It must have been Christmas 1991 that I found Space Quest IV: Roger Wilko and the Time Rippers We received the gift of seeing exciting new possibilities for gaming under the tree.
I’ve certainly been a fan of adventure games. Played some games at Sierra’s. King’s Quest The series, not to mention Lucasfilm’s brilliant and bizarre early titles maniac mansion When Secret of Monkey IslandBut this was my first experience space quest, Sierra’s comedy sci-fi series, starring Roger Wilco. Roger Wilco is an ill-fated space janitor who finds himself embroiled in one cosmic misfortune after another.
To be honest, I don’t remember much about the quality of Space Quest IVpuzzle. What I do remember is how diverse and vibrant that universe seemed, with harsh alien worlds, moody cantinas, and glittering space malls.But what really knocked my socks off about the game was the way meta it was. After going a little further Space Quest IV: Roger Wilko and the Time Rippers As such, poor Roger finds himself plunged into (what does not exist) Space Quest XII: Vengeance of Vohol II.
Today, it’s not uncommon for games to break the fourth wall and wink at players knowing that it’s a video game, defy convention or inspire. But to me in 1991, it’s never been this exciting.The game also sees you adventure Space Quest X: Estros Latex Babe (an obvious riff on the 1986 Infocom adventure Phobos leather goddess) and back space questwhich already seemed humorously primitive and pixelated compared to 1991’s cutting-edge graphics, made the high-res Roger Wilco stand out even more.
Space Quest IV It may or may not be a great game. I remember sitting there over the Christmas holidays, in awe of the clever metaness of it all, and expanding my thoughts on what video game storytelling and structure can do.
Carolyn Petit, Editor-in-Chief
