Gray matter anyone

Sure Bafitis. This one won´t take long

She was part of the Kings Quest 6 crew, but that game doesen´t count since it wasn´t Janes game and has nothing to do with the topics she likes to deal with.
The games she is responsible for are:

1.Gabriel Knight - Sins of the Fathers ( 1993, classical point and click comic game- but at the same time very dark and depressive. Atmospheric overkill, great characters, fascinating story etc. )

2. Gabriel Knight2 - The beast within ( 1995, Full motion video game , Like the first one it´s just to good to be true. Incredible story line, atmospheric overkill, very melancholic , the music is nearly to good to be explained in words, but that goes for every GK game. There is an enormous depth in this game, and it often reminds me more of a novel, which is no surprise, since Jane is a bookauthor as well- The problem is the same here as with the other GK games if I mention all the great sides of this game I´ll still be sitting here next christmas )

3. Gabriel Knight3 - Blood of the sacred, blood of the damned (1999, A 3d Adventure- I think it is not as perfect as part 1 and 2 but it still is one of the best games out there in my opinion. Great and complex story , wonderful atmosphere and again GK3 features more depth than most other adventure games of this millennium together)

On youtube there is a 3 min. collage by a fan , with live scenes from all three games. Most scenes are from GK2 as you can see by the FMV sequences. Personally I think that collage could have been done better( at least when it comes to the material used from part1 and3, the choices from part2 are good) but hey at least you can see something of the games and hear some more of Robert Holmes wonderful soundrack. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAmbQspP3qk


That´s it- It´s these 3 games that made her an adventure legend and brought her lots of awards .
Jane would love to do a fourth part, but Sierra is still owning the rights and they´re not planinng to release adventure games ( ) But just like her I believe there will be a GK4 one day, probably someone will have to buy the rights for her. Despite that the new game Gray matter is planned to be the start of a new series.

So it's just the Gabriel Knight Series for the most part...

I have the King's Quest Collection...

Just those 3 and this new Gray Matter... Kewl... Thanks...

Those 3 Gabriel Knights, what are they about??? They sound like they might be more medieval time type...

I also see that they are from the early to late 90s, how do I get them to run on XP???

VonGlower wrote:Jane would love to do a fourth part, but Sierra is still owning the rights and they´re not planinng to release adventure games ( ) But just like her I believe there will be a GK4 one day, probably someone will have to buy the rights for her. Despite that the new game Gray matter is planned to be the start of a new series.

I guess my question is....and I'm sure more suited to the GK forums, is if she's one of the co-founders of Oberon games, and it doesn't look like a small potatoes company, why wouldn't they cut a deal with Vivendi Games? (sierra's parent co.) It's not like the company isn't making money with WOW, and with other MMO's in the works. If they aren't interested in making adv titles anymore, license it out, keep the rights, split the profits. I do guess they'll want proof that there can be some $$$ made. And it looks like Oberon is making all sorts of deals to market to gamers. Seems like a win/win here.

If I had to guess....I'd say GK's future ties in on the success or failure of Gray Matter.

In a totally unrelated note, Baf, did you actually download and watch Stolen Life?

Not yet, but I Do Plan to... The 5 minute {give or take some seconds} Trailer I saw, looks really good...

It's only 10 bucks... So even if it turns out to be not so good, nothing really lost...

I´m a bit in a hurry now so I´ll tell you Bafitis what the games are about a little later but what I can say is that all 3 games work on current pcs without problems.
For GK1 there is a special installer that will make it work on XP perfectly.
There is an installer for GK2 aswell , that also allows you to make 1 DVD out of 6 CD Roms.
Even though I never had trouble to play GK2 without installer.I never had problems with GK3 either, but some others had. But even in that case there is a ( not very hard ) way of making it work. So there is no problems on the technical side, you should be able to get the games on ebay without problems. By the way there is also a bundle called Gabriel Knight Mysterys which contains GK1 ,GK2 and the soundtrack.


If needed somewhen I can send you the installers or the links to them.

Please, do post the links. I'm very interested.

-Fred

I will definitely let you know if I need the links or files...
Thanks...

I am so out of date on computer games. I guess that's why I love the Tex Murphy games so much...they are familiar to me and so much fun. Now a days, you have to pretty much upgrade your system every 3 months just to keep up with the technology...I have no money, or ambition to do that..maybe if I hit the lottery..hmmmm

The Gabriel Knights that he is talking about is from the 90s...

That´s right they´re from the 90s. And beside that I played many current adventures on a really crappy laptop. The hardware recommendations of modern adventures are pretty low so even a lot of computers that are out to date for other genres can handle them.
And now I´ll go and have a look for the installers and then I´ll tell you ( Bafitis) what the GK games are about.

Kewl... Good to know... ;}

Ok here is the link to the Gabriel Knight 1 and 2 Installers.
http://vogons.zetafleet.com/gkpatches/
You have to scroll down the page a bit and on the left side you´ll find the installers
Have fun with it

I was pretty sad for years because I wasn´t able to play GK1 again on newer operating systems, but that patch made me able to finally play it again. And just like years before I was completely blown away. I´ve never played any game that went under my skin like the first 2 GK games and that is actually a quality you can´t really expect from a computer game.

Ok Bafitis so here is a raw plot description (It is not from me, it´s quoted from the website http://www.gabrielknight4campaign.com Just one word from me, the storylines of the GK games are really complex so it´s nothing but a very raw description.
GK1 :


In Sins of the Fathers, the first game in the series, we meet Gabriel Knight, a charming and rakish writer from New Orleans, who manages to survive by running a rare book shop called St George's. His nights are tormented by a recurring nightmare depicting a mysterious tragedy set in the past, which ends with his death; in addition to this, his newest novel with a voodoo theme is not proceeding as he would like.

His situation changes radically when he follows the track of a series of brutal murders taking place in the city - murders which seem to be linked to the ancient New Orleans voodoo cult. Hoping to get some inspiration for his book, Gabriel starts investigating on his own and as the clues thicken, they seem to lead to Malia Gedde, an upper-class and inaccessible woman with whom Gabriel falls in love. But the clues also lead, surprisingly, to Gabriel himself. Is it coincidence or destiny?

A shadow lies on his family history, and the sins of the fathers will fall on their descendants. To save his life and those of his dear ones, Gabriel will have to confront his fate, and make the most difficult choice of his life. In fact, Gabriel discovers he is descended from an ancient German family of Schattenjägers - literally "shadow hunters", servants of the light fighting the forces of evil since the most remote times. The Ritter family went into a slow decline from the time when one of his ancestors, Gunther Ritter, fell in love with the African witch he was hunting and then betrayed her – in the process losing both his life and the family talisman. Gabriel's grandfather, Heinz Ritter, had tried to escape his duty by searching for refuge in America and changing his name to Henry Knight...events will force Gabriel to take his role as the new Schattenjäger, stop the Voodoo cult and defeat Tetelo (the evil spirit into which the formerly betrayed African witch metamorphosed).


GK2:



Is Gabriel Knight, writer and now inhabitant of Schloss Ritter in Rittersberg, Bavaria, ready to take on his role as a Schattenjäger (shadow-hunter)? It is the time of trial by fire in this second Gabriel Knight game, The Beast Within. A baby has been attacked and killed, apparently by a wolf, but the locals believe it was the deed of a werewolf. That would require the intervention of a Schattenjäger.

With Grace in Bavaria, furious at having been left out of the werewolf investigation, Gabriel thinks he can keep her out of trouble by directing her towards researching apparently irrelevant historical events, such as the life of the bizarre King Ludwig II of Bavaria. He never imagines it might lead to vital information for the case. And as the circle of suspects tightens, involving people close to Gabriel and members of the hunting club (which Gabriel joined in order to know more about the disappearance of a couple of wolves from the Munich zoo), it becomes clear that it is where the shadows end that the hunt shall begin.
- Note frome me - I had to cut out the middle part because it was spoiling too much about events that take place towards the end of the game-
His only hope for salvation is a legendary opera written by Richard Wagner for King Ludwig and now lost, but even finding the opera might not be enough. Will he resist the temptation of experiencing virtually untrammelled freedom of choice? This time not even Grace, his faithful and caring right hand, can tell what will happen. Nothing is left, but hope.

GK3:


In the third Gabriel Knight game, Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, five years have passed since Gabriel’s last Schattenjäger case. Gabriel and Grace are called to Paris by Prince James Stuart of Albany. He wants them to watch and protect his little son Charlie from the “night visitors”, a curse which for centuries has caused members of the Stuart family to wake up weak and pale as if blood had been drained from their veins. What initially appears to be a case of vampirism turns into something bigger when the baby is kidnapped. Gabriel chases the “night visitors” and manages to jump on their same train, but loses their track in Languedoc not far from the small village of Rennes-le-Château.

This time Gabriel and Grace’s investigations are not easy at all: Rennes-le-Château is famous for its unsolved mystery involving the Visigoths, the Cathars and Knights Templar. A group of treasure-hunters attending an organised tour is eager to solve the mystery and find the source of the legendary wealth Abbe Bérenger Saunière had found a hundred years before, which is said to be still hidden somewhere in the area. In addition, many picturesque individuals inhabit the valley. Which of these – if any – is the kidnapper?

Finding the key to long-forgotten enigmas, discovering the truth among twenty centuries of lies and digging out past secrets and heresies requires the skills of a modern-day investigator. But blood never lies, and it will find its way towards the light. However, no one can toy with it harmlessly, for it has enormous power. And it can ruin even the purest love, the love which has been awaiting five years to blossom...

And here are some of the awards ( and there have been way more):
GK1:
Best of E3 award — Computer Game Review, 1993
Adventure Game of the Year — Computer Gaming World, 1994
Adventure Game of the year — Strategy Plus

GK2:
Game of the Year — Computer Gaming World, 1996
Adventure Game of the Year — Strategy Plus, 1995
Adventure Game of the Year — PC Gamer, 1996
Best Story award — Gamespot 1996
Editor`s Choice Award — PC Gamer, March 1996
Golden Triad award — Computer Game Review, March 1996

GK3:
Best Adventure Game of Show — CES from IGN PC
Adventure Game of the Year — Gamer's Gazette/Future Games Network, 1999
Adventure Game of the Year — CNET Gamecenter, 1999
Adventure Game of the Year — Computer Games Magazine, 1999
Adventure Game of the Year — Computer Games Online, 1999
Jane Jensen, All-Star Lead Writer — 1999 PC Accelator Awards
Charity James as Grace Nakimura, Best Actress — 1999, PC Accelator Awards
Adventure Game of the Year — Gamespot's 1999 Reader's Choice Awards

@ Bafitis ( and everyone else who is interested in the series)
I recently wrote classic reviews for GK1 and 2 for the german site http://www.adventurecorner.de
- I´ll post you the links to the screenshot gallerys from these two reviews, so you can not only read the plot description but also see a lot of Screenshots.

GK 1 Screenshots:
http://www.adventurecorner.de/gallery.php?id=362

GK2 Screenshots:
http://www.adventurecorner.de/gallery.php?id=365

I see the Installer File for Part 1, but I only see a Patch for Part 2, is that pretty much the same??? It's called an Interlace Patch... Does it get installed before or after the game gets installed???

I'm sorry to pick your brain, the instructions are probably easily found if I looked... LOL