When you start the original versions of QFG1 and QFG2, the game gives you a message saying don't make illegal copies, and then it proceeds to say that you will need the documentation to complete the game. In my experience, you don't. Because QFG1 and QFG2 are not copy protected. So why does it say that?

I think the first one was mostly a case of bluffing.

As for the second game, the maze-like city streets were, in fact, the game's copy protection - copies of the game would come with a map of the city for you to follow to get to the money changer.

Oh, well then that's not very good copy protection. It can be beaten by just exploring everywhere and when you get the map from Ali Chica and you've gone everywhere important, this copy protection is completely useless. I guess they thought that just blindly exploring the city streets would be a pain in the ass, but those of us who played the "King's Quest" games first were already used to that sort of thing.

To be fair, the Coles didn't *want* to put copy protection into the game in the first place, they were kinda forced to by Sierra, so they made the city layout confusing and included a physical map for the player to use.

...And then they had an NPC on the second screen that gave you directions (albeit confusing ones) that would lead you to the moneychanger. So I'm guessing they really didn't care to begin with. There's a reason Rasier, the totalitarian dystopian city, is an anagram of Sierra.

Quest for Glory 4 is literally the only game in the QFG series that actually uses "proper" copy protection.

I wonder if Shapeir is an anagram of anything.

I'm pretty sure it isn't.

I don't believe it is. Certainly not in the way Raseir is. Shapeir is mentioned in QFG1 and things weren't at the Ad Avis levels that inspired Raseir at that point.

I have read that Ad Avis was named after Bill Davis, someone who worked for Sierra at the time.

I heard that from Corey first hand. :)

I have also heard that the Coles weren't the only ones trying to express dissatisfaction with Sierra in their games. In "Space Quest 3," Ken Williams and Bill Davis can be seen whipping people in the programming department. I thought that was just a light-hearted joke, but I have read that it wasn't just a joke, or at least it wasn't as light-hearted as I thought.

And Ken Williams appears in some form in every "Leisure Suit Larry" game, sometimes he appears as 2 different characters in some of those games, and he always portrayed as an unpleasant human being. In one of those games he even tries to kill you.

And Jim Walls, who did the first couple "Police Quest" games (the best ones IMO) left Sierra in the middle of production of "Police Quest 3" because he was unhappy there. I believe Ken Williams appears in "Police Quest 2" at the airport on the bench outside, where he mocks you if you cross the street when you're not supposed to

It doesn't seem like Sierra was the best place to work. It seems like Ken Williams and Bill Davis weren't great managers from what I hear and read.

And wasn't Kenny The Kid in Freddy Pharkas modeled after Ken Williams?

As for the copy protection, you don't really need it in the first game but good luck getting into the thieves guild without a walkthrough if you don't know about the Thief Sign in the original. As for the map of Shapeir, I recall defeating the copy protection by going outside, killing a bandit and stealing its lunch money to buy a map and compass from Ali the first time I played the game.

Oh, I see. I played the remake before I ever played the original, so discovering the thief sign was no problem for me.