Scott Bilas was formerly the technical lead at Sierra On-Line responsible for the development of Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned and was put in charge of the massive overhaul of the game during its late development. Here is an interview where he recounts part of the story back then:

http://www.adventureclassicgaming.com/index.php/site/interviews/261/

So, if you are a Gabriel Knight fan, this may be a good read.

Impressive interview!

I'd love to hear comments about what Scott has to say about adventure games being too hardcore/difficult.

His description of the development of Gabriel Knight 3 certainly was eye-opening.

Thanks DavidT, an interesting read!

Interesting read

I don't agree,however, that Syberia was (or is) too hard. I think it actually is more of the games (casual) adventure gamers could start with, learning about the mechanics of the adventure games. It seems to me that he forgets that most people like a challenge, even in adventure games.

Thanks David T for the link to a very interesting interview but with the inclusion, I thought, of a few negative & disappointing comments.

To start with, Gabriel Knight 3 was the first game in that series I played. I, I am sure, like many others, persisted with this game despite the most awful inteface I have yet to come across, to discover a wonderful story.

As for Scott finding Siberia being too difficult & HARDCORE - oh please!! Other people complaining because it's too easy????? Where did this man get his information from?

'Same old tired gameplay' - well I think a lot of us actually like 'Old tired gameplay' - I do believe the essence of AGs is in the tale without all the trappings of innotative control systems - good graphics are a great bonus but Independant Developers have proved you can make a great game without them!!

I am a great believer in 'if it's not broke - don't fix it'. AG's will NEVER be 'broke' they are a particular genre that appeals to many - so why keep criticising & try to 'fix'?

I played Dreamday Wedding & think it's a wonderful casual game, but no offence - I play lots of similar games but compared to ANY adventure game they are 'pap'!! so can't help wondering why the developer of this game, Scott is coming across as so negative to the current AG market & RPGs don't appeal to everyone!!

Thanks DavidT

But This guy has to replay Syberia....Way too hard? & Hard Core?

Yikes

Did anybody else thought this guy was pretty annoying in the interview?

First, he mentiones that the horrible cat-hair puzzle in GK3 was replaced by him! I always hated that puzzle
Then, he blames hardcore gamers, which are the heart of the genre, saying that we're demanding too much!
As Chrissie said - Syberia? Hardcore? I think Syberia was *the easiest game* I've ever played. Not to sound petronizing or anything, but please...

Hi Tomer

For some reason when I read the piece I detected..He wanted alot of feed back..Whether good or bad it does give him publicity.

Scott Bilas is an engineer, not a true adventure gamer, so he will never be able to understand why Syberia is such a great game! Casual games are something else and something a hardcore adventure gamer like me isn't even interested in trying. By the way, I don't like reading short stories either!