{"id":5256,"date":"2014-10-01T07:36:05","date_gmt":"2014-10-01T14:36:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/?p=5256"},"modified":"2021-07-09T11:12:00","modified_gmt":"2021-07-09T18:12:00","slug":"gabriel-knight-the-game-changer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/gabriel-knight-the-game-changer\/","title":{"rendered":"Gabriel Knight: The Game Changer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Considered as a break from past Sierra games, Gabriel Knight \u2013 Sins of the Fathers\u2019<\/em><\/a> plot centered around a novelist researching on voodoo related material for his new book. Taking place in then-present day New Orleans allowed Jane Jensen to weave a setting with a strong backstory and personality. Voodoo in New Orleans is closely tied to African religions, Christianity and slave trading – topics which even to this day most media tend to shy away from.<\/p>\n

Gabriel Knight,<\/em> however, approached these with due respect and consideration, using this basis to add a strong, believable cast. Voodoo is often sensationalized by the media and as such it would be easy to create a watered down version as a mere plot device for the story. However, writer Jane Jensen chose instead to educate the player on its origins, rituals and dispel misconceptions regarding it.<\/p>\n

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A lecture on Voodoun<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The game focused predominantly on New Orleans voodoo, though it also touches upon other forms including Haitian. Moreover, it casts great prominence on Marie Laveau, a voodoo queen who rose to power in the mid-19th<\/sup> century. It goes through great lengths to teach players on her historical significance without breaking immersion. All of this additional information is optional but highly encouraged so as to aid players to fully immerse themselves in the story.<\/p>\n

Gabriel\u2019s family also shares an important history. Being a descendent of German immigrants, we learn the origins of his family name and past. Even today most titles do not go into so much detail on the backstory of their main character, much less his ancestry.<\/p>\n

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Gabriel\u2019s ancestors<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Religion and history aren\u2019t the only factors Gabriel Knight<\/em> dared to tread ground. Sex and relationships also play a role in shaping its story. From the beginning of the game it\u2019s made clear both Gabriel and his assistant, Grace share a sexual tension and take sex pills<\/a> together. This isn\u2019t directly told to us, but rather it\u2019s a realization that comes through the interactions the two exchange.<\/p>\n

We are also introduced to Malia, who shares a physical relationship with Gabriel. The story makes the nature of their affair clear without showing or explaining to players. Morever, it plays an important part in the story which ties into the game\u2019s themes.<\/p>\n

Finally, we have the iconic and thematic imagery for Gabriel Knight. This is handled mostly through the number three, snakes, dragons and a circle within a circle. All of these play an important role in the plot but once again they are never explicitly stated. Rather, it is up to players to remain observant and draw their own conclusions from the visual or written hints they are shown.<\/p>\n

In a time when adventure games relied on high fantasy, science fiction and humor, Gabriel knight<\/em> took a multitude of risks. It dealt with religion, dipped in one of the most controversial periods in western history and did not shy away from mature themes. It was a brave entry in a medium that at the time was still often viewed as childish and immature.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\"image\"
\nGon\u00e7alo Gon\u00e7alves<\/a>
\nSocial Media Associate
\nPhoenix Online Studios<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a time when adventure games relied on high fantasy, science fiction and humor, Gabriel knight took a multitude of risks. It dealt with religion, dipped in one of the most controversial periods in western history and did not shy away from mature themes. It was a brave entry in a medium that at the time was still often viewed as childish and immature.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":35036,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36,43],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/35036"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5256"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6934,"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5256\/revisions\/6934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.postudios.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}