Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail
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| Conquests of Camelot | |
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| Developer(s) | Sierra On-Line |
| Designer(s) | Christy Marx |
| Engine | SCI0 |
| Release date(s) | 1990 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure, Puzzle Solving |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
| Platform(s) | DOS, Amiga |
| Media | Floppy disk |
| Input | keyboard, mouse (optional) |
Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail[1] is a graphic adventure game released in 1989 by Sierra. It was the first game in the Conquests series designed by Christy Marx and her husband Peter Ledger. The only other game in the series was 1992's Conquests of the Longbow: The Adventures of Robin Hood. Marx did the majority of the design work while Ledger created the game and package art.
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[edit] Gameplay
The gameplay is typical of the Sierra adventure games of that time, however it is enriched with several arcade sequences, puzzles and riddles. Occasionally, some alternative solutions to puzzles were available.
Scoring was based on three kinds of points: Skill (when the player performs deeds that help him in his quest, or defeats enemies), Wisdom (when examining things, talking to others, or gaining hints) and Soul (performing good deeds to help others). The game featured a soundtrack of authentic-sounding medieval music composed by Mark Seibert.
The package included a map of Europe in Arthurian times and an illustrated manual called Liber Ex Doctrina (a Latin pun, for while it can be read "book (derived) from knowledge"—i.e. the game documentation—it can also be read "free from doctrine"). This book included information about the evolution of the Arthurian and Grail myths as well as Greek and Roman mythology; some of this information was required in order to answer riddles within the game.
[edit] Plot
The game begins at the decline of Camelot because of the love triangle between King Arthur, Guinevere and Lancelot. This 'curse' brought famine and drought in the kingdom. After having a vision of the Holy Grail covered by a silver cloth, Gawain, Lancelot and Galahad departed on a quest for the Holy Grail. However, they did not return. The player controls Arthur in his search for the missing knights and the Grail.
The adventure itself concerns Camelot only briefly. The player travels across England in order to fight with the Black Knight and rescue Gawain. Then the ruins of Glastonbury Tor where a mad monk claims he has the Grail, left by Joseph of Arimathea. Afterwards, he visits Ot Moor where the frozen (due to the curse) Lady of the Lake challenges Arthur to a riddle in order to rescue the imprisoned Lancelot.
Arthur then leaves England in order to follow Galahad's traces. He arrives to Gaza (where he will be hosted by a man called Al Sirat, who will introduce him to the cult of the Six Goddesses) and reach Jerusalem. Arthur will be tried throughout his journey in Palestine, and acts of selflessness and helping people will add to his Soul point system.
The player is given a choice in how to proceed through the game: for example, the player may decide not to fight the Black Knight, but must face the consequences of those decisions.
The I of the official title, as well as the epilogue, indicated a sequel – probably Conquests of Camelot II – but instead Marx proceeded to Conquests of the Longbow.
[edit] Themes
The game was famed for the immense amount of historic knowledge and folklore that is woven between the dialogues and the descriptions as the plot unfolds. The message boxes (narration) are the wizard Merlin speaking and counseling the player.
Conquests of Camelot is marked by its heavy religious overtones. Since the game is centered around the recovery of the Holy Grail, its emphasis on religion was appropriate and fitting. This emphasis is evident to the player from the very start of the game. If appropriate tributes are not made to Christ and Mithras, for instance, Arthur will never venture beyond the walls of Camelot, as the castle's grating will fall and kill him.
The game's views on religion are quite intriguing. The Grail's power seems to be universal both as a Christian relic and an artifact (the cauldron) of feminine power of the Goddess in pagan folklore. The old gods, such as Mithras, Cernunnos and later Aphrodite are portrayed as real gods, but their powers and influence are in decline. In contrast, the power and influence of Christ is ascendant. In the ending sequence of the game, this is made very explicit.
The game's take on religion is thus not monotheistic and there are no religious authorities such as priests that are encountered in the game; the Mad Monk is revealed as serving the "Old Ones". If the player specifically asks Merlin about Rome, he will comment on the Bishop of Rome and the Church, but this is the only mention of religious authority. However when the player moves the cursor around the map of England, Merlin will frequently comment on early legendary Anglo-Saxon saints. It must be noted that in Longbow all monks and religious figures (besides Friar Tuck) are villains.
[edit] References
- ^ The game's full title is rather inconsistent. The box art says Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail,[1] while some versions of the disc read Conquests of Camelot: The Search for the Grail with the 'I')[2] and others read Conquests of Camelot: Search for the Grail (without the first 'The').[3] In the game, there is a title screen calling it Conquests of Camelot,[4] followed by a screen with the subtitle King Arthur: The Search for the Grail.
[edit] External links
- Game presentation and download from Christy Marx's official page
