Activision Doesn't Give a Damn for the fans (Kings Quest)

tpex

tpex

New member
Its Official Activision Doesn't give a fuck for the fans

Activision Terminates Fan-Made King's Quest Extension

The team of King's Quest enthusiasts who had, since 2002, been working on an unofficial continuation of the seminal adventure game, have complied with a demand by Activision to cease all development of their game.

The Silver Lining has a long and unusual history, even for fan-built games. The final official installment of King's Quest came in 1998. Two years later, enthusiasts started their first attempt at coding their own sequel, starting over with the current development volunteers, Phoenix Online Studios, in 2002. From the beginning, the team asserted a right to the project under U.S. fair use copyright law.

In 2005, Phoenix Online survived its first cease-and-desist order from the rights holder at the time, Vivendi Universal. Outcry and backlash over the project's termination led to an extraordinary non-commercial "fan license" granted for The Silver Lining.

However, Sierra's intellectual property has since changed hands from Vivendi to Activision. And Activision is not interested in continuing this license or crafting another non-commercial agreement. Says the developers:

After talks and negotiations in the last few months between ourselves and Activision, they have reached the decision that they are not interested in granting a non-commercial license to The Silver Lining, and have asked that we cease production and take down all related materials on our website.

As before, we must and will comply with this decision, as much as we may wish we could do otherwise.

We cannot say enough how much we appreciate the support we have had over these years from our fans. Without you, we would never have gotten this far. There would be no game to develop, and no one to develop it for. You have been amazing and steadfast, and we will always remember that and appreciate it more than we can say.

Sadly, after eight years of dedicated work and even more dedicated fans, The Silver Lining project is closing down.

What's more, the C&D requires closure of most of the forums set up to support the project's development. Phoenix Online says it is building a new, empty forum so fans brought together by the project can stay in touch.
Click to expand...
http://kotaku.com/5482221/activision-terminates-fan+made-kings-quest-extension
 
LOL just had to post the 1st comment
Bobby Kotick: "I feel the hunger, bring me a baby, so that I can consume it's flesh!"
Slave: "Lord, we're out of Babies! You've eaten them all!"
Bobby Kotick: "You imbecile! Why didn't you order more? Then bring me ten sweet puppies, so that I may crush them with my feet!"
Slave: "Master, I'm terribly sorry, but you've crushed all our puppies last saturday! Don't you remember?"
Bobby Kotick: "And I suppose we're out of new born kittens to drown as well?"
Slave: "That appears to be so. But there is this group of fans, who're creating a free sequel to King's Quest..."
Bobby Kotick: "King's Quest?"
Slave: "An old game by Sierra. It was some kind of adventure game series. We acquired the rights to it, when we merged with Vivendi.."
Bobby Kotick: "Ahh... Now I remember. And they want to create a free sequel to it? Tell me, what does the word 'free' mean? It's most curious and I've never heard it before..."
Slave: "They do not want to charge any money for it!"
Bobby Kotick: "Whoever would want to do that? Are they mad? But of course they can not be allowed to do so. Eventhough we will never make a sequel to the series.."
Slave: "Well, we were thinking about creating rythm action game for Xbox Live with the IP..."
Bobby Kotick: "Really? What a great idea... Anyway, they can't be allowed to use what is rightfully mine. I will tear their hearts out of their chests and consume them, while they're still beating.."
Slave: "I have a better idea! Let them live but forbid them to work on the project they've sunken eight years of their lives into. This will not only crush their spirit and destroy their dream, but that of thousands of supporters and fans as well! It will also remind everbody of our power!"
Bobby Kotick: "Ahhh.. Now I remember why I suffer you to live. You're not so stupid after all. Yess... Go to our legal department and tell them to crush those so called fans souls..."
Click to expand...
 
Sigh....i regret opening the PC section in this for forum...or any forum...theirs only bad news in the PC section in like every thread :(

/predator missiles Bobby Kotick!
 
That comment was so predictable, it was boring. :/ Yes, Bobby Kotick's a tool. We all know. Yawn.

Activision's pretty arseholey for shutting this down, but really, if they hadn't taken 8 years to make this damned thing, this banhammering probably wouldn't have happened. Call me cynical, but this game was already vapourware. I've been following it for at least 6 or 7 years now, and... nothing.

Anyway, if they really want to release it (when it's done, lolol), it's simply a matter of swapping out names and otherwise inconsequential details. Hardly a catastrophe.
 
Last edited:
Azimuth said:
That comment was so predictable, it was boring. :/ Yes, Bobby Kotick's a tool. We all know. Yawn.

Activision's pretty arseholey for shutting this down, but really, if they hadn't taken 8 years to make this damned thing, this banhammering probably wouldn't have happened. Call me cynical, but this game was already vapourware. I've been following it for at least 6 or 7 years now, and... nothing.

Anyway, if they really want to release it (when it's done, lolol), it's simply a matter of swapping out names and otherwise inconsequential details. Hardly a catastrophe.
Click to expand...

Another Duke Nukem Fornever
 
With the exception of course it was being developed by a bunch of enthusiasts in their own time, not a large paid development team. They wouldn't have been the first indie team to take 8+ years to get a game out, that's how long it takes if you don't have a big well paid development team.

Anyway, would just like to add my constructive thought that Bobby Kotick is probably Satan.
 
Thing is had they released it, they would have had to give it away for free otherwise it would be a Copryright violation. So i would say do what Azi said, change the title, change some details that could be copyrighted and release it making alot of money cause everyone will "know" that is really King's Quest.
 
The team of King's Quest enthusiasts who had, since 2002, been working on an unofficial continuation of the seminal adventure game, have complied with a demand by Activision to cease all development of their game.
Click to expand...

nothing new. quite few projects had been canned like this. think wolf3d with unreal engine, aliens with quake engine (i think)... etc etc. if it's not your assists / ip; you had no A-OK from the original owners it's their right to cann your ass regardless of the motive and situation.

as far as i can remember lucas arts was always more lenient in this regard and ID software with some of their things.
 
Well according to the latest article posted by Tinman, Activision doesn't care about their employees either.
 
Necuno said:
nothing new. quite few projects had been canned like this. think wolf3d with unreal engine, aliens with quake engine (i think)... etc etc. if it's not your assists / ip; you had no A-OK from the original owners it's their right to cann your ass regardless of the motive and situation.

as far as i can remember lucas arts was always more lenient in this regard and ID software with some of their things.
Click to expand...

They DID have an A-OK from the original owners though, they even had a license to develop the game, the IP is now owned by Activision though. Bobby Kotick, true to form, will trample on anything he can, not directly increasing his bank balance or involving the mutilation of puppies. Basically, he could do it, it was going to be a dick move that would increase his evil rating a bit further, so he did it.
 
Blackhand said:
They DID have an A-OK from the original owners though, they even had a license to develop the game, the IP is now owned by Activision though. Bobby Kotick, true to form, will trample on anything he can, not directly increasing his bank balance or involving the mutilation of puppies. Basically, he could do it, it was going to be a dick move that would increase his evil rating a bit further, so he did it.
Click to expand...

wellcome to red tape city.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top