Memories of Daventry

Re-viewing the trailer for the fan-made King's Quest game "The Silver Lining" makes me reflect on how invested I am in the characters and history of this series. Funny and/or ironic, for a bunch of point-and-click (and before that, walk-and-type) adventure games built around cryptic and unforgiving puzzles (many of which I doubt I'd have ever solved on my own), bits and pieces of various fairy tales, and a sprinkling of terrible jokes. But I think what holds my interest, and inspires so many fond thoughts, are the original characters - beginning with Graham himself, a wandering knight who becomes a king and then a father, and the members of his family, most of whom get a turn as the hero(ine) of their own stories. I know these people; over the course of a decade (1984-1994; I don't count 1998's Mask of Eternity, the first attempt at a reboot) and a couple of movies' worth of evolving multimedia (from blocky graphics and bloops and bleeps to digitized paintings, rendered cutscenes and full scores), I have walked in their shoes through fantastic lands, experienced both setbacks and triumphs with them, faced peril and offered kindness (which is almost always rewarded).

After the latest reboot by the Odd Gentlemen (which has things I like and things I really don't), the continuation of the series seems unlikely, but maybe that's for the best. Perhaps it's time to close this book, and let them have their happily-ever-after.