King’s Quest VI takes place in a medieval-fatansical setting, therefore Alexander’s rhetoric is far more sophisticated than other games we’ve looked at. The rhetoric, accompanied by animations and voice-acting creates a very immersive atmosphere. Having the power to interact with different characters who have scripted dialogue, it’s very easy for the player to fill Alexander’s shoes. With the accompaniment of music, this game really aims towards influencing the player’s pathos. The first time I played this game, I drowned by trying to find the swimmer who disappeared in the ocean. Unfortunately, I got swept out to sea and died. The second time, I jumped in when the boy was there, and he didn’t bother to save me and I died a second time. Here, the story is telling me to be wary of strangers, which makes sense to why it was intentionally scripted that the merchant was a “man he could trust”. This also says something about the hostility and evil of this world. Since this game exists in a setting we aren’t familiar with, there is a lot of context revealed in the characters dialogue.
Once I realized that I could toggle between the actions options by right clicking, it was much easier for me to get through the game. Similar to Zork, it’s important for the player to look around in every area, because there’s always something hidden. In Zork, the hidden trapdoor was only revealed when you moved the rug. In King’s Quest VI, when you move the wooden plank on the beach, there’s a box where the player can find a gold coin. Since King’s Quest VI has graphics, it’s easier for the player to remember Alexander’s path. In Zork, there were many times when I would type random directions because I couldn’t remember where I was.
Alexander’s call to adventure is to reunite with his lost love, Princess Cassima. He is clearly an outsider, and has to face the largest obstacle, the evil vizier, who clearly is manipulating royal power. In his monologue about Cassima’s family, he says, quite suspiciously, “I assure you, our marriage is all Cassima wants now.” While I haven’t gotten to the part where we compete for her love, it’s evident that we will talk to him again, even though he kicked us out of the castle. While I definitely haven’t reached the growth part of his journey, we meet a helper on the ship who gives me information about the magic map. I find it funny, because the merchant said “Advice is free Alexander, make use of it costs so much more,” and while the information of the magic map was free, I had to exchange my ring. I’m sure the trials and errors will happen once you explore the different Isles more.
Without even knowing that this game has fantasy elements, the merchant Alex has the ability to talk to says, “This is no ordinary land.” I think King’s Quest VI does a brilliant job world-building from the get-go. Even though it had animations, it accompanied them with specific details of a character’s appearance or personality so the player could create a full picture. While my game won’t have any motion mechanics, it’s very important for me to establish world-building through dialogue and create characters that are easy for the player to visualize. Also, one thing I noticed about this game was it’s use of constraints. Both Zork and this game have many constraints, which allows the player to still be able to deviate from the main story, but not get lost in the world. For example, I walked around the side of the castle and thought I could keep going, but a large boulder was in my way.
Elle the Warlock 