Line #50 Literature/KingsQuest


1	The video game series ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' has a small, mostly obscure ExtendedUniverse.
2	----
3	!! The King's Quest Companion & King's Quest 7 Authorized Player's Guide
4	Written by Peter Spear, these two books are part {{walkthrough}}/hint book, part novelization, and part side stories, with a lot of extra details and backstory not present in the games and made up entirely by the author (technically authors, with input from WordOfGod, according to the book's acknowledgements pages, Peter Spear was technically an editor/co-writer especially in the later editions), which are official, "authorized" status according to WordOfGod, and are often treated WordOfSaintPaul. Some material even made it into the manuals and hintbooks for games of the series, and occasional game (King's Questions), or portions included in the game compilation collections and Sierra's ''Magazine/InterAction'' magazine.
5
6	!!!These books provide examples of:
7	* ChaosArchitecture: The sometimes odd and inconsistent geography in the games is Justified in the guides by use of maps and an explanation that the world is in "magical flux" and geography changes sometimes daily, or in some cases lands are surrounded by a "magical law of 'containment'" (to explain the WrapAround in the earlier games). It keeps the games mechanics as it is meant to be a walkthrough to the games in which mechanics are actually utilized.
8	* CoversAlwaysLie: The cover for the 3rd and 4th editions has Alexander wielding a dagger and Cassima wielding a bow against a dragon-like thing, which is odd from the games in several different ways.
9	* DirectLineToTheAuthor: The premise on which the books run. The scribe Derek Karlavaegen has taken up residence in Manannan's house and is making use of the magic computer to literally e-mail people in our world (notably Peter Spear). People in each world can also dream of each other, which is how Roberta Williams was inspired to create the games in the first place.
10	** On a more literal note, the author actually had direct access to Roberta Williams and other staff and resources at Sierra when creating the various guides.
11	* DeadpanSnarker: Quite a bit of it, but especially from Gerwain and in Alexander's essays and interviews (with occasional ExpospeakGag).
12	* FixFic: To an extent, in that the authors often have to come up with plausible reasons for all of the puzzles the characters have to solve and their solutions to make coherent novelizations, even though--in the first two games and ''KQV'' especially--many of the puzzles often made little logical sense. They actually manage it for the most part, with the sole exception of [[spoiler:throwing the bridle on the snake in ''KQII'']]. The author ends up resorting to saying Graham really went for his sword but just accidentally pulled out the wrong thing instead and got really lucky. This however is actually a gag nod back to a similar action in The King's Quest 1 novel where Graham goes for a knife only to throw a bucket of water. The guide has a more mundane explanation as to the logic behind the puzzle's inspiration on Greek mythology in the Encyclopedia (the Official Book of King's Quest also makes note of this explanation itself in greater detail). The other reason why the book includes the complicated 'accident', is because the novels are intended to be a walkthrough, and the scene lets the player know that both items will work.
13	* GuysSmashGirlsShoot: As outlined in CoversAlwaysLie.
14	* HonestAdvisor: Daventry's Prime Minister Gerwain is presented as this in the ''KQII'' chapter. As Graham puts it, "A king needs 'nay' sayers more than he needs 'yea' sayers."
15	* IntrepidReporter: Derek Karlavaegen works as one for the ''Times of Daventry'' and ''Daventry People''.
16	* {{Multiverse}}: The books present the ''KQ'' universe as being in one that encompasses our own world and many other universes as well, possibly including the other Sierra games as well (though not said directly)l.
17	* SarcasticDevotee: The overall tone of Gerwain's ''KQII'' retelling.
18	* ScrapbookStory: The book is presented as a collection of everything from official court accounts to interviews to academic essays and textbooks, written or given by various characters in the ''KQ'' universe.
19	* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness: The parts of the book that are supposed to have been written by Alexander have this style to them, with occasional dips into SophisticatedAsHell.
20	* ShoutOut: The books claim that Abdul Alhazred really is the same man who wrote the ''KQ'' universe's version of the ''[[PublicDomainArtifact Necronomicon]]''.
21	** They also mention the ''Literature/PrincipiaDiscordia'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_of_Solomon The Key of Solomon]]'', ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Dzyan The Book of Dzyan]]'', and ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Book_of_the_Damned The Book of the Damned]]'' as all being known magical books in the ''KQ'' universe.
22	** And "[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etaoin_shrdlu etaoin shrdlu]]" and "[[Franchise/CthulhuMythos Iä R'lyea! Cthulhu fhtagn! Iä! Iä!]]" are listed as being known magic words/phrases.
23	** Part of "A Magical Primer" describes a historical incident in Llewdor that occurred between [[ComicBook/TheMightyThor Thor]] and ComicBook/TheIncredibleHulk. No, really.
24	* TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: The whole DirectLineToTheAuthor gimmick above.
25	* ThinkingOutLoud: Graham apparently does this a lot, if Gerwain is to be believed.
26	----
27	!! Rosella's First Quest
28	A brief short story published in an issue of ''InterAction'' Magazine as the solution to a contest in a previous issue. In the story she loses a golden football, and while searching for it she encounters various characters from across the entire Sierra universe of games. Can be [[http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/Rosella%27s_First_Quest read in its entirety on the King's Quest wiki]].
29
30	!!!This story provides examples of:
31	* AnachronismStew: Oh, so, so many.
32	* MassiveMultiplayerCrossover: The entire point of the story, really.
33	* TomboyPrincess: The entire story involves Rosella trying to find the lost golden football she had been playing with.
34
35	!!The Magical World of King's Quest
36	This work was written by WordOfGod, Roberta Williams herself, and contains a synopses of every game leading up to KQ6, as well as a short story telling of Alexander's journey and crash on the Isle of the Crown' and the loss of his crew. It appears to contain prototype material, as some details changed with the final KQ6 release. Some of the material is essentially a reprint and expansion to Roberta William's summaries in KQ5 Hintbook. Also interesting as the material suggests King's Quest takes place 'centuries' before the present on Earth.[[http://kingsquest.wikia.com/wiki/The_Magical_World_of_King%27s_Quest ]]
37	----
38	!!Novels
39	Three licensed novels, each starring a different main character from the games. Only the three were ever made; the 2nd and 3rd in the series list it as a "trilogy". Officially licensed by Sierra, but the series had no input from WordOfGod; Roberta Williams is said to have only read them (and there is no indication of any other direct input by any other King's Quest related designers/developers, and only Sierra involvement was in the licensing department/[-InteraAction-] advertising), but perhaps taken as an official licensed WordOfDante. Some details seem to ignore certain specifics from the games, or even change certain backstories for characters (including Graham's past), but also contains references that appear to be a mix of KQ1/AGI series and KQ1 remake (causing ChaosArchitecture issues of its own). They are:
40	* ''Literature/KingsQuestTheFloatingCastle'', which takes place somewhere between ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIV'' and ''VideoGame/KingsQuestVI'' (most likely before ''VideoGame/KingsQuestV''). It stars Alexander, who has to embark on a trip to rescue his father's soul after it's stolen by an EvilSorceror in the eponymous castle.
41	* ''Literature/KingsQuestKingdomOfSorrow'', which takes place between ''VideoGame/KingsQuestII'' and ''VideoGame/KingsQuestIII'', when Rosella is 7 years old. It features Graham in a quest to save a kidnapped fairy queen and bring spring back to the land.
42	* ''Literature/KingsQuestSeeNoWeevil'', which also takes place between ''II'' and ''III'', though later than ''Kingdom of Sorrow''. It stars a nearly 15-years-old Rosella, who attempts to rule over Daventry herself while her parents are at a wedding, and runs into some issues in the process.
43	!!!These books provide examples of:
44	* ChaosArchitecture: The geography of Daventry is described a bit differently in each book, and in some cases differently than they appear in the games. The scale of Daventry, the continent it is on, and the world is even much larger than other sources suggest. Castle Daventry's layout changes in each book, in particular the throne room, and entrance/Foyar/hallways leading to it (having a more KQ1SCI inspired appearance in one book, and KQ1AGi inspired in another book). The location of the throne and dais moves to the middle of the throne room in one of the books for whatever reason, with a table set behind it for 'councils' for whatever reason....
45	----
46	!!Manuals and Hintbooks
47	These also included additional information not mentioned in the games themselves (or at least not mentioned in detail). This included a backstory in the official ''[=KQ7=]'' hintbook, and sections in the ''[=KQ5=]'' and ''[=KQ6=]'' hintbooks. They also sometimes made reference to material from the ''King's Quest Companion'', especially Derek Karlavaegen from the ''[=KQ6=]'' manual. The manuals for KQ1-3, and 5 contain full length or brief prologue short stories to the game', and KQ6 came with a journal which also contained information set before the game. KQ1 actually two different prologue stories depending on the game's release. The original prologue was known as "The King's Appeal".
48	----
49	!!Other
50	* Larry's Women Speak (excerpt where Al Lowe Interviews Rosella), a section of an article in The Official Book of Leisure Suit Larry.
51	* Hoyle Book Of Games, Volume I. Not literature, but a game that includes expanded universe backstories for a couple of characters. Graham and Rosella cameo as [=NPCs=]. During idle moments in gameplay they will talk about their previous adventures in the first four games (the only ones that existed when the Book of Games was made).
52	* Assorted Sierra Multiverse cameos and Easter eggs In other Sierra games.
53	* Strategy and Tactics: Hoyle Volume 3
54	* The Bookwyrm Investigates: Sierra Characters' Favorite Books
55	* Excerpts from Leisure Suit Larry Beside Companion.

Context Literature / KingsQuest