I try to find some financial lessons from the King’s Quest adventure games from Sierra On-Line, and also plug an album containing my music.
King’s Quest was a series of computer adventure games released starting in the mid-1980’s all the way through the late 1990’s.
That game series, along with the Space Quest series and other games from the Sierra On-line game company, had a formative effect on my childhood. I would get lost for hours “wandering” in its low-res, day-glo landscapes, for Sierra was the first game system to pioneer “3D” games, where your character can walk in front of and behind other objects.
This was revolutionary at the time, and made their games the bestselling titles of the 1980’s.
There were many lessons sprinkled in and around the games themselves, which I picked up as only a child can.
How does this relate to financial wellness? Well let’s see what the King’s Quest games taught me.
Table of Contents
Pick up anything that isn’t nailed down
“Pick up anything that isn’t nailed down” is the directive that was included in every game manual for years. The idea was that if something was noted in the game, it was probably there for a purpose, and you as an adventurer should probably take it with you.
The financial lesson in this is to, um, well, take opportunities that present themselves…? Wait. Um, you don’t need to ask for permission? Um…
Okay, maybe this wasn’t the best lesson. Let’s move on.
Steal from the bandits
In King’s Quest III, you can sometimes get robbed by bandits, who take your possessions and put them in their hideout.
If that happens, you’re supposed to find their hideout (in a treehouse) and take your possessions back. But if one of the bandits is sleeping, you can sneak in and take their purse of gold coins, which you later use to purchase a ride on a pirate ship.
The lesson here is, um, to take from those who steal from you…? No, wait. It can’t be to sink to a bandit’s level, right?
Okay, this isn’t a good lesson either. Let’s keep moving on.
Get the magic chest of gold from the giant
In King’s Quest I, your task is to get a magic chest that is apparently always filled with gold coins.
You find it up in the clouds, guarded by a giant. You can use your sling and the pebbles you found earlier to hit the giant and…
Okay, this isn’t working. Let’s try Space Quest. There has to be some good financial lessons there.
What you want money for
In Space Quest III, you get buckazoids by selling your gem to a tourist shop on a distant planet.
You can use this money to buy all sorts of things, from an Astro-Chicken Hat, to Thermoweave Underwear, to a big bag of fast food at Monolith Burger…
Umm, you know what, never mind.
King’s Chill
Okay, so perhaps King’s Quest didn’t impart any particular financial wisdom on me whatsoever, but they were some really fun games. You can even still play them today on Steam.
The music in these games were pretty memorable too. Have a listen to King’s Quest IV for an example.
If you want to hear some modern interpretations of these classic songs, I’m involved in a project to reimagine some of the King’s Quest songs in a chill-out, electronic format.
The album is called King’s Chill, and it’s being released on vinyl. It’s crowdfunding right now.
If you want to hear some music that I’ve created, go here and take a listen, and, if you’re so inclined, please back the campaign.
And if you are wondering whether this whole blog post was just a way to showcase this record, well:
