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There have been several King's Quest fangames both original and retellings/remakes of the original games that have been released by various developers.
| | This article needs additional citations for verification .(June 2011) |
There have been several King's Quest fangames both original and retellings/remakes of the original games that have been released by various developers.
Interactive Fantasies created two of the earliest KQ fan adventures were created while Sierra's was still producing games in the King's Quest series. In 1997, they created two overhead adventure action-RPG games set after KQ7 using Epic MegaGames' ZZT software, King's Quest ZZT and King's Quest ZZT 2. In an idea predating 1998's Mask of Eternity , the game includes weapons and enemies to fight (in a similar style to Ys series by bumping into the enemies, or manually firing arrows), and even includes a few side-scrolling platformer arcade sequences.
AGD Interactive (previously Tierra Entertainment) has released three King's Quest games so far. First, they created a more or less straight remake of King's Quest: Quest for the Crown , with advanced VGA-style graphics and a voice soundtrack, King's Quest I VGA. [1] [2] [3] [4] They moved onto create a retelling of King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne , creating an all new story inspired by the original game. [5] In February 2011, they released King's Quest III Redux , an enhanced retelling of KQ3 (continuing ideas that first appeared in Romancing the Stones). It was not a straight remake as their KQI remake, nor was it a full overhaul like their KQII remake had been; in fact, many of the elements of the original KQIII story were left intact, but details were altered to create a more challenging experience, and the story was tweaked to incorporate elements of the KQII rewrite as progressing into KQIII.
Infamous Adventures released a remake of King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human on June 19, 2006. The release includes Video Graphics Array-style graphics and an advanced music and voice soundtrack for the game. [6] [7] [8] It offers several new and extended cut scenes, a few tweaks to locations, a new ending, and a streamlined spell casting system. [9]
Phoenix Online Studios's project is The Silver Lining . It is an episodic game series based on the King's Quest series. It is an unofficial sequel, taking place where King's Quest 8 left off. Four episodes of the game has been released so far.
Smaller developers have released assorted games set in the KQ universe as well. Steve Lingle created a text based remake of King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder . [10] A small team known as Intermezzo Software created a followup set between KQ2 and KQ3, using Sierra's classic AGI system (requires DosBox). Finally, Joel Page created a short adventure/parody called Owl's Quest: Every Owl has it's Day starring Cedric the Owl from King's Quest V, set after KQ8.
In some cases a few of Sierra's former employees such as Josh Mandel, Lori Ann Cole and Andy Hoyos became involved with the fan games, lending their voices to characters. In the case of King's Quest III Redux, several professional actors/actresses lent their voices to a couple of characters, including Robert Adamson.
Another notable aspect is that AGD Interactive, Phoenix Online Studios, and Infamous Adventures each received fan licenses from Activision (or previous owners of the King's Quest IP) to finish their fan remakes and games, and release them for free. [11] [12]
The King's Quest fan series like their predecessors are often inspired by classical fairy tales, fantasy, classic horror, and mythology. Whereas the original series references to other works were often direct, some of the fan developers such as AGD Interactive chose to obscure the references in some way. For example, Dracula (who was directly taken from the novel of the same name) was replaced with the Count Caldaur who instead of being evil turns out to be good. Little Red Riding Hood was replaced by the character Possum/Anastasia, and Grandma became Lavidia (curiously Anastasia can be seen reading a copy of Little Red Riding Hood, further showing that she is not the classic fairy tale character). Medusa was replaced with the character Smaude, who turns out to be a cursed maiden and innocent.
Alexander sets out on adventure to stop Ravenlos (the evil cousin of Mordack and Manannan). [13]
Following Rosella and Valenice's return to Castle Daventry, a big festival is held. A messenger comes to the castle, explaining to them that Ravenlos, the evil cousin of the sorcerer Manannan has conquered the island of Llewdor, and is planning to conquer Daventry. Graham was furious of the news, and asked his son Prince Alexander to defend the kingdom. Alexander was not willing to go fight against him and his army, until his father collapses sick, which changes Alexander's mind. Alexander visits the old wise gnome for a medicine for his father, and after he is healed, he sets off for the long and dangerous mission. Along the way he meets strange creatures like Centaurs, Elves and Ogres and visits many places, like the mountains of Llewdor, the island of Tamir, and the Aberian Desert. [23] [24]
A nod to the King's Quest ZZT games is made in The Silver Lining ’s "The Four Winds" meta-fiction newsletter. This includes the events surrounding the Centaurs and the Ogres in King's Quest ZZT (and a nod towards ZZT2), with expanded material tying it into the Phoenix Online Studios' backstories for the wind Sirocco, Zephyr, and the wizard Crispin. [25]
While Alexander is staying in the Elven village, hostilities have shocked the country of Daventry again. The Relentless Army attacks the castle and kidnaps his parents. Alexander travels to stop invading forces and prevent the Kingdom of Dalban's plans [16]
KQ2 ¼ takes place between KQ2 and KQ3. Valanice sets out on an adventure to find her kidnapped son, and save him from starvation. The game uses the classic AGI system. Along the way she meets the woodcutter and his wife, pirates, henchmen, Charon, Rumplestiltskin, and others. [19] [20]
A text based re-imagining of the King's Quest V adventure. It contains an almost completely original script, with all new descriptions for the events and areas in the game.
Owl's Quest: Every Owl Has It's Day is an unofficial adventure fangame developed and released in free download format by Jstudios for Microsoft Windows on May 26, 2007. [26] [27] It is a short parody of the King's Quest series (specifically King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! and the fangame The Silver Lining) starring Cedric the Owl from King's Quest V. The game is set a short while after King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity . [28]
Cedric receives an invitation from King Alexander to attend a birthday ceremony in the Land of the Green Isles. [29] Having had a curse put on him by Crispin, Cedric must attempt to make his way to Crispin and have the curse removed so he can fly to the Green Isles. Cedric explores new locations in Serenia, including Cedric's treehouse, the Inverted Tower of Repunzel, and thwarts snakes and scorpions to make his way to Crispin's house, and finally to the Green Isles. The game includes a full voice cast (minus the narrator).
The gameplay is similar to the interface found in King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride . It includes a single icon interface, an inventory section, and a feature to look at items. The single cursor can be used to speak to characters or look at objects on the screen. The art style is a crude mix of KQ7 animation style, with close-up photos from KQ5 and KQ6. The background artwork is a mix of crude hand-drawn art, and images taken from KQ5 and KQ6.
The game has a total of 8 points, with not much more than ten puzzles to solve. [30] There are a total of three ways to die in the game (killed by a scorpion, a snake, or falling into a pit).
The game was developed by Joel Page using the Adventure Game Studio, created for the monthly AGS competition. It has a full voice cast except the narrator. All parts presumably done by Joel Page (as he is the single person on the credit screen). The game uses a mix of music largely taken from KQ7.
The parody aspects of the game poke fun at situations in KQ5 with mixed results. For example, Cedric encounters and can be killed by things he warned about in KQ5. He is forced to go into places, he would have told Graham to avoid in KQ5. The game makes fun of Crispin's mispronunciation and use of generic magic words (in which case he uses the 'bibbidi bobbidi boo' from Cinderella). It makes fun of Cedric's "annoying" voice and nature. It even attempts to break the fourth wall at times with Cedric conversing with the narrator.
The game was given a special two part "Let's Play" review on That Guy with the Glasses by Paw Dugan. In the videos he and his co-host kept a running timer of the total number of typographical and grammatical errors in the game's script. They also pointed out the satirical aspects of the game that make fun of Cedric, and certain over-used plot contrivances in KQ5. They poke fun at the game's bugs. The videos also show the replies from the live events audience making fun of the game. Some of the footage were used in a special on Sierra fan game development scene. [31]
Space Quest is a series of six comic science fiction adventure games released between 1986 and 1995. The games follow the adventures of a hapless janitor named Roger Wilco, who campaigns through the galaxy for "truth, justice, and really clean floors".
King's Quest is a graphic adventure game series, released between 1980 and 2016 and created by the American software company Sierra Entertainment. It is widely considered a classic series from the golden era of adventure games. Following the success of its first installments, the series was primarily responsible for building the reputation of Sierra. Roberta Williams, co-founder and former co-owner of Sierra, designed all of the King's Quest games until the series' reboot in 2015.
Adventure Game Studio (AGS) is an open source development tool primarily used to create graphic adventure games. It is aimed at intermediate-level game designers, and combines an integrated development environment (IDE) with a scripting language based on the C programming language to process game logic.
AGD Interactive (AGDI), LLC. is a non-profit company given a fan license to remake Sierra Entertainment's popular classic adventure games from the 1980s and early 1990s.
King's Quest: Quest for the Crown is an adventure game developed by Sierra On-Line and published originally for the IBM PCjr in 1984 and later for several other systems between 1984 and 1989. The game was originally titled King's Quest; the subtitle was added to the games box art in the 1987 re-release, but did not appear in the game.
King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne is the second installment in the King's Quest series of graphic adventure games by Sierra On-Line. It was originally released in 1985 for PC DOS/PCjr, and later made available for the Apple II/IIGS, Atari ST, and Amiga. It uses the same AGI game engine as King's Quest I: Quest for the Crown and features King Graham as the player character. The title is a spoof of the 1984 film Romancing the Stone.
King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human is the third installment in the King's Quest series of graphic adventure games developed and released by Sierra On-Line in 1986. The game was originally released for the Apple II and PC DOS, and later ported to several other computer systems. It was the first title game in the series not to feature King Graham as the player character.
King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder! is a 1990 graphic adventure game by Sierra On-Line. Originally released in November 1990, it featured a significant improvement in graphics. It was also the first King's Quest installment to replace the typing user interface with a point-and-click user interface. The title is a spoof on the proverb "Absence makes the heart grow fonder".
The Silver Lining (TSL) is an episodic video fangame based on the King's Quest series, which was developed and released in free download format by Phoenix Online Studios for Microsoft Windows starting on July 18, 2010. While five chapters were planned, the most recent release, Episode 4: 'Tis in My Memory Locked. And You Yourself Shall Hold The Key Of It, was released on November 8, 2011.
Quest for Glory: So You Want to Be a Hero is a 1989 adventure game/role-playing game hybrid, designed by Lori Ann Cole and published by Sierra On-Line for MS-DOS. It is the first game in the Quest for Glory series, and has been credited for being a genre-defining game, as it tried to mix graphical adventure gaming with role-playing-like elements such as statistic building that would actually affect the ability to accomplish certain parts of the game. The game has a satirical and silly tone. Ports for the Amiga, Atari ST, and NEC PC-9801 were released in the early 1990s. A VGA remake, titled Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero, was released in 1992 for DOS and later in 1994 for Mac OS.
Space Quest: Chapter I – The Sarien Encounter is a graphic adventure game, created by Scott Murphy and Mark Crowe, and released in October 1986 by Sierra On-Line. It is the first game in the Space Quest series, and sees players assume the role of a lowly janitor on a research ship, who becomes involved in stopping an alien race using a new form of technology for evil purposes.
Space Quest II: Chapter II – Vohaul's Revenge is a graphic adventure game released on November 14, 1987 by Sierra On-Line. It is the sequel to Space Quest I: The Sarien Encounter, again using Sierra's AGI game engine, and sees players assume the role of Roger Wilco, a simple janitor who is soon drawn into a new adventure involving thwarting the culprit behind the events of the last game.
Infamous Adventures is an amateur game development company, founded in 2004 by Shawn Mills and Steven Alexander, and is dedicated to making games in the classic adventure style made famous by the releases of Sierra Entertainment and LucasArts in the 1980s and early 1990s.
Himalaya Studios is a video game developer that focuses on adventure games. The limited liability company was established in 2004 in Chandler, Arizona by Britney K. Brimhall and Christopher T. Warren. In 2011, it was incorporated as a C Corporation in Delaware.
Josh Mandel is an American video game writer, designer, voice actor, and producer. He worked on computer games such as King's Quest V, The Dagger of Amon Ra, Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist, Space Quest 6, and Callahan's Crosstime Saloon.
A fan game is a video game that is created by fans of a certain topic or IP. They are usually based on one, or in some cases several, video game entries or franchises. Many fan games attempt to clone or remake the original game's design, gameplay, and characters, but it is equally common for fans to develop a unique game using another as a template. Though the quality of fan games has always varied, recent advances in computer technology and in available tools, e.g. through open source software, have made creating high-quality games easier. Fan games can be seen as user-generated content, as part of the retrogaming phenomena, and as expression of the remix culture.
King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones is a fangame reimagining/retelling of Sierra Entertainment's King's Quest II: Romancing the Throne by AGD Interactive produced through a fan license by Sierra Entertainment. It was followed up by King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human. In 2009, the version 3.0 Enhanced Edition was released, with improved graphics and full-speech narration. The game earned the AGS award for best music and game in 2002.
King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human is a fangame reimagining/retelling of Sierra Entertainment's King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human continuing from King's Quest II: Romancing the Stones. It was developed by AGD Interactive and released in February 2011 under fan license of Sierra Entertainment. It expands on the story of the original game, and continues the story of the villainous Father, introduced in the previous game. It introduces many new situations to the original King's Quest III. The game shares its title with the original version of the game. The term King's Quest III Redux appears in the files and the interface.
King's Quest III: To Heir is Human is a VGA-style fangame remake/reimagining/retelling of Sierra Entertainment's King's Quest III: To Heir Is Human by Infamous Adventures. It was released on June 19, 2006. A slightly expanded remake offers new material including; new cutscenes, a few new characters, expanded narration or dialogue, additions and changes to some of the plot, full speech, new or modified locations, and Easter eggs. Most of the original puzzles remain intact or item placement changed. The game received the AGS reward for best documentation in 2006.
King's Quest is an episodic video game series developed by The Odd Gentlemen and published by Activision under the Sierra Entertainment brand name for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. It is a new re-imagining of the long-running King's Quest series. While it is an adventure game like the previous games in the series, the interface is not fully point-and-click.