History VideoGame / LauraBow

* LosingAShoeInTheStruggle: [[spoiler:Steve in ''The Dagger of Amon Ra''. And you have to give it back to him at the right time, or he'll hurt his foot and the killer will catch up to you.]]

* BrokenBridge: The Museum in the second instalment gets locked overnight, and none of the suspects are allowed to leave until the investigations are over. Naturally the keys get misplaced, the phone lines cut, and the murderer is [i]inside[/i].

** [[spoiler:The villain of the second game is also a redhead.]]

* NotInFrontOfTheParrot

* DarknessEqualsDeath: don't go down that dark staircase without a light!

* DeadMansChest

* DropInNemesis: various things Laura did could cause the murderer to appear out of nowhere in the first game, including taking a shower, in an homage to ''Film/{{Psycho}}'', complete with a snarky HaveANiceDeath.
** Which is kind of odd seeing as this could happen right at the beginning of the game [[spoiler: long before Lillian snaps starting her killing spree]]

During the eighties and early nineties, the world of [[AdventureGame Adventure Games]] belonged to {{Sierra}}. Games series like ''VideoGame/KingsQuest'', ''VideoGame/SpaceQuest'', ''VideoGame/PoliceQuest'', and ''VideoGame/QuestForGlory'', established the company's love of quests, and in 1989 there was ''Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest'', following in the same naming format of putting the word "quest" somewhere in the title of each game. The game was created by Roberta Williams of ''King's Quest'' fame, and borrowed elements from Williams' ''Mystery House'', created in 1980 and known as one of the first graphical adventures.

The second and last in the series, ''The Dagger of Amon Ra'' (1992), used 8 bit colors and a point-and-click interface. It takes place a year after the first game, in New York, where Laura, now a newspaper reporter, is charged to write a story about the dissapearance of an antique dagger from a local museum. Attending a benefit at the museum, she meets the various suspects, who quickly begin to die off one by one. This game had a similar time system but involved more straight-forward, item-based puzzles than the previous game. Like its predecessor, it also required the player to make their own conclusions in order to solve the murders. The identity of the murderer is not revealed at the end of the game, and instead the player is asked a series of questions in order to determine who the culprit is based on evidence collected.

* AmateurSleuth

* AssholeVictim
* BigApplesauce: ''Dagger of Amon Ra''

* BigScrewedUpFamily: In the first game.

* EvidenceScavengerHunt
* EveryoneIsASuspect

* {{Expy}}: The first game is a DarkerAndEdgier adaptation of the popular tabletop game ''{{TabletopGame/Clue}}'' - turned into a narrative story as seen from the eyes of the detective. Though many liberties were taken in order to make it as engrossing as it is, most of the setting and characters are based directly on the tabletop game. Most notable are the characters of Colonel [[IncrediblyLamePun Dijon]] (Mustard) and Ethel Prune (Plum), the many secret passageways throughout the mansion, and the various weapons used by the murderer during the game (poison, pistol, dagger, and so on).

* {{Homage}}: the aforementioned shower scene.

* ItsAWonderfulFailure

* MultipleEndings: In the first game, you either [[spoiler:shoot the colonel, or do nothing and let Rudy kill him in the struggle, which is the bad ending]] or [[spoiler:shoot Rudy and injure him, resulting in the good ending.]] In the second game, it's get all the accusations wrong.
** Or even get them right ''without'' having found the necessary evidence to back up your claims.

* PassedOverInheritance: Given the fact that the Colonel stated that his estate will be divided equally among everyone present at the manor when he made the announcement who outlives him (Other than Laura), the obvious explanation as to why virtually everyone in the manor turns up dead over the course of the next few hours is that the killer is someone hoping to increase their share of the pie. [[spoiler: It's actually Lillian, who doesn't care about the money but wants to restore her perceived status as the Colonel's favorite relative by making her his ''only'' relative.]]

* TheRoaringTwenties

* TheUnsolvedMystery: it's easy to go through both games and have no idea what just happened.

* WhoDunnit

** If Laura goes through any of the secret passageway tunnels in the sequel without either lighting the lamp before she enters or while inside, she will be attacked by bats, which is odd when [[FridgeLogic these tunnels have no critter or any other danger whatsoever when lit]]. Subverted in the last tunnels near the end of the game as while you don't immediately get killed for entering in the dark, you can't do anything productive without lighting your lamp and you can still get killed.

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: in true Sierra fashion, Laura will die unexpectedly if she so much as takes a wrong step, often from accidental murder rather than by the actual killer.

* FallingChandelierOfDoom: one of the ways Laura could die in the first game

* HaveANiceDeath: The shower scene mentioned above gives you the death message "didn't [[Creator/AlfredHitchcock Alfred]] teach you anything?"

* LookBothWays: in the second game, you need to look both ways in order to cross the street safely.

* NotProven: if you fail to find enough evidence, even if you've already figured out who the murderer is. In ''Amon Ra'', even if you identify the killer but fail to convict them, [[spoiler:Laura is later murdered in her bed.]]

* RailingKill: Look out for the crumbling parts.

* SuperDrowningSkills: Dip so much as a toe in the water and you're a goner. Laura will sink in over her head mere inches from shore.
* TheSwarm: There's ''three'' of these in the second game - rats, snakes, and flesh-eating beetles.

* YetAnotherStupidDeath: The chandelier only falls on you [[spoiler:if you walk down the exact center of the first floor hallway. Which is right where the front doors deposit you, causing plenty of accidental deaths when the player forgets to sidestep]].

* BookEndings: The BadEnding of the Dagger of Amon Rah mimicks the opening except with the layout of the room mirrored [[spoiler: and Laura getting shot instead of strangled]].

* MyNameIsNotDurwood: Crodfeller T. Rubarb in the second game.

* BigSecret: almost everyone has one.
* BigScrewedUpFamily: in the first game

* ExactEavesDropping: in both games

* HiddenVillain: [[spoiler:Lilian]], who you do not find out as the murderer unless you search very hard.

* NotProven: if you fail to find enough evidence, even if you've already figured out who the murderer is. In ''Amon Ra'', even if you identify the killer but fail to convict them, Laura is later murdered in her bed.

* TheSwarm: First one of rats, later one of snakes, both in the second game.
** You forgot the flesh eating beetles.
* TenLittleMurderVictims: the plot of both games

* TheUnreveal: Your pursuer in Dagger of Amon Ra.

* {{Expy}}: The first game is a [[DarkerAndEdgier]] adaptation of the popular tabletop game ''TabletopGame/Clue'' - turned into a narrative story as seen from the eyes of the detective. Though many liberties were taken in order to make it as engrossing as it is, most of the setting and characters are based directly on the tabletop game. Most notable are the characters of Colonel [[IncrediblyLamePun Dijon]] (Mustard) and Ethel Prune (Plum), the many secret passageways throughout the mansion, and the various weapons used by the murderer during the game (poison, pistol, dagger, and so on).

* {{Expy}}: The first game is a [[DarkerAndEdgier]] adaptation of the popular tabletop game ''{{TabletopGame/Clue}}'' - turned into a narrative story as seen from the eyes of the detective. Though many liberties were taken in order to make it as engrossing as it is, most of the setting and characters are based directly on the tabletop game. Most notable are the characters of Colonel [[IncrediblyLamePun Dijon]] (Mustard) and Ethel Prune (Plum), the many secret passageways throughout the mansion, and the various weapons used by the murderer during the game (poison, pistol, dagger, and so on).

* EveryoneLooksSexierIfFrench: Both [[TheVamp French people]] are ''massive'' flirts, and the first one is actually a [[{{Meido}} French Maid]], ... ooh la la..

During the eighties and early nineties, the world of [[AdventureGame Adventure Games]] belonged to {{Sierra}}. Games series like ''KingsQuest'', ''SpaceQuest'', ''PoliceQuest'', and ''QuestForGlory'', established the company's love of quests, and in 1989 there was ''Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest'', following in the same naming format of putting the word "quest" somewhere in the title of each game. The game was created by Roberta Williams of ''KingsQuest'' fame, and borrowed elements from Williams' ''Mystery House'', created in 1980 and known as one of the first graphical adventures.

* CassandraTruth: No one ''ever'' believes Laura when she warns them about the murders.

* IntrepidReporter: Laura in the second game.

During the eighties and early nineties, the world of [[AdventureGame Adventure Games]] belonged to {{Sierra}}. Games series like ''[[KingsQuest King's Quest]]'', ''SpaceQuest'', ''PoliceQuest'', and ''QuestForGlory'', established the company's love of quests, and in 1989 there was ''Laura Bow: The Colonel's Bequest'', following in the same naming format of putting the word "quest" somewhere in the title of each game. The game was created by Roberta Williams of ''[[KingsQuest King's Quest]]'' fame, and borrowed elements from Williams' ''Mystery House'', created in 1980 and known as one of the first graphical adventures.

Unlike most of Sierra's adventures, the game stood out in that it focused on gathering information and evidence by asking questions or overhearing conversations rather than the typical formula of putting two items together to achieve a goal, although there were a few item-based puzzles to solve that would help Laura obtain additional clues. The player was required to figure out for themselves what was going on by piecing together parts of the story. In the end of the game, you find two fighting people and get to shoot either of them, and will receive a "good" ending or a "bad" ending depending on which you pick. There were also many clues that did not have to be uncovered in order to win the game, increasing replayability and challenging the player to become an amateur sleuth.

* HaveANiceDeath: The shower scene mentioned above gives you the death message "didn't [[AlfredHitchcock Alfred]] teach you anything?"

* HiddenVillain: [[spoiler:Lilian]], who you do not find out as the murderer unless you search very hard.

* TheJeeves: Lampshaded with the butler ''named'' Jeeves!

* MultipleEndings: In the first game, you either [[spoiler:shoot the colonel, or do nothing and let Rudy kill him in the struggle, which is the bad ending]] or [[spoiler:shoot Rudy and injure him, resulting in the good ending.]] In the second game, it's get all the accusations wrong.

* PerfectPoison: in the first game, sleeping powder is used, and mixed with Alcohol.

* PunnyName: Steve Dorian, who has a job as a -- wait for it -- stevedore.

* DropInNemesis: various things Laura did could cause the murderer to appear out of nowhere in the first game, including taking a shower, in an homage to Psycho, complete with a snarky HaveANiceDeath.

* Homage: the aforementioned shower scene.