@@ultidestru Laura was the OG of Laura Bow playthroughs. LB = HC as far as I'm concerned

[@MegaCygnusX1]

This popped into my feed, so I took a chance and 50 minutes later I've been thoroughly entertained by your retelling of an '80's Sierra classic I'd never heard of. You have a kind of Frederik Knudsen vibe to your voice and your witting complemented the plot nicely. Subbed, looking forward to hearing more from you.

[@melody3741]

The statue thing turns the airplane sound into some otherworldly noise of terror

[@DarkMoe]

Amazing video as usual, never played this one before, and loled at the "we don't use score in this game", but you still get a hidden score at the end of the game. Will wait for something like this, applied to Fate of Atlantis

[@OneShortEye]

People keep mentioning Fate. Guess I'll have to play it soon. :)

[@polygon586]

Great video, and great research from sluicebox! Nice to see the Crimson Diamond getting boosted, too :) Pedantry alert regarding 45:15: technically, only the act 5 condition requires you to enter Fifi's actual room. To get the perfume credit in act 2, it's enough to enter the screen Fifi's room is on; so just visiting the stairs leading up there will qualify.

[@OneShortEye]

Ooo, interesting. The wording in sluicebox's article is "Enter Fifi's room." I hadn't thought of the ambiguity there. Good catch!

[@GameVaultHQ-5]

I really enjoyed this deep dive into The Colonel's Bequest! The way you broke down the game's story, mechanics, and all the hidden secrets was amazing. The details about the sleuth meter and the cracked versions were super interesting. It really shows how much depth these classic games have. I also liked how you explained the visual design-how they used just 16 colors to create the atmosphere was really impressive. Thanks for all the effort you put into this research. A great tribute to a classic adventure game!

[@selfdestructivecat4922]

LOVE the story-telling aspect of this video! I was so enraptured as you took us through a playthrough of this game, and I loved learning all the smaller secrets (both fascinating and silly) this game hid! Amazing video as always!

[@OneShortEye]

Happy you enjoyed it!

[@DarkTiger83]

I LOVE how ShortEye's lowkey calling out people who pirated the game XD splendid video, sir! Love coming back to it

[@Blitzkrieg1012]

The Interview with Julia was so cool, I love hearing stuff like this. People can be so talented and create some great stuff. I'll definitely be checking out The Crimson Diamond now.

[@Kyezoar]

Being someone who's had no proper experience with point and click adventure games and similar genres. I am just completely fascinated by the level of detail, story, and how graphically impressive these games can look!

[@deleteTF]

This is the first time I have heard of this game and I was shocked by how good it looks. Will definitely play it soon, because you sold me the game, amazing video!

[@goatbone]

Thank you. I played a number of Sierra games when I was younger but this one is a bit before my time and I don't have the time to sit down and explore games like I used to so this is the next best thing. The crack destroying the RNG is absolutely fascinating, does anyone else know other games that this has happened in? I am reminded of the 'peperony and chease' line from Oregon Trail being in the widely distributed pirate version.

[@OneShortEye]

That's a great question. I'm not aware of any that were messed up *this* badly.

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

I would love to see a deep-delve of the code of Hero's Quest (QFG1 EGA) and Quest for Glory 2 like this! I've often wondered about stuff like how many times you have to throw a rock for your skill to go up by 1, or by what formula your strength goes up (if it's done indirectly by climbing, for example,which is another skill). We all know about the Paladin points and disqualifiers by now, but there is still a great amount to be learned by code-mining.

[@darkowl9]

The Colonel's Bequest does have some great EGA art, and it along with Larry III are probably some of Sierra's best. My absolute all-time favourite cannot be beaten standard for EGA art though, is Loom.

[@OneShortEye]

Mark Ferrari is great! If you haven't seen this talk (which includes him talking about Loom), you ought to give it a whirl: kzbin.info/www/bejne/l37Ge2SAq9mYnJI

[@NTSTS0]

Just wanted to say I really enjoy this experimental immersive narrative style. It's very effective at immersing the listener in the actions and narrative of the game. I wouldn't want this for every one of your videos, but if this is meant as a sort of stylistic adventure, I'd say it's largely successful. Thanks for making so many great videos.

[@camwoodstock]

the increasingly silly ways to get "used crackers more than once" feels like one of them Expanding Brain memes in the making. never played this game, but WOW this was a wild ride, thank you so much for making a video on this!

[@FredTheRed27]

This is so fascinating, I honestly want an even deeper dive into this games secrets and story now

[@OneShortEye]

I seem to keep finding things. For instance, this, which I'm not sure is intentional (read the description for context, also SPOILERS): kzbin.info/www/bejne/bIHSeWOIgNtqoNU

[@FREECIVVIE]

God, I remember playing this game as a Kid until my parents lost the manual with the copy protection chart. Loved it though I had NO idea what I was doing, Laura bow has some of the best death animations of the Old Sierra games.

[@DaedalusRaistlin]

I never had the manual. Each time I wanted to play I spent a few minutes guessing and being forced out of the game until I chanced upon the right answer. Fun times.

[@redmage777]

I don't know, Rosella being boiled by witches still stands out for me.

[@rileytimes]

Absolutely adored this video. It came on automatically while I was doing dishes and I was so riveted I got so many chores done while I listened. I love your voice and how you present things.

[@bigredradish]

god, The Colonel's Bequest is a hell of a game. awesome video, lotta stuff i didn't know and the interview was actually really cool as somebody who wants to do interior scenes, lot of good tips

[@andrewericdavison]

I'm so glad you made this video, truly. The Colonel's Bequest is a really fascinating game, and probably the biggest surprise hit with me in the King's Quest Collection CD set I ordered so many years ago (along with the sequel, the Dagger of Amon-Ra).

[@Gidzzz]

I love that you focus on obscure niche of games. Sure the company used to dominate in its day but I’m not sure many people even know about this or conquest of the long bow but great stuff

[@gugaguta]

Loved your video, extremely in depth!! Of all Sierra On-Line adventure games, The Colonel's Bequest remains my favorite, no doubt due to its attention to dettail, its commitment do storytelling and its mysterious setting. Thanks a lot for it.

[@TehAwesomer]

Didn't realize I had missed this one! Thanks for providing the timestamp to avoid spoilers, this looks like a gem and I never played it back in the classic era.

[@downhome7500]

I love the way you've done this. Using the classic music and adding your own to build the tension. It's great. I'm glad there are people like you out there that keep bringing these games up and keep them alive.

[@AssistedTwister]

This was a fun alternative to Speedrun videos. It's nice to get in depth in a lesser known game's story and especially the secrets in the code.

[@inseparabletheband]

I can't believe I just found your channel today. I will be watching every single one of your videos. Sierra games were almost all of my gaming experience as a kid and I always had a love/hate relationship with this game. excited to watch.

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

1:08 I don't believe I ever noticed the threatening shadow before now. I only ever noticed the silhouette and never thought to look at the shadow on the floor.

[@gavinrandall2520]

For a lifelong fan of this game, this was incredible!! Thank you

[@OneShortEye]

I'm happy you thought so! My goal was to really surprise people familiar with the game, and give them the same sort of depth we get with more modern "how the game works" videos.

[@Trollami]

I wish company's would make games like this nowadays. So much detail in one game. Keep up the great work OneShortEye! Another great video.

[@OneShortEye]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@nychold]

Nope. I shot the Colonel. I walked around for hours, missing conversations and not figuring out the secret rooms until the game mercifully left one open for me, sometime around 1 in the morning I think. I talked to everyone, and everyone had a motive for someone else dying. So naturally, I suspected everyone guilty of murder at some point. When I saw Lillian and her 7 marks on the chalk board, I naturally assumed she had been seeing bodies around the house too and no one believed her either. Then, she was dead and Rudy and the Colonel were fighting. Having seen Rudy and Fifi have "moments" together, and seeing the Colonel and Fifi have their "moment" in his room, I suspected the Colonel was trying to kill Rudy in a jealous fit, so I shot him. I think I ended up with 0 points, and that's when I realized how deep this game really went. It became my favorite Sierra game of all time.

[@KlaituVonAwesome]

You sir are a Sierra hero! Never stop making these!

[@Bajamamut]

Also, thank you for highlighting @hercrabbiness, truly a reference person (and a personal inspiration) in adventure Let's Plays, along with @LateBlt and @Resulka ^^

[@OneShortEye]

I never discovered Resulka back in the day, but I devoured almost everything hercrabbiness and lateblt put out.

[@jaksonsavva104]

Julia’s passion for pixel art is infectious

[@Nirakolov]

Those death animations are hilarious - might be the best Sierra has done

[@av.punk.801]

I've listened through an essay or two of yours before, and honestly the production is consistently on point, especially the vocal delivery. Worth a sub imo, cheers mate

[@Dreadpirateflappy]

How have I never heard of this game? I played every "quest" game as a kid in the 80s and 90s and every lucasarts game yet this slipped me by... looks fantastic.

[@Marlene55M]

hercrabbiness did such an awesome job with that LP of hers. ♥

[@SaxcatGamingCorner]

It is so tough to get super sleuth. The first time I got it, I was sure I didn’t. It is so easy to not sniff somewhere or look at something. Heck, Polly can screw you too. The second time we got it on the channel I had to reload because I didn’t look at something in the inventory that I did in a previous load up. Oops. Still, this is a magnificent game and one of my favorites. Great job on this video!

[@OneShortEye]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@typhra]

This was a delight to watch! All of your videos have shown extreme care and love and this one is no exception! The research put into finding everything about this game is astonishing and I always look forward to more!

[@OneShortEye]

I appreciate the kind words! I really have to thank sluicebox and Douglas Herring for their time and insight.

[@hopegrimsley3427]

This is an incredible video. I have played this game dozens of times and I am surprised on how many new things I saw here (i.e. the elevator animation and Jeeves’ “hideaway” sequence). You have a new subscriber!

[@frogsplasher]

You're seriously talented. The presentation of this video was top notch!

[@OneShortEye]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@affsteak3530]

Back when I was a child, my sister and I used to give ourselves the creeps playing this game. Idk how old we were, but remember it was a struggle to spell "refrigerator". 😅

[@jamesstaley5611]

I really wish these games were being produced again. I have played every one of Sierra's mystery games. When my daughter was around 8 years old I bought this game and she played it for hours. I will have to make sure she sees this.

[@stevester9148]

I thought I hallucinated that statue flying. Told my friend who was also playing the game extensively at the time and he said I was nuts. Thank you for validating me 30 years later.

[@OneShortEye]

Glad to be of service. :)

[@moodysshuffle]

never in my life heard of this game before now, but this is insanely ahead of its time. sierra adventures were already punching above their weight in details, but this is an entire game based on the idea of punching above one's weight in sheer detail. something like this wouldn't be replicated until at most like, shenmue in '99, a full ten years after. genuinely crazy to do something like this, let alone make the base story still compelling, let alone make the art gorgeous, let ALONE make a complex and interesting map on top of it all. crazy good video, too; the narration gives me the vibe of someone chatting casually about a subject they're very wise about. you're enthusiastic, but you're seasoned too, there's a worldliness to your speech, if that makes sense. you sound like you've explained stuff like this a hundred times, but you never, ever get tired of it. massive kudos.

[@OneShortEye]

I agree that this was really ahead of its time. One thing I'll credit Sierra for is always trying to push innovation, even though the products were often rough around the edges. Thank you for the kind words about the video as well.

[@MissTeapot]

damn, this is great stuff again. I've never played adventure games like these, but I might check out Crismon Diamond! You can pull so much art from such a tiny screen and 16 colours. The interview with Julia was really cool and highlighted something that easily gets overlooked by a lot of people.

[@OneShortEye]

Crimson Diamond has a lot of quality of life features that the originals didn't have. I've been following its development and I'm really looking forward to when it releases. Julia was extremely kind and generous with her time, and I learned a lot too.

[@ValetinoLovebird]

Everyone doing their privacy Laura staring intensely

[@bloopscrusts5390]

I love these videos! So much nostalgia for The Colonel's Bequest ever since I first played it on the King's Quest Collection CD sometime in the 1990s.

[@Friwil]

It's always a good day when you upload! I've never even considered playing older adventure games before I discovered this channel. I'm in love with your videos and currently obsessed with adventure games!

[@retrogamerdad9621]

Never too late to start. Welcome on board!

[@OneShortEye]

If you're enjoying them, then I'm really happy about that!

[@markus5862]

@@OneShortEye hey there! I was wondering how I could play the game with all the random stuff occurring? For years the only version I’ve ever played was the version where celie is always the option for the thumbprint. I thought I was going nuts or imagined something because When I originally played the game years ago with my mom, we found Gloria dead in the well. Playing it years later she’s never there and Clarence is never in the tub like I remembered too! I do have the game downloaded and I play it through scummvm, but I think it’s the cracked one? If I play that version through scumm will it be fixed or is there another version of the game I should get?

[@OneShortEye]

@@markus5862 ScummVM replaces the original game engine with its own implementation. Since the original crack was in the game engine, running the game in ScummVM fixes this problem. You can even have a cracked version of the game files, and ScummVM will fix it. Though I would say that, even in the cracked version, you should be able to find Clarence and Gloria in either location. After they die, when you enter a screen where they can be, the game rolls the dice to decide whether they are on that screen, or on the other screen. That decision then sticks for the rest of that playthrough. The only thing the crack does is make it so the dice roll *always* succeeds, so wherever you go first, that's where the body is.

[@charlottecorday8494]

I've been waiting weeks for this! One of my all time favourite games when I was a kid, my friends I would run home every day to play it after school. I'm still eternally proud I was the first one to figure out the bell puzzle after we'd been stuck on it for weeks. Can't wait to watch this!

[@blacknapalm2131]

I love your speedrun videos but I enjoyed this video even more. I find your videos very relaxing. *Having a murder/mystery video for Halloween was a nice touch too

[@OneShortEye]

Glad you enjoyed it! Halloween is my favorite holiday.

[@Mantis47]

Fantastic video, as usual! I've played the game a few times, one of them using a walkthrough to try and see all the secrets (there's so many!) and still I've seen things in this video I've never seen in any of my playthroughs. Also I remember the first time I played, just walking out of Laura's room, going south and immediately dying because if you walk into the railings under the chandelier, they break and you fall down and die. Funny stuff.

[@jayst]

Wow that music is soooo good at 16:00. The suspense built up so beautifully. Excellent movie!!

[@PowerfulMint]

That statue easter egg would've scared the piss out of me if I played this when I was younger, holy crap. So damn fascinating to learn more about games like this that were pretty ambitious given the hardware that they were on.

[@ixp_ninja]

For me personally, this game has the most beautiful 16 color graphics of them all. Absolutely stunning with the dithering and the detail.

[@greatscott175]

Dude so thorough and entertaining. I even overheard something in this game I'm gonna put into my D&D campaign. Awesome video great job

[@OneShortEye]

Ooo, nice. Have fun with your campaign!

[@eien86]

Yet another fantastic video! As a DOS nerd, I had no idea this game existed -- it looks and feels so much like a whodunnit movie! Thanks for bringing these games to light!

[@KerryRasch]

At 23:18 just wanted to point out that a hideaway is a room in a house or mansion. The scene would be Jeeve’s room the hideaway. Not implying he is hiding an object which is why we don’t know what he put in the drawer. They probably had him put something away so it looks like he’s naturally doing something like in films. Awesome vid and love the channel!

[@OneShortEye]

That's an interesting idea, though I would point out that script names in SCI are most often verbs or names of objects, and don't normally describe the scene. Screens are referred to as "rooms." In that room, there are multiple scripts, of which "hideAway" is only one. The other scripts that run in that room are "Ocab" (for "open cabinet"), "Primp," "sitting," and "headActions."

[@KerryRasch]

Thanks for the reply! I am curious based off the screenshot of the SCI code you posted. What is the name of the room when you enter?

[@OneShortEye]

@@KerryRasch The room itself is called "Room53," though the game accepts "bedroom" as a synonym in the parser. The place where "hideAway" lives is in a region named "jeevroom". Regions are ways for other files to be included in rooms.

[@KerryRasch]

@@OneShortEye thank you! Your videos have made me explore the backgrounds of these games and now it’s like a puzzle! Now I know which script/region to jump to for this. Appreciate your time! Now I want to know if he was putting something mundane away or was hiding something that was a removed bit of content.

[@anthonygranziol7957]

Thank you for this lovely bit of memory. I only barely managed to squeak up to Seasoned PI by shooting Rudy instead of letting him kill the Colonel. Thank you again for leaving a healthy chunk of mystery in the game for future players.

[@Zelinkokitsune]

The Musical setup you've done within the first Spoiler section is AMAZING especially when it continues to go towards the climax.

[@pheonomon]

This video is incredible. I've never felt the need to use this feature, but this video? Everything I want when I watch a breakdown of old games. *chef's kiss*

[@OneShortEye]

That's so incredibly kind of you! Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@OneUponADime]

The world needs a QFG4 video

[@shinyagumon7015]

Man I love the attention to detail here. Even a lot of modern games don't have as much secrets and hidden events going on. Also this video is fantastic

[@thatzapherguy4066]

great video, i loved this game growing up!!!

[@Ledore464]

This has quickly become one of my favorite channels! Keep it up! Awesome work ❤

[@CascadianRanger]

This game looks AMAZING. It really is EGA art at its peak. Theres so many small details and subtle shadow work. The atmosphere rivals that of some games today

[@AliceLoverdrive]

Your channel singlehandedly made me interested in adventure games, which are, like, the exact opposite of "my" genre

[@Fefe1036]

Captivating ! I really enjoyed the video structure : narrated lets play (I felt like I was there!), then the more technical stuff like interviewing an artist after letting us a chance to absorb by ourselves the atmosphere... I wonder; has any modern game had charm in your eye/finger ?

[@OneShortEye]

The adventure games I played last year and really loved were Voodoo Detective and The Excavation of Hobb's Barrow. I also played The Forgotten City for the first time, which I think has the DNA of an adventure game and is what I hoped the genre would evolve into. I also finished playing the Witcher 3 last year, and I think that may be my favorite game of all time.

[@GrimmHooke]

I am gobsmacked at some of these details! I love how they even thought about paradox-proofing in the code. Fantastic documentary!

[@gungan7859]

This was so fascinating. I've always loved the KQ games since I was a kid and had never heard of this game. Thanks for all your work on these videos. They're some of my favorite.

[@CelticGuardian7]

Having never heard of this game before (at least not that I can recall, other than your announcement to making a video of it), I found this to be fascinating to watch. I'd love to try it out myself sometime! Also, thanks for linking the page for Crimson Diamond. I wishlisted it right after finishing the video. =)

[@OneShortEye]

I'm really looking forward to the Crimson Diamond's release. Not just because I'm a fan of that kind of game. But because Julia's been streaming the process for years and created a small but cozy community around it.

[@aeopu]

Man, I haven't played any of these PC adventure games but every time I see one of your uploads I'm immediately enraptured and it lives in my brain for weeks. Thank you so much for this great stuff.

[@MahDryBread]

I love the way you presented this!

[@ObiWanBillKenobi]

If people like this video, they may be interested to know that the Space Quest Historian has a Discord, and one of the channels on it is Digital Archaeology, where the participants delve into stuff like this in the game codes, and for many more Sierra games than just Space Quests.

[@Prismatic_Pixie]

"There's a lot of dithering but you can't really notice..." It's the first thing I noticed are you kidding me?! It's everywhere!

[@williamaitken7533]

What a fantastic video! I absolutely love the level of detail this went into. It's amazing to me that a game like this could include so many little details and easter eggs and have such a complicated history!

[@MonochromeWench]

To some degree it almost seems like Sierra was experimenting a bit with this game trying to see what exactly they could do with SCI especially with the art that heavily uses SCI's dithering capabilities in a way other games didn't. Right click mouse interactions are kind of a stepping-stone to later fully point and click SCI games and the expanded drop-down menus suggests they were thinking about wanting to move away from the parser. For a 1980s 16-bit game engine SCI is surprisingly powerful and flexible in its capabilities.

[@ShockerTopper]

I remember the statue flying across the top of the screen! Haha...classic from my childhood in the 90s. I love your coverage of the amazing Sierra game.

[@richardmahn7589]

I loved this game when it first came out and I was in Jr. High. Got me into murder mysteries. Yet didn't know much at all as you said, and don't remember as much as I thought! Thanks for this!

[@Bruhtatochip742]

30:10 It's shit like this that makes me love Sierra games