KQ7 development

This article is about the development of King's Quest VII: The Princeless Bride.

Development
Roberta Williams had originally thought about dropping the numerals from this game, it was originally going to be called King's Quest: The Prince-less Bride. Other subtitles that they had thought about using included; "What's Lava Got to Do with It" and "Rosella Vs. The Volcano" before they decided on the The Princeless Bride.

Roberta came up with a new, icon-less interface that she introduced in both King's Quest VII and Phantasmagoria.

Lorelei: "I think King's Quest VII is so special because of it's quirky, lively characters. We had an incredible amount of time creating them, and Mark Hudgins' animation brought them fully to life. Roberta and I were actually sad when the plotting process for the game was over. We were on a roll, and I think we could have dreamed things up for another two years."

Background
King’s Quest VII featured an innovative chapter-based design, an intelligent bookmarking system for saving games, and an easy point-and- click interface, making the game more intuitive for the novice gamer, while still being challenging for those who had enjoyed the series for the past 10 years. This was the first King’s Quest game which could not be released on diskette, as the number of disks which would be required to hold the files would never fit in a game box, or even multiple game boxes! The graphics were breathtaking in scope, created by a team of animators who drew individual images, cel-style, and then digitally added color and sequenced the images to produce motion. The resulting animation not only set new standards for game graphics, but also rivaled or surpassed the animation available on TV or film.

Changes and cuts
There is evidence in the files that the game was to be seven chapters long, plus the ending sequence. The finalized game has six chapters + the ending. The animation for Chapter 6 was done in-house by Sierra, this likely had to do with work at the other studios was not completed on time (so unfinished), or the completed material was not up to the quality that Sierra was looking for. This may have also lead to seventh chapter and and ending sequence with King Graham being cut (if not for sake of keeping the game on a single cd).

Inside the chapter menu was also an option for turning hotspots on and off, presumably to increase difficulty in the game.

Also inside the files are evidence of KQ5/KQ6 style control interface with icons such as the hand, eye, walk cursors.

When the game in early production, there were plans to have six lands. At least one of the lands never made it into the game.

"In King's Quest VII, the player will travel to six lands, including Nonsense Land, the Rubber Jungle, Cloud Land, and Ooga Booga Land (home of the dreaded Boogeyman)." -Interaction Magazine, Fall 1994

Not much is known what the Rubber Jungle would have included, nor if any assests from it made it into the game files, perhaps it was a section of "Nonesense Land" beyond the city of Falderal.

The dialogue with Valanice and Rosella in the introduction was much longer.

The "Land Beyond Dreams" song had an extra verse;


 * They tell me it's my duty, a princess must be wed,
 * You'll learn to love the handsome prince, there's nothing you should dread
 * But I'm not prepared to set my freedom on the shelf
 * How can I trust with someone what I don't understand myself?"

The temple would have been a pyramid, but the top was cut off due to scaling issues with Valanice and the entrance.

Quite a bit of material was cut from the final released game including background stories for various characters One portion of the design documents were edited into a proper article in the officila King's Quest: Hint Guide by Lorelei Shannon, Backstories and Legends. A copy of the original undedited design document can be found in the King's Quest Companion (4th edition) and King's Quest VII: The Authorized Guide by Peter Spear. In early design documents, Etheria was referred to as Cloudland (or Land of the Clouds), and Falderal is referred to as mainly Nonsense Land (although this name made it into later published material as well). According to an unused sound file The Desert's name would have been "Huitzilipopuatlateknahualimoatlicue Desert".

Valanice apparently would have been able to interact with the pile of sticks near the bridge in Bountiful Woods. She would mention she already had a stick and didn't need another.

There are alot of extra animations, graphics and sound files hidden in the game files that that didn't make it into the finalized game, including a sound file for ending sequence with King Graham (after Rosella and Valanice's return to Daventry). The messages folder may offer more clues to how and where this scene takes place, it includes the message in the same folder as the introduction movie (with Valanice discussing Rosella's future in the woods/garden). Graham's message notes; "(DISTRACTED)Ladies, I was getting worried. You're fifteen minutes late for lunch." The KQ7 Authorized Guide (and King's Quest Companion, 4th Edition) notes that from Graham's perspective they hadn't been gone for less than a few hours, and that a day or two had passed in Eldritch while they were there. The fact that Graham was distracted may suggest that he may have also been in the garden, and lost track of his wife and daughter when they jumped into the portal to the other world. Enough time passed in Daventry though, for him to begin to worry.

Included are many alternate or additional lines for item trades with the Kangaroo Rat found throughout the game, including things only found and used in Vulcanix Underground. These include being able to trade Baked Beetles, the Moon, Count Tsepish's Skull, and the bone from Ghoul Kids' home.

There is a scene between Rosella and Attis set not long after her escape from the Were-Woods, and Valanice's journey into the Were-Woods (the scene was adapted into the novel in the King's Quest Companion and Authorized Guide). Attis discusses how Rosella just missed Valanice in the woods.

The Woods would have been larger, including a Ash Tree (Dryad), Bacchus' Grove (grape arbor), it may have been possible to get lost in the woods as well, as they would have apparently repeated.

The Troll Underground contained an additional area off from the mine shaft, that would have included a place called the Fire Town, and that was inhabited by the Flame Folk. Beyond it lie a fire flower guarded by a Smoke Beast (perhaps inspiration for the Shadow Beast in KQ8).

Moon Sequence
After Valanice's arrest, the moon was not taken from her, and shooting the moon back into the sky does nothing at all to advance the plot other than set an extranneous trigger or two. The entire book/crook/moon sequence is left over from KQ7's original design, which was for a somewhat larger game than the final product. The moon-shot helped solve a problem then. But when KQ7's size was edited down and the original problem deleted, this particular series of events had to be left in so that there would be a cliff-hanger ending for Chapter 3.

Attis and Rosella
"Hello, maiden. You look familiar to me."

"I...I am sure we have never met, sir. I am Rosella of Daventry."

"I am Attis, lord protector of this forest. I have seen your mother, Lady Rosella. She seeks you tirelessly."

"My...my...my MOTHER? How--Where--is my mother still here? Is she well?"

"She was quite well the last time I saw her. She was headed for the land of Ooga Booga, in search of you."

"(GUILTY)Oh, poor mama!"

"I feel your troubles are great, my friend. I wish I could help, but there is an urgent matter which demands my attention."

"(GENTLY)Do not worry over me, child. Whatever happens to me and mine is the will of the forest. I trust her wisdom. Farewell."

"(SADLY)Farewell."

"(CONCERNED)Who could have cursed these lovely woods?"

"(SAD, LIKE HE DOESN'T CARE)I do not know."

"(AS A SCARAB)It was Malicia. It had to be."

"(ALARMED, ALERT, THEN DEJECTED)WHAT? Who spoke? I thought I heard a name, a terrible name...oh, my lady. I fear I am losing my mind."

"Friend stag, you have heard the name Malicia before?"

"Heard it? It was once the most reviled name in the Realm of Eldritch. She was the sister of Titania, but she was cast out of Etheria for treachery. It is dire news indeed if she has returned."

"(FULL OF BRAVADO)I'm not afraid of her!"

"(VERY GRAVE)You should be. Her power is almost unlimited. If you deal with her, little one, you take your life into your hands."

"Pardon me, my lord, but I must continue my journey. I must stop an evil faerie named Malicia before she causes terrible destruction to this land."

"(STUNNED)Malicia? The sister of Titania? She was banished from Etheria years ago--but it all makes sense! It was she who cursed these woods, I am sure of it!"

"(FULL OF BRAVADO, TRYING TO CONVINCE HERSELF)Once I get through with her, she won't be able to curse an ill-mannered street vendor!"

"(WORRIED)Be careful, Rosella. Malicia is one of the High Court of Etheria, and her power is practically boundless. Treat her as you would the most venemous of serpents."

"(POLITE BUT CAUTIOUS)Good day, sir. I am Rosella of Daventry."

"I am Attis, lord protector of this forest. I have seen your mother, Lady Rosella. She seeks you tirelessly.

"(SURPRISED, EXCITED, NERVOUS)My...my...my MOTHER? How--Where--is my mother still here? Is she well?"

"She was quite well when last I saw her. She was headed for the land of Ooga Booga, in search of you."

"(GUILTILY)Oh, poor mama!"

"(TRYING NOT TO SOUND TOO EAGER)Lord Attis, how can I get to Etheria?"

"(SADLY)I do not know, Rosella. My powers are too drained to send you there myself, and no one has heard from King Oberon and Queen Titania in quite some time. It is strange, and very unsettling."

"(CONCERNED)Take care, lady Rosella. Your mother waits for you."

"I have recently come from Ooga Booga, but my mother wasn't there. Do you know of any other place she might be, Lord Attis?"

"Your mother is wise and resourceful. It is entirely possible that she found her way up to Etheria to seek help from the High Court there."

"(CURIOUS, EXCITED)Etheria...is that a beautiful place, with lovely gardens and a castle in the clouds?"

"Indeed. Have you been there, my lady?"

"(DREAMILY)not exactly...but I have seen it, in my mind's eye."

"Many have. It is a place of great enchantment, and it calls to the hearts of mortals."

Kangaroo Rat
"What a lovely, gleaming bone. Will you take a ten-pound stone?"

"No thank you. I'm gettin gtired just carrying what I have."

"Aha! A large dismembered foot! Let me get a bag of soot."

"No, that's okay."

"What a splendid, grinning skull. How would you like a dead seagull?"

"Uh, no thank you."

"Such a handsome, stunning medal! How about a nice tea kettle?"

"Here now! That didn't exactly rhyme, did it!"

"I'd like to see YOU rhyme all day!"

"(EXCITED)The lady offers me the moon! I'll get my very best baboon!"

"Oh, I don't think so. I wouldn't know what to do with a baboon."

"(DISSAPOINTED)Aww!"

"I think I'll keep the bead."

"What a charming toasted bug! Will you take a nice fat slug?"

"(CHEERFUL)Hello my lady, how are you? Would you like to make a deal or two?"

"(A LITTLE OFF BALANCE)Well, I'm not sure...my name is Rosella of Daventry, sir. Does this desolate place have a name?"

"Yes. This is the Huitzilipopuatlateknahualimoatlicue Desert. And no, I'm not even going to TRY to make a rhyme out of that."

Credits
Designed by Lorelei Shannon, Roberta Williams

Script Written by Lorelei Shannon

Story by Lorelei Shannon, Roberta Williams

Based on original characters created by Roberta Williams

Directors Andy Hoyos, Lorelei Shannon, Roberta Williams

Producer Mark Seibert

Art Director Andy Hoyos

Director of Animation Marc Hudgins

Lead Programmers Oliver Brelsford, Tom DeSalvo

Musicians Neal Grandstaf, Dan Kehler, Mark Seibert, Jay Usher

Voice Director (Voice Casting and Direction) Lorelei Shannon

Quality Assurance Lead Dan Woolard

In-House Animation - Chapter 6 Steven Gregory, Sherry Wheeler, Jason Zayas