Compared to Zork I, I actually enjoyed King’s Quest.
The difference between the two is pretty obvious. One was all text and the other had visuals. And I have to say the visuals in King’s Quest made the game experience much more enjoyable. For a 1992 game, there were some actual detailed visuals. First off, from the intro, one can see the detailed animation that went into it. The water actually looked rough when it was sailing. Throughout the game, these animations in nature remained present. For example, some screenplay scenes would actually have moving leaves at the bottom of the screen as if there were winds blowing and when at the dock, the water was also moving. In fact, the water actually showed strong waves; however, not paying close enough attention, I jumped in the water and died. These animations help the player, the audience, feel immersed in the fantasy world of the game. In some cases, it even warns the player to beware of danger. Secondly, the game even gives hints as to what to notice sometimes. For example, the royal insignia on the beach was shining. Similarly, the book in the library was also shining. In addition, the game also wanted us to notice the glimmering eye in both the library and the castle. These hints allow the player to infer there’s something to do or think about. Lastly, visually, the scenes were created really well. In Zork, it was difficult to keep track of directions and where to go next; however, in King’s Quest, this difficulty is eliminated with clear paths and indications of buildings. It takes the imagination aspect away but allows for some ease. All in all, the visuals of King’s Quest enhance the game experience by much, compared to the frustration experienced in Zork .
Compared to Zork, the game play is also made easier. In Zork, the mechanics were text-based and required the players to type instructions. However, flaws to this input was that not all words were recognized, and it can be quite frustrating when that happens. On the other hand, in King’s Quest, there are only 4 or so mechanics: walking, selecting, talking, and looking. These mechanics are easily accessed with the mouse or the toolbar and have representative images for each action. This type of mechanics allowed the player to know what exactly they were doing. There was no ambiguity in it. This allowed for players to actually just enjoy the game and not worry about the technical things of the game. The mechanics provided for a better gameplay, thus coupled with visuals, enhance the game experience even more.
To further enhance the game experience, the story line of the game follows the widely used hero’s journey notion. This game follows a hero trying to save a damsel in distress. If this is not a hero’s journey plot, I don’t know what is! He is called to her through the mirror. He leaves his home, showing the beginning of his journey. He learns of the villain. he also has to complete small tasks and quests, such as getting the magic map, in order to move towards his goal of saving Princess Cassima. In addition, he faces potential perils and distractions as well, such as the swimmer boy encouraging him into the water. All of these aspects are part of the hero’s journey and because it is a game, the player is the clever and brave hero trying to save the princess. Although it may be a basic and overused storyline, players can’t help but feel intrigued to be the hero and try to prove for themselves that the good guy always wins.
Although our game will more follow the text-based interface of Zork, there is still things I’ve learned from King’s Quest that I would like to incorporate. The first would be to include visuals, even if it’s a standstill picture. Some visual is better than no visual. I might even also try to find some gifs and or stickers that have aminations to increase the visual aspect of my game. I already planned for my game to also follow a hero’s journey plot; however, I was struggling to make it more interesting. I think an idea I will be stealing form King’s Quest is a distraction, like the boy in the water. In addition, I may even make a wrong option and that automatically leads to death, thus ending the game for the player. This will make it more interesting and increase the risk factor to the game. I am excited to implement these methods to enhance my game’s game experience.
Writing About Magic - Angela Pham 