I found this over at the JA forums:
QuoteTIERRA ENTERTAINMENT BECOMES AGD INTERACTIVE
Anonymous Location, December 2003--In a surprise announcement early this morning, the Anonymous Game Developers unveiled a new website and a new name for their production banner that has seen the release of two extraordinarily successful remakes of classic Sierra titles, King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown and King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones.
The new name AGD Interactive, or AGDI for short, was chosen in order to better express the purposes of the Anonymous Game Developers. The AGDs never wanted recognition for themselves, they never wanted monetary compensation for the long hours of hard work they put into their games - they wanted the games to speak for themselves, to show that adventure games must not be forgotten and could still be popular.
"The original name the Anonymous Game Developers chose, Tierra, was obviously a play on Sierra," AGDI Webmaster Relight commented on the change. "It was a respectful way of giving tribute to Sierra, but it was also a bit of a gimmick. The AGDs no longer need such references to gain publicity, so a new name was an inevitable step to better reflect the character and mission of their efforts. The AGD acronym by now is extremely well known, so adding the 'Interactive' to it to create a new acronym, AGDI, was a natural choice. The name AGDI reinforces the priorities of the AGDs - to release games anonymously so that the focus is entirely on the games. And the addition of 'Interactive' highlights the original nature of the adventure genre - puzzle-solving instead of violent action."
The AGDI team is currently working full-speed on their remake production of Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire. AGDI's new home, AGDInteractive.com, will launch early next week.
I just thought people might like to know.
Thanks for sharing DragonRose!
I think I preferred Tierra, but thats either cos it's just me or because I don't like change!
:)
m0ds
yeh Tierra imo, is better but wasn't Tierra Earth in another language?
Quote from: Privateer Puddin' on Sun 14/12/2003 19:33:24wasn't Tierra Earth in another language?
I think that's Terra, but mabey I am wrong?
I liked Tierra, but maybe the change was for the best.
Btw... HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAMIEN! ;D
Quote from: Privateer Puddin' on Sun 14/12/2003 19:33:24
yeh Tierra imo, is better but wasn't Tierra Earth in another language?
Like Damien said, I too think it's Terra. In the Wing Commander games the humans were called Terrans (from Earth?)
Dunno ...
I liked Tierra better ... I don't much like words like Interactive, Productions, or Development in company names. They probably got sick of people saying, "Ha ... like Sierra ... that's clever!!" God knows I'd get sick of that pretty darn quick!
])]v[
Terra means earth indeed, as Luna is moon and Sol is sun.
--Erwin
Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Sun 14/12/2003 20:51:15
Quote from: Privateer Puddin' on Sun 14/12/2003 19:33:24
yeh Tierra imo, is better but wasn't Tierra Earth in another language?
Like Damien said, I too think it's Terra. In the Wing Commander games the humans were called Terrans (from Earth?)
Dunno ...
I liked Tierra better ... I don't much like words like Interactive, Productions, or Development in company names. They probably got sick of people saying, "Ha ... like Sierra ... that's clever!!" God knows I'd get sick of that pretty darn quick!
])]v[
HAHAHA DARTH MANDARB!! Like DARTH VADER!!! Thuts' clevar!!
Tierra is Earth is Spanish, while Terra is in Catalan (I think Terra is Earth also in Italian, coming from the latin word Terra).
And Tierra works for the earth you can catch with your hands, and the Earth, as a planet.
So, that´s why I liked the Tierra name, because it sounded like "Sierra", which is also the spanish name for "mountain".
Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Sun 14/12/2003 20:51:15
Like Damien said, I too think it's Terra. In the Wing Commander games the humans were called Terrans (from Earth?)
Dunno ...
I liked Tierra better ... I don't much like words like Interactive, Productions, or Development in company names. They probably got sick of people saying, "Ha ... like Sierra ... that's clever!!" God knows I'd get sick of that pretty darn quick!
])]v[
And Terrans is also the name for the humans in Starcraft...
I think that Terra is a latin name, and Gaia was "earth" for the ancent greeks. Isaac Asimov used "Gaia" for a planet who lived as a "solo" entity in their science fiction "Foundation", and the scientists are used the name "gaia" for explaining the behave of a planet as a "only" organisms, with its diseases, their simbiosis, their viruses...
A nice example of how people put names. :)
Please, if I´ve given unexact data, make me know...
Quote from: MrColossal on Sun 14/12/2003 22:09:29HAHAHA DARTH MANDARB!! Like DARTH VADER!!! Thuts' clevar!!
(http://www.twin-design.com/fafmb/graphics/smilies/smilies_cry.gif)
...and Gaia was head cheese of the planeteers on captain planet...
They make wonderful games, but does anyone else think the whole anonymity thing is pretensious in a way?
At first I did a little, but it's the way they operate best, being anonymous and distant.
They don't spend that much time in the community but that's probably why they can reach such high standards. If they spent a lot of time discussing games and helping people make them, they'd take longer to do their own games and not perhaps do them as well. The amount of their spare time they must have invested in producing a game the quality of KQ2+VGA I just find staggering, and it's all been worthwhile when the end result is that good.
It's a bit like Yahtzee, we don't hear from him but since he left we've had Odysseus Kent and 5 Days A Stranger - both stunning releases I think. Maybe the shunning of kudos and community makes for better games, I don't know, but it works for these guys.
There's surely a legal element to them choosing anonymity too, to protect them if Sierra suddenly decides they don't like what's happening (however unlikely that is).
Quote from: Trapezoid on Mon 15/12/2003 01:53:15
They make wonderful games, but does anyone else think the whole anonymity thing is pretensious in a way?
Uh, yeah. "We PREFER to be anonymous, to escape POSSIBLE persecution by Sierra, and concentrate the focus on the game....."
Uh, yeah, yet you are worshiped and lauded on the forums, and if a post appears from one of the Anonymous Designers, it's like ......whoa...... gospel. Hehe. Oh well. They DO make good games!
Bt
But IF Sierra decided that Tierra was getting too far out of line or infringing on copyright do you think that Tierra would stop making their games at the request of Sierra?
I do.
So what's the point of not disclosing your name if you're willing to comply with any legeal requests?
Maybe they just want to keep their names private, just for personal reasons.
Quote from: Darth Mandarb on Sun 14/12/2003 22:35:07
Quote from: MrColossal on Sun 14/12/2003 22:09:29HAHAHA DARTH MANDARB!! Like DARTH VADER!!! Thuts' clevar!!
(http://www.twin-design.com/fafmb/graphics/smilies/smilies_cry.gif)
HAHAHA!!! Darth Mandarb, like Mandark from Dexter's Laboratory! (http://www.europa3.com/users/jredal/dexter/mandark.jpg) Thut's verry 1337!!!111!
Quote from: Raggit on Mon 15/12/2003 15:12:25
Maybe they just want to keep their names private, just for personal reasons.
Nah, AGD1 has told her real name on the Tierra forums, she just doesn't go shouting it out :P
Yeah well ... MrColossal is like ... Mr. Olympia
(http://www.twin-design.com/random/001_mrolympia.jpg)
And Super Scottish Hero ... that's like ... that's like ... like William Wallce
(http://www.twin-design.com/random/001_braveheart.jpg)
DAMMIT!!!!!!
** pout ... pout ... pout **
Being an anonymous game developer myself, I must express my embarassment concerning this name change. I do not desire to be wrongfully associated with that company. I contemplate resorting to legal action to make my voice heard.
Good luck getting an attorney to defend the intellectual property (or copyright or blah de blah blah) of an anonymous person
Well, as long they keep making some great games, then they could name themselves shit-on-a-stick productions for all I care. ;)
Quote from: Os Último Quão Queijo ^_^ on Tue 16/12/2003 14:50:50
Well, as long they keep making some great games, then they could name themselves shit-on-a-stick productions for all I care. ;)
Being CEO of shit-on-a-stick.com, I must express my concern at this potential name change. Please cease and desist all use of this name hencforth.
Quote from: shit-on-a-stick on Tue 16/12/2003 15:03:21
Quote from: Os Último Quão Queijo ^_^ on Tue 16/12/2003 14:50:50
Well, as long they keep making some great games, then they could name themselves shit-on-a-stick productions for all I care. ;)
Being CEO of shit-on-a-stick.com, I must express my concern at this potential name change. Please cease and desist all use of this name hencforth.
Ugh... I just went to your damn site, and it was nothing but kinky and twisted pr0n! You sicko! :P
Quote from: Os Último Quão Queijo ^_^ on Tue 16/12/2003 14:50:50
Well, as long they keep making some great games, then they could name themselves shit-on-a-stick productions for all I care. ;)
LOL! That would actually be pretty funny. I can hear it now...
"And now, please welcome the good folks frooom...Shit-On-A-Stick Productions!"