The Journey of the King
| The Journey of the King | |
|---|---|
| Game | |
 | |
| Main links | |
| Published | 24 November 2006 |
| Credits | |
| Author | Peter Nepstad |
| Publisher | Illuminated Lantern Publishing |
| Reception | |
| IFDB rating | 5 out of 5 (4 ratings) |
| Gameplay | |
| Interaction style |  Parser |
| Literary genres |  Fantasy  Religious |
| Language | English |
| Accessibility | Colour: none. Graphics: none (except for external cover art). Sound: none. |
| Technical details | |
| Authoring system | TADS 2 |
| Format | TADS 2 |
| License | Freeware |
| IFID | TADS2-14E9831725A97960D3BB4CAC54543CC6 |
| Browse the games database • Edit this page | |
How it begins
You are Ebalon, King of Zarkandhu. All of Zarkandhu is your domain and all within it are your possessions.
You sit on your throne in your palace's audience chamber, attended to by the large retinue of guards and attendants who serve your every need. All your retinue is nameless and beneath your notice except for Istahn, your cupbearer. Istahn serves you the wine of your ancestors in the goblet of the King. The chamber itself contains several luxuries, including ornaments, furs, silk, and braziers. The exit to the courtyard is to the east.
You are troubled by a question: who will meet the King on life's other shore? You sent the dancers and singers away from the palace and have summoned prophets to answer you. You must learn the answer to your question.
Notable features
- Adaption of the story The Journey of the King by Lord Dunsany, first published in 1906 in the short story collection Time and the Gods. It is available online from Project Gutenberg at http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/8183.
- The "Dunsanian" style of English may be difficult for some players to understand on first reading.
- Conversation with NPCs is done via conversation menus initiated with a "TALK TO [person]" command.
- Mildly unusual approach to inventory and PC identity. Since the player-character is the King, he already owns everything and has a retinue to carry things for him. The PC rarely carries anything personally, although the carried items are still listed in via the "inventory" command. Likewise, a similar approach is taken with certain actions; for example, a command like "look under cushions" is performed by the servants, not the king.
- Multiple endings.
Trivia and Comments
- Cover art: "Salome Dancing Before Herod" by Gustave Moreau (1874–1876).
Versions
Version 1.0
Date: 24 November 2006
- The Journey of the King (Peter Nepstad; publisher: Illuminated Lantern Publishing; 24-Nov-2006; TADS 2).
- "Written by Lord Dunsany. Implemented by Peter Nepstad."
Version 1.1
Date: Date unknown
- The Journey of the King (Peter Nepstad; publisher: Illuminated Lantern Publishing; TADS 2).
- IFID: TADS2-14E9831725A97960D3BB4CAC54543CC6
IFID links: IFDB - Download king.zip from the IF Archive.
- The story file is king.gam.
- IFID: TADS2-14E9831725A97960D3BB4CAC54543CC6
Related games
- Part of "Tales of Wonder":
- The Journey of the King (Peter Nepstad; publisher: Illuminated Lantern Publishing; 2006; TADS 2).
- The Ebb and Flow of the Tide (Peter Nepstad; publisher: Illuminated Lantern Publishing; 2006; TADS 2).
| Tales of Wonder by Peter Nepstad | ||
| The Journey of the King (2006) The Ebb and Flow of the Tide (2006) | ||
Links
N.B. Many IF Archive games are temporarily unavailable in the UK.
- The Journey of the King homepage at Illuminated Lantern.
- The Journey of the King (archived) - at Baf's Guide
- The Journey of the King - at IFDB
Date: 24 November 2006
Date: Date unknown