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Hero's Quest was the original name for the Quest for Glory series created and designed by the Coles (Lori Ann Cole and Corey Cole). Hero's Quest was first proposed to Sierra On-Line in August 1988, and it was to be a tetralogy (consisting of four games) that followed the themes and cycles. This consisted of the four cardinal directions, the four classical elements, the four seasons and four different mythologies.

Background[]

Hero's Quest was planned as a four game series which follow the player's character as he or she grows from a wet-behind-the-ears Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School graduate, to a true Hero...and beyond![1]

Seasoning a Swashbuckler[]

“The concept of seasons in the games represents the maturation of the Hero as he moves from story to story. It's a critical component in a series that - from the very beginning - was designed to be a defined quartet of stories, representing an overall saga with a distinct beginning, middle, and end.


“One of the unifying themes,” explained Corey, “is the growth of your character, going from being an adolescent Hero in the first game to being a young man in the second. You're strong and confident...”

“The third game,” continued Lory, “was to show you as a master of your profession, with the fourth depicting you at the mature peek of your powers.”

In the first episode, the player is a new graduate of the Famous Adventurer's Correspondence School, ready to venture out into the springtime of his career and build a rep. It's a light-hearted, exhilarating journey into the unknown that can be replayed three times with three distinct outlooks at puzzle-solving.

In the second chapter - Trial by Fire - the Hero enters the summer of his experience, facing more difficult challenges with more highly-developed skills. While the episode is more serious and dangerous than its predecessor, it retains the enchanting mixture of fantasy, challenge, and humor that made the first game a hit with so many fans.

Of all the reasons Lori and Corey found for creating a bridge between Trial by Fire and Shadows of Darkness, the most compelling was the feeling the designers had that the Hero character simply hadn't matured enough to face the very grim challenges awaiting him in Transylvania.

“Somewhere between finishing Trial by Fire and cranking up the design process for Shadows of Darkness, the husband-and-wife team realized a fifth chapter would have to be added to bridge the games. That chapter became Wages of War...If all the reasons Lori and Corey found for creating a bridge between Trial by Fire and Shadows of Darkenss. the most compelling was the feeling that the Hero character simply hadn't matured enough to face the very grim challenges awaiting him... “Wages of War is the bridge,” she continues. “You start with people you know to help you along in the beginning. But when push comes to shove, you're the one who's on his own, who has to solve the ultimate mystery.” As you go along, just when you think you're all alone, your allies come back to you, but you have to face the final challenge by yourself.” -Lori & Corey Cole

Blackwine: My question is about the world of Gloriana in general. I knew each game was supposed to correspond to a place on a compass (like North, South, East, West) and a season. For example, Spielburg was North, and the season was Spring. Shapeir-South, Summer. Where was Tarna located? Mordavia was Fall, and Silmaria will be winter, but where are they located?
Lori C: Tarna broke the rules. It was in Fricana, which is Africa. We added Wages of War to the series because the game called for it. So we broke our own metaphor.”

-Lori (Chat Room)

Four Games (Tetralogy concept)[]

Five Games[]

Had the series switched to five while maintaining the Hero's Quest titles...

Wages of War was added because a need to spread out the Hero's character development. This likely would have still happened even if the series name hadn't changed.

In this case there could have been these potential titles following Hero's Quest II: Trial By Fire.

  • Hero's Quest III: Wages of War/Hero's Quest III: Seekers of the Lost City
  • Hero's Quest IV: Shadows of Darkness
  • Hero's Quest V: King's Crown/Hero's Quest V: Hero's Crown/Hero's Quest V: Dragon's Fire.

Wages of War: Quest For Glory 3/Hero's Quest 3[]

Quest for Glory 3 was an addition to stretch out the story and allow the hero time to develop into a stronger character between QFG2 and QFG4. Had the series kept the Hero's Quest name, its possible this game would have still been added to the series only to be known as the "Hero's Quest 3".

Wages of War breaks up and interferes with the original tetralogy concept, although the 'single year' concept may still exist in certain references, but contradicted by others... But the game may actually mess up the flow or the order of seasons altogether.

In the games materials references may range from what seems like one year to four years between the start of the series to the end of the series, and the actual time played over the course of the five games, however rarely covers more than six months total (with each game taking place not much more than a month, between10-30 days each, with occasional reference to a few months or weeks occurring in between or addition to main gameplay time within the prologues or endings, I.E. three months reference in QFG3 prologue or the two weeks mentioned after defeating Avoozl to when the award ceremony occurs). Roughly 178 days total are covered in the life of Hero up to QFG4 with an additional partial month for QFG5 (exact amount of time varies by class).

Each game 'jumps' at least several months ahead as the seasons change in each game (QFG1's early spring jumps to summer in QFG2, and jumping from early fall to mid winter between QFG4 and QFG5 for example).

The jump between QFG3 and QFG4 is less clear as depending on what hemisphere each takes place in (summer in the south would be winter in the north, and the orders of seasons would clearly not match up if going from 'summer" in QFG2 to summer in QFG3, and then a jump to fall in the north, if they were in seperate hemispheres, however both may still be in the northern hemisphere so this should not be too much of an issue). However, if three months passed between QFG2 and QFG3, QFG3 should have technically already been into at least 'fall' (as each season is roughly only around 3 months each)… Which is a clear seasonal discrepancy between the games (and if QFG3 was in the southern hemisphere, it would mean it should already been winter in the north, bypassing fall altogether, which again would be a season discrepancy if the series was following a strict one year period).

Released Games[]

Series Concept[]

Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero[]

Released in October 1989, Hero's Quest: So You Want to Be a Hero was the only game in the series to use the Hero's Quest name. It was later discovered that the Milton Bradley company had already trademarked the name "HeroQuest".[2] The game was later be re-released as Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero (EGA), which was later followed by a remake in the form of Quest for Glory I: So You Want to Be a Hero (VGA) in July 1992.

Hero's Quest II: Trial by Fire[]

Hero's Quest II: Trial by Fire was hinted at the end of the first game. Due to the name change, the sequel would be released as Quest for Glory II: Trial by Fire in November 1992.

Hero's Quest III: Shadows of Darkness[]

Hero's Quest III: Shadows of Darkness would have been the third game. Quest for Glory III: Shadows of Darkness was teased at the end of Trial by Fire, but the plot of Shadows of Darkness was pushed back as the fourth game, with Quest for Glory III: Wages of War taking its place in August 1992. For unknown reasons, Sierra dropped the roman numeral from Quest for Glory IV: Shadows of Darkness, releasing the game as Quest for Glory: Shadows of Darkness in December 1993.

Hero's Quest IV: King's Crown[]

(aka Quest for Glory IV: King's Crown, became Quest for Glory V: Hero's Crown, released as Quest for Glory V: Dragon Fire)

See also[]

Behnd the scenes[]

References[]

  1. Sierra News Magazine, Spring 1990, pg 31
  2. Quest for Glory Anthology Manual, pg 1
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