Classic Video Game Series King's Quest Returns with The Silver Lining

Back in the 90s before the Xbox came up with the Red Ring of Death, Nintendo released collectible little monsters that have an inexplicable appeal to collectors, and Sony invented the Blu-Ray, one of the staples of video gaming was the point and click adventure. And one of the quintessential point and click adventure game series was King's Quest by Sierra.

Roberta Williams, pretty much the mother of the graphical adventure game genre, created King's Quest as a series of games spanning the dynasty of the Graham family in the fictional medieval kingdom of Daventry. The first game detailed the quest of Graham the brave knight as he reclaimed Daventry's mystical treasures, restored the dying kingdom to prosperity, and took over as king. The second game introduced him to his future queen as he went on a quest to rescue her. The third quest took place after King Graham's twin children were kidnapped and an evil magician loses against his enslaved servant who turns out to be none other than King Graham's son Alexander. The fourth quest focused on Alexander's twin sister Rosella who embarked on her quest to find a cure to her father's heart attack. The fifth quest returns focus on the invigorated King Graham as he has to rescue his entire family from the brother of the villain of the third King's Quest. The sixth quest sent Alexander to find the love of his life. The last game of the series sent Queen Valanice and Princess Rosella on one final quest where Rosella found her one love.

Eventually the point and click adventure genre began dying out. Partially to blame were the aforementioned gaming consoles from Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft. Also to blame was the fact that despite the improved graphics the gameplay remained stagnant. Game pretty much consisted of grabbing everything that was not nailed to the game environment and rubbing it over random bits until the story progressed.

But now fans of the classic game series have banded together to form Phoenix Online Studios and create a series of free episodic games in King's Quest: The Silver Lining. Judging from the game trailer, it looks like all the members of the Graham royal family will have their own troubles or chapters to deal with before facing off against the main antagonist. The graphics are good for today's standards. Episodic games give players chapters of the story that are quick to produce, cheap to sell, and quick to play while waiting for the next chapter.

Activision initially served Phoenix Online a cease and desist order for the game. But after negotiations, The Silver Lining has the green light for a July 10th release date of the first chapter. Fans of the original game or gamers interested in learning about a classic genre are encouraged to try out King's Quest: The Silver Lining.