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Gabriel Knight is a series of adventure games produced by the Sierra Corporation in the 1990s. Three episodes were developed in this series, and it is unlikely to expand in the future, as Sierra has left behind its legacy of adventure games. The game series is the product of writer Jane Jensen who also worked on King's Quest VI, with famed game designer Roberta Williams. All three episodes of the series focus on the adventures of Gabriel Knight, a New Orleans author turned witch hunter. The second and third episodes also closely follow the adventures of Grace, Knight's assistant and keeper of his bookstore, St. George's Books, in New Orleans.
The first episode of the series was released in 1993 as one of many of Sierra's games featuring a nonlinear format. To provide the format, the first episode used a system of "days" over which the episode unfolded. Each "day" has a required set of actions to be performed and will not complete until they are. As a result, linear dependencies of actions in the game are guaranteed to be resolved. This format was used throughout the series, replacing "days" with "chapters" and "time blocks" respectively.
Generalized description of the three episodes follows:
- Gabriel Knight - Sins of the Fathers -- The first game in the series follows Gabriel Knight on his daily life managing his bookstore and attempting to write a mystery novel. When a series of strange voodoo-related murders spring up near St. John's Eve, Gabriel begins an investigation for his book. What he uncovers is his family's heritage as Schattenjäger, or Shadow Hunters, and an ancient curse placed upon his family when an ancestor of his failed in his duty in colonial Charleston centuries ago. The curse has plagued Gabriel's family ever since and intertwines Gabriel's life with the voodoo killer. Gabriel's decision to place love or duty as the priority in his actions provides one of two possible endings. The game was produced using fairly standard Sierra animation techniques. A CD-ROM version featured famous voices such as Tim Curry, Mark Hamill and Michael Dorn.
- Gabriel Knight II - The Beast Within -- The second game in the series (1995) follows Gabriel Knight as he struggles to write his second novel. His novel based on the voodoo murders is a bestseller and he has moved to his ancestral home, Schloss Ritter, in the town of Rittersberg, Bavaria (Germany). Gabriel is called upon by people in Munich to investigate what is believed to be a werewolf attack. Grace travels to Rittersberg to assist in the investigation, and "chapters" of the episode alternate between the exploits of Gabriel and Grace. Together, they uncover the myth of the Black Wolf of Bavaria, suspicions of lycanthropy plaguing Ludwig II of Bavaria, and a lost Wagner opera. The game was created using techniques developed in Phantasmagoria, making it almost completely done in real-time video or video overlayed on rendered photograph. Unlike Phantasmagoria, however, GK2 is to this day considered one of the few successful examples of full motion video in a computer game. Gabriel Knight is played by Dean Erickson and Grace Nakimura by Joanne Takahashi. It should also be noted that Jane Jensen composed an opera for this game ("Wagner's Lost Opera").
- Gabriel Knight III- Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned -- Gabriel travels to France to investigate an incident of vampirism in a noble family and discovers a web of intrigue revolving around the legendary treasure of Rennes-le-Château. The plot is in part inspired (but not strictly) by the theory presented in the book Holy Blood, Holy Grail. As in the second episode, the game shifts back and forth between Gabriel and Grace. The engine used in this game is the third-person 3D system used in the latter episode of the King's Quest series and sees Tim Curry returning (he skipped part II) as the voice of Gabriel. Produced in 1999, the trilogy's finale is also the last adventure game published by Sierra Entertainment so far.
With a balanced mix of historical facts and fictional elements, as well as an emphasis put on character development (e.g. a relationship between Gabriel and Grace is an important subplot throughout the series), all Gabriel Knight installments often serve as an example of outstanding achievement in storytelling, regardless of the medium. The music in the series, composed by Robert Holmes (Jensen's husband, incidentally), contributes superbly to the storytelling and atmosphere, and is well-loved by the fans.
Sins of the Fathers and The Beast Within are also the titles of first two games' novelisations, written by Jensen herself.
External links
Quest Studios (http://queststudios.com) - music from Sierra Games, including Gabriel Knight, can be found here.
Schloss Ritter - Ancestral Residence of the Schateenjagers (http://www.geocities.com/ourchairweb/ritter) - a detailed fansite.
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