Questions for Tom Hall

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RoboBlue
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by RoboBlue »

I'd like to know if there was a specific inspiration behind Princess Lindsey, and if she was ever intended to have more involvement in the story.
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by NewKeen »

Mmm. A question for Tom Hall:
-How much ($$$)?

We want the copyrights!!!
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Keening_Product »

NewKeen wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 22:05 Mmm. A question for Tom Hall:
-How much ($$$)?

We want the copyrights!!!
So does Tom. He isn't in control of the IP.
Keening_Product was defeated before the game.

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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Rorie »

NewKeen wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 22:05 Mmm. A question for Tom Hall:
-How much ($$$)?

We want the copyrights!!!
Problem is Zenimax don't want to part company with the copyright nor is there any amount of money that they can be tempted with swaying them to hand the rights over or to make a new keen game, that is business for you!
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by troublesomekeen »

RoboBlue wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 18:57 I'd like to know if there was a specific inspiration behind Princess Lindsey, and if she was ever intended to have more involvement in the story.
I really like that question. :lindsey
She might be the most bizarre character in all of Keendom.
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Lava89 »

Below are my responses to most of the posts on here, but what I'm not seeing are too many TUIT questions (exception being Robo's Lindsey question).

Don't get me wrong, the major questions on my last reported list are definitely getting asked and I really love all of the questions related to early development \ scrapped material. But I'd like to make TUIT the priority, simply because we know next to nothing about it.

So does anyone have any TUIT questions? Even if you don't think it's any good, feel free to just post it here and see what sticks! :)

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Rorie wrote: Fri May 05, 2017 23:58 Mate I Sincerely Apologize, it is just I have been here a very long time probably longer than you and the memories of those who kept pushing for a new Commander Keen Game must have finally gotten to me, I used to use different aliases such as Keengamer, rorie1983 before I settled with my current username, you might remember me, you might not
No problem at all-- it actually has nothing to do with who's been here longer (does a decade count? haha). I just felt your criticism didn't apply to this thread (but if it was any other thread I'd probably agree with you).
ScarletFlame wrote: Sat May 06, 2017 1:33 The problem with these questions is that a 140 character answer wouldn't be in depth. :dead2

Exactly. I don't know if there is too much info about Wolf3D II, since that pretty much evolved into Rise of the Triad. But I think a good minor question would be "were all of the id and apogee games intended to be related". We do know that some of the Apogee games reference Keen like Duke I, and Cosmo referenced Duke II, so I would assume those are related-- at least unofficially.
K1n9_Duk3 wrote: Sat May 06, 2017 5:33 Another good question would be to ask how far they got with the in-game story sequence that seemed to be planned for Keen 4. In case you don't remember, the tileset from the Keen 4 demo contains actor icons for Billy's parents, the council page, the BWB megarocket and Billy's backyard clubhouse. And since the Keen 1 beta had an animated sequence with the vorticon stealing the parts from Keen's ship, it seems likely that something similar was planned for Keen 4.
That's really interesting-- if Keen 4 was planning to have an animated sequence, like the scrapped one from Keen 1 Beta. But I might have to leave that for a minor question, in case he does not know or remember.
NewKeen wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 22:05 -How much ($$$)?
We want the copyrights!!!
As Rorie accurately pointed out, Keen can't be bought. Tom Hall made this very clear in my first twitter conversation with him.
RoboBlue wrote: Wed May 10, 2017 18:57 I'd like to know if there was a specific inspiration behind Princess Lindsey, and if she was ever intended to have more involvement in the story.
That's a good question, and might make for some good TUIT territory.
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by proYorp »

On the subject of Mortimer being defeated, I was recently looking at the ancient Commander Keen Newsletter, and in one issue they actually did an interview with Tom Hall. Of particular interest is this bit right here:
Question:
The current Keen universe only has one primary villain, Mortimer, have you
thought further than that and considers others? Could Mort be around forever?

Answer:
Well, there are other races and stuff, but Mortimer is behind most of Keen's
problems. Once Keen feels okay about only having a 314 IQ, then Mortimer will
probably be defeated.
Whether that happens in The Universe is Toast! or not, your guess is as good as mine.


TUiT questions, hmm.... The only ones I've ever had I think were related to the 3D/paralax engine and the zoo, which seems to have already been covered. I believe there have been a few theories about what the zoo would be like, for instance that maybe it was like a laboratory zoo and not a typical fun zoo, but if it was intended to be a secret level it seems obvious that it would be an "ordinary" recreational zoo.

It seems to me that the lack of information makes it paradoxically harder to come up with questions. Maybe ask if he could just give us some little thing, just one creature description, a planet name, anything? Maybe the synopsis of the very beginning of the story? That's gotta have barely any spoilers, right?
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by ScarletFlame »

Once Keen feels okay about only having a 314 IQ, then Mortimer will
probably be defeated.
That's really interesting, since that means Keen is basically insecure about his own intelligence. It's like Mortimer is Billy's own personal demon or something.
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Grimson »

ScarletFlame wrote: Sun May 14, 2017 18:59
Once Keen feels okay about only having a 314 IQ, then Mortimer will
probably be defeated.
That's really interesting, since that means Keen is basically insecure about his own intelligence. It's like Mortimer is Billy's own personal demon or something.
Seems to me like this is another nod towards the idea that Keen's adventures are really just part of his vivid imagination. Mortimer could very well be a living figure, and a bully at Billy's school, but that's it. Billy's subconsciousness would of course portray Mort as his arch-nemesis even in his imaginary worlds.
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Plasma Captain »

The thing about Mortimer and Keen's IQ is very interesting, and I don't remember having read that before. My assumption is that the series would have ended tongue-in-cheek, like Mortimer being grounded for his bad behaviour or something similarly referential to the young age of the characters. The idea of him being "defeated" because his bullying tactics lose effectiveness seems right in line with the story.

By the way, the thing about the zoo level - I'm pretty sure it was stated that it was meant to be the first level of the game, not a secret level.

My apologies if these questions have been asked/answered in some capacity before, but most of this kind of Keen information has been scattered around the web over the decades, so it's hard to remember (and to check). Here are some TUIT-based questions to attempt to fill the void:
  • Given that TUIT was cancelled before art was really made for it (barring that demo recently shown), how far along in design was the game by the time it was cancelled? I feel like this is a good starting point because, while in the really early days, it always felt like some early version of the game may be out there (and possibly 3D, oh my!), it has become increasingly clear that's not the case. I almost wonder how much of TUIT may only exist in Hall's mind and wasn't even written down.
  • Would the general game flow have been similar to the previous games (key and door mazes)?
  • Poles were a unique addition in Dreams/Galaxy. Would a new reoccurring environmental gimmick have appeared in TUIT? (Because the poles are like childrens' fireman poles, I've long imagined something also playground-based, like monkey bars or jungle-gym-style walls - the latter which, perhaps notably, appeared in Worlds of Wander.)
  • How much of the story was actually planned out before cancellation? (Story details aren't necessary if he doesn't feel like providing them.)
  • Each trilogy's setting consisted of a formula that went like: familiar planet > space ship > alien landscape. Would this have been maintained in TUIT? (Secondary question: Was this intentional in the first place?)
And an unrelated question to boot: Would he please draw us a sketch of a Dort, and maybe also a sketch of the guys that were supposed to kick Keen in Hillville? (Do any graphics of these enemies exist?)
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by szemi »

I also have a question to Tom Hall:

What does he say about this? What were these creatures that bit the dust (as Robert C. Prince says)?
"Ever wondered from where the title to this music track came from? Here's what Bobby Prince had to say on the matter:

...there is a level called 'Hillville,' and the first rendition of that level had little guys running around kicking everything in their path. I think these little guys bit the dust before the final release, but they were remembered in this song, as they inspired it. ─ Robert Prince

What these creatures were called and why they were removed is not known, however."
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Plasma Captain »

That, and the Dort:
Plasma Captain wrote: Thu May 18, 2017 2:57And an unrelated question to boot: Would he please draw us a sketch of a Dort, and maybe also a sketch of the guys that were supposed to kick Keen in Hillville? (Do any graphics of these enemies exist?)
This also reminds me of another question that I'd thought of, but forgot to add here: Why was the "surprised" tile of Mortimer McMire unused in Keen 3? We all assume it was meant to display when the boss goes down. Was it left out by accident? A glitch? Or had they already decided at that point to make him an "android dummy" instead of the real Mort?
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by KeenRush »

I think they just hurried too much with it and simply forgot to make use of it. Surely Mort could have programmed the android dummy to look surprised if/when defeated to fool Keen more convincibly?
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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Plasma Captain »

Probably, and I doubt that they had planned the story that far anyway, but I vaguely remember somebody bringing it up in an earlier discussion about the tile, so I thought it might be relevant. (insert Keen shrugging emoticon here)

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Re: Questions for Tom Hall

Post by Levellass »

Keen 3... well it was a bit rushed.I think we're all aware of the little mistakes in it here and there.
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