Gabriel Knight

Gabriel Knight is the title character in a series of adventure games produced by the Sierra Corporation in the 1990s. Three games were released in the series; it is unlikely that any more will follow, however, due to Sierra's dismantling by parent company Vivendi and the general decline of adventure game sales. The Gabriel Knight characters and games were created by writer Jane Jensen, who also worked on King's Quest VI with famed game designer Roberta Williams. All three games in the series focus on the adventures of Gabriel Knight, a New Orleans author and bookstore owner who finds that his destiny is to become a Schattenjäger, or "Shadow Hunter". Gabriel's assistant, sidekick, and sometimes romantic interest Grace Nakimura is a major supporting character in GK I. In GK II and GK III, she shares the role of protagonist with Gabriel. The player alternates between Gabriel and Grace for different portions of the game.

Related Topics:
Adventure game - Sierra Corporation - 1990s - Vivendi - Jane Jensen - King's Quest VI - Game designer - Roberta Williams - New Orleans - Author - Bookstore - Schattenjäger

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The first episode of the series was released in 1993, one of many of Sierra's games of the time to feature a nonlinear format. The first game used a system of "days", each of which had a required set of actions to be performed before proceeding to the next. As a result, linear dependencies of actions in the game are guaranteed to be resolved: a puzzle in the second "day" must have been completed to reach the third "day". This format was used throughout the series, replacing "days" with "chapters" and "time blocks" respectively.

Related Topics:
1993 - Nonlinear

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With a balanced mix of historical facts and fictional elements, as well as an emphasis on character development (e.g. the relationship between Gabriel and Grace is an important subplot throughout the series), the Gabriel Knight games have been praised as outstanding achievements in storytelling. The music in the series, composed by Robert Holmes (Jensen's husband), contributes significantly to the atmosphere.

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