King's Quest

King's Quest is a video game in the adventure genre developed by Sierra On-Line, Inc. and published by Sierra On-Line, Inc. originally released in 1987. It is currently playable on DOS.

Sir Graham is a brave knight who is sent on a quest to recover three treasures that were stolen by trickery and stealth: a shield that protects its bearer from invaders, a mirror that foretells the future, and a treasure chest that is always full of gold. If Graham brings these treasures back to the royal castle, the ailing King Edward the Benevolent of Daventry will deliver the crown to him. During his travels, Graham will meet characters that will either help or hinder him.

King's Quest is commonly considered the progenitor of third-person adventure games. Unlike previous adventure games, the player can move the protagonist around the screen in eight directions, creating a three-dimensional exploration effect. The player's character can also hide from view when hiding behind an object, is subject to gravity and has different animations for actions such as picking up an object, falling, swimming, etc. Graham can move with the keyboard arrows and perform various actions when the player types commands, which usually consist of noun-verb combinations (e. g. , 'Pick the flower', 'Speak man', etc. ).

The game world consists of a cyclic outdoor area with places of interest (houses, characters, etc. ) that must be found through exploration. Much of the realm is accessible to Graham from the start, and there are only a few restrictions imposed on travel. To complete the game, the player has to get certain objects and use them in the right situations or with specific characters. Some of the puzzles are based on fairy tales, and a good knowledge of them makes them easier to solve.

The game awards points to the player for most of the actions he has Graham perform. As some of them are not crucial to complete the game, it is quite possible to finish the game without having reached the full score. Some of the tasks in the game have multiple solutions, although the game may award less points to the player if he chooses the simplest one. Many dangers await Graham on his journey, and death is frequent if the player is not careful. The game may also become unwinnable if a specific item is not collected or is wasted.

King's Quest is available at a reduced price on the following websites and is no longer abandonware.