The snake tattoo thing. I can't recall if that was patched out at some point though, but when I originally bought the game way back in the 90's I had to restore because I hadn't copied it and it wasn't possible to do it on the other day.

funny, the way the OP stated the question....


I remember back in the day, when i was looking at a game, and wondering if i should buy... and then i saw the Sierra Tag... I knew it ment a great game was inside.. For me it was one of the best game companies of the 90's, right up there with westwoods, blizzard, and bioware and microprose

The funny thing is that that particular "riddle" doesn't make any sense. Also it's not necessarily an "unwinnable" situation in the classic sense where you just get stuck, IIRC it just inevitably leads to a worse ending. You can die in the game but I think you can return to the moment just before you died and try again.

Well, it did make sense for me, at least at the time. You are told not to do that "thing" literally minutes before when "coming up with a plan". I only found out the "unwinnable" situation because, after beating the game, I wanted to see what happened "going alone", so to speak (and also trying all the combinations with the costumes and such). And if I don't remember this wrong, you ended up with the "I really don't want to be dead" screen, right? Only that if you didn't have a savegame from before that part... you'll die again and again, no other option. But you are right: you can continue playing.

Just wanted to warn the OP, so he/she didn't need to play all the game again in case something goes wrong. GK1 is the only in the series when you need a savegame if you die: there is no going back otherwise (the options are "restore" and "restart"). Thankfully, they fixed that in GK2.

And, hopefully, this won't be a problem in the remake.

I think of all the Sierra games I've played GK1 was the one I had the least issues with, so I'd recommend to try it. I wouldn't necessarily recommend Jane Jensen's school of design as superior or easier in general though, as I've found the design of GK2 and Gray Matter quite horrible. They have gripping stories, sure, but the gameplay ... yikes.

Sierra games without most of the bullshit dead end issues:

Gabriel Knight
King's Quest VI and VII
Space Quest V and VI
Leisure Suit Larry V, VI and VII

They all have deaths though. You have to save often in Sierra games.

I would probably also add Laura Bow to that list (though sadly that has yet to be released here.. Come on! Bring on the Bow GOG!)

Didn't some had a retry option?
Think King Quest 7 has atleast.

King's Quest 7 certainly did. Larry 6 too. I'm fuzzy on the rest, been a while.

EDIT: Actually, pretty sure Space Quest 6 had the retry button too.

YES! BY ALL MEANS! I replayed this game a few months ago and I have to say that GK1 is one of the very few Sierra games that REALLY stood the test of time. Comparing it to LSL2 would be a mistake: LSL2 was a blatant attempt at selling more hintbooks, GK1 is a work of art! It's got excellent atmosphere, memorable characters, great story, wonderful music. No dead man walking scenarios that I can think of (certainly not the kind in which you die near the end of the game because you forgot to pick up some random item at the start) and very few insta-deaths (which you will see forecoming early enough).

Oh hey, I'm not against the occasional death if its done artistically, I just think, with some of Sierra's earlier stuff it felt like it was actively trolling you!

Yeah, the games you mention all seem to come from a brief, sweet spot in Sierra's history between finally learning what makes a fun and enjoyable ponty-and-click experience from Lucas Arts and falling in love with and betting everything on FMV!

I'll never forget my first experience with the original Police Quest.

*game starts*
type: "take off clothes", press ENTER
*Sonny removes clothes*
Game over.

Wait a minute, in King's Quest VII, Space Quest 6 and Leisure Suit Larry 6 IIRC the death screens had a restore button which allows you to return to the point just before you died and do things right and IIRC Larry 7 had no deaths at all.
Yeah, I think most Sierra games from 1994 onwards had those. And Woodruff did not have deaths at all, IIRC (still missing from GOG, btw).

I said they had deaths, I just also said to save often. Some had resets most didn't, save a lot either way.