It has been probably 30 years since I played King's Quest V for the first time and I am still awestruck at the beauty of these background pictures. 320 by 190 pixels and only 256 available colors, and yet these pictures still draw me into the fantasy world and tug on my imagination more than the 4k 3D modeled landscapes of modern games. In my mind these are the best out of the entire series, even better than the later King's Quest VI which shares its style and is also counted among my favorites.
Of course as a child, I was not aware of the ancient city of Petra or really of One Thousand and One Nights (I can't remember exactly if I had seen Disney's Aladdin before or after) - which just made the landscapes that much more fantastical to me.
Kudos to the entire art team! I think it is documented that the Art Designer, Andy Hoyos, worked on several of the backgrounds including the witch's cabin (and his very first fantasy assignment, if I'm not mistaken!). I would love to know who else worked on which backgrounds.
Attached are some of my favorites.
