During the
Gabriel Knight 3 playthrough, I used to write some introduction to each playing block, highlighting the funny things to do or unveiling some well hidden detail or unraveling my own speculations. I figured that it would be nice to do the same for
Sins of the Fathers, and this time around I've decided to break down what I have to say into three little columns: one focused on a particular location of the game and the funny actions you can do in it; one focused on the real-life locations of the day and the last one dedicated to a brief extract from Jane's novelization that is, in some way, related to the task of the chapter at hand.
In Detail: St. George's Rare Books
Gabriel's bookshop is one of my favorite locations in the entire saga, mainly because it's very rich and literally lavished with little details that make the world really alive. For example:
- Try looking at the various furniture: the gargoyle; the carpet; the chandelier; the mezzanine; the coffee machine; the cash register; the painting on the wall; Grace's oil colors; Grace's chair; Gabriel and Grace's coat; the window
- Try looking at every stash or row or display of book, particularly the ones on the coffee desk
- Look and operate the ladder
- Talk to the gargoyle, to the books, to the coffee machine
- Try to take the money in the cash register
- Read the German/English dictionary until the dialogue starts repeating
Next, visit the back: Gabriel's bedroom and studio. Try to open the fridge, to operate the typewriter, look in the closet, try to use the bed and, finally, turn on the radio.
Real-Life Locations:
St. Louis Cemetery #1 is another rich location. Outside from
Marie Laveu's tomb, many other tombs here hold valuable details and the
general architecture is strikingly reproduced. The keeper is a source of wonderful information, for example about the floodings that urged the tombs to be built above the level of the ground or the
iron fences that surround the cemetery. In the second screen, you will also found the Templeton - Knight tomb, and it's nice to have Gabriel stopping by to say his respects. He can actually talk to his parents and relatives, and it's a pretty touching moment.
Day 1 in the novel:
Grace was always in a hurry, always thought something ought to be done about something, and was at a loss to handle only one thing - free time. When she wasn't working, she was taking classes like tai chi and oil painting. And this summer was supposed to be her break from school. Gabriel, on the other hand, preferred to watch life, as if from a rocking chair on the porch in the middle of august. He figured if something really interesting went past (and if he felt up to it at the moment), he could always get up and jump in.
Jane Jensen,
Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers, Roc 1997, p. 6
