King's Quest Springs into Action
www.sierra.com/mask
By Jeffrey Adam Young
J^^^. hen Roberta m Wi FA Williams made \A^M the decision that
^^^^rMask of Eternity was going to be a real-time 3D game, waves of rumors washed through the industry. Some torridly mourned the death of the adventure game and cried foul, while others anxiously marveled at the possibilities of a real-time, 3D-modeled action adventure set in the King's Quest universe.
Mask marks
the first time
true 3D action
has been
integrated into
this classic
adventure
game series. • ••• * •*• * • •
Mow that more concrete infor- mation about Mask is beginning to surface, it is clear the adven- ture game is far from dead. Roberta's new vision for this genre is, as always, ground- breaking, and her intention with this eighth inductee to the series is to introduce the traditional King's Quest audi- ence to a new genre of gaming and, in turn, bring a new genera- tion of gamers to a new era of King's Quest.
The Mask design team spent nearly two years developing and refining the technology that will drive the game. In a recent inter- view for a fan-based website, Roberta said, "Now that most of the technology development is finished, the actual implementa- tion of the game is going on. The game is quickly coming together now as many pieces of it were concurrently underway (in development) while the tech- nology was being developed.
Daventry have been turned to stone by a disastrous magical curse. All inhabitants but one: the son of a local villager, Connor Mac Lyrr. Players will assume the role of this young, unlikely hero to brave many evil encounters and find the missing pieces of a sacred mask that will cancel out the spell, and restore peace in Daventry.
Not King's Quake
With some of the gameplay
Now. it's just a matter of
putting all these pieces
together." • A
The Day the
Kingdom Stood Still
Mask will include an imaginative, personal take on the archetypal King's Quest story line. In this installment, all of the inhabitants of the beloved kingdom of
Swamp Thing: More than 80 unique creatures
inhabit the seven dynamic worlds of Mask.
characteristics that are tradi- tionally found in first-person shooting games. Mask marks the first time true 3D action has been integrated into this classic adventure game series. You will have commands for three types of jumps, including a backflip, and you will control ranged weapons, like crossbows, as well as close combat weapons such as swords.
But don't get the idea that this game is focused entirely
on action. Mask will interweave a strong narrative story with immediately gratify- ing 3D action ele- ments to create a unique action- adventure gaming experience.
While this is just a small sampling of this enormous new game, it should help whet your appetite for more informa- tion to come about Mask, For a load of updated information including screen- shots, monsters sketches, and musi- cal samples, check out the Mask of Eternity website at www.sierra.com/ mask. Until next time, savor this promise from Roberta: "We have a lot ahead of us, I although I can tell you that from what I can see at this point, it's going to be one hell of a game!"