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Gabriel Knight

Gabriel Knight is the title character in a series of adventure games produced by Sierra On-Line in the 1990s. more...

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Three games were released in the series: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within and Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned. It is unlikely that any more will follow, however, due to Sierra being dissolved by parent company Vivendi and disappointing sales of the third game in the series.

The Gabriel Knight characters and games were created by writer Jane Jensen, who also worked on King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow 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 sometime romantic interest Grace Nakimura is a major supporting character in Sins of the Father. In The Beast Within and Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, she shares the role of protagonist with Gabriel. The player alternates between Gabriel and Grace for different portions of each game.

The first episode of the series was released in 1993, and was one of many of Sierra's games at 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 on a given "day" must be completed in order to reach the next "day". This format was used throughout the series, replacing "days" with "chapters" and "time blocks" respectively. Each game also awards a number of "points" both for completing game required actions and for completing various optional puzzles along the way.

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.

The games

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (1993)

The first game in the series follows Gabriel as he follows the police investigation into a spate of killings which apparently have voodoo overtones. Gabriel is hoping to use the investigation as the basis of a new novel, but as the days of the case progress, he is drawn much deeper into a mystery which links the murder spree to the underworld of voodoo myth and practice, and towards a beautiful and mysterious New Orleans socialite. He also draws links between the case and an horrific recurring nightmare which has plagued him all of his life. Gabriel comes into contact with a lost relative in Germany who informs him of his family's heritage. Gabriel finds he has inherited the mantle of Schattenjäger, a sort of modern day Inquisitor, and that only by embracing his calling can he overcome the curse which has almost wiped out the Schattenjäger line and is the cause of both his nightmares and the Voodoo Murders. Gabriel travels to Germany and Africa, before returning to New Orleans for the denouement and has to choose between his personal desire and fulfilling his duty (the game offers two endings which differ as a result of Gabriel's actions)