Sulkdodds
The Freeman
- Joined
- Jul 3, 2003
- Messages
- 18,846
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- 27
Inspired by EA's bizarre aquisition of the Divine Comedy IP, I thought it would be entertaining to propose other games, similarly inspired by great works of literature (or, if you insist, merely good ones). For surely this game will be a trend-setter, and hot on its heels will come many more games based on books, poems and plays, possibly ones in other languages from the medieval period.
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Sticking with the golden oldies, I would like to begin by proposing
The Travels of John Mandeville!
Based on The Travels of John Mandeville
In 1369 in the French town of Liege, as a decade-long lull in the Hundred Years War is about to collapse, a young medical student named Jean d'Outremeuse goes to visit a dying doctor, or Jean de Bourgogne, otherwise known as 'Beardy'. As he lies in his deathbed, Beardy reveals that his true name is John Mandeville, and that he is an English knight from the town of St. Alban's. He begins to tell his story as d'Outremeuse begins writing, frantically taking notes... (this is all based on real conjecture about the identity of the Travels' writer)
Play begins as, in 1322, Mandeville flees the country after killing another noble. We see him embarking on a ship from the south of France on Michaelmas Day that year, and the game proper begins as he begins to pick his way across the Mediterranian, investigating mysteries and fighting small conflicts. The game is an RPG/RTS, with us controlling the humble, gentle, but witty Mandeville as he commands bands of armed men in the service of various Saracen lords and, later, the Sultan of Egypt (who names him 'The Bearded One'); we follow him to India, where he helps local kings fight their rivals, to China, where he assists the Great Khan against his rebel enemies, up to the walls of Paradise itself, and finally, in the service of the Christian Emperor of Asia, 'Prester John', through the Vale Perilous back to Europe. Along the way we encounter, befriend or fight all manner of peoples: vicious nomads, frightening Sciapods, strange men with their heads between their shoulders, bird-riding Pygmies, artefacts of Christ, mercantile Muslim warriors, a damsel trapped in a dragon's body, a swarm of fish, various devils, and a man with frighteningly long nails.
The game ends after the climactic push through the demon-filled Vale Perilous, whereupon Mandeville retired as a physician to France; his old self hopes he has lived a good life, having seen so many things, and d'Outremeuse comforts him as he slips away.
*
Sticking with the golden oldies, I would like to begin by proposing
The Travels of John Mandeville!
Based on The Travels of John Mandeville
In 1369 in the French town of Liege, as a decade-long lull in the Hundred Years War is about to collapse, a young medical student named Jean d'Outremeuse goes to visit a dying doctor, or Jean de Bourgogne, otherwise known as 'Beardy'. As he lies in his deathbed, Beardy reveals that his true name is John Mandeville, and that he is an English knight from the town of St. Alban's. He begins to tell his story as d'Outremeuse begins writing, frantically taking notes... (this is all based on real conjecture about the identity of the Travels' writer)
Play begins as, in 1322, Mandeville flees the country after killing another noble. We see him embarking on a ship from the south of France on Michaelmas Day that year, and the game proper begins as he begins to pick his way across the Mediterranian, investigating mysteries and fighting small conflicts. The game is an RPG/RTS, with us controlling the humble, gentle, but witty Mandeville as he commands bands of armed men in the service of various Saracen lords and, later, the Sultan of Egypt (who names him 'The Bearded One'); we follow him to India, where he helps local kings fight their rivals, to China, where he assists the Great Khan against his rebel enemies, up to the walls of Paradise itself, and finally, in the service of the Christian Emperor of Asia, 'Prester John', through the Vale Perilous back to Europe. Along the way we encounter, befriend or fight all manner of peoples: vicious nomads, frightening Sciapods, strange men with their heads between their shoulders, bird-riding Pygmies, artefacts of Christ, mercantile Muslim warriors, a damsel trapped in a dragon's body, a swarm of fish, various devils, and a man with frighteningly long nails.
The game ends after the climactic push through the demon-filled Vale Perilous, whereupon Mandeville retired as a physician to France; his old self hopes he has lived a good life, having seen so many things, and d'Outremeuse comforts him as he slips away.
