Mask of Eternity Development

From King's Quest Omnipedia

Yes, this was the only KQ game that was not fully developed at one location. The idea was to leverage the 3D engine Dynamic was building in Eugene. We were to use their engine and focus mostly on content. The problem was that the engine work ended up WAY behind schedule and that had disastrous results on our content development. To make a long story short, we finally took what they had and finished it ourselves. Unfortunately, by the time we did this the project was way behind schedule, way over budget, and we still didn't have an engine. We scrambled to complete the project and it unfortunately showed. It saddens me to have had the King's Quest series end with a product that suffered so.

Yes, the castle entered through the passageway behind the waterfall is Castle Daventry. The reason you don't see much of it is that it was damaged in the opening scene. That is why you can only go so far in before you find blocked passageways. We wanted to originally let you explore the entire castle, find the royal family turned to stone, etc, etc, but as you know, things had to be cut and this was one of the many things that was easy to have a story reason why not to do it.

So yes, many things were cut - the leprechaun, the Red Capped goblin, I think two complete levels, and then MANY major cutbacks on what is there. As you point out, a good example is the Swamp Witch. In the original script as it was developing, her part was much larger. But as we had to devote time to technical issues, the aesthetic issues and the amount of detail and breadth of content continued to get chopped. Remember, this was also right at the time the industry was saying that "Adventure gaming is dead." It was not easy to convince marketing to invest more to develop an adventure game. The end result was that we shipped what we could, and it was a pretty sad showing for such a great series.

-Mark Seibert, March 11, 2006.

[edit] Story Development

KQ8 will be set in Daventry -- at the beginning of the game, at least. YOU will be a brand new character -- a marble statue of a knight which has been brought to life through an accidental reversal of a spell which turned King Graham and his family into stone (by an evil sorcerer)...as the knight -- can save them and then get the chance to become a "real man" in the end (a la Pinocchio). Princess Rosella might be SO grateful that he saved her and her family that...who knows? ... At first the story of KQ8 was going to involve a sort of ?evil magic? which causes everybody in Daventry - including King Graham and his family - to turn to stone while, conversely, this same magic would cause a reverse effect on a stone statue?bringing it alive. Then - this ?guy? would have to set out to figure out the cause of this evil magic and try to save the people of Daventry by defeating the source of this evil. As the story (and the game) developed, though, the story began to change. Now - it involves a ?normal citizen? of Daventry (Connor of Daventry) who survives the onslaught of evil magic, managing, somehow, to ?stay alive,? while the rest of the citizenry turns to stone. Connor figures out that the source or cause of this ?magic? involves a sacred golden object called the ?Mask of Eternity.? A piece of this mask saved him?and it will be the means by which the rest of humanity will be saved?.but it?s up to him to accomplish that immense task.[1]

The Mask of Eternity is no mere sword and sorcery adventure. You enter the Kingdom of Daventry as Connor mac Lyrr (the son of a fisherman), who alone has been passed over by an evil spell that turned every mortal inhabitant to stone. Connor must find a way to restore them to flesh and blood. At the heart of the dilemma is the The Mask of Eternity, which was broken into seven pieces and scattered by the Cosmic Winds to seven different lands at the moment of Connor's birth. A piece of the Mask touched Connor as he was born, leaving a vivid scar on his cheek. He carries this scar as an adult - a sign that he has been marked for greatness. The quest to find the seven pieces of the Mask and restore them to the Island Temple is his destiny. Only by accomplishing this can he end the chaos that now rules the land.

-Interaction Magazine, Fall 1996.

The backstory: Twenty years before the time of the game, a magic mask analogous to the Holy Grail exploded into seven pieces which - surprise - were scattered hither and yon on the cosmic winds. In this newest King's Quest installment, we meet Conner, the son of a poor fisherman, born at the instant of the momentous explosion and marked, figuratively and literally, by a piece of the enchanted shrapnel. In the present-day of Conner's 20th year, a horrible chaotic spell sweeps across the land - never mind why, it just does - turning all mortals to stone except the auspicious Conner. His only hope to restore the pebbled populace of Daventry is to locate the seven fragments of the mask...[2]

"With past King's Quest games I focused around the Royal Family," Roberta Explains. "But I've done just about as much as I could with the Royal Family. I knew I needed to bring in a new character, and I wanted the character to be less Disney-ish and more cerebral. The spiritual father of Mask is J.R.R. Tolkien not Walt Disney," she concluded firmly. Connor is very much a new character. He is an inhabitant of Daventry, a kingdom he doesn't rule but whose fate lies in his hands. A terrible curse has turned all of the people living in Daventry, including the Royal Family themselves, into stone. Connor must find the answers behind the curse, including why it's been imposed, who imposed it, and, possibly most importantly, why he alone has been spared the terrible fate of his comrades. Connor is a warrior and it's his combination of strength, cunning, intuition, and intellect that makes him best-suited to save the kingdom.

-Interaction Magazine, Fall, 1997

It would seem the King's Quest series has grown up a bit with the creation of Mask. Evidence of this continually surfaces throughout the game but is especially apparent with the central antagonist and Archarchon, Lucreto. His storyline parallels that of Lucifer, the fallen angel whose attempt to overtake Heaven ends him up in Hell.

-Interaction Magazine, Fall, 1997

[edit] World Development

Connor mac Lyrr takes in the panoramic view of a river of lava in the lands of fire. Getting across could be a big problem.-Interaction Magazine, Fall 1996.

Will it bear such hallmarks as the Kingdom of Daventry?... Connor begins his adventure in the Kingdom of Daventry, but he doesn't stay there long. Seven new lands await!... The world of King's Quest: The Mask of Eternity reaches from the sunless Underworld of the living dead through the alchemical plains of Earth, Air, Water, and Fire, into the ether of the Celestial Realm--and even to a dark mysterious island temple...

-Interaction magazine, Fall 1996.

The world would have been one large interconnected world, apparently allowing new areas to load on the fly. The zones apparently would have radiated out from Castle Daventry, which would have been located in a location seemingly more similar to how it was shown in previous games. But due to limitations with the game engine's color palettes, and computer systems at the time, Sierra was forced to make it a linear world, with separate zones. At least two levels were cut.

Daventry would have been much larger zone, with villages, green forests, and farms. It would have taken place during the day (as opposed to the darkness seen in the current game). At one point during the production they added a darker cloudy sky, before finally settling on the pitch black Daventry in the game. The swamp would have been part of Daventry.

There was apparently going to be another zone near Daventry set by the sea, near a seaside tower, in a green hilly area. Another removed zone appears to have been set underwater, with seaweed, fish, and ancient ruins.

Dimension of Death would have been named the Underworld. The art style of the "Underworld" would have been much different, using a Mesopotamian style rather than the current Egyptian motif.

At one point the Frozen Reaches was known as the Frosty Mountains.(Interaction Magazine, Fall 1997) The land would have had snow covered pine trees, giving the land a bit more life.

The Barrens would have been known as either lands of fire, or hotlands (although hotlands may have been a location within the lands of fire). Interesting thing to note is that land would have had some dry spiny bramble bushes, giving the land some foliage.

[edit] Removed Encounters

Originally there was going to be a Leprechaun inside the Old Castlekeep of Daventry, that would give Connor more information about his plight, and give him a few more quests. But it was removed in the final release version.

A redcap goblin was to lurk around the world, and Connor would encounter it several times throughout his adventure, he had to be battle it and kill it, in order to get past it.

The Swamp Witch's part in the game was originally much larger. She would have been able to change herself into a beautiful woman, to lure Connor into her castle to save her, before exposing, her true form. Conner would have been forced to escape, and fight her for his life. This was removed from the final version of the game as well, and the witch stays outside of her castle. However references to the witch's wiles are still mentioned if you examine the skeletons in her castle.

Fire bugs could be found in the hotlands. Connor would have had to find a special way to defeat them as he couldn't fight fire with fire.

A fire breathing hydra, would have been encountered in ocean near the sea-side town.

Connor would have also encountered a red weeper, presumably more powerful than the standard variety. The skin for the enemy can still be found in the game's graphic files.

While Frost Demons made it into the game, they went through some graphical changes, around the face (notably the removal of the horn on their forehead).

Fire ants went through an even bigger model change, with the original model completely replaced.

Graphics for a snow beast exist in game, but were not used in the final release. Its unknown if it was a graphic for the Snow Mane, or for something else encountered in the Frozen Reaches.

Graphics for an ice serpent exist in the game files, but were not used. It is assumed it would have been an encounter in the lake in the Frozen Reaches.

Graphics for a red eyed variation of skeleton enemies could be found in the game as well. Perhaps representing more powerful versions of the enemies. Additionally another graphic exists for what appears to be skeleton noble, in pharaoh like regalia that never made it to the final version of the game (perhaps it was an alternate graphic for one of the characters currently in the game).

While graphics for mage snow nymphs made it into the game, there was also a graphic for a snow mage healer. The character did not make it into the game. She would have presumably been able to heal Connor from wounds.

[edit] Items

Silver currency was going to be an extra currency in the game. While it didn't make it into the final release, it is possible to access the silver through a game cheat, although it serves no use.

[edit] Moral Choices

"In dealing with the challenges of finding the seven pieces of The Mask of Eternity, the title gives you more ethical choices than ever before. A prime example is the potential to destroy some of the evil, magical beasts that get in your way - a mode of behavior that was not included in previous games. "If this was the real world, you might actually have to fight and kill an enemy, says Williams. "In the Mask of Eternity there are seven instances where you must mortally defeat a monster before you can proceed."