Dimensions are the parallel universes and alternate universes of the Multiverse.
Background[]
A dimension is a universe coexistent with our own, but which cannot be perceived or accessed by ordinary means and which often possesses different physical laws.[1]
The people of Daventry withdrew to another world. Where they escaped to, whether another universe or another physical dimension, is a place that our own scientific theories say is entirely plausible.
Quantum theory allows for these "pocket universes" to have their own unique sets of the laws of science and nature. Another theory states that the universe is not made up of individual particles, like atoms or electrons, but instead composed of strings--strange things that are long, but not high or wide, and have other dimension. This theory only makes scientific sense, however, if the universe has more than the four dimensions to which most are accustomed to; 26 dimensions is one number given. The reason that people do not see the extra dimensions is that they're folded up on themselves, but they are there, nonetheless. These could be pocket universes. Daventry may be one of these pocket universes.[2]
Daventry is said to exist on one of these pocket universes, separated from twentieth century earth (perhaps even in Earth's past through a time warp), but connected via wormholes, and other methods often by magic. It was peopled by people from Earth. The world has its own history, that has developed on its own, but has been influenced by those who withdrew into the realm, or by dreamers from the Other World or living in Daventry who are able to change the present and future with their minds (they are not able to change it past but only influence its future, or create new realities).
The greatest of these dreamers was the great sorceress Roberta Williams. It is said that her dreams started to change the world, and its current history (creating new realities (parallel worlds) the 'game realities'). There may also be another great dreamer living in side of the original 'real world' of Daventry changing its present history, and creating new 'realities' as well. Creating more alternate dimensions split from the original. It is generally said that travel between Other World and Daventry is one way, though there are ways for people to communicate back to the original world.
The Worlds of multiverse include the Other World, the real world of Daventry and the various computer game realities and other realities.
Derek refers to his world as a 'magical dimension'.
The world of Daventry is often influenced by fate and destiny. Choices can lead to different paths, each creating their own alternate world. Fate is not like the cut of a blade, but rather like the myriad of paths when a hammer cracks ice. There are various possible paths to ones' destiny.
Dimensions[]
- All dimensions make up the Multiverse.
Worlds of Daventry[]
Daventry (sometimes known as Earth, is the main world that the series takes place, following the Royal Family of the Kingdom of Daventry. There are many alternate worlds of Daventry[3] in the Multiverse, some in Earth’s past, some are large worlds parallel to Earth, some are small globe-like pocket universe worlds (containing the single Kingdom of Daventry), some exist in the physical realities, some in the game realities or Cyberspace. Still others may go by other names such as aforementioned Earth, the World of Serenia or even Sierra World. Some worlds of Daventry share very similar histories, while others may vary wildly different. Some timelines may have even merged together in unsuspected ways.
See worlds of Daventry for more information about further alternate worlds of Daventry.
See, Daventry cosmology for other versions of worlds of Daventry. See Timeline for various timelines to the worlds of Daventry.
Worlds of Earth[]
- Earth/World of Daventry (Daventry in the past)
- Earth/Other World/This World (Daventry is in a parallel universe)
- Earth/Sierra World (multiverse of parallel game reality earths/timelines)
- Earth (KQGS)/World of Daventry (KQGS) (reboot universe)
Dimensions Outside Daventry[]
- The place between the worlds.
- Magic (High and Low Kingdoms), aether, and dreams.
- The regions between universe, and which bind the universe together, and are part of its eternal creation and recreation.
- 20th century Earth, said to be the place where primary world of Daventry withdrew from. Although some claim that Daventry exists in Earth's past.
- The underworld below Daventry, and beyond.
- Black Abyss
- The Abyss
- Heaven
- Hell
- Realm of Eldritch (alternate universe)
- Realm of the Dead
- Enchanted Isles
- Location of a tower that is said to be both miles and dimensions away[5][6], and on the others side of the world. We will never know if the king's suspicion was correct, for when he unlocked the third door, it opened to reveal not another door, but what looked like another world. He left the bridge and Kolyma behind when he stepped through it. Such a world! To see such marvels myself would be worth most any price! Astonishing pink sky reached down to meet the cobalt blue beach. A tempest sea raged rainbow colors, changing with the waves. Unclimbable rock-faced cliffs towered above and below the narrow strand. A lavender waterfall plummeted over them to reach unswimmable waters. This location is treated as both being within the 'World of Daventry' and also outside of it depending on various character perspectives.
King Graham falls deathly ill and his daughter, the beautiful Rosella must journey to another world in search of the cure.[7] Note: According to KQC, Tamir is also part of Tanalore, which includes a city that touches all realities of creation (thus the whole region may exist as both part of and outside the world of Daventry, similar to Isle of the Dead). The land is described as being both very far away from Daventry, but shown on maps to be near Llewdor on Tanalore, a continent not but 1-3 days journey from Daventry by boat in some cases.
- There is a reference to dark dimensions of night.
- The Faux Shop appears to exist in its own pocket dimension.
- The Void
The Fates appear to exist in their own parallel universe, 'a different plane of existence'.[8]
- The Efreeti are creatures of pure magic also said to come from another plane of existence ("Magic" see above for lack of a better name).
- The Scales of Justice appear to exist in a cosmic realm that both connects to but is separate from the Dimension of Death.
- Pocket universes/26 dimensions (parallel Daventries)
Game realities[]
- Cyberspace and and the 'Game realities/game universe'.
- These are the 'electronic' and 'digital' realms of the multiverse made up of 1s and 0s. Like magic, aether, and dreams it exists between worlds. It is one way that individual from between universes can communicate with each other, or how other realities may be formed (outside of 'magic' or 'dreams').
The first is a nebulous realm that overlaps and extends throughout realities of the 'multiverse', and can allow communication, and sometimes travel between the realms (as such it may be the binding concept of the latter, and allows them to exist as 'realities' as well in their own pockets within cyberspace).
The latter contains the idea that the games exist in their own 'realities' outside of the reality of actual history which was recorded in the The King's Quest Companion (one of the Companion's few allusions to there being alternate and parallel King's Quest universes, for more information see realities). For a better understanding the original King's Quest 1 for example was closer to the 'truth' of the primary King's Quest world, than the remake was. Somewhere along the lines of King's Quest 7 the 'game realities' and 'real world of Daventry' may have started to merge or divide into even more realities (although this is not confirmed, or simply Derek Karlavaegen was left out of the loop of Rosella's romance plans). Depending on which 'game reality' there is sometimes cross overs with other games of the Sierra universe (the Sierra World as Leisure Suit Larry called it). See Hoyle, Police Quest, Space Quest, etc.
Sometimes the various alternate 'realities', the 'game realities' and 'real world realities' (Earth, Daventry Prime, etc) overlap.
Eldritch has a number alternate interpretations. There a number of alternate puzzles, and item choices or item locations which could represent slightly different universes. Although the general story is the same for all. The novelization/strategy guide represents the 'true' events.
It might be worth considering the original Windows 3.1 version and later Win 95/DOS 2.0 versions as separate universes as there are puzzle changes. tire world like a pocket universe (much as in KQ1 PCjr, and other references to AGI versions of the game).
- Other realities
- Other universes created from the primary 'real world' of Daventry by the influence of an internal great dreamer living there (in contrast to the game realities created by the other great dreamer Roberta living in the Other World). Had Roberta continued, apparently the story would have split (by the time of King's Quest X) with Rosella choosing to marry Edgar or Connor in the future. She would have met Connor, and developed an affection for him by the end of King's Quest IX. Note: In the Companion's 'prime' universe it was implied that Rosella would marry Edgar (or at least there were rumors of a wedding), though Derek himself felt this was unlikely, for several reasons. It was said that Rosella may be impetuous, but she is no fool. She would marry no man before her time, and she knows near nothing of Edgar. (although things could have changed if the series had continued, depending on what Roberta had done with the series). For a lack of a better terms, these can be referred to as the Edgar-verse or the Connor-verse.
Reboot Universe (Odd Daventry)[]
The World of Daventry (KQGS) of the reboot universe is very different alternate world, one that neither directly follows the timelines of original worlds of Daventry, nor appears to directly split from the prime real world universe. Simple “choices” does not account for such things as two Valanices), and other alternative events, and where the original worlds of Daventry exist as their myths and fiction. It appears to exist in an alternate history of Earh
King's Quest: Adventures of Graham appears to be a bit different than a standard shared/merged universe, as it has and is attempting to completely retell certain stories from a different perspective, changing locations, events, solutions, and outcomes, sometimes including very different set of characters than the original stories. Where as the original games (and stories) are considered 'myths, legend and fairy tales' of a sort, but what occurs or is mentioned in the new series is 'what really happened'. The new series takes elements from older games, both versions of KQ1, the Companions, and reimagines them, and blends them with new or reimagined material.
The general view of the developers of the newest game is that it is at least somewhat of a 'merged' universe, that all previous games are intended to have 'happened' and are part of the canon, though they do reimagine a few details of the first game (making elements of the previous universe incompatible). The original games are more like 'fairy tales' in this universe.
- Odd Daventry (World of Daventry (KQGS))
- This timeline (see KQGS timeline/TOG universe) remixes and remagines almost everything known about King's Quest, and is largely not compatible with the older material, infact the older material themselves are to be considered 'legend', 'fairy tale' or fictional accounts of events, while the new stuff 'replaces' it and tells the real events for this universe. This timeline contains yet another alternate encounter with the dragon in the Forest Well, the Well Dragon (including a new backstory in place of the old one, and will influence future events). It also gives Graham a completely different backstory. He grew outside of Daventry, rather than inside. It shifts Graham's wedding, location and details surrounding the events of KQ2 in an entirely new direction.
- There are many different versions of this timeline based on Graham's decisions (many which focus on Bravery, Wisdom, and Compassion, this will have an affect on many characters including Graham, and others). See TOG universe, and KQ9 timeline for more information. There is a split between the choice to save Bramble vs saving Mr. Fancycakes (with other assorted losses of characters or saves). Another split involves the choice of the two Valanices This timeline exists on a 30-50 year timeline (KQ2 taking place aproximately 10 years after KQ1)rather than 20 or 25 year timeline (King's Quest 2 taking place 1-3 years after KQ1), and such neither universes overlap chronologically.
- Age of Graham when he became king is 21 in this series (material says he was 19 in the classic universe material).
Timelines[]
There are several variable timelines in this series (ultimately represented by the Tapestry of Time) the main ones are:
Bravery can divide into two timelines either obtaining Dragon Eye or Manny's Eyes ("Bravery Manny").
Then the other major variable which divides each of those paths into two is the choice of wife.
Note: There is no specific cross over between classic universes and the reboot universe other than that classic stories represent 'fiction' within the reboot universe.
Behind the scenes[]
The idea of a Multiverse is established in the King's Quest Companion series, it does not exist in the original games, where instead Daventry is said to be part of Earth's past many centuries ago.
Although idea of the Multiverse gives the idea of alternate dimensions, it doesn't really specifically support the idea of "parallel characters" (with one exception in a discussion between Real world and Game realities). The general intent appears to be that an individual exists in a single form in one world (but can move between worlds), as such there is only one version of an individual across the entire multiverse. As such KQ1 remake is ignored as being more of an embellishment of actual events ('just a retelling'), or at the most both are 'game realities' (about as close to support of there being more than one parallel dimension).
The original KQ1 PCJR manual refers to Daventry as if its on it's own 'world' much like our own and shows a map of a globe being circled. Later an early ad for the Apple II versions of the game refers to King's Quest taking place in another dimension, with a picture of a real world human opening doors into Daventry, or some generic fantasy realm (much in the way the "wardrobe' in Narnia books opens into Narnia). This might have been influence to King's Quest taking place in another world as in the Companion. In KQ2 some materials suggest that Enchanted Isles take place in another dimension from Kolyma. KQ4 material also might suggest it takes place in 'another world' (Tamir). Which might imply a proto multiverse as well (although the games do not use that term).
An ad for King’s Queat AGI suggests that the Kingdom of Daventry exists in a “new dimension”.
The Official Book of King's Quest (3rd Edition) on the other hand does seem to suggest that the KQ1 Remake is an actual world (or replaced the original world), with its own history. Thus it is somewhat alternative to the ideas of the King's Quest Companion, for it to also be 'correct' would suggest there are alternate and parallel Daventries as well. The Official Book also implies that a 'merged-canon' exists, the 3rd edition shows elements of the remake and originals of KQ2 and KQ3. In addition the three spin-off novels also utilizes elements of both original and the remake suggesting that there is at least a merged-universe of the two (or that they take place as sequels to the remake's universe). However, there was supposed to be a King's Quest II and III remakes as well, but never happened, which likely would have affected the 4th edition had it been written (with their information superseding the previous).
A pocket universe is slightly different than a universe in that it is usually a small pocket inside (or outside but near) of a normal universe. In narrative, pocket universes are fixed naturally or artificially-created universes that exist within the bounds of another universe. The term pocket universe is derived from its illustration in the actual universe where it is usually portrayed as an orb which would fit in a pocket.
In the Companion's terms its unclear if Daventry is treated as a true pocket universe (existing within another universe) or a full dimension/parallel universe. But it does describe there being some kind of overlap between Daventry and the Other World ("earth") as such that one could perceive either via dreams or by catching elements of Daventry in their peripheral vision (just out of normal human sight).
The original Space Quest refers to the realm in which Daventry takes place as the Daventry Zone. And Leisure Suit Larry refers to the whole extent of all the games in the series as existing within the Sierra World (though this is more of a nod to West World movie).
In the second and 3rd edition of the Companion, the author calls the changes in the KQ1 remake's story 'creative license'.[9] The 2nd edition (and 3rd edition with some slight edits to reflect chapter number changes) added a explanation as to why the author never bothered to adapt order of events as told in the KQ1 remake, but rather left the version of the story as shown in the original KQ1. Explaining that the original story was the true history of Daventry, and it would be wrong for him to be a revisionist historian.
- In improving the look and sound of the game, however, Sierra decided to make a few changes in the game itself. Not many, just enough to make a few tough problems more logical and a little easier to solve. Thus, in the SCI Version only, the gnome's name problem can be answered in more than one way, the condor doesn't appear until late in the game, and the pebbles by the river find a more visible home by a lake. These, and the fine tuning of other sequences, changed the game slightly. It's called "creative license"...
- This book covers both versions of King's Quest 1 game. However, the changes in the game do not, and cannot reflect what actually did happen to Graham as he quested to save Daventry and win its throne. Anyone with an older or non-IBM/compatible KQ1 can play the game along with the narrative in Chapter 2 and win through to the end. This is no longer completely true for folks with the new version.
- It has been strongly suggested to me that I "rewrite" that particular court chronicle to reflect the game's changes. I have not. To do so would be to rewrite history, and thus reduce Graham's adventurings to a mere fiction. To do so would be to deny the reality of Daventry, something I am not prepared to do at this time.
- The other reason for my decision to leave the KQ1 narrative the same as it appeared in the first edition of this book is a more practical one. The vast majority of KQ1 players have the original version--King's Quest Classic, so to speak. To modify the words of that nameless court scribe would be a disservice to those game players, as well as a misrepresentation of apparent facts. For the sake of verisimilitude, my editors and I have decided to leave the narrative the same as it was sent to me.
- However, all of the changes to KQ1 have been included in Chapter 11, "The Easy Way Out." That chapter reflects both "game realities," the old and the new, and can be confidently used by all King's Quest players. No matter which version of KQ1 you have, we've got you covered.
References[]
- ↑ https://sfdictionary.com/view/1090/pocket-universe
- ↑ KQC2E, pg
- ↑ KQ PCjr manual, pg.
- ↑ InterAction, Spring 1999, pg “Head to the northwest corner of your area map. There lies a boathouse and in it a boatman. Pump him for information (especially on the portals to other dimensions).”
- ↑ KQ2 gold box
- ↑ KQC4E, pg 64
- ↑ 1991 Entire Spectrum catalogue
- ↑ King's Quest 1996 Calendar, February
- ↑ KQC2E, pg XV