his page is inspired by my love for the classic Sierra computer game
Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness, commonly known as Quest for Glory IV and first released in 1993.
The story takes place in and around a small town called Mordavia in a fictional medieval land
of the same name, based on Slavic Eastern Europe and incorporating elements of local folklore
such as the domovoi
and rusalka.
The hero must thwart the attempts of a dark cult to reanimate their deity, which would destroy the world.
he game is notable not only for its hybrid RPG/adventure gameplay, which is
mostly similar to all previous games in the series, but for its excellent music, voice acting, and visual aesthetic.
Some consider the title the best
of the five entries in the series, and while contemporary
reviews
were not outstanding, some now call it one of the best
adventure games of all time.
he man you might see to your left depending on your screen width is Dr. Cranium,
a bizarre but helpful scientist character from the game,
while the background image is the inside of his lab. This is a reference to the Dr. Brain series
of puzzle games released by the same company.
y main purpose here is to follow up
on an idea
which came to me in 2015 in the context of a user interface course in graduate school.
Namely this is an attempt to imitate much of the interface of the game, including the graphics
for the game's text boxes and menus, but to apply it to a website rather than a game.
Downloads
ll five of the original games in the series can be had cheaply
from GOG.com.
This set of the games includes a remake of the first title with far better graphics,
but unfortunately those of the second game are still rather primitive. You can however download
a greatly improved 2008 remake
of Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire.
new "role-playing adventure game" entitled Hero-U: Rogue to Redemption
has been developed by Sierra designers Corey and Lori Cole,
who were responsible for the Quest for Glory series.
The title has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from both players
and critics. The game is intended to be the first
of five similar titles,
and a more casual game entitled Summer Daze: Tilly's Tale
is now available on Steam.
well-received 2013 game based on the series,
entitled Heroine's Quest is free to download.
The story, based on Norse mythology, takes place in a region cursed by a frost giant to be in endless winter.
The heroine must thwart the giant's attempts to bring about the end of the world and restore the normal change of seasons.
any more downloads including screenshots can be found at a fan page
called Quest for More Glory,
while help for various problems, including the game's rather creative manuals,
is available at Sierrahelp.com.
Sierragamers.com supplies the
hint book.
fan has created a modification to the classic first-person shooter game Hexen in which the player
can move through much of the world of Quest for Glory IV.
Demo videos of this mod, known as Quest for Glory IV 3D,
can be found on YouTube. His website, Blake's Sanctum,
contains extensive QfG-related resources.
Game Images
ere are some screenshots taken from the game, to give a sense of what this page is attempting to emulate.
Many other examples of art from the game are also available.
Icons
ere are some icons from the game.
The icons are used to interact with the environment in different ways;
for example, the mouth icon is used to speak with someone,
while the feet icon you can see when moving your cursor over a link is used to walk somewhere.
The six-legged sign which appears when mousing over the header is an item from the game which represents
the deity worshipped by your antagonists.
n attempt has already been made by others to implement
some of these as
extensions to an operating system.
Music
he music
for this game has been described as "gothic, folk and rock" and includes a rendition
of Anitra's Dance,
part of Peer Gynt Suite No. 1, Op. 46 by Edvard Grieg.
Grieg was a Norwegian nationalist composer of the Romantic era, and appropriately
for the rural setting and peasant characters of the game, was influenced by the folk music of his own country.
ccording to the soundtrack's composer, Aubrey Hodges,
none of it is yet available in sheet music form.
The original soundtrack is however freely available on YouTube,
or from Sierra Music Central,
while an updated version including live instruments and 42 new arrangements
can be purchased from the composer's
Bandcamp page.