Editing Gabriel Knight (section)

==Series==
The ''Gabriel Knight'' characters and games were created by writer [[Jane Jensen]], who also worked on ''[[King's Quest VI|King's Quest VI: Heir Today, Gone Tomorrow]]'' with veteran game designer [[Roberta Williams]]. The music in the series was composed by Robert Holmes, Jensen's husband.

All three games in the series focus on the adventures of Gabriel Knight, a financially struggling author and bookstore owner in [[New Orleans]] who discovers his true family name is Ritter and he is destined to follow the family legacy of being a ''Schattenjäger'' (German for "Shadow Hunter"). Grace Nakimura is a major supporting character in ''Sins of the Fathers'', running the bookstore while doing research for Gabriel. The two are friends who often bicker. In the sequel games, Grace and Gabriel develop a closer relationship and act more as partners when investigating the supernatural. The second game teases their romantic feelings for each other, while the third game has them directly confront their feelings. The two sequel games make Grace a lead character alongside Gabriel and the player alternates between controlling each of them during different parts of the game.

Each game calls on the player to acquire information through investigation of surroundings and interrogation of non-player characters (NPCs). Players must also solve puzzles and complete tasks through the use of items they acquire, information they obtain, devices they activate, or provoking action in NPCs. The game's story generally proceeds [[linearity (video games)|linearly]], with the player unable to continue into the next "day" or "chapter" or "time block" of the narrative until they have solved the required puzzles and obtained the proper information. Solving puzzles and gathering information results in the collection of points.

''Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers'' and ''Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned'' both included short [[graphic novel]]s that contained back-story, much in the tradition of [[Infocom]]'s "[[feelies]]". The ''Sins of the Fathers'' graphic novel follows the story of Günter Ritter, an ancestor of Gabriel Knight, who has left his ancestral home for the American continent in the 17th century. The ''Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned'' graphic novel acts as a prologue to the game, explaining how Gabriel began the case.

===''Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers''===
{{Main|Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers}}
[[File:Sierra-Interaction-Magazine---Ad---Gabriel-Knight-Sins-of-the-Father.jpg|thumb|Magazine ad for ''[[Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers]]''.]]

The first game in the series is a point and click adventure done in third-person style, with comic book style art used for story cut scenes. While the floppy version of the game only included subtitles, the [[CD-ROM]] version featured a cast of voice actors. [[Tim Curry]] plays Gabriel Knight, [[Mark Hamill]] plays his old friend Detective Franklin Mosely, [[Leah Remini]] plays his assistant and friend Grace Nakimura, and [[Leilani Jones (actress)|Leilani Jones]] as Malia Gedde. Other characters include [[Efrem Zimbalist, Jr.]] as Wolfgang Ritter, Gabriel's great-uncle, [[Michael Dorn]] as Dr. John, a proprietor of a [[Louisiana Voodoo|voodoo]] museum, and [[Mary Kay Bergman]] as Gerde Hull, the caretaker at Gabriel's ancestral home Schloss Ritter in Germany. The narrator is [[Virginia Capers]].

This game introduces Gabriel Knight, a financially struggling horror novelist who owns a bookstore in New Orleans called ''St. George's Rare Books''. His friend Detective Mosely is investigating series of homicides dubbed "The Voodoo Murders" by the press. Compelled by strange nightmares and thinking the murders may give him good material for a book, Gabriel begins his own investigation, aided by his assistant Grace Nakimura. This leads him to meet mysterious New Orleans socialite Malia Gedde, as well as learn much about the history of voodoo. During the investigation, Gabriel realizes genuine supernatural practices are involved and learns he is related to the Ritter family, making him the latest in a line of ''Schattenjägers'' ("Shadow Hunters") who are meant to fight those who use supernatural methods to threaten innocent lives.

The 20th anniversary remake edition featured Jason Victor as Gabriel Knight, Cissy Jones as Grace Nakimura, Ned Clarke as Detective Mosely, and Amy Kelly as the Narrator.

===''The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery''===
{{Main|The Beast Within: A Gabriel Knight Mystery}}

The second game (also known as '''''Gabriel Knight 2: The Beast Within''''') is in the style of a live-action interactive movie, starring [[Dean Erickson]] as Gabriel Knight and Joanne Takahashi as Grace Nakimura. Grace is now a playable character for portions of the game. The character Gerde Hull is back as an NPC, portrayed by Andrea Martin.

A year after the events of ''Sins of the Fathers'' and after undergoing the spiritual trial necessary to become a ''Schattenjäger'', Gabriel has moved to his ancestral home in the small village of Rittersberg in [[Bavaria]], Germany to write his new novel and connect with his family lineage. His new book ''The Voodoo Murders'', a fiction murder mystery based on the events of the first game, is now a best-seller. The people of Rittersberg, the seat of the ''Schattenjägers'', ask for Gabriel's help when there is talk of a [[werewolf]] attack in [[Munich]]. Gabriel investigates and Grace comes to Germany to help him, determined to fight evil alongside the ''Schattenjäger'' and now experiencing visions and dreams of her own. Gabriel develops an unusual friendship with Baron Friedrich Von Glower, who leads an exclusive hunting club in Munich and believes Knight is a kindred spirit.

===''Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned''===
{{Main|Gabriel Knight 3: Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned}}

This game uses 3D rendered graphics and features the return of Tim Curry to the role of Gabriel Knight. Grace is once again a playable character, now voiced by Charity James. Detective Franklin Mosely returns to Gabriel's life, now voiced by David Thomas.

Years after the events of the second game, Gabriel has published another successful book called ''The Brutal Beast'', based on his experiences in the previous game. He now considers himself a full-time ''Schattenjäger'' and Grace is his full partner, having created a computerized ''Schattenjäger'' archive called SYDNEY. The two are asked by the exiled Prince James of Albany to protect his newborn son from a centuries-old family threat that may involve [[vampire]]s. That same night, the boy Charlie is kidnapped and Gabriel follows the kidnappers to the mysterious French village of [[Rennes-le-Château]]. Gabriel's arrival coincides with that of a visiting tour group supposedly hunting for a legendary local treasure that may be linked to the [[Roman Catholic church|Roman Catholic Church]], the [[Knights Templar]], or the [[Holy Grail]]. Gabriel and Grace investigate the case alongside Mosely, who arrived with the tour group. After finding and rescuing the child, Gabriel discovers the origin of the first ''Schattenjäger''. At the end of the game, Grace leaves Gabriel's side to find her own path.

===''Temptation: A Gabriel Knight Interlude''===
To celebrate the release of ''Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers - 20th Anniversary Edition'', Jane Jensen released a short prose story online. The story ''Temptation: A Gabriel Knight Interlude'' is set six months following the events of the third game. The story was later adapted into a comic book.

The short story depicts Gabriel pursuing a cloaked figure in the woods said to be a seeleesser, "an eater of souls". During the case, Gabriel reflects on  recent events and Grace's departure, as well as the fact that he has fulfilled three major "quests" already and is now 36-years-old, bringing him to wonder if he has reached his peak already. During the adventure, he has a vision of Von Glower from ''The Beast Within'' and hears the man voice his own doubts and selfish desires, saying Gabriel should return to his life where he had no responsibility and didn't need to endanger himself hunting evil. In the end, Gabriel dismisses the vision and continues his investigations.

===Possible fourth game===
After the release of ''Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned'', Jane Jensen stated she had started planning a possible story and setting for a fourth game. In ''Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned'', the player can use the SIDNEY computer interface to search for "gk4" and see an entry on ghosts as a result. Jane Jensen said ghosts would have been the antagonists for a fourth entry to the series.<ref>{{cite web|date=May 31, 2003|title=GameSpy.com – Interview|url=http://archive.gamespy.com/interviews/may03/jensen/|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817043926/http://archive.gamespy.com/interviews/may03/jensen/|archive-date=August 17, 2009|access-date=September 15, 2009|publisher=Archive.gamespy.com}}</ref> However, no ''Gabriel Knight 4'' game followed and in August 2006, it was confirmed that Jane Jensen's next adventure game project would be the revival of ''[[Gray Matter (video game)|Gray Matter]]''.<ref>{{cite web|date=August 16, 2006|title=Adventure Gamers|url=http://www.adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=1256|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090208142443/http://adventuregamers.com/newsitem.php?id=1256|archive-date=February 8, 2009|access-date=September 15, 2009|publisher=Adventure Gamers}}</ref>

The rights to Gabriel Knight are currently held by [[Activision]], which acquired them after merging with former rights holder [[Vivendi Universal]] in 2008.<ref>{{cite press release|title=Vivendi and Activision to Create Activision Blizzard – World's Largest, Most Profitable Pure-Play Video Game Publisher |publisher=[[Activision]], [[Vivendi]] |date=December 2, 2007 |url=http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?releaseid=279372 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207161213/http://investor.activision.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=279372 |archive-date=February 7, 2012 }}</ref> Jane Jensen has pitched new ''Gabriel Knight'' games to both Vivendi and Activision. In April 2012, Jensen launched [[Pinkerton Road Studio]] and said in interviews that she hopes producing a new game with Pinkerton Road is a step in the right direction for getting the chance to make new ''Gabriel Knight'' games in the future.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://alternativemagazineonline.co.uk/2012/04/12/interview-in-conversation-with-jane-jensen-pinkerton-road-studio/ |title=In Conversation with Jane Jensen (Pinkerton Road Studio) |work=Alternative Magazine Online |date=April 12, 2012 |access-date=April 28, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120417235609/http://alternativemagazineonline.co.uk/2012/04/12/interview-in-conversation-with-jane-jensen-pinkerton-road-studio/ |archive-date=April 17, 2012 }}</ref> A remake of ''Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers'' for Windows, OS X, iOS and Android was released on October 15, 2014.<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Peckham |first=Matt |url=https://techland.time.com/2013/10/08/jane-jensen-is-remaking-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers/ |title=Jane Jensen Is Remaking Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |date=October 8, 2013 |access-date=October 9, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131008172434/http://techland.time.com/2013/10/08/jane-jensen-is-remaking-gabriel-knight-sins-of-the-fathers/ |archive-date=October 8, 2013 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.postudios.com/company/games/gabrielknight20th/index.php |title=Phoenix Online - Gabriel Knight 20th Anniversary |access-date=September 11, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911110052/http://www.postudios.com/company/games/gabrielknight20th/index.php |archive-date=September 11, 2014 }}</ref>

In 2022, Jensen noted that she has previously envisaged a potential fourth game being about witches and set in [[Scotland]]. She stated her willingness to proceed with a book version as a method to make any potential subsequent game production more feasible, but admitted that the complex nature of rights and legal contracts with [[Activision]] continues to render such a project unlikely.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUSovI8baIM | title=A Conversation with Jane Jensen (Gabriel Knight writer & game designer)! | website=[[YouTube]] | date=July 10, 2022 }}</ref>

In a June, 2024 [[YouTube]] interview with Daniel Albu, Jensen said that she had written the first chapter of a new Gabriel Knight story, so that ''GK4'' and ''GK5'' were in the works. She told him that she had attached some art for it and that "the licenses are with [[Microsoft]]."<ref>{{cite web |last=Albu |first=Daniel |date=June 30, 2024 |title=A Conversation with Jane Jensen (Gabriel Knight / Gray Matter / King's Quest VI / Police Quest 3) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPkSH5umZoA |website=Tech Talk with Daniel Albu (YouTube) |accessdate=May 8, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Yarwood |first=Jack |date=July 2, 2024 |title='I Had This Dream With The Complete Plot' - Jane Jensen Has Written A Story For Gabriel Knight 4 |url=https://www.timeextension.com/news/2024/07/i-had-this-dream-with-the-complete-plot-jane-jensen-has-written-a-story-for-gabriel-knight-4 |website=Time Extension |quote=You can watch the full video above or on YouTube here (the section referenced above starts at around 58 minutes in). |accessdate=May 8, 2025}}</ref>

===Short story "Five Hearts"===

In November, 2024, Jensen published the downloadable illustrated short story "Five Hearts" on her husband's website.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jensen |first=Jane |title=Sins of the Fathers (1996) |url=https://robertholmesmusic.com/five-hearts/ |publisher=Robert Holmes |accessdate=May 8, 2025}}</ref> In it, Gabriel Knight travels to [[Salzburg]], [[Austria]], to investigate a mysterious cursed dagger.<ref>{{cite web |last=Allin |first=Jack |title=Jane Jensen releases Gabriel Knight short story Five Hearts |date=November 19, 2024 |url=https://adventuregamehotspot.com/announcement/3108/jane-jensen-releases-gabriel-knight-short-story-five-hearts |work=Adventure Game Hotspot |accessdate=May 8, 2025}}</ref>