During May, numerous members of the AGD Interactive (AGDI) and Himalaya Studios development teams assembled in Woodstock-like fashion to company headquarters in Chandler, Arizona. After spending several weeks working on our upcoming projects and directing voice over recordings for Al Emmo and the Lost Dutchman’s Mine, three of us had the opportunity to make a pilgrimage to Los Angeles, California to attend the E3. While sitting outside of The Adventure Company booth in the West Hall of the Los Angeles Convention Center, we decided to defy all rationality and customary social standards. Being huge fans of the Quest for Glory games, so much so that we’ve painstakingly spent years recreating the second game in the series, we concluded it would be an absolute honor meeting with Lori and Corey Cole–creators of our all-time favorite games. Seeing we had members of the Quest for Glory II VGA project (who had traveled thousands of miles from remote regions of the world) all in California at the same time, we decided it would be the perfect occasion to make the fateful phone call to invite the Cole’s out to lunch for a personal meeting. 

A good comparison would be the Jurassic Park fan who calls up Steven Spielberg himself asking permission to come over and play with his dinosaurs. We got AGDI’s well known Community Director, Erpy, on the case researching numbers until he found the one which was undeniably the Coles. Like Jodie Foster, I (Britney) was chosen to make contact, and finally made the fateful call which would connect me to Lori herself. I invited her to dine with the three of us over lunch in Oakhurst, but Lori hesitated and it seemed she had other thoughts. To our dismay, she groaned a sigh that we interpreted as uneasiness and potential rejection. Then, as luck would have it, she stated that it was imperative she attend an online chat during the proposed lunch hour. Because of this, she would be unable to accept our humble offer; instead, she put forth a more exciting proposal, inviting us into her very home during lunchtime and offering us a tour of the surrounding Oakhurst area after her online chat had concluded – we were beyond amazed! She then suggested that we first meet with Corey while we were in LA, as he was working there during the weeks. We called him, and he was only too happy to oblige, offering us the selection of a number of fine dining establishments in which we could meet, greet, and eat. We ended up deciding on a Persian Restaurant on Santa Monica Blvd (as immortalized by Sheryl Crowe). This was quite fitting given the fact that Quest for Glory II is set in the Middle East. 

It was truly a pleasure meeting with Corey, and he was a very likeable, easy to talk to, and friendly fellow. It was exciting to think that this was the very person who was responsible for working alongside Lori in creating our favorite games. We showed Corey scenes from the upcoming Quest for Glory II VGA remake on our laptop while dining on a buffet of exotic rice, aromatic stews, and heavenly soda. At one point, a battle commenced in the game, and loud clanging noises and painful groans emanated from the computer sitting on our table. Nearby table-dwelling patrons looked at us in a puzzled manner, wondering if the sound could possibly be a mock sword fight between the AGDs and Corey Cole using dinner forks and knives. 

Our gathering in the Persian restaurant reminded us very much of the Katta’sTail Inn, a pivotal location in the Quest for Glory game. During our discussions with Corey, he divulged a bit of trivia to us, explaining that he provided the voice for the psychologist, Sidney Aimes, in Sierra’s Police Quest III. 

When it was time to leave and say our farewells, in true Mosley-like fashion (from Gabriel Knight), Corey unknowingly re-enacted a scene from Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned by taking a red and white colored confectionary from a jar on the counter. The fact that Corey looks somewhat similar to Mosley in real life made this gesture all the more entertaining.