Welcome to the Virtual Broomcloset's look back at efforts to revive the Space Quest series during the late 1990s and early 2000s. At the time, Roger Wilco fans were clamoring for another entry in the series after Space Quest 6, so what went wrong? Well, I've tried to cut through all the rumors and speculation to bring you the true story behind Space Quest 7.
This retrospective covers both Sierra's Space Quest VII project (1997–1999) and Escape Factory's planned Space Quest reboot (2002), tracing the development of both projects through their timelines, leaked plot details, and concept art.
Space Quest VII (Sierra, 1997-1999)
Between 1997 and 1999, Sierra made multiple attempts to produce a seventh Space Quest game. The various iterations of the project, developed under working titles like "Return to Roman Numerals" and "Show Me the Buckazoids," reflected popular trends in the video game industry at the time, including moves toward 3D graphics and multiplayer gameplay. Development of SQ7 was paused in December 1997, briefly restarted in 1999, and ultimately abandoned completely when Sierra closed its Oakhurst, California, studio later that year.
Timeline
Early 1997: Sierra greenlights a seventh Space Quest game and begins assembling a small team led by Scott Murphy and Leslie Balfour. Early rumors mention 3D graphics and an online/multiplayer component.
August 1997: A new version of the Space Quest Collection Series ships with an "exclusive sneak peek" at SQ7 in the form of a short video teaser. The packaging refers to the game using the "Return to Roman Numerals" working title.
Late 1997: In interviews with the Virtual Broomcloset, designers Scott Murphy and Leslie Balfour confirm that Space Quest VII would feature 3D graphics and multiplayer gameplay. Balfour explained that while full production had not yet begun on SQ7, the team was prepared to start development once other Sierra projects were completed and resources became available.
December 1997: Sierra places the seventh Space Quest "on hold indefinitely," reassigning the team members to other projects. Designers Scott Murphy and Leslie Balfour send the following email to the Virtual Broomcloset on December 31st.
To the Friends and Fans of Space Quest:
As you all know, the path to Space Quest 7 has been long and bumpy, and we were never sure what we would find at the end of the road. The decision has been made, after much soul-searching and agonizing, to put Space Quest 7 on hold indefinitely.
The joy for the team has been in the journey. We've made many friends out there, and it has been quite heartening to know that Roger Wilco has so many fans. I look forward to continuing the friendships I've developed over the last year. But Sierra is in the process of many changes, and we had to take a hard look at whether a Space Quest 7 project made sense. Unfortunately for those of us who love Roger and his stupid antics, other projects just have more to offer both to the company and to our customers in general at this time.
Please don't worry about the team. We will all move to other projects at Sierra On-Line. Many of us will go over to the Babylon 5 space combat game, which will be coming out in Holiday 1998. Others will go over to the B5 adventure game, which will also come out in 1999. Both of these products will reflect Sierra's commitment to excellence in space games, and I hope you'll consider playing them if you have the opportunity.
I am sending this email to those of you who have sent me mail lately. Please pass the information on to any Space Quest fans I inadvertently omitted.
Finally, don't be sad for Roger. Just think of him as weary from making us laugh for all these years, ready for a break from his adventures. He and la Wankmeister want to settle down, raise a family. And perhaps as we look up in the sky, a distant star will remind us that somewhere, in a distant galaxy, Roger Wilco is probably getting pantsed.
Thanks again for all your support,
The Space Quest Team
-Leslie Balfour
-Scott Murphy
January 1998: The Virtual Broomcloset launches the Save Space Quest 7 campaign, urging fans to write letters and send emails to Sierra in support of the project.
February 1998: News leaks that Sierra has laid off SQ7 designer Scott Murphy. He remains under contract if and when Sierra restarts the project.
August 1998: Sources confirm that SQ7 designer Leslie Balfour is no longer under contract with Sierra.
September 1998: In the Fall issue of InterAction, Oakhurst studio General Manager Craig Alexander suggests that the Save Space Quest 7 campaign is having an impact: "I can guarantee that Space Quest 7 will be one of the titles on our agenda, given the deluge of email that we have been receiving over the last six months."
Early 1999: A restart of the SQ7 project is proposed (under the working title "Show Me the Buckazoids"), but it quickly stalls.
February 1999: Sierra shuts down its Oakhurst studio on February 22, 1999, laying off two-thirds of its employees in a move Scott Murphy dubs "Chainsaw Monday." No longer under contract, Murphy states in an email to the Virtual Broomcloset that the SQ7 project is dead. The Broomcloset ends its Save Space Quest 7 campaign.
About the Game
While Sierra had begun assembling a team to work on Space Quest VII in 1997, led by Scott Murphy and Leslie Balfour as co-designers, the game was never put into full development. Most of what we know about the project they envisioned comes from interviews with members of
the SQ7 team and concept art released in the years following its cancellation.
In a 1997 interview with the Virtual Broomcloset, Scott Murphy suggested the team had been tasked with "reinventing" the adventure game genre, integrating 3D graphics and multiplayer support. Murphy would also confirm in a later interview that the teaser video released with the Space Quest Collection "had nothing to do with what Space Quest 7 was supposed to be." He went on to describe it as "merely eye candy for management."
Few details were made public about the plot of Sierra's Space Quest VII project. As Scott Murphy revealed, "There are definitely some personal issues in this game for Roger to deal with. He has Beatrice Wankmeister, the supposed future mother of his future son, as well as Carmen Santiago [sic], for whom Roger developed a deep affection in SQ6. This could get ugly. And what do we really know about Roger's past — before Space Quest 1? And what moronic wannabe super villain or former foe is going to decide to mess with Roger?"
When asked which characters would be playable in SQ7's rumored multiplayer mode in a 1997 interview with the Virtual Broomcloset, Leslie Balfour cryptically replied, "Definitely Roger, and we're thinking that everyone will play Roger, even in the multiplayer version!" Scott Murphy would elaborate in a 2000 interview: "We toyed with the idea of Roger being accidentally cloned at the start of the game — many times, and all with differing personalities. That way multiple players could play as different Rogers all trying to reach the same goal: to snuff all the other Rogers. God, I hate even talking about this. It sucked."
Scott Murphy later revealed in private correspondence that SQ7's "big twist" (also alluded to by Leslie Balfour in her 1997 interview) was that Sludge Vohaul was Roger Wilco's brother/failed clone. As Murphy put it, "Roger got all the good parts."
Concept Art
These sketches were drawn by Sierra artist Rich Powell. More Space Quest 7 concept art is available on Rich's website and SpaceQuest.net.
Space Quest (Escape Factory, 2002)
In early 2002, Sierra (now owned by Vivendi Universal) quietly contracted the Seattle-based indie studio Escape Factory to develop a new Space Quest game for the Xbox and PlayStation 2. The game, developed under the working title Space Quest (without the VII), was planned as a third-person action-platformer rather than a traditional adventure game. Work on the reboot began in 2002 and ended abruptly later that year, leaving behind rumors, concept art, and a few other tantalizing details about the game that might have been.
Timeline
February 2002: Rumors first appear on
GameSpot
and
Adventure Gamers,
suggesting that a new Space Quest is under development at an unnamed independent studio.
March 2002: The Virtual Broomcloset reports confirmation from sources within Sierra that SQ fans "will want to keep an eye open for upcoming announcements later this year."
April 2002: Leisure Suit Larry designer Al Lowe discloses to SpaceQuest.net that the team working on the rumored Space Quest game is located in Seattle, Washington. Meanwhile, the Virtual Broomcloset confirms that SQ co-creator Scott Murphy is not involved with the new project. Murphy: "I honestly know nothing about an SQ project of any kind. As far as I know, SQ is as dead as it was when I left."
Later in the month, Sierra President Mike Ryder states in an interview with German gaming website MCV Online that "the adventure genre as we knew it may no longer be viable" and reveals they are adapting one of the company's franchises into "an action-oriented multi-platform console title."
July 2002: In addition to once again confirming that an unnamed Seattle-based studio is working on a new Space Quest title, Adventure Gamers reveals a photo of a clay maquette of an alien ("Keebo") reportedly created for the project.
November 2002: While Sierra had yet to make an official announcement about the game, Adventure Gamers reveals that Escape Factory is the previously unnamed studio working on the Space Quest reboot (targeted for a 2003 release).
December 2002: On December 19th, Sierra cancels Escape Factory's Space Quest reboot.
February 2003: Escape Factory posts on its website that its "not-yet-announced project was cancelled after just over a year of development for a variety of reasons." The Virtual Broomcloset confirms that the cancelled project was, in fact, a new Space Quest game.
About the Game
Few details about Escape Factory’s Space Quest project were made public during development. Later leaks, however, have given us a better idea of what the finished game would have been like. For instance, the rumors were largely correct; Escape Factory's Space Quest was being developed in Unreal Engine as a console-based action platformer, similar in style to titles like Ratchet & Clank or Jak and Daxter.
The game was to be built, in part, from assets left over from a previous Escape Factory project, Teebo & Kai (also known as Teebo & Kai: The Search for Awl). Commissioned by Valve in 2000 and then cancelled the following year, Teebo & Kai was set to feature an online cooperative mode as its core gameplay mode.
After Valve cancelled Teebo & Kai, Escape Factory signed a contract with Sierra Studios to develop a Space Quest reboot that would draw heavily on the gameplay mechanics planned for Teebo & Kai. Like that earlier project, Escape Factory's Space Quest
would feature an online co-op mode, allowing players to team up for platforming action.
Rumors that surfaced after the game's cancellation incorrectly suggested that the game would star a new character named "Wilger" in place of series protagonist Roger Wilco. Subsequent leaked concept art and gameplay footage, however, clearly show that this was not the case; Roger Wilco features prominently in these leaks. Instead, Wilger would have been Roger's alien co-op partner — a Kai to his Teebo, if you will. The character seen below in leaked concept art from Escape Factory's game is believed to be Wilger.
Very little is known about the planned plot of Escape Factory's Space Quest reboot. Leaked documents suggest that Roger would face off against a foe known only as "the Chairman." Concept art (seen below) suggests that this mysterious Chairman was likely Roger’s familiar nemesis, Sludge Vohaul.
Two minutes of early gameplay footage from Escape Factory's Space Quest project leaked online in April 2009. You can watch it below.
See You On The Chronostream!
If you'd like to check out my live, in-the-moment coverage of these projects from more than 20 years ago, you can still access the archived Space Quest VII (Sierra) and Space Quest (Escape Factory) pages here at the Virtual Broomcloset.
Few details about Escape Factory’s Space Quest project were made public during development. Later leaks, however, have given us a better idea of what the finished game would have been like. For instance, the rumors were largely correct; Escape Factory's Space Quest was being developed in Unreal Engine as a console-based action platformer, similar in style to titles like Ratchet & Clank or Jak and Daxter.
