In 1990, Sierra On-Line proved that graphic adventures didn't have a single path. While King's Quest V bet on vibrant colors and digitized voice to follow the adventures of King Graham, LOOM opted for a more experimental route. Two titles that, without sharing tone or style, defined a key year for the genre at the hands of their creators.
256 colors and spells with a pentagram 🎨
King's Quest V was a technical milestone by using the SCI1 engine, allowing 256 simultaneous colors and digitized audio on CD-ROM. This was a visual leap for the time, although its puzzle system maintained the classic logic of the series. On the other hand, LOOM, created by Brian Moriarty, opted for a simpler engine but with a radical interface: instead of an inventory, spells were woven with musical notes. A system that demanded attention to rhythm and melody, moving away from typical text commands.
Graham sweating bullets and distracted weavers 🎵
While good old Graham spent the game looking for a piece of cake or a lost key to save the kingdom, the young weavers of LOOM only had to worry about not hitting a wrong note. That said, if in KQ5 you killed the owl or forgot the cheese, you had to start over. In LOOM, if you failed a spell, at least the soundtrack sounded nice. Two different ways to make us sweat: one with logic puzzles and another with musical scores.