Fans from around the world have joined together in an effort to save King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has A Silver Lining game shut down by Vivendi, according to Matt Compton of the Save King's Quest IX Campaign.

King's Quest IX, a fan-created project that has been in development since early 2002, is based on the King's Quest series of adventure games made by Sierra Online. More than 40 people from around the globe have participated in its creation. Upon completion, the game was to be made available as a free download on the King's Quest IX Website.

The game was set to be released this winter. However, shortly after releasing a trailer for the game, the fan-developers received a cease and desist letter from the current King's Quest copyright owner, Vivendi Universal Games. They were forced to shut down.

Just a couple of weeks later, King's Quest fans from all over the globe joined forces and launched the Save King's Quest IX campaign. Their Website details their mission, as well as various ways that people can help.

"We're asking anyone who'd like to see this game be released to e-mail Vivendi," said Cat Tyson, one of the organizers of the campaign. "It's very important for fans to have their voices heard, and we encourage everyone to let Vivendi know how they feel."

"There are many other ways that people can help," says Jason Mumford, another member of the campaign. "People can blog about us, they can post about us on game-related message boards; even talk about us in chat rooms. Anything to help spread the word."

But the group refrains from talk of boycotts or protests. The Save King's Quest IX organization has made it clear that they do not hold any anger towards Vivendi for issuing the cease and desist letter.

"We understand that Vivendi was only protecting its intellectual property," says campaign member Matt Compton. "We simply want them to consider allowing King's Quest IX to continue. We'd like Vivendi to explore the idea of reaching a non-commercial agreement with the fans who've made the game, so it can still be released."

The fans may have some hope, as the Save King's Quest IX Website has received more than 15,000 unique visitors, and the group reports that more than 1,000 emails have been sent to Vivendi.

"The fan community for classic adventure games like King's Quest is much larger than I think most people realize," says Compton. "When people found out that there was a King's Quest game being made by fans, they got very excited. Now that it's been forced to shut down, those same people really want to do something to help save it."

Save King's Quest IX graphics can be found at www.savekqix.org/banners.htm. Screenshots from King's Quest IX can be found at www.kqix.com/media/screenshots.

Dwarven Forge has announced that it has re-opened the pre-orders for the second wave of the limited edition of its Den of Evil (Room and Passage) Sets, which will be available some time after Feb. 1.

"The first wave sold out before it even got here,and with the fantastic reviews that the first wave has generatedthe second wave should sell out quickly," said Dwarven Forge's Jeff Martin. "Remember that only 1,500 of these sets will everbe made so be sure to reserve one before one now."

Dwarven Forge also announced a number of upcoming releases:

Sci-Fi Beta Expansion Set -- this triple-sized sci-fi set will also be available after Feb. 1 and will include forcefield doors, curved hallways, curvedcorners, computer panels, porthole walls and even more.

Cavernous River Set -- this cavern expansion set will allows customize-able rivers to enter cavern set ups. It should be released in April 2006 and it will featurethe incredible sculpting to date, "plus clear resin 'water' thatwill look incredible."

Cavernous Lake Set -- With a scheduled release of June 2006 this followup to the Cavernous River Set will allow large bodies to water in your subterrain worlds and will come complete with other pieces to flesh out this exciting environment.

Den of Evil (Wicked Additions) Set -- A host of highly useful pieces will allow DoE fans to add stairs, raised platforms, pillars, and otherelements to add more challenges to this unique product line. It shouldbe available in November 2006.

Over the past two years, Skirmisher Publishing LLC has worked with Dwaven Forge to include in its products dungeon maps created using digital photography of the company's three-dimensional models. Products currently available with this feature include the d20 books Tests of Skill and Experts v.3.5, and a number of its upcoming releases will include components from the above-mentioned sets.

Skirmisher Publishing LLC has launched Skirmisher's Game Store, an online venue for its books, miniatures, and other products. It can be visited at http://stores.ebay.com/Skirmishers-Game-Store.

Now, Skirmisher fans and customers will be able to purchase items directly from the company while ejoying all the online protections and guarantees offered by eBay and PayPal.

Other benefits of shopping at Skirmisher' Game Store will include significant special offers and discounts, bonus materials sent out with every purchase, and information on how to receive things like free books and downloads--features unavailable with items bought through other venues.

Skirmisher is pleased to unveil its new look! News, reviews, and other information will now be updated on a very frequent basis using a new blog-based delivery system. Stay tuned. Message boards will follow shortly!

Paul Knorr
Publisher^3