Line #49 VideoGame/TheSilverLining


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/the_silver_lining_quest.jpg]]
2	A FanSequel to the ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'' series currently being produced by [[http://www.postudios.com/company/ Phoenix Online Studios.]] Formerly known as ''King's Quest IX: Every Cloak Has A Silver Lining'', ''The Silver Lining'' brings back the characters from the old series and attempts to bring some closure to the story of the first family of Daventry. Currently, four of the five episodes have been released.
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4	The game is probably more well known for the story behind its production than the actual gameplay. After announcing their intentions and gain a lot of hype, they received a cease and desist order from Vivendi Universal (who owned the rights to ''VideoGame/KingsQuest''). After a strong effort from the community, they were able to continue producing the game, provided that they remove the words "King's Quest" from the name. They continued their work only to receive another cease and desist right before they were ready to release the game, this time from Activision (who had gained the rights to Sierra games from Vivendi). After much discussion, they were able to get ''that'' one overturned as well.
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6	The story of the game is as follows. During the wedding of Rosella and Edgar, a stranger in a black cloak crashes the party and casts a spell which puts both Rosella and Alexander in a coma. Graham decides that he must don his adventurer's cap one more time to undo the curse. During this, he uncovers a much deeper plot related to the Black Cloak Society.
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8	!!Episodes released so far:
9	* Episode 1: "What is Decreed Must Be" (July 18, 2010)
10	* Episode 2: "Two Households" (September 18, 2010)
11	* Episode 3: "My Only Love Sprung From My Only Hate" (February 17, 2011)
12	* Episode 4: "'Tis in My Memory Locked. And You Yourself Shall Hold The Key Of It" (November 6, 2011)
13	* Episode 5: "A Thousand Times Goodnight" (TBD)
14	----
15	!!This game provides examples of:
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17	* AnimeHair: {{Lampshaded}} by the narrator if Graham attempts to take more than one lock of Alexander's hair.
18	* ArcWelding: The game canonizes, for the lack of a better term, the Black Cloak Society, mentioned in letters from ''King's Quest VI'', to which belongs every villain the Daventry Royal Family faced since the first game.
19	%%* BeardOfEvil: Shadrack.
20	* BetterThanABareBulb: The narrator (and sometimes Graham himself) are very fond of {{lampshading}} stuff.
21	* {{BFS}}: Apparently, Saladin traded his [[SinisterScimitar scimitar]] for a claymore.
22	* BigBad: Shadrack is the main antagonist: he places Rosella and Alexander in a magical coma, threatens to kill Rosella if Valanice does not open Pandora's Box, and, at the end of episode 4, attacks Graham in person to stop him from cotinuing his quest.
23	%%* BlackCloak: The Black Cloak Society.
24	%%* BlackWidow: A literal black widow spider.
25	%%* BrokenBridge: Standard stuff in the series.
26	* CaptainErsatz: The narrator is female and seems to have intimate knowledge of the game world. Of course, she is so totally not a stand-in for Roberta Williams.
27	* CardCarryingVillain: Shadrack and the Black Cloak Society in general. Seriously, their motto is "May you walk in shadows".
28	* CleverCrows: Morrigan, the Guardian of the Forest, takes the shape of a huge raven.
29	%%* ContinuityPorn: The game references ''the hell'' out of previous installments.
30	* CoolOldGuy: King Graham.
31	* CutShort: Website/{{Wikipedia}} mentions that ''Phoenix Online Studios'' no longer holds the license to develop the final chapter of the game. So the game ends with a cliffhanger and all these years waiting for a proper ending was for naught.
32	* DarkerAndEdgier: Doubtlessly the darkest of King's Quest games. It even [[SerialEscalation continually tops itself]]: the game's episodes get progressively grimmer with each new release, with the third one being downright ''scary''.
33	%%* DeadpanSnarker: The narrator.
34	%%* ElementalPowers: The dream amulet.
35	%%* EvilIsHammy: Shadrack.
36	%%* EvilLaugh: Shadrack.
37	* EvenEvilHasStandards: In Episode 1, Lord Azure states that Graham can travel the Winged Ones's city if he could fly there. In Episode 4, he can. It takes some prodding from Graham and Ariel, but he holds up to his promise.
38	* FailureIsTheOnlyOption: In Episode 4, [[spoiler:you play Valanice and have to open [[SealedEvilInACan Pandora's box]], otherwise [[GameOver Shadrack kills Rosella.]]]]
39	* FanonDisContinuity: Averted. While the game is clearly following up on the events of KQ VI and VII, it does reference (in BroadStrokes) ''[[VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity Mask of Eternity]]'', the franchise's installment that is most reviled by fans.
40	* FanSequel: The game was originally purpoted to be ''King's Quest IX'', taking place after the ''canonical'' eighth game at the time, ''Mask of Eternity''. The developers managed to keep the premise of being a ''King's Quest'' sequel, but dropped the connection to its parent series.
41	* FantasyKitchenSink: By virtue of being a ''King's Quest'' game.
42	%%* GenieInABottle: Shamir Shamazzle.
43	* GoryDiscretionShot: One of TheManyDeathsOfYou [[spoiler:in Episode 3 or 4, at the guillotine...]]
44	* GratuitousFrench: The Quebecois guard dog at the castle entrance. Seriously. Surprisingly averted with Prince Cocteau on the Isle of the Beast.
45	* TheGuardsMustBeCrazy: The guard dogs are often either lax in their duty or adhere to it in [[LawfulStupid a most unreasoning way]].
46	%%* GuideDangIt: Wouldn't be King's Quest without it.
47	%%* HyperspaceArsenal
48	* {{Hypocrite}}: Some Winged Ones look down on humans with disgust and yet, that doesn't stop them [[Creator/WilliamShakespeare from enjoying a Shakespearean play, which was written by a human.]] There's also books about Hollywood in a stand.
49	* InfoDump: The developers wanted to make sure that people who hadn't played the original series would still be able to pick it up and enjoy it. This is their usual solution. The game goes into a lot of detail about the history of things in the world.
50	%%* InsurmountableWaistHeightFence: Standard stuff in the series.
51	* InterfaceScrew: In episode 4, when Shadrack rocks the boat, your amulet (who also act as your attack/defend icons) spin out of control.
52	%%* InvisibilityCloak
53	* {{Jerkass}}: Practically all of the Winged Ones except for the guards and Lady Ariel, particularly Lady Celeste. In ''KQVI'', they used to be aloof and haughty, but here, [[TookALevelInJerkAss they are outright assholes]].
54	* LawfulStupid: The female guard dog that won't let Graham into the throne room "for safety reasons".
55	** Or ProperlyParanoid, given that you can actually die if you go too far into the throne room...
56	* LegionOfDoom: The Black Cloak Society, referenced in letters in ''King's Quest VI'', becomes this in ''The Silver Lining'', as in, ''every villain'' from previous installments are members of this society.
57	* LemonyNarrator: The narrator could become this at times. But when she does, she ''[[{{Cloudcuckoolander}} really]]'' does. One game over even involves Graham suffering ''death by boredom'' when the narrator goes on an extremely long rambling tangent.
58	* LimitedWardrobe: Played with. Graham averts this early in the game by wearing his royal attire, but switches to his iconic adventure clothes for the rest of the series.
59	* TheManyDeathsOfYou: In episode 3, you can die in many different ways. There's even a contest to find them all!
60	** The walkthrough site has a [[https://sites.google.com/site/tslwalkthru/death-of-a-king list of them.]] For the whole game, although Episode 4 is pending.
61	* TheMaze: There's a giant hedge maze on the Isle of the Beast.
62	* MediumAwareness / NoFourthWall: The narrator and Graham are very well aware that they are in an adventure game, and often engage in amusing banter. Sometimes, they will even address the player.
63	** It's also pretty amusing to make Graham sit down on a chair and listen to what the narrator says.
64	** "A black rose bathed in the blood of [[spoiler:one who wishes to travel into the Realm of Dreams.]] Not going to find that in Wal-Mart."
65	* ModestRoyalty: Discussed and lampshaded. Both the narrator and Graham note that the protagonist feels much more at ease in adventurer's garb than in royal regalia.
66	** Both used and averted by Prince Cocteau and Beauty. Although they prefer privacy and solitude, the narrator points out the Prince's taste for luxury and comfort.
67	* NostalgiaLevel: Valanice's nightmare in episode 3.
68	* OneManBand: In one part of the game, Graham has to simultaneously play four instruments: a lute, a drum, a harp, a horn ''and'' fly at the same time.
69	* OurBansheesAreLouder: When you first encounter The Guardian of the Forest, he takes the shape of a banshee-like hag that can kill you with its loud wail!
70	%%* OurGeniesAreDifferent: Shamir Shamazzle.
71	* PublicDomainArtifact: Pandora's box, the infamous box (although others translated it as a type of urn) from Greek mythology, appears as the MacGuffin the BigBad wants.
72	* PlotCoupon: Spell ingredients you must collect to advance the plot.
73	* PurpleProse: When the game came out, people complained about the wordiness of the narrator, so the developers added the option of short narration.
74	* RebelliousPrincess: Conversations in the game portray Rosella as this. At one point, she convinced Cassima to steal the ferry and travel to the Isle of Mist, but Alexander and Edgar stopped her.
75	%%* RedEyesTakeWarning: Shadrack.
76	* RousingSpeech: Cassima delivers one to calm the fear of her people.
77	%%* RoyalBrat: Lady Celeste.
78	* SealedEvilInACan: Pandora's Box. Unlike ''[[VideoGame/KingsQuestIVThePerilsOfRosella King's Quest 4]]'', and [[UnexpectedGamePlayChange unfortunately for players]], it's not so easy to open.
79	* ShoutOut: [[VideoGame/KingsQuestMaskOfEternity "'Tis beyond his reach!"]]
80	** There are many references to classic Sierra quests, especially in episode 3. For example, you solve one of the puzzles by whistling the ''VideoGame/LeisureSuitLarry'' theme, and looking at one of the items in the pawn shop triggers an amusing dialogue about ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest''.
81	** The references to ''VideoGame/GabrielKnight'' are... impressive in number.
82	%%* ShownTheirWork
83	* SillyRabbitCynicismIsForLosers: A poster on the forums for the game provides the page quote. "I'd argue that the cynical nature of these really hurt our ability to hope and work for better."
84	** The statement was made in the context of a conversation about remakes, sequels and {{Spiritual Successor}}s, and the topic of ''Franchise/DragonAge'' came up.
85	%%* {{Spinventory}}
86	* TrailersAlwaysSpoil: [[spoiler:The trailer for episode 4 show that one of the mermaid will ride in a hot air balloon and that you can visit the city of the Winged Ones with winged shoes.]]
87	* TroubledButCute: Alexander, as mentioned by Cassima, Jollo, and Saladin. Incredibly antisocial due to living most of his life as a slave.
88	* UnexpectedGamePlayChange: The action sequences in episode 3 and 4.
89	%%* TheUnintelligible: Hole-in-the-wall.
90	* UnwinnableByDesign: Unlike old Sierra games, TSL consciously avoids this trope.
91	* VerbalTic: The female guard dog in episode 3 takes her job very seriously, to the point where she talks very loudly and ends each sentence as if she were asking a question.
92	* VideoGameCrueltyPotential: It's a G-rated game, but Graham can be incredibly cruel to the some of the creatures he meets. He [[spoiler:lights a walking-cup creature on fire to evaporate salt water to get salt, and against Mag-Gnat, you lure him into a trap that involves him getting smacked in the head with a key.]]
93	* VideoGameCrueltyPunishment: Another of TheManyDeathsOfYou (although it really isn't You, per se...) in episode 3. [[spoiler:You can actually murder Rosella in her sleep.]]
94	* VillainTakesAnInterest: Graham has a vision where [[spoiler:Manannan]] claims this toward [[spoiler:Alexander]].
95	* TheWisePrince: Conversations between Graham and both Cassima and Saladin portray Alexander as this, although he is a King.

Context VideoGame / TheSilverLining