Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
Developer(s)	Sierra On-Line, Inc.
Publisher(s)	Sierra On-Line, Inc.
Designer(s)	Jane Jensen (Game Designer/Director) [1] Robert Holmes (Producer/Composer) [1] Tom DeSalvo (Lead Programmer) [1]
Series	Gabriel Knight
Engine	SCI
Platform(s)	MS-DOS, Macintosh, Windows
Release date	NA December 17, 1993[2][3]
Genre(s)	Adventure
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)[4] USK: 12+[4] ELSPA: 11+[4]
Media	3.5" Floppy disk, CD-ROM
System requirements	PC 386 or higher; DOS 5.0+ or Windows 3.1+; 4 MB RAM, 1X CD-ROM Drive; VGA; SB compatible, Gravis Ultrasound, ProAudio; 20 MB Hard Disk space[5] Macintosh 68020 or higher, System 7.0+, 5 MB RAM (3 MB free), 1X CD-ROM Drive, Color, 20 MB Hard Disk space[5]
Input methods	Keyboard, Mouse[5]

Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers (also known as Gabriel Knight 1 or GK1) is a 1993 point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Sierra On-Line, Inc. (now Sierra Entertainment, a subsidiary of Vivendi Games). It is the first game of the Gabriel Knight series and was first released in North America on December 17, 1993, but has been subsequently re-released both individually and as Gabriel Knight Mysteries: Limited Edition, a compilation with The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery. The game follows the eponymous Gabriel Knight, a used bookstore owner and fledgling writer, as he investigates a series of local murders he plans to use as the basis for his first novel.

Sins of the Fathers was released cross-format as both a single CD-ROM disc and as a set of 11 3.5" floppy disks. The CD-ROM version included voice-acting by Tim Curry, Mark Hamill, Michael Dorn, Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., and Leah Remini among others. The CD-ROM version also included video sequences that the floppy version instead included as a sequence of still images.

[edit] Gameplay

The Icon bar displays the cursor icons, the inventory button, the recorder button, the active inventory item window, the score, the help button, and the controls button.

Sins of the Fathers is a point-and-click adventure game, played from a third-person perspective.^[3] Unlike newer graphical adventure games that use context-sensitive cursors that change based on what the cursor is hovering over, Sins of the fathers uses "dumb icons" or "dumb cursors" in which the correct cursor must be chosen for a specific interaction with an on screen object.^[6] The various cursors are accessed by either selecting the respective icon the "icon bar" or by cycling through the cursors in a predefined order. The available cursors are: WALK, LOOK, ASK, TALK, PICKUP, OPEN/CLOSE, OPERATE, and MOVE. Inventory items can also be used as cursors with the active inventory item also available in the cursor cycle. ^[7] Also located on the "icon bar" are the INVENTORY and RECORDER buttons, the active inventory item window, score, and the CONTROLS and HELP buttons. Clicking on the INVENTORY button will open up the inventory window, where items can be selected and combined as well as cursor icons that allow the player to use READ, OPEN, and LOOK commands with any inventory item.

"ASK" and "TALK" different in that "ASK" results in "interrogation mode" and is only available with main characters, while "TALK" results in general, usually shorter, interactions and is available for most characters. Interrogation mode allows the player to ask the main characters questions by clicking on a topic from the list displayed. Global Topics may be asked of any character and are always present in the lists while specific topics are unique to each character and are subject to change. Past conversations are accessible through the RECORDER button which opens a recorder tapes window that displays tapes for each of the main characters.

At certain points during the game, the player is required to translate and send Drum Codes and Voodoo Codes. This is done by either selecting the correct character for the Voodoo code or by selecting the correct sequence for the drum code. Once the phrase is complete the player will select the SEND button to send the message.

[edit] Synopsis

[edit] Setting

Sins of the Fathers is set primarily in and around New Orleans and includes such real life locations as the French Quarter, Tulane University, Jackson Square, St. Louis Cathedral, Lake Pontchartrain and St. Louis Cemetery #1. The game also includes locations in Bavaria and Africa.

[edit] Plot

The game 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 a 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 (in English, literally "shadow hunter"), 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 love and forgiveness or fulfilling his duty (the game offers two endings which differ as a result of Gabriel's actions).

[edit] Characters

For recurring characters, see Gabriel Knight (series)

Malia Gedde/Tetelo - Malia Gedde is Gabriel's love interest in the Sins of the Fathers. An wealthy African-American socialite, she is reserved and shuns from the public eye, as well as Gabriel's initial attempts to woo her. After reluctantly caving to Gabriel's advances, they fall in love. Gabriel comes to discover, however, that Malia is a member of the extensive New Orleans Voodoo cartel that is responsible for a spree of murders. Under the possessive influence of the loa Tetelo, of whom she is a descendant, she commits the ritualistic murders of the cartel's enemies during ceremonies against her own volition. Despite her obligations to her family and her cult, Malia defies Tetelo in order to save Gabriel's life, and he in turn must decide to whether to save her life or betray her to end Tetelo's influence on New Orleans once and for all. The player's choice affects the outcome of the game.

Dr. John - Dr. John is a Voodoo scholar from Haiti and curator of the Voodoo Museum in the French Quarter. He is happy for the opportunity to impart his extensive knowledge to Gabriel, but reveals little of his personal life. He owns a boa constrictor which Gabriel comes to suspect is the snake present at the crime scenes. When his suspicion turns out to be correct, Gabriel discovers that Dr. John is more than a Voodoo historian, but Malia Gedde's right hand man and high priest of the Voodoo cult. After Grace is kidnapped, he attempts to kill her as per Tetelo's demands, but is stopped by Mosely.

[edit] Development

The CD-ROM version featured voice talents of such well-known actors as Tim Curry as Gabriel and Robert the butler, Mark Hamill as his friend Detective Mosely and the Jeep driver in Africa, Leah Remini as Grace, and Michael Dorn as Dr. John, a proprietor of a voodoo museum in central New Orleans.

Voice Director: Stuart M. Rosen
Associate Producer: John E. Grayson

[edit] Reception

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Official Website from 2001
• Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers at MobyGames
• Gabriel Knight: Sins of The Fathers at Home of the Underdogs
• Review at Adventure Gamers
• Sierra Community Forums: Gabriel Knight

This adventure game-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.