The Pillars of a Video Game
The Pillars of the Earth takes full control of the adventures of the homonymous novel and rewrites the narrative plot in a more agile form that can be perfect for the two potential players who will approach the title, or who already knows the developments and those who ignore them: the different depth of reading, between those who recognize the illustrations on the screen of characters and settings, and those who unconsciously engage them.
It’s just from this nature that simply thanks to a game trial of just over half an hour we managed to enter the atmosphere of The Pillars of the Earthand above all to dress completely Jack’s son, Tom’s son, a wild boy in appearance and fashion, but from the gentle and eager soul of knowing the world around him, born and raised in the forest, at that snowy day, near Kingsbridge.
To say the truth during the adventure these are not the only parts we will take, even though the only ones we could dress in the above test; in fact, we will also act as monk Philip, and the young noble Aliena, plus two other extra characters, of which no much more has been said, all with the vicissitudes surrounding the construction of the Kingsbridge cathedral during the twelfth century .
The inner life of the characters
Beyond the characters, the main concern we had before and during the test was to figure out how narrative needs came into play with the needs of gameplay: or if somehow the bulk of a text such as Ken’s Follet could annoy the creative freedom of developers, and therefore the player within the game. In response to this, the new title-based mechanics arrived, which developed the complexity of the jigsaw puzzles for the continuation of the adventure.
It draws the moral of the players, their ethical sphere, and causes the evolution of the same to make available or not certain actions within the game. A book, for example, depending on the player’s affection for him,
The charm of the setting
Adding us to the available play phase, corresponding to the second chapter in history, was the short step that led us to denoting a mature, rich, nuanced adventure suited to the book both from the point of view of dialogue and the illustration .
The latter, in particular, between the extreme detail of the buildings and the realistic even dark and raw atmospheres when needed, has always convinced us and has allowed us to appreciate with even greater interest the animations that, in the few frames of which they are composed, they are able to convey the right impact of the scene they describe.
As in every tip and click, we will have the usual array of available controls and a bottom left inventory from which to draw the items we need. All this will be possible with both mouse and keyboard, absolutely preferable, as well as via pad, also accompanying the output of the product on all platforms including housekeeping consoles, excluding Switch. On the front we will have top quality orchestral music and an English dubbing, always accompanied by the translation of subtitles in Italian.
