Questing for Glory
The Definitive History of the Quest for Glory Series
by Jason Mical with Lori and Corey Cole
About the Book
Questing for Glory is the definitive creative, technical, and developmental history of the Quest for Glory series of video games published by Sierra On-Line from 1989 to 1998. The story is largely told through interviews with the designers, artists, programmers, and musicians who made the games. Many of the interviews are with Lori and Corey Cole, the wife-and-husband team who created the games and led the design.
The book follows Lori and Corey's journey to bring their love of tabletop RPGs to video games, from early ideas to their joining Sierra On-Line and creating Hero's Quest (later renamed Quest for Glory). There are two chapters for each game in the series: the first a history of the game's development, the second a "walkthrough" with a "director's commentary" of the game's story, inspirations, developmental anecdotes, and more.
The book also covers Lori and Corey's post-Sierra projects: Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption and Summer Daze: Tilly's Tale. It also explores the Sierra-led VGA remake of Quest for Glory I, and the fan-led VGA remake of Quest for Glory II. Other chapters cover Quest for Glory-like games both completed, in progress, and unfinished; hint books and other printed materials; the Coles' philosophy of heroism; fan sites and communities; and interviews with creators who have been influenced by Quest for Glory.
The book's unedited word count is approximately 217,000 words.
People Interviewed
I spoke to the following people for the book: Lori Cole, Corey Cole, Ken Williams, Richard Aronson, Jerry Moore, Mark Seibert, Rudy Helm, Guruka Singh Khalsa, Chris Braymen, Ellen Beeman, Marc Hudgins, Aubrey Hodges, Craig Alexander, Chance Thomas, Eric Lengyel, Mishell Baker, Josh Mandel, Ryan Grogan, JP Selwood, Guy Welch, Chris Warren, Britney Brimhall, Stijn van Empel, Rose Bailey, Ian MacLellan, Robert Kety, Josh Koss, Corby LaCroix, Pieter Simoons, Elissa Ng, Shawn Mills, Steven Alexander, Daniel Stacy, Nicholas Baldridge, and more!
Current Status
I am currently working with a publisher of high-end video-game-related books to negotiate rights to publish Questing for Glory. Things are looking positive, so keep your fingers crossed!