Congratulations, and a strange discovery

[TribeHasSpoken]

Firstly, congratulations are in order to all members of the Himalaya Studios team for the completion of Al Emmo, and the excellent press that this game has earned. It's hard enough to collaborate on one project where team members are so far apart. The fact that many of you were working on Al Emmo as well as Quest for Glory II VGA at the same time has definitely earned my respect. From a public relations standpoint, I'm also extremely impressed that you've managed to keep your fan community informed on both projects, juggle the different fan expectations involved with an original release and a game based on an existing IP, not to mention your ability to handle the constant pressure of being asked when both of your games are being released.

I was looking through your team member profiles, and most of you were familiar to me from various adventure gaming sites, but one name and picture stood out. I've never seen animator Stuart Murray in the adventure gaming community, but several years ago I used to see him in the school band, not to mention LAN parties hosted by his brothers. Small world, isn't it?

[eriqchang]

Tribe! It's always nice getting props from another team. It's great to see you here.

On a personal note, I have been watching the TSL project for quite some time. (I have nearly every background and concept art piece saved on my HD!) You've got some very talented artists. I'm a huge fan of one in particular - the illustrator who draws really refined, almost Disneyesque character concepts (I'll have to post one of the pix here in a bit... maybe you can tell us more about him/her.)... I'd like to steal 'em away for my game project!  j/k

Any team that can attract the kind of fan following and press attention that you have deserves an award. Congrats yourself!

[TribeHasSpoken]

Tribe! It's always nice getting props from another team. It's great to see you here.

To quote Superman: "Don't thank me, Warden. We're all part of the same team."

[NightShift]

Well put.  Well put.

And 'The Silver Lining' is absolutely beautiful.  Wish I had paid more attention to Maya.  I would've loved to have helped out with this project.  Alas, 3dsMax is where my strengths are.

[TribeHasSpoken]

One thing I'd love to know is whether or not the name "Himalaya" is an homage to Sierra (both named after mountain ranges)?

[GameDevBrit]

Yes, it's definitely an homage.  Additionally, we chose the name due to our aspirations to climb the world's seven summits (the highest mountain on each of the seven continents).  We've already climbed two, and were working our way up to Everest, which is found in the Himalayas (hence the name).

We always felt that mountain climbing paralleled game development quite well.  Even if you feel that the task is an impossible one, if you just continue to take one step after the other, you will eventually reach the top and finish what you began.

[TribeHasSpoken]

We always felt that mountain climbing paralleled game development quite well.  Even if you feel that the task is an impossible one, if you just continue to take one step after the other, you will eventually reach the top and finish what you began.

I think that's an appropriate and insightful analogy, though I think I'd also add to it by saying that the path you ultimately take to reach that goal will almost certainly be different than the path you originally mapped out.

Unfortunately, if I were to create a studio and name it after what I would be brave enough to climb, it would have an aesthetically unsatisfying name like "Chair Studios" or "Very Small Ladder Entertainment".

[GameDevChris]

Thanks for the comments, Tribe. As you guys are no doubt aware, it can be a very frazzling job at times, so it's good when others recognize the immense amount of behind-the-scenes type stuff that goes on when developing a game.

It's also interesting to hear that you know Stuart. Small world, indeed! He's a superb 3D modeller/animator and we got him on board to model some of the more detailed 3D characters in the game (Antonio, Skeleton). We actually approached him for his 3D work, rather than because of any affiliation he had with adventure games. The six degrees of separation work in mysterious ways sometimes!

Finally, nice job on TSL! The demo really brought through the same atmosphere of KQ6 and the characters were written in such a way which makes you really believe that they're an extension of Roberta Williams' original story. I also like the approach you took with the backgrounds (lots of moving stuff) and the interface works in that familiar old-school Sierra style too. It's definitely a game I'm looking forward to playing!

[navynuke04]

Unfortunately, if I were to create a studio and name it after what I would be brave enough to climb, it would have an aesthetically unsatisfying name like "Chair Studios" or "Very Small Ladder Entertainment".

Just wait... some up and coming developer is going to use one of those names.  

[TribeHasSpoken]

Finally, nice job on TSL! The demo really brought through the same atmosphere of KQ6 and the characters were written in such a way which makes you really believe that they're an extension of Roberta Williams' original story. I also like the approach you took with the backgrounds (lots of moving stuff) and the interface works in that familiar old-school Sierra style too. It's definitely a game I'm looking forward to playing!

Thank you very much for the great feedback. Though I can't claim any credit for any of the content of the demo or other materials we've released (I'm strictly PR), I'll definitely pass your kind words on to the appropriate people.