Remember that easter egg in Laura Bow 2? The painting in which King Graham is tortured by skeletons in hell?
No seriously, that could be a nod to a hero becoming villain
.
Ponders though, Activision creating a game set in the King's Quest universe but in the same genre as God of War/Dante's Inferno/Castlevania: Lords of Shadow type game... Having to fight your way out of hell at some point, and saving heaven... With puzzle/exploration sequences tossed in between intense epic fighting sequences...
In the world of reboots and semi-reboots and truncated titles they could just call the game King's Quest (with no numbers or subtitles), to draw interest for the game (sort of what they did with Wolfenstein (2009) or Medal of Honor (2010)).
Classic adventure game genre might be a nail away from being buried in the ground... But I think the King's Quest universe is fascinating enough to inspire and be used in games of several different genres. There could even be potential for an MMO, based on the various lands that have been introduced already.
My dream is for King's Quest to become a world unto itself, like Dungeons & Dragons is. Many stories, many families, many kingdoms, worlds and adventures to explore. I think "King's Quest", the universe, can go beyond the Royal Family of Daventry.
Look at
Adventure in Serenia--That sort of idea. It's the same universe, indeed, same land as KQ5, just different characters with no direct connection to King's Quest.
I think a "God of War" style King's Quest, as long as it kept the world (and PERHAPS some of the characters, or at least a referrence to them--Perhaps you could play a Knight in Graham's court, or even King Edward's) could be awesome. There's still plenty of stories to tell, and I think they should be VERY mythology, fable, literature and fairy tale based. Not so much focus on the characters but instead the stories and the mythology that the story is wrapped around.
Hell, even a basic story like the story of Graham's grandfather defeating the Dragon of Herenna--Without involving Gods or Hell or Heaven--could be awesome if done right. Or even a prequel to KQ1, exploring what gave Graham the title as the bravest knight of Daventry.
You could even explore stories perhaps about the "Next generation"--The children of Alex and Cassima, or Edgar and Rosella. You could do something out of the blue and take a peasant, like Connor, and make him a Knight. Indeed, having Connor be a peasant was no coincidence--I think a subtle part of the storyline was that you didn't have to be a "Noble" to be Noble, or brave, even though that's what was commonly thought in the real medieval ages.
There is so much that can be done with the universe of King's Quest. All it takes is imagination.