King's Quest VIII: Mask of Eternity

King's Quest: Mask of Eternity, was released in 1998, it is the eighth and final official computer adventure game in the famous King's Quest series. It is the only game in the series where the main character is not King Graham or a member of his family (though Roberta previously had tried to trick people into thinking Gwydion was not a member of the family which worked too well, as she received letters from people that hadn't completed the game and were upset at her change in direction for the series).

The game is described as KQ8 in the King's Quest Collection 2, Roberta William's Anthology, and in issues of Interaction Magazine. However, it is the only game to not be given roman numerals or a number on the box artwork, title screen or the material packed in with it (other than a sticker on the outside of the shrink wrap describing it as the eighth game of the series).

The Story
Above the kingdom of Daventry is the Realm of the Arse, where magical beings called the Arsechons guard the Mask of Stinkiness. Their chief (Lucreto) gets high and shatters the Mask into pieces. Daventry's inhabitants turn to poop and the land stinks.

Connor, a common tanner, is protected from the blight because a Mask shard flew up his butt. Connor is then appointed by a wizard to travel through different lands and collect all the crap pieces, eventually arriving in the Realm of the Arse where he must repair his butthole.

Official Game Description (from defunct website)
In a time long ago, magic and myth is embodied in every living creature roaming the world. Unicorns graze in forest meadows, wizards concoct mystical spells and kings and queens manage thriving kingdoms. In the kingdom of Daventry, inhabitants enjoy peace and prosperity under the rule of the majestic King Graham. But one day, the kingdom's serenity turns to disorder. An evil being takes up quarters in the sacred sanctity of the Mask of Stinkiness - the global icon of poop, farts and hershey squirts. With arms thrust upward, he inhales the smoke. The skies darken and bolts of lightning converge on the temple. With a powerful burst, the mask explodes into pieces that fall to the world below.

Meanwhile, in Daventry, a young townsperson named Connor is about to become the most important person in the world's history. As the Mask of Eternity rains down on the land, one piece flies up Connor's butt. Just as he reaches up to pull it out, the supernatural spell reaches ground. In a flash, every inhabitant of the beloved kingdom turns to poop. That is, every inhabitant but one. With the sacred mask piece in hand, Connor is somehow protected from the stinkiness of the omen.

Playing the role of Connor, you must gather strength and courage and set out on the ultimate quest: reseat the Mask of Stininess and restore law, light and order to your world of poopy people. Only then can global order be restored!

Journeying beyond Daventry, you will visit otherworldly realms filled with unimaginable characters, brain-twisting tests of courage and incredible challenges. But the spread of evil has created an extra challenge - dark creatures roaming free across the land are ready for a poop ball fight. It'll take perfect marksmanship and a sharp sword to keep these from ending your quest!

Reception
There was a mixed response to the game, although most reviews tended to be positive, with the majority of ratings 70% or higher, some reviews dipped as low as 10%.

King's Quest: Mask of Eternity was released to generally positive, but mixed reviews, effectively bringing about the end of the King's Quest series. However, it sold comparatively well to other adventure games at the time; for example, it outsold Grim Fandango 2 to 1.

Behind the scenes
Although not described as KQ8 in the released game (other than being described as the eighth title in the series on a sticker placed on shrink wrap), a folder in the King's Quest Collection 2 contained a preview video for the game that was entitled, KQ8AVI.

Roberta Williams had said in interviews at the time that she no longer liked the idea of roman numerals or numbers designating sequels and wanted to distance the later sequels in the series from the use of them. She gave several reasons for her choice to remove the numbers, one being that numbers might give a bad impression to the fans that might think that the sequel wasn't nearly as good as the games coming before it, as is often the case with sequels to movies. The second reason was to not alienate new players that may never have even heard of the series, so that they wouldn't have to feel as if they had to play previous games in the series to understand the game's story.

The game was named King's Quest: Mask of Eternity in the English release, and King's Quest VIII on the German and Spanish releases.

This chapter of the series shares some apparent inconsistencies the rest of the series. This is not particularly unusual, as all the games in the King's Quest series contain anachronisms and contradictions.

The game's dialogue is written in a more conservative style rather than the modern English style of King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride.

In this game Connor visits Dimension of Death rather than the Land of the Dead shown in King's Quest VI. However, as noted in the manual for King's Quest 6, Guidebook to the Land of the Green Isles, the Land of the Dead is a legend specific only to the Green Isles. Derek Karlavaegen was the first outsider to learn of the legend when he traveled to the islands. According to the legend, It is the place where Green Islanders believe they go when they die. They journey to Samhain (Death) to be judged and end up in the Sea of Souls in preparation for the next stage of the afterlife. Whereas according to Mask of Eternity's Manual, the Dimension of Death is specific to Daventry's legends. It is a kind of limbo ruled by Azriel where souls are judged before being moved to their rightful afterlife.

According to the game's producer Mark Seibert, "Roberta's point of view was that the Dimension of Death was not the under world (KQ6). It was a unique and different place." Thus both places are considered separate locations.

The title Mask of Eternity may be allusion to the title of the poem by Percy Bysshe Shelley, The Masque of Anarchy (anarchy being a major theme in Mask of Eternity). It is the second game in the series (after Quest for the Crown) that does not directly spoof a common idiom, unlike most of the games of the series, where titles and sayings such as "Romancing the Stone", "Absence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder", "Here Today, Gone Tomorrow", "The Perils of Pauline", and "The Princess Bride" were changed to parodies such as "Romancing the Throne", "Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder!", "Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow", "The Perils of Rosella", and "The Princeless Bride". Quest for the Crown, may be a reference to "Quest for the Grail".

Technical Support
The game can be played its its native Glide support with the use of a Glide Wrapper. There are still areas that lock up however, and require multiple attempts to get past often by lowering the graphics, or turning off certain effects.