The main man behind the classic Sierra adventure series Police Quest has taken to Kickstarter to fund a spiritual successor called Precinct.
Jim Walls is no Roberta Williams (or even Al Lowe) but to old-school adventure fans, he’s immediately recognizable as the man behind Sierra’s long-running Police Quest series. A former California Highway Patrol officer, he designed the first three games in the franchise – In Pursuit Of the Death Angel, The Vengeance and The Kindred – as well as Codename: Iceman, and then moved on to other companies and other games. The 2002 release Earth and Beyond is his final credit but now, powered by the magic of Kickstarter, he’s looking to make a comeback.
Precinct will put players in the role of a police rookie in the California town of Fraser Canyon, where they will follow “real police procedures” as they investigate crimes and arrest criminals. Written by Wells and “some of today’s brightest Hollywood talent,” the game will be based on “true accounts of real police cases,” with dirty cops, corrupt officials and “a deadly struggle for control of Fraser Canyon’s criminal underground.”
You’re not wrong if you think that sounds an awful lot like the old Police Quest games, but Precinct will take place from a first-person perspective and promises to combine “original Sierra-style adventure with modern videogame technology.” That’s a pretty tall order, but Walls has some solid talent behind him, including Sierra veteran Robert Lindsley, whose credits include King’s Quest V and VI, Laura Bow 2, Mixed-Up Mother Goose and Phantasmagoria 2.
The Precinct Kickstarter is aiming for $500,000 and has a handful of stretch goals above and beyond that amount. It’s an awful lot for one of the lesser-known Sierra series, but Al Lowe and Replay Games picked up over $655,000 for a straight-up Leisure Suit Larry remake, so it’s not out of the question. The Kickstarter launched today and runs until August 16.
