Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption, from the Quest for Glory series creators

[oasis789]

 

Like RPGs but bored of monster slaying and fetch quests? Wish games had more meaningful plots and memorable characters? Join novice thief Shawn O'Conner as he attends the hallowed halls of Hero University (think Hogwarts meets D&D) and navigates the trials of college life. Your choices determine whether he becomes a noble hero, a ruthless villain, or some mix in between. You decide if he will use force or finesse, persuasion or cunning to overcome obstacles and accomplish goals. But remember, all choices inevitably have consequences. And that's just the freshman semester of Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption.

 

What is Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption?

 

Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption is an upcoming fantasy RPG set in a university for adventurers, where you play a thief who was caught and has been sentenced to reform school. If the bullies don't get you, the midterms will, or the extracurriculars in the catacombs below.

 

• 
   
  
• Turn-based tactical combat with emphasis on stealth, deception, and traps, oh my
   
  
• Adventure game style puzzles with multiple solutions
   
  
• Tough decisions that affect branching storyline
   
  
• Deep interaction and relationships with NPCs and their hidden agendas
   
  

 

The game designers have very strong views on adventure game and RPG genre conventions and this game is supposed to tip all these sacred cows over.

 

 

Who's making it?

 

Designers: Lori and Corey Cole, the creators of the classic Sierra Quest for Glory series, adventure/RPG hybrid

, and puzzle game

. Basically, they made the games of my childhood.

 

Developers: Andrew Goulding, founder of Brawsome, developer of the

and

adventure games. Haven't played those games yet myself, but they seem fun from the LP videos.

 

Art: Among others, Eriq Chang and John Paul Selwood, who did the artwork in the Quest for Glory II remake, which was done pretty.

 

 

What is Quest for Glory?

 

Quest for Glory was a series of adventure-RPG hybrids in the Sierra line (King's Quest, Space Quest, Gabriel Knight etc) that combined RPG elements into the traditional point-and-click adventure genre, with storylines that borrow heavily from folklore and mythology, and a brand of humor that emphasized puns and wordplay.

 

The games were a lot of fun because they had puzzles with multiple solutions depending on your character class, descriptions and dialogue genuinely worth reading and laughing at, and character import - characters from the 1st game could bring their stats and skills all the way to the 5th game. They even had a secret class (Paladin) that was only available through import if you had played a certain way in the previous games. There were many, many ways to die in the games, and all of them were fun enough to try once before reloading. Here's

. Some fans loved the series so much, they remade one of the games (and a bunch of other Sierra games).

 

Hero-U is being planned as a similar five-part series, with each game focusing on a different class character.

 

 

Tell me more!

 

I can't do better than to point you to their site and some of the more informative articles about it:

 

• 
   
  
• Kotaku interview
   
  
• Rock Paper Shotgun interview
   
  
• RPG Codex interview
   
  
• Game homepage
   
  
• Kickstarter campaign
   
  

 

If you have questions ask away and I'll try my best to point you at the game designers' answers.

[Jarikith]

I am thrilled to the see the Coles returning to the world of Gloriana for another series of roleplaying adventures, assuming the first goes well . I'm looking forward to the humor and wit, narrative and character driven puzzles, the turn based tactical combat system to puzzle your way through (or avoid entirely). I think it's awesome that Corey's committed to personally porting Hero-U to Linux once it's complete (even though I don't use it), doing so on his own time and without taking any of the funding from the Kickstarter to do it! That shows a level of dedication to the fans and a passion for the project that deserves to be rewarded.

 

All in all it looks like it'll be a great game, a great start to a new series of a Search for Greatness, and a cool exploration of what it means to be a rogue, to choose the path of heroic scoundrel or selfish thief. The Cole's have my support on this project, can't wait!

[oasis789]

An interesting worldbuilding tidbit from update 17:

 

Alexander Freed (a writer on the SW:tOR team) wrote:

 

I've worked as a fiction writer for about a decade now, largely in the world of video games. I won't say I wouldn't be doing this without Quest for Glory (or Hero's Quest, as my ten-year-old self will always think of it), but those games absolutely shaped my sense of what was possible in an interactive narrative.

 

Breaking down plots with other writers, I've repeatedly used Trial by Fire as an example of the Right Way to generate player emotional investment in a city setting--not just by giving the player quests involving a place's residents and history, but by creating a large and rich supporting cast with attitudes that evolve slowly and subtly. Other games have tried it, of course, but few have executed it as well.

 

Shadows of Darkness remains one of my touchstones for how to give a player the chance to make All Things Right--not requiring it, but allowing players who want the happiest ending for everyone to actually achieve it. (Yes, I saved the Rusalka.)

 

To this day, I'm still comforted by how few "bad guys" the series had (Ad Avis and the Demon Wizard are the only ones who spring to mind)--my bleeding heart wishes there more modern games that didn't insist on having a Guy You Hate and Kill.

[oasis789]

Update with preview art from Eriq:

 

[oasis789]

So the official website has been completely revamped. It's well worth a look even just for the new art! I attached a nice one below.

 

With the campaign coming to a close and still a ways to go, it's now or never folks.