#THE COLONEL'S BEQUEST

[laurabow]

Nervously, you look behind you.. but there's no one there.

All the murders from the Colonel's Bequest.

[retrocgads]

USA 1990

[composer-of-chaos]

They should get the colonel's bequest on store shelves again. i think it could do numbers in todays gaming landscape

[chrissysky]

Also without Clara, we wouldn't have the Laura Bow games, and that'd be a shame.

Propaganda

Geraldine Farrar (Carmen, Joan the Woman, The Woman God Forgot)— I guess technically she was more of an opera star, but she was the leading lady for a ton of major silent films and she’s got two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for both music and film so I think she counts as a film star

Clara Bow (It, Wings)—The original It Girl (literally), Clara was the epitome of a flapper film star. She was obviously a looker, but it was her acting that won over hearts. Watch the movie It (no clowns) to get a sense of her charms. And while she's most known for her silents, (including Wings, the winner of the first ever Best Picture Academy award) she did make some talkies! Contrary to popular belief, sound films didn't ruin her career; she reportedly just hated the process of making them. She had a really interesting background and it's a shame she's not as well remembered as others of her time.

This is round 1 of the tournament. All other polls in this bracket can be found here. Please reblog with further support of your beloved hot sexy vintage woman.

[additional propaganda submitted under the cut.]

Clara Bow:

She has gorgeous doe eyes, how can you not love her?

The original it girl! Flapper icon! She's sooo fun and charming and confident, it just shines through any film or picture you see of her.

I love love love her genderbendy boy style and her cute twinkly performances!! watch wings i s2g she absolutely brings it

She's literally THE It Girl. Like actually, she's the term's namesake. She was an extremely prolific silent film actress with a reputation for wild behavior who defined the 20s flapper era. Her boyish frame, androgynous style, and red curly hair were widely emulated.

Geraldine Farrar:

[techaddictsuk]

Glinting in the distance - Crimson Diamond to arrive soon

A trailer and release date has arrived for the upcoming retro flavoured love letter to the adventure games of yesterdecade. Harking back to the likes of Colonel’s Bequest from Sierra, the player will have to use their brain, cunning, and eye for detail to deduce who the murderer is in this eye catching graphic adventure game, in EGA! Creator Julia Minamata has described the game as a cosy murder…

[yourstrulybresus]

Laura Bow, you’ll never be a renowned journalist and detective if you keep sucking muck. 

Yrs truly, Bresus

[kobold-wyx]

Laura Bow is a kobold

- sneaky/unassuming/easy to ignore

- causes more problems than she solves until the end

- always getting into other peoples' stuff

- grabs everything she can get her hands on

- screams a lot

- defined by being clever, scrappy, and nosy

[switch]

this game is still insane

[thelovelymissbigbadwolf]

Colonel's Bequest

[spunsugarmusings]

Laura Bow In: The Dagger of Amon-Ra Sentence Starter Pack

Quotes taken from the game Laura Bow In: The Dagger of Amon-Ra, the wildly tonally different sequel to The Colonel's Bequest. TW for murder, death, infidelity and such. Change pronouns and tenses as needed, some entries have been edited for clarity, and please enjoy!

"There is still time to correct this most grievous misunderstanding."

"Don't let him shake you. He's tough on the outside, but inside, he's got a heart of stone."

"Don't touch it! You don't know where it's been!"

"That's what you think, you mallard rest buffoon!"

"It is a unicorn, left over from a King's Quest game."

"You're in a heck of a pickle now!"

"Death is a natural part of life, so when your time comes, it's best to accept it and go out gracefully."

"Your perky demeanor and thorough technique are making you a First Class Detective."

"Death from traumatic lead poisoning claims many lives every year."

"Stay out of my way, or I'll thrash you within an inch of your life!"

"We usually just hire men for this job. It's rough out there, and you're kind of…small."

"You mean there's ANOTHER [NAME]? No two sets of parents could be THAT cruel."

"He's got a chip on his shoulder the size of the Brooklyn Bridge. He'll try to cut you down. Just shake it off; that's what I had to do."

"Look, that was long ago and far away, okay? The room was dark and I was NOT married at the time."

"I don't know how you know about that, but I don't want to hear another word about it."

"Oh, lovely place if you like rats, thieves, and roughnecks."

"Don't bother Doctor Jazz while he's performing."

"Ya look so cute in that outfit, it makes me want to scream!"

"I find it distasteful to celebrate thievery in the name of science!"

"Amon-Ra will have his revenge!"

"Excuse me, SIR, but I see a turkey leg on the buffet table that requires my attention."

"I just happened to be standing here."

"I don't think my wife would ever have done it in a mummy case."

"Oh, I'm sure his body is crawling with maggots by now."

"If his spirit IS with you, let me know because I'd love to see it!"

"Very kind of you to say that, but there are many who misinterpret my actions."

"A delightful girl. I keep asking her if she'd like to be my second wife."

"It never hurts to have highly-placed friends on the police force, no?"

"He doesn't care a fig for what's right and what's wrong! His evil deeds will catch up to him though, just wait and see!"

"Our civilization has evolved over thousands of years, so our methods are quite well thought out and practical."

"I almost didn't recognize you with your clothes on."

"Even empty water glasses have their uses."

"Oh, wunderbar! Now we've got the AMATEURS involved."

"The food is free of bugs, if that's what you were worried about."

"That translates out to: "My Fish Dances in the Parking Lot"?!"

"The tablet says: "She who reads this cursed tablet is doomed to be eaten by a thousand voracious scarabs"."

"You might cut yourself, or you could put an eye out, or any number of other things could happen that your mother warned you about when you were little and everything in your life was dangerous."

"Your face has certainly changed to an attractive pale color, my dear."

"Remember our deal."

"You'll have to show me how sorry you are. Kiss me."

"Honestly, you men can be such crybabies."

"Because of you, a murderer is running around loose in this city, free to kill again!"

"I've got more tricks than you have braincells!"

"Nobody just happens to HIDE behind a museum tapestry!"

"The nerve, going around accusing people of stealing paintings!"

"Just be keeping in mind that I'd have to kill you if I ever found out you were sleeping with someone else."

"It's been a long time since I've been able to trust anyone as much as I trust you."

"We've got a perfectly good art burglary scheme going!"

"That's not blood, you got me all excited..."

"That man'd lie to his own MOTHER if someone paid him for it!"

"I lost a load of Egyptian cobras down there a few weeks ago, and I occasionally come across one of the little darlings."

"I need more proof before I subject him to the full force of my wrath."

"Why are you tied up on my desk?"

"If you see him, will you tell him [NAME] is dying on the desk in my office?"

"Ah, excuse me, I was looking for the women's lounge?"

"There is too much at stake here, too many important people are involved!"

"We can either test you or sacrifice you, it's your choice!"

"It's all that damned lousy reporter's fault!"

[kyuohki]

Was just thinking on how Sabotage Studio did their games and touched on various genres. The Messenger was a love letter to Ninja Gaiden and Metroid platformers, which then became a Punch Out game with the dlc (apparently? I havent gotten that far yet...) Sea of Stars is very obviously a love letter to JRPGs (Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG) that ended up in a bullet hell style.

Now, I'm almost hoping for a game to end up in a text based Sierra style game (kinda like the King's Quest or Colonel's Bequest) or something like the point/click puzzle style a la Myst/Riven.

An Atelier/Mana Khemia game would work for Resh'an/Aephorul early history...Hell, a visual novel or dating sim would be hilarious, too.

[scotianostra]

James McGill was born on October 6th, 1744 in Glasgow.

A name most of you will be unfamiliar with but McGill ask any Canadian and they will tell about the man who founded one of their top Universities that bears his name.

During his studies at Glasgow University, McGill was shaped by the values of the Scottish Enlightenment. Although he left university without completing a degree—a fact likely due to his family’s poor fortunes—his education instilled in him a lifelong love of new ideas, and a commitment to give serious thought to the beliefs and opinions of others, no matter how at odds they were with his own worldview.

Sometime before 1766, McGill immigrated to North America and entered the rough-and-tumble world of the fur trade. His hard work and French fluency served him well as he spent much of the following nine years in almost constant danger, navigating the rivers and lakes of the Great Lakes frontier, wintering in unmapped wilderness and living off the land.

By 1775, McGill had established himself as a successful merchant, trading in furs, ammunition and general goods. He said goodbye to bush life and used his fortune to settle in Montreal. There he married an industrious francophone widow, Charlotte, and became stepfather to her young sons.

McGill's dedication to public service distinguished him from many of his fur-trading contemporaries. A volunteer Colonel with the Montreal militia, he led the defence of Montreal during the War of 1812. He served as a city magistrate for many years, making him part of a council that was the de facto government of Montreal at the time. He was also a member of a committee that reported on the need for a Legislative Assembly for the colony of Lower Canada, to which he would be elected three times.

Always a visionary, McGill was determined to create a rigorous system of education for Lower Canada. During his time as a legislator, he participated in the debates that would lead to the establishment of the Royal Institute for the Advancement of Learning (RIAL), a body designed to establish a formal educational system in the colony.

McGill took great care of the welfare of others, including his step-children and the orphan daughter of a friend. This ecumenical and generous spirit manifested itself in his final will, which, after his death in 1813, revealed a bequest to the RIAL for the founding of a college.

Spurred on by the gift, the RIAL became the governing body for McGill College, which was officially established in 1821. McGill College is a regular top performer and is usually in the top 30 universities in the world.

The pics are McGill by Canadian artist Louis Dulongpré and a statue of the man at McGill College's downtown campus in Montreal.

[retrocgads]

USA 1990

[dreamsofalife]

((I'm feeling very...Laura Bow this week. Maybe if I can, I'll make sentence starters from the dialogue in Colonel's Bequest and/or Dagger of Amon Ra.))

[kawaoneechan]

SCI title menus

Okay I've done my research. I've checked 32 different SCI 0 to 1.1 games and took note of what their title menus are like.

For this, I ignore the Sierra logo which may be un-skippable in some games, copy protection screens, and cutscenes that last just seconds before control is given like Sonny Bonds parking his car or Roger Wilco jumping out of his pod.

A. Just press a key to skip the title/intro (5)

No screenshots because there's no title menu to show for these.

Leisure Suit Larry 2 (SCI0)

Police Quest 2 (SCI0)

Space Quest 3 (SCI0) — you can enter commands and activate the menu at any time during the intro, so you can restore at any time.

Leisure Suit Larry 1 and 3 (SCI10, SCI0), after a fairly long age check.

Codename ICEMAN (SCI0) — there's some opening narration before control is given.

B. Is this your first time playing X? (4)

First thing the game does when the title appears is ask if you want to watch the intro (no) or skip it (yes). This is done with a regular old dialog window and DButtons.

King's Quest 4 (SCI0)

King's Quest 5 (SCI10)

The Colonel's Bequest (SCI0)

Conquests of the Longbow (SCI10) — a variation that lets you pick between the intro, restoring, or starting a new game.

C. Interruptible intro (5)

At any point during the introduction and title credits, you can press a key to skip ahead to the game or restore. This is done with a regular old dialog window and DButtons.

Space Quest 1 (SCI10)

Space Quest 4 (SCI10)

Castle of Dr. Brain (SCI10)

Police Quest 3 (SCI10)

EcoQuest 1 (SCI0)

D. Options running along the bottom of the screen (2)

King's Quest 1 (SCI0)

King's Quest 6 (SCI11)

The Dating Pool

E. The same, but they're DButtons in a dialog window (2)

Freddy Pharkas (SCI11)

Leisure Suit Larry 6 (SCI11)

Eric Oakford's SCI 1.1 template

F. Options going down the screen (4)

Quest for Glory 1 (SCI0, SCI11)

Quest for Glory 2 (SCI01)

The Dagger of Amon-Ra (SCI11)

EcoQuest 2 (SCI11)

G. The same, but again as DButtons in a window (6)

Conquests of Camelot (SCI0) — the window is on the bottom but the buttons run down.

Police Quest 1 (SCI11)

Quest for Glory 3 (SCI11) — Technically that's an icon bar but they have the look.

Island of Dr. Brain (SCI11)

Space Quest 5 (SCI11) — DColorButtons are a kind of DButton.

Pepper's Adventures in Time (SCI11)

Phil Fortier's SCI 1.1 template, because it's based on SQ5.

H. Something more unique and novel (3)

Mixed-Up Mother Goose (SCI0)

Mixed-Up Fairy Tales (SCI10?)

Leisure Suit Larry 5 — fast forward twice (SCI10)

... personally I'd go with Police Quest 1 style for a template game. I like interruptible intros but the template wouldn't have such a thing. Leave it as a tutorial perhaps. And that's why C is missing in the poll.

[mydonkeyfeet]

I have a recurring dream theme where I find hidden rooms in my house, sometimes an enormous entire wing or a house within the house, or a secret passage behind a known storage space, or an unknown attic or basement. Sometimes there are squatters living there and I feel like I’m trespassing in their home. Once it was a whole colony of cats. It’s always SO AMAZING! How did we never notice that this closet doesn’t match up with the other, or that the stairs don’t make sense here, or that the roof is long but the attic is short, or that there’s a stained glass window we can see from outside but we’ve never seen it from the inside before?

PS the feeling of excitement reminds me of old adventure games where you complete some significant task and finally you’re able to go into the room or next screen where you were never able to go before. That locked cellar door is open! The elevator has arrived! You can go in the attic now! (Those are all from mystery game The Colonel’s Bequest, very formative in my life.)