Re: Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - A SHP Playthrough

[BBP]

50% of The Netherlands is below sea level. Eindhoven isn't, but tell that to the groundwater table. N.O. is 2.4 m below sea level. Dutch sub-0 sections vary between -1 and -7. The Hague, where my grandparents and great aunt are underground, is about -4 m. In the USA there are much deeper places: particularly Death Valley at -86 m, but it's nothing compared to the -423 of the Dead Sea in the Jordan valley.
Thing about my great aunt is she rests on a catholic cemetery, and when I was there last time I noticed how lavish and over-dramatic the tombstones were there, compared to the neutral stones on the cemetery where my grandparents lie. It has a large number of tombs too, which might also be because it's the final station for large sections of the Haguian underworld. Then again, burial plots in the Hague are highly expensive.
The Catholic st Catherine's cemetery in Eindhoven is a monument. I took a number of pictures there during the GLOW festival two years ago, when an artist built a memorial for the incandescent bulb. It has massive 19th century tombs overground, but in more recent years, fewer and fewer peole choose such a monument.
My point is that there may be many factors at play:
-It's possible that improved techniques over the years have made it possible for graves to be dug on wet spots
-Funerals in The Netherlands have become incredibly expensive: be sure to have about 6000 euros in your account if you want a decent farewell. Costs vary per municipality, and The Hague is at the top end of the bill: plot rent at the catholic cemetary where my great aunt is, costs about 10 times it does in Belgium. This is about the most logical factor for the disappearance of chapels and alike.
-There might be a religious factor, neutral gravesites don't seem to be as lavish as the catholic ones
-Fashion is also a factor, as cruel as it sounds. Maybe enormous tombs aren't en vogue here anymore: sure I've seen near hideous monuments at St Catherine's, but those all date back to the 19th and early 20th century.
-If you're not convinced about French and Spanish influence, have a look at Pere Lachaise. Looks like St Louis #1 to me. The only way to crack the myth is to find a plot of a burial in N.O. I can't say I feel like doing that.

How about we say we're both right and talk about something cosier? (offers peace pipe)

[QuestCollector]

Just completed day 1 a few minutes ago and took some notes like Datadog did while playing.

The first thing I did when I started the game was leave the menu screen on for a few minutes while getting some other things done first. The GK theme repeats itself over and over while on the menu.

There are several things I've stumbled upon that I didn't know was there before. This is only my second playthough though. I used the look icon, exclamation icon and the question icon on several things I didn't bother with the first time.

In St. George's books I did all of the things Andrea mentioned and even found out that Gabriel wanted to turn the balcony into a shmaltzy cafe. After looking around in the bookstore I went through every possible dialog option between Gabriel and Grace which was enjoyable.

Found out a couple new things about Gabriel, things like he's an Aquarius and his family history. The family history is a significant part of the day 1 plot though, so it would be hard to not hear anything about it.

In St. Louis Cemetery #1 I talked to the tombs on the first screen and Gabriel said "No they might answer back." and I also talked to the family tomb.

I laughed out when I was in the cathedral and confessed to the priest in the confessional! "More than 10?", "20?", "40?"

I had to turn off the narrator's voice though. She just drags the sentences out and her accent is just annoying for me to hear. I think GK might be the only Sierra game I know of where you can actually turn just the narrator speech off? I'll have to check other games to find out because I'm not really sure.

I love the feel of these classic VGA games. While looking at the handpainted backgrounds I always wonder what's beyond this point or what's it look like right outside of the police station or Napoleon's House. I'd appreciate to have the ability to create something like that to paper from my mind. The same goes for the soundtracks of these games.

I really enjoyed playing through day 1 again! I know most of you more than likely knew all of what I wrote down and probably the rest of what I say, but if I can find just one thing nobody knew about, it would all be worth it. Looking forward to day 2!

[AndreaDraco]

I had to turn off the narrator's voice though. She just drags the sentences out and her accent is just annoying for me to hear.

This is a common problem, I fear. Many can't stand Virginia Capers. I, on the other hand, find her simply perfect the part.

What do you guys think about it? Annoying old lady or old, cozy Southern belle?

[BBP]

Annoying, really. She is talking very slow, and to me that ruined a lot of the cynical quirks in the text. At times I put her back on, and succumbed and turned her back off. She's especially nerve-wrecking in scenes where Gabe needs to act fast as in: Ch 5 museum, mummies.

QuestCollector: I also made a GK1 script, so every line in the game has been edited by yours truly. Sorry.
(Try to open the doormat at St George's. Use or move the coatrack. Move Grace's chair. Or using clay on Gabe.)

[Datadog]

I turned the narrator off as well. This is one of those games where the presence of an audible narrator can actually ruin the atmosphere for me - and it doesn't help that VC drags out the dialogue with a heavy accent. Personally, I think hers would be a better character voice than a narrator voice.

[Tawmis]

I will have to play catch up on Day 1 as I was out of town all weekend!

[AndreaDraco]

Don't worry, Tawmis. There's still plenty of time left before we move on to Day 2. There are many people who have yet to post their opinion.

[Rath Darkblade]

TBH I find Virginia Capers' voice quite soothing - a little like having a book read to you. But that's just me...

[AndreaDraco]

TBH I find Virginia Capers' voice quite soothing - a little like having a book read to you. But that's just me...

No, no. I totally agree with you. She reminds me of a gentle grandmother, slowly rolling on her chair and telling her grandchildren a weird tale.

[Collector]

I have noticed that most of those that complain about the narrator tend to not be from the US. They expect that the accent to be a stereotypic southern accent. Besides the fact that the southern accent is widely varied, Louisiana has several different ethnic groups with different language traditions. The narrator has a Creole accent, which has Haitian influences. This fits the Voodoo theme perfectly.

[MusicallyInspired]

Yeah, she totally fits the voodoo theme.

I haven't touched the game yet. I suck at group playthroughs. I'll try to find the time, though, but if I'm the last one waiting then please go on without me. I've been pretty busy these past couple weeks and it's not letting up soon.

[dotkel50]

I finally got around to playing Day 1.

I didn't find the narrator's voice annoying. As was already said, it's a creole accent, perfect for the New Orleans setting.

However, Grace's voice drove me up a wall. She's supposed to be Japanese not Brooklynese . I hated the actress when she was in The King of Queens TV show too.

I did like the sarcastic banter between Grace and Gabriel though.

Two things struck me funny:
1.) When you click on the trunk in the attic the narrator says...that old trunk gone to hell and back. I don't know why but that made me laugh.
2.) When copying the file folder, Gabe looks like he's abusing himself.....LOL....where were his hands?

[Rath Darkblade]

However, Grace's voice drove me up a wall. She's supposed to be Japanese not Brooklynese . I hated the actress when she was in The King of Queens TV show too.

Japanese, Brooklynese, everybody wash your knees...

Anyway, part of Grace's backstory is that she and her family came to the US when she was still very young (three, I think). Although her folks are traditionally Japanese, she says she doesn't even remember Japan, so it struck me as fairly plausible that she shouldn't have a Japanese accent (particularly as she'd spent 18 years in school and university, doing her Masters in History and Classics).

She certainly doesn't look very Japanese to me in GK1 (though that obviously changes in GK2).

[MusicallyInspired]

I loved her voice. I thought it suited her personality perfectly and her chemistry with Gabriel was just fantastic to listen to.

[Maiandra]

I finished Chapter 1, but DPX didn't make it. Unfortunately, we have very different playing styles: he wanted to just do what needed to be done and I want to explore every nook and cranny of the game world. Supernatural mystery is more my genre than his anyway.

It's been a while since I played GK1, so I really enjoyed getting back into it. I like how there so many descriptions of the game world, even if the graphics make it hard to tell what stuff is half the time. Maybe that's why they had to have so many descriptions in older games, because you can't see a lot for yourself in lower-res 2D.

The funny thing is, when I played through it in the past, Gabriel's voice always kind of annoyed me because I thought the accent was over done, but it didn't seem to bother me as much this time. Maybe I'm used to more Southern accents now from True Blood.

As for the narrator, I don't mind her voice, but I prefer not to have a narrator at all, so I kept her turned off. I like voices for the actual people, but I prefer to read the descriptions.

I love Gabe and Grace's banter. In fact, I picked up a few of Grace's sarcastic comments when I first played the game, since they work so well. My most often used is "the excitement is killing me".