KQ9 development doc from Roberta Williams herself!

[GrahamRocks!]

So, this is rather interesting to me! Saw this on the wiki recently and thought it actually sounded really good! I'm good friends with someone who has actually spoken and interviewed the Williams', who at last long revealed their plans for a potential KQ9 long ago.

https://kingsquest.fandom.com/wiki/King%27s_Quest_IX

To quote the actual important part of the article as the title was:

Spoiler (mouse over to reveal):

King's Quest (9) "design doc"

Here’s the next King’s Quest (9) overall story:

King Graham, now elderly, was very grateful to the local knight, Connor, for saving the Kingdom of Daventry from the evil Archarchon, Lucreto, and restoring the Mask of Eternity to its salubrious, protective powers. So grateful, in fact, that he had given Connor the title of Marquis of Daventry, with the responsibility of securing the kingdom’s borders from any outside attacks or evil intentions. In the interim, a charismatic ‘healer,’ Rasputris, had wandered into Daventry and had imbedded himself into the household of the elderly king and queen by ‘curing’ them of their stiff aches and pains -- most related to the aftereffects of having been turned to stone in King’s Quest 8. Rasputris has made himself so important in the Daventry court that his powerful influence is now corrupting Daventry -- from the inside! Rosella has become very concerned about her parents and their sudden dependence on this itinerant drifter and she tries to evict him from the kingdom, but to no avail. It’s obvious that they are both heavily influenced by Rasputris and, indeed, are overwhelmed by him. What has he done to them? Rosella then enlists the aid of her brother, Alexander – now the King of the Land of the Green Isles – and Connor, the new Marquis of Daventry, to help ‘rescue’ King Graham and Queen Valanice from Rasputris’s evil clutches. But during their endeavors, they find that Rasputris is more than he seems – a dirty, unkempt wanderer with bright, hypnotic eyes. In reality he was an accomplice of Lucreto. Unfortunately, he had been accidentally blasted out of the Realm of the Sun when the Mask of Eternity was restored and is now in the process of taking over Daventry ‘from the inside’ in retaliation for Connor having defeated Lucreto and his evil plans. It will not be an easy task to root this powerful character out from Daventry!

And – you never know – maybe an affection will develop between Rosella and Connor? And poor Edgar? Hmmm….a struggle could commence between Edgar and Connor (but not in this game. In King's Quest 10)!

I think that Jane Jensen – if she would do it – but be the perfect designer for King’s Quest 9!

Not exactly the biggest fan of the love triangle idea myself (what's the point of setting up a romance between Edgar and Rosella if you're going to force in conflict from a character who Rosella never even met?! Don't get me wrong, Connor's a nice guy, but I never liked this idea and am not a huge fan of love triangles in general), but aside from that, this is genuinely an interesting idea and I kinda want someone to do something with it.

[Numbers]

Not exactly the biggest fan of the love triangle idea myself

King's Quest IX: New Moon.

Also, a KQ sequel that actually pays attention to continuity? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!

In all seriousness, this sounds pretty KQ6-esque to me (the villain is an evil advisor type again like Alhazred, with a little of Ad Avis from QfG thrown in there), just with multiple player characters, probably? And if those alpha screenshots on that page were anything to go by, KQ9 would've been even more action-y and less puzzle-y than MoE was. The plot sounds like an interesting enough concept, but I doubt they would've executed it well back then. But that's what fanfiction is for, right? Quick, somebody write a rough draft of this potential KQ9 before the name "Rasputris" is copyrighted!

[GrahamRocks!]

Not exactly the biggest fan of the love triangle idea myself

King's Quest IX: New Moon.

Also, a KQ sequel that actually pays attention to continuity? Someone pinch me, I must be dreaming!

In all seriousness, this sounds pretty KQ6-esque to me (the villain is an evil advisor type again like Alhazred, with a little of Ad Avis from QfG thrown in there), just with multiple player characters, probably? And if those alpha screenshots on that page were anything to go by, KQ9 would've been even more action-y and less puzzle-y than MoE was. The plot sounds like an interesting enough concept, but I doubt they would've executed it well back then. But that's what fanfiction is for, right? Quick, somebody write a rough draft of this potential KQ9 before the name "Rasputris" is copyrighted!

To clarify: those alpha screenshots are NOT from the Roberta document and thusly shouldn't be confused with that. Those screenshots are from another document done for another KQ9 without Roberta at the helm, by of all people Mark Seibert (yes, the guy who I typically think of as the official Sierra composer), and of which my source is actually gathering info for soon.

From what little I've seen of that Mark doc, that's a little odd story wise IMO, but don't take my word for it.

[Numbers]

Got it. The ol' reading comprehension isn't what it used to be. Yeah, that certainly seems more KQ-esque than Seibert's idea. Poor Edgar's getting the shaft again, though. Guy can't catch a break.

[GrahamRocks!]

I know, right?!