Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin

Last updated: January 23, 2026

Overview

Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin is a point-and-click adventure RPG developed by Infamous Quests serving as a prequel to their 2014 title Quest for Infamy.¹ The game follows the story behind protagonist Mr. Roehm’s escape from the Baron’s Castle, exploring the fateful events that led him to flee to the Valley of Krasna where the original game begins.² After years in development, the game entered its final stages with voice recording sessions with lead actor Steve Patrick expected to complete production.³

The prequel was first announced alongside Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge during a dual Kickstarter campaign in April 2015, which successfully raised $30,943againstan$11,225 goal with support from 836 backers.⁴ Like its predecessor, Roehm to Ruin draws heavy inspiration from Sierra’s Quest for Glory series while maintaining the morally ambiguous anti-hero perspective that distinguished the original game.⁵ The game promises multiple story paths with different endings and hidden secrets, offering meaningful choices that affect the storyline.⁶

Game Info

Developer: Infamous Quests¹ Designer: Steven Alexander, Shawn Mills⁷ Publisher: Infamous Quests⁶ Engine: Adventure Game Studio⁷ Platforms: Windows⁶ Release Year: 2026 (pending final voice work) Series: Quest for Infamy Protagonist: Mr. Roehm Sierra Lineage: Sierra Spiritual Successor

Story Summary

The game serves as a direct prequel to Quest for Infamy, revealing what transpired on the night that forced Roehm to flee to the Valley of Krasna.¹ After hearing of an illustrious gathering of wealthy and rich individuals at the Baron’s castle, Roehm decides to crash the party and try to swindle a few valuables and goodies for himself.² However, he ends up getting more than he bargained for, setting in motion the events that would lead to his infamous adventures.¹

The narrative explores the relationship and conflict between Roehm and the Baron, providing context for why Roehm was being pursued at the beginning of the original game.⁸ Players experience firsthand the fateful night that transformed Roehm from an opportunistic con man into a fugitive fleeing for his life.⁶

True to the series’ emphasis on player agency, the prequel features multiple story paths with different endings depending on the choices players make throughout the adventure.⁶ This branching narrative structure allows players to discover hidden secrets and experience the story in their own unique way.⁶

Gameplay

Interface and Controls

Roehm to Ruin utilizes traditional point-and-click adventure mechanics consistent with the original Quest for Infamy.² The game is built using Adventure Game Studio, the same engine that powered the first game in the series.⁷ Players navigate Roehm through various locations using mouse-driven controls typical of classic Sierra-style adventures.⁹

Structure and Progression

The game takes place primarily within and around the Baron’s Castle during a single eventful night.¹ As a prequel focused on a specific incident, Roehm to Ruin is described as a smaller, more focused experience compared to “the sprawling epic that was the original Quest for Infamy.”³

• The Party: Roehm infiltrates the Baron’s gathering of wealthy nobles²
• The Heist: Attempts to swindle valuables from the partygoers¹
• The Escape: Events spiral, forcing Roehm to flee the castle⁸

Puzzles and Mechanics

The game features meaningful choices that affect the storyline, offering multiple paths through the adventure.⁶ Like the original Quest for Infamy, which allowed players to choose between brigand, rogue, or sorcerer classes with different puzzle solutions, the prequel maintains this emphasis on player agency and replayability.¹⁰ Hidden secrets encourage thorough exploration and multiple playthroughs.⁶

Reception

Contemporary Reviews

As of early 2026, Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin has not yet been officially released, pending final voice recording sessions.³ A playable demo was made available during the 2015 Kickstarter campaign, allowing potential backers to sample the prequel’s gameplay.¹¹

The game was featured at Gamescom 2015, where it received coverage from Adventure-Treff during the German gaming convention.²

Modern Assessment

The original Quest for Infamy received mixed to positive reception, which provides context for expectations surrounding the prequel.⁷ Adventure Gamers gave the first game 3 stars, describing it as “a qualified success; the positive aspects still outnumber the negative, but the weaknesses noticeably hinder the experience.”¹⁰

Original Quest for Infamy Assessment:

• Adventure Gamers: 3/5 stars¹⁰
• Reception: Mixed to positive⁷

Development

Origins

Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin was announced in March 2015 as part of a dual-project Kickstarter campaign alongside Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge.⁷ The prequel concept emerged from the desire to explore the backstory hinted at in the original game, where Roehm arrives in the Valley of Krasna as a fugitive with an unexplained past.¹

Infamous Quests was founded in 2012 by Steven Alexander and Shawn Mills, who previously operated Infamous Adventures, an amateur game development company that created free remakes of classic Sierra Entertainment adventure games from the early 1990s.⁷ They formed the new company specifically to separate their commercial endeavors from their fan-remake work.⁷

Production

The Kickstarter campaign launched on April 3, 2015, seeking $11,225tofundboth\ast RoehmtoRuin\ast and\ast OrderoftheThorne:TheKin{g}^{\prime }sChallenge\ast .{[}^{r}ef-4]Thecampaignwasfundedquickly,eventuallyraising$30,943 from 836 backers by its conclusion on May 3, 2015.⁴ The game was also announced via the Steam community for Quest for Infamy on April 7, 2015.¹²

Development proved challenging over the years. According to a 2025 update from the developer, the financial turnout on Order of the Thorne: The King’s Challenge fell well under expectations, preventing the team from continuing as a full-time game development company.³ Most team members moved on to other jobs, with some doing occasional work when possible, while others gradually lost contact with the project.³ Steven Alexander continued working on the games independently when time permitted.³

By late 2025, the game was described as “completed for a while, except for some voice acting.”³ The remaining work involves completing recording sessions with the lead actor for Mr. Roehm, editing the voice lines, implementing them into AGS, conducting final testing, and releasing the game.³

Development Credits:⁷

• Lead Designer: Steven Alexander
• Co-Designer: Shawn Mills
• Additional Design: James Broom

Technical Achievements

The game is built using Adventure Game Studio (AGS), a popular engine for creating retro-style point-and-click adventures that Infamous Quests has used for all their projects.⁷ This choice allows the team to maintain visual and mechanical consistency with the original Quest for Infamy while leveraging their existing expertise with the toolset.⁵

Technical Specifications

Windows Version:⁶

• Platform: Windows
• Engine: Adventure Game Studio
• Input: Point and click
• Perspective: Third person

Version History

Version	Date	Platform	Notes
Demo	April 2015	Windows	Kickstarter demo release11
Final	2026 (pending)	Windows	Awaiting voice recording completion3

Technical Issues

Development delays have been primarily attributed to resource constraints rather than technical problems.³ The main remaining obstacle is scheduling recording sessions with the voice actor for Mr. Roehm, finding appropriate recording space, and securing funding for the sessions.³

Easter Eggs and Trivia

• The original Quest for Infamy Kickstarter campaign raised $63,281,significantlymorethanthedualcampaig{n}^{\prime }sgoalof$11,225.⁷
• Quest for Infamy was included in Time Magazine’s “20 Video Games To Watch for Summer 2014” list prior to its release.⁷
• The developers previously created free remakes of Space Quest II and King’s Quest III as Infamous Adventures before forming their commercial studio.⁵
• The character of Roehm was deliberately designed as an anti-hero rather than a villain, inspired by characters like Han Solo.⁵

Multiple Endings

The game features multiple story paths with different endings based on player choices throughout the adventure.⁶ Hidden secrets are scattered throughout the game, rewarding thorough exploration and encouraging multiple playthroughs to discover all content.⁶

Voice Cast

Character	Voice Actor
Mr. Roehm	Steve Patrick

Voice recording for the lead character remains the final production milestone before release.³ According to developer updates, the recording session with Steve Patrick is expected to be completed soon.¹³

Legacy

Sales and Commercial Impact

The Kickstarter campaign for Roehm to Ruin and Order of the Thorne demonstrated continued fan interest in Infamous Quests’ Sierra-inspired adventure games, raising nearly three times the requested funding goal.⁴ The campaign was described as “already well over halfway funded” shortly after launch, indicating strong initial support from the adventure gaming community.¹¹

Collections

Roehm to Ruin is part of the Quest for Infamy series, which also includes the original 2014 game.¹ The game exists within a broader catalog of Infamous Quests releases that includes the Order of the Thorne anthology series and the collaborative free game Serena.²

Fan Projects

The game itself represents the continuation of a tradition rooted in fan development. Infamous Quests emerged from Infamous Adventures, which created fan remakes of classic Sierra titles.⁵ The developers were active in the Tierra (later AGD Interactive) fan game community during the mid-2000s, participating in forums dedicated to creating adventures in the spirit of Sierra’s classic games.⁵

Related Publications

• Kickstarter Demo: A playable demo was provided during the 2015 campaign to showcase the game’s direction¹¹
• Patreon Updates: Development progress has been shared with supporters through Patreon posts³

Critical Perspective

Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin represents an interesting case study in independent adventure game development. The extended development timeline—from 2015 announcement to expected 2026 release—illustrates the challenges facing small studios attempting to maintain commercial viability while delivering on crowdfunded promises.³

The game stands as part of a broader movement of Sierra-inspired spiritual successors that emerged in the 2010s.⁹ Adventure Gamers noted that the original Quest for Infamy “really channeled those influences and created a surprisingly authentic-feeling new title,” suggesting the prequel may maintain this quality.¹¹ The deliberate choice to portray an anti-hero rather than a traditional protagonist distinguishes the series within the genre, offering a morally gray perspective uncommon in classic-style adventure games.⁵

Downloads

Pre-Order / Early Access

• itch.io - $7.99 USD, early access via Patreon⁶

Related Games

• Quest for Infamy on GOG¹⁰
• Quest for Infamy on Steam¹²

Series Continuity

Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin serves as a direct prequel to the original Quest for Infamy, depicting the events that led protagonist Roehm to flee to the Valley of Krasna.¹ The original game begins with Roehm escaping the Baron’s forces, a sequence whose context is fully explored in this prequel.⁸ The series exists within the broader Infamous Quests catalog alongside the Order of the Thorne anthology series, though the two series are set in different fictional worlds.²

• Next: 2014 - Quest for Infamy

References

Footnotes

1. Adventure Gamers – Quest for Infamy Series – series overview, prequel description, plot summary ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Adventure Gamers – Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin – game details, Gamescom coverage, developer info ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

3. Infamous Quests Patreon – Development Updates – development status, voice acting progress, team changes ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹² ↩¹³ ↩¹⁴

4. Kickstarter – Order of the Thorne & Roehm to Ruin Campaign – funding totals, backer count, campaign dates ↩ ↩² ↩³

5. Hardcore Gaming 101 – Quest for Infamy – developer history, design philosophy, anti-hero concept ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷

6. itch.io – Quest for Infamy: Roehm to Ruin – price, platform, features, multiple endings ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

7. Wikipedia – Infamous Quests – company founding, Quest for Infamy Kickstarter, Time Magazine mention ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹ ↩¹²

8. Steam News – Quest for Infamy Prequel Announcement – April 2015 announcement, story premise ↩ ↩² ↩³

9. King’s Quest Omnipedia – King’s Quest Style Games – genre classification, Sierra inspiration ↩ ↩²

10. Adventure Gamers – Quest for Infamy (2014) – review score, pros and cons, release info ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

11. Cliqist – Infamous Quests Kickstarter Coverage – demo availability, funding progress, dual project concept ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

12. Steam Community – Quest for Infamy – news announcements, version updates ↩ ↩²

13. Infamous Quests Patreon – January 2026 Update – Steve Patrick recording session, near-completion status ↩