'King's Quest' release date set for this year

Activision Blog

Game developer The Odd Gentlemen is bringing back an old adventure game, and it is bound to be released this year. With the tentative title "King's Quest: Your Legacy Awaits," this ninth installment in the "King's Quest" series will be revamped with a new adventure game style, jaw-dropping art designs, engaging puzzles, and interactive humorous narratives. 

The new "King's Quest" storyline will deal with King Graham — the original hero of the series — as he shares his adventures with his granddaughter, Gwendolyn. The whole story will be divided into five episodes, and each player's choices will have a cascading effect all throughout the game.

In the first episode, to be released in the coming months, King Graham tells the story of how he fought a dragon during his quest to find the Three Treasures and save Daventry. In the end, the king has to escape the dragon's lair but in order to do so, he is presented with three choices: blinding the dragon with an arrow; freeing it; or distracting the dragon using the food bell. The choice the player makes will have consequences in the present story. For example, a blinded dragon may attack Daventry, or a freed one might come and help the king later in the game. The choices the player makes will also influence the granddaughter Gwendolyn as she makes her own choices in the game. 

The "King's Quest" series is an old favorite. Dating all the way back to 1984, it was on top of most adventure point and click games, where players are put into an interactive choose-your-own-adventure game play. 

To make the new game as close to the original series as possible, The Odd Gentlemen team consulted with Roberta and Ken Williams, the original founders of game developer Sierra who were responsible for creating the original title. According to Williams, they know that the new developer will do what they can to take the game to another level. 

In an email message, Roberta said, "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!"