Do you view the King's Quest Companion as canon?

[Rock Knight]

I'm curious. I remember in the 'old days' (I'm only going back to the early '00s) the KQ Companion was taken to be a definitive non-game source. Nowadays, it's status as part of the official canon is in dispute. What is your stance?

[Numbers]

It's pretty non-canon to me. The reason? Well, the book's excuse for Graham throwing the bridle on the snake in KQ2 is basically that he reached for his sword and "accidentally" grabbed the bridle instead, letting go of it in surprise as he held it, and it landed perfectly on the snake.

L L

I think that speaks for itself.

[Jack Stryker]

^...Yeah, I totally don't buy that.  I'm pretty sure my hand would be able to tell the difference between a sword handle and a bridle strap.

Still, having never read it before, the book does spark my curiosity.  If nothing else, it could be worth a laugh.

[stika]

As someone who has written a few official companion books, I'd like to point out that these more often than not should not be viewed as cannon. Rather they should be viewed as bonuses or well, for the lack of a better word: companion pieces.

[JDHJANUS]

I mentioned this in another thread, but to add it hear for consistency:

I consider them canon in as much as they do not contradict the games themselves. Same with the King's Quest novels. They are officially licensed materials, and they do definitely expand the lore quite a bit, but at the same time, I'm also perfectly content in throwing the information out the window if the games (or one of the writers, such as Roberta, Jane, or Lorelei) contradict it themselves.

To be honest, as someone who has been a member of the King's Quest community since the late 90's, I think the biggest thing that put the Companions into question was the fact that The Silver Lining takes issue with several things mentioned in it (as well as several things mentioned in the games themselves). Again, I have no problem with this, as I don't consider TSL to be canon and therefore they can do whatever they want, but at the same time, I know several people do consider TSL to have some level canonicity, and as such, find that the KQ Companion materials that contradict it to be problematic.

In the end, you can take a "George Lucas" approach, where you only consider the games canon (GL has consistently pointed out he ONLY considers the six movies...well, I guess 9 now...to be canon, and all of the other books, comics, etc, despite being licensed by LucasFilm, to be fanfiction), or you can take the "official" approach (which would consider licensed materials to be canon and write off any inconsistencies as legend or misinterpretation of history), or you can consider all of it, fan games, fanfiction, licensed materials, and original games/manuals alike, and just write off all of the inconsistencies as part of existing in a fabulously wild and crazy multiverse.

Talk to you later!

JDHJANUS
Josh

[stika]

Just goes to show you how lore is an ever-breathing constantly changing entity

[Numbers]

Disney has stated that all the live-action movies, both past and future, The Clone Wars TV series, and Star Wars Rebels are all canon, and every single Star Wars book, comic book, or video game that comes out from this point forward will have its standing within the canon determined in advance. Lucas actually had nothing to do with it at all, other than handing the reigns over to other people, who decided what to do with his stuff on their own time.

On a related note, Lucas seems so much happier now that he isn't shouldering the franchise; remember how depressed he was in interviews when the prequels were being released? Not only was he not making his audience happy, he wasn't happy himself. It seemed like even the cast and crew hated working with him and each other. It's telling that only Ian McDiarmid, the actor for the Emperor, had anything positive to say in the wake of the prequel's release...probably because the Emperor himself was the single character that everybody universally loved (to hate).

But I guess that's a discussion for a different thread, huh?

[Neonivek]

The reason why these books often end up non-canon is because usually the development teams end up not wanting to read through the material or caring (this is when there is only officially licensed things).

I like to think of the Companion as canon. Mostly because, why else buy it?

If it is non-canon then it is just some useless piece of junk.

It's pretty non-canon to me. The reason? Well, the book's excuse for Graham throwing the bridle on the snake in KQ2 is basically that he reached for his sword and "accidentally" grabbed the bridle instead, letting go of it in surprise as he held it, and it landed perfectly on the snake.

L L

I think that speaks for itself.

As someone who has played the games... Graham doing something monumentally stupid and it working out in his favor... seems rather typical.

[stika]

It's pretty non-canon to me. The reason? Well, the book's excuse for Graham throwing the bridle on the snake in KQ2 is basically that he reached for his sword and "accidentally" grabbed the bridle instead, letting go of it in surprise as he held it, and it landed perfectly on the snake.

L L

I think that speaks for itself.

As someone who has played the games... Graham doing something monumentally stupid and it working out in his favor... seems rather typical.

Like Guybrush