King's Quest: Adventures of Graham



King's Quest: Adventures of Graham (aka King's Quest: The Complete Collection) is the first season of a new episodic 'King's Quest' series, a reimagined reboot of the original saga in development by The Odd Gentlemen for the new Sierra Entertainment (an Activision subsidiary, after Activision aquired all Sierra licenses from Vivendi.).

The new game series first 'season' ('King's Quest: Adventures of Graham') of the new "King's Quest" series (aka King's Quest Game Series, King's Quest Chapters ) is divided into five chapters ('episodes') and choices made in each one will pass to the next released chapter. The first chapter was released on July 28, 2015, with plans for the rest of the chapters to be released between 2015 and 2016.

Series One: Adventures of Graham (The Complete Collection)
The Legend Returns... King Graham reflects on his greatest adventures through five chapter releases. Choose between the noble pillars of Bravery, Wisdom, and Compassion to see the rippling effects. Unforgettable storytelling, wit, puzzles, and of course plenty of deaths!

Developed by The Odd Gentlemen, the new King’s Quest™ reimagines all the charm, humor, puzzles, exploration and sense of wonder that made the franchise so magical when it first arrived thirty years ago. Old and grey, King Graham Cracker – the hero made legend in the original King’s Quest games – shares the extraordinary stories of his youth with his curious granddaughter, Gwendolyn, taking players back to the feats that shaped a kingdom.

The series is not a strict remake of Graham's old adventures but contains both 'previously' untold ones and completely reimagined and reinterpreted retellings of the classic stories. The original series are the fairy tales and legends, and this series sets the record straight.

Chapters
Each Chapter will be sold separately but the playable Epilogue only comes with the "King's Quest: The Complete Collection", a version that includes all chapters.
 * Chapter I: A Knight To Remember

This is the tale of the First Quest. An aging King Graham reflects on a life of adventure with his granddaughter, Gwendolyn, taking players back to his teen years and his quest to become a knight of Daventry in King Edward’s royal guard. Discover a wondrous world full of whimsical characters, charming puzzles and perilous dangers in this fun and enchanting coming of age story.

About the Second Quest. In this latest adventure, King Graham takes players back to his first test as ruler of Daventry. When a mischievous horde of goblins takes his kingdom hostage, a newly crowned & woefully unprepared Graham must rise up to free his people & prove himself the leader he was destined to become. Will Graham & his friends unearth a way to escape their rock-brained captors? Will he take for granite everything he learned as an adventurer? Does he have the stones to reclaim his mantle & lead his kingdom to safety? Will the hat make it out ok?
 * Chapter II: Rubble Without A Cause
 * Chapter III: Once Upon A Climb
 * Chapter IV
 * Chapter V
 * Bonus Epilogue

Future Seasons
Activision and The Odd Gentlemen have said based on success of the first season that later series may follow the adventures of other members of the Royal Family such as Alexander and Rosella, and possibly even Valanice. There is no plans to give Connor his own season though he may appear as a character in chapters if applicable to the story.

Name
Note: The game is not considered "King's Quest 2015/King's Quest (2015)" and the developers find this 'title' misleading, as the chapters are to be released between 2015 and 2016. Note: As of the latest patch the games dating lists it as 2015-2016 Sierra Entertainment.

King's Quest: Adventures of Graham
King's Quest: Adventures of Graham  appears to be the title for the first season as it will be released in future dvd or blue ray box sets (PC, PS3, and Xbox). It is not clear if this release will have the Epilogue episode. Some sites list a separate King's Quest: Adventures of Graham Complete Collection, which appears to suggest that there is a difference between standard box sets, and ones that will have the epilogue. Currently this title is listed on North American organization ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) with two listings below:


 * King's Quest: Adventures of Graham
 * Platform: Windows PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
 * Platform: PlayStation 3, Xbox 360


 * Rating Category: E 10+ (Everone 10+)
 * Content Descriptors: Fantasy Violence


 * Rating Summary: This is an adventure game in which players assume the role of a knight (Graham) as he navigates the kingdom of Daventry. As players explore the open world, they solve puzzles, interact with characters, and engage in various tasks. Some scenes allow players to aim a bow and arrow at goblins or a dragon; goblins are depicted throwing spears at the player's character. Puzzle fail-scenarios depict the player's character falling into chasms or a river, being crushed by a boulder, and getting struck on the head with a mace.

Other North American ESRB ratings can be found at this link.

The Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) is a self-regulatory organization that assigns age and content ratings, enforces industry-adopted advertising guidelines, and ensures responsible online privacy principles for computer and video games in the United States, nearly all of Canada, and Mexico.

King's Quest: The Complete Collection
A special digital release with all five episodes + an extra playable Epilogue.

King's Quest 9
Some sites call this game King's Quest 9 or King's Quest IX. But as noted according to the developers this game is not intended to be the actual King's Quest IX, leaving room for a future sequel to KQ8. Some speculate that Chapter 4 or Chapter 5 might be actual King's Quest IX or IX and X respectively. But this is unconfirmed.

King's Quest: Your Legacy Awaits
Some news are reporting the name of the game tentatively as King's Quest: Your Legacy Awaits  , . However this may not be the game's subtitle, but actually a 'marketing' catchphrase (it is unclear as of yet). The trailer as uploaded by Sierra Games on Youtube does seem to support that it is a subtitle (though this may just be a name of the trailer). However this is a tentative title at best, and it may receive a more classic pun filled title closer to release. Multiple websites still call it by King's Quest: Your Legacy Awaits in their previews.

Note: When Sierra and GOG ran the joint official King's Quest Giveaway sweepstakes on this wiki to win copies of the game, they also referred to the game as "King's Quest: Your Legacy Awaits" in giveaway explanation as well.

King's Quest: Game Series
Some of the advertising is referring to the complete series as the "King's Quest Game Series". Though this title may include all future seasons as well. ''Note: This wiki currently uses ("KQGS" for main categorization (and lesser chapters use something such as "KQC1") Using "KQ9" at this point should be avoided). ''

Gameplay
The game appears to have sections of 3D action and platforming. But in most cases these will be done with interactive prompts via the onscreen contextual button changes (it is not actual platforming, and each jump is automatically animated, much like rock jumping at the waterfall in KQ5).

The game with a mix of Disney-style artwork, and cel-shaded graphics. Some 2-d side scrolling elements, but is said to have similar puzzles and characters to the original game. Some of the material appears to cover elements at various points in Graham's life including a retelling of his hunt for the three sacred treasures. It is not a point-and-click game and there is no use of the mouse (instead interface will show which button to push, depending on the situation).

Currently there is knowledge of a hand (pickup or push prompt (pushing a tree)), a speech prompt, and an action prompt (for the case of unique actions usually having to do with special walking or jumping across rocks). There is presumably a look icon as well.

New Rebooted & Remagined Universe
The original website made referenced to the series being 'remagined' the thirty-year old franchise. An additional comment (which has sense been removed from the site) made it appear as if the series would tied to the original series, yet still independent in some way. This seemed to imply a more direct 'continuation' of the series:
 * And so begins an episodic saga that honors the core characters and familiar storylines of King Graham’s early adventures, setting up new chapters tied to – but independent of – the series that helped define Sierra and the adventure genre. Through these tales, a whole new generation can finally experience one of gaming’s most beloved journeys.

The developers had previously said the old games were 'canon' as an influence, but this appears to only be in broad strokes (as the keyword is 'reimagining' anything can be retold, but won't be an exact 1:1 HD remake of anything that has gone before). Further more the old series are to be seen as myths, legends and fairy tales, and what goes on in the new series are true stories.


 * "This isn't a reboot, and its not necessarily a sequel. It's a reimagining. Everything that exists in the past games is still canon." These stories exist between those stories. Over the course of the game players will experience Graham's previously unknown adventures. "We're definitely not retelling the old games...we're nodding to them and respecting them, but this isn't King's Quest 1 HD. The new scenarios deal with some of the blank spots in the King's Quest timeline. How did Graham become a knight in King Edward's Court? How did his young love with Valanice develop?


 * These tales from the past are framed by Graham's present; he is now a very old man, and he is recounting his adventures to his granddaughter, Gwendolyn. She's an energetic youngster who eats up the stories of Graham's exploits, and she is eager to have her own exciting stories to tell...

However the game as an episodic series is not strictly the next full size game in the franchise (but a series of smaller adventure games):
 * The game is completely reimagined; it’s not King’s Quest IX or anything like that,” Korba explains. “Think about it like when someone reimagines The Wizard of Oz, or Peter Pan. That’s how I see King’s Quest, [as one of] those classic fairy tales that keep being retold and reimagined.”

Despite Korba's use of "reimagining" Sierra Games PR (on Facebook) does refer to this series as a "reboot", and beyond that there is very little difference in the meaning of reimagining and reboot in the comic world. Beyond that from the alternate version of KQ1 dragon cave, to the alternate version of KQ2's story, to alternate backstory for Mananann all prove that this series exists in its own universe, rebooted and reinvented.

For more details concerning the differences between the original game universe and the new universe see:


 * TOG universe
 * KQGS timeline
 * Dragon's Lair comparisons
 * Enchanted Island comparisons

Press release
Confirmed as of 8/12/14. It is one of the new games along with Geometry Wars to be produced by the newly revived Sierra On-line. This is the first game in the series to have no input from Roberta Williams, as she is retired.

In development by the beloved and quirky studio The Odd Gentlemen (The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom), "King's Quest" is a fully reimagined version of the fan-favorite Sierra game fit for both the old and new generation of "King's Quest" players. Huge fans of the original King's Quest series, The Odd Gentlemen are crafting a charming new adventure with an awe-inspiring art style, engaging puzzles, and a wondrous interactive narrative brimming with humor. In the new story, King Graham � revered as the greatest adventurer to ever live � shares his life's adventures with his curious granddaughter, Gwendolyn. It is through these tales that Gwendolyn discovers the true greatness of her grandfather. "King's Quest" is expected to make its heralded return in 2015.

Reception
The game is not yet released, but is currently receiving quite a bit of reception from the independent gaming mags and gaming aggregators. It is currently the number one game on the Adventuregamers.com's Hype-O-Meter (as of June, 2015). It has earned;

•IGN - Best Adventure Game •CVGames - Best of E3 •Game Informer - Best In Show •The Games Machine - Best of E3 2015 •MetalEater - Best of E3 2015: Best Ludo-Narrative Innovation •MetalEater - Best of E3 2015: Best All-Ages Gamer •Twinfinite - Best of E3 2015 Award •Unreal - E3 Award •Gamer Headquarters - Best of Show •Gamer Headquarters - Best Digital Game •PC World - One of 10 Most Exciting PC Games at E3 •Kotaku - One of the 6 Most Interesting Games of Day One •LA Times -One of 10 games that made a lasting impression at E3 2015

Behind the scenes
The Odd Gentlemen, the developers of The Misadventures of PB Winterbottom, will handle King's Quest development. The "reimagined" King's Quest will be comparable to other chapters in the series, with a similar narrative and puzzles that need to be solved throughout. It will launch in 2015. Platforms weren't names, but PC, Xbox One and PlayStation 4 seem very likely.

“Then I talked to the guys at Activision and they were like, ‘No, we’re pulling it because we’re going to do it ourselves,’” Trowe revealed. He doesn’t know what the publisher’s plans are for*King’s Quest, but they don’t seem to include either Telltale or Replay. We’ve reached out to Activision for comment and will update this post accordingly when we hear back.

It's not clear what 'reimagining' means in the context of the press release. If it means a partial reboot (telling Graham's story from scratch), or even changing the series gameplay to fit into modern casual gaming market (simplifying game controls, add action sequences, etc, side-scrolling 2-D adventure rather than a 3-D adventure a la Valiant Hearts or some other recent 'puzzle'/'adventure' series, or any number of directions). The previous game by Odd Gentleman was a 2D puzzle-platform game.

The framing story seems reminiscent of the the framing story for Aragorn's Quest which had Sam Gamgee telling the story of Aragorn to his young son, and other children.

The game will be 'adventure' but won't be a point and click game like the later games in the series. (note depending on the system KQ1-4 are partial point and click and partial parser games, while KQ5-8 are point and click). The team has gotten some feedback from Roberta and the Williams (though they have nothing to do with the actual development of the game)' family.


 * To Matt and Lindsey, Bill and Scott,


 * I, too, wish to thank you for a lovely morning yesterday reliving – to some extent – my old life as a Sierra game designer. I admit that I was a bit skeptical at first, and also somewhat nervous because I haven’t been in the computer game industry (notice I call it computer game industry rather that the video game industry; that shows how far back I go!) in too many years to contemplate! But you guys blew me away with your ideas, your creativity and the beauty of the newest King Quest game. But best of all, I could see that you truly are the ones to take King’s Quest into the 21st century and reintroduce it to a whole new generation. You totally have it down!


 * I can’t wait to see how it develops, I can’t wait to play it myself – and I truly can’t wait to see how it blows away the competition!!


 * Best to you –


 * Roberta