14 DAY TRIAL // The development team at Daedalic Entertainment and Bastei Lubbe AG, both a shareholder in Daedalic and publisher of Ken Follett novels in German speaking countries, announce that they are working together to create a video game experience based on The Pillars of the Earth which is designed to be launched in 2017 and will arrive alongside a new novel from the author.
The title will use classic adventure game mechanics and the experience is at the moment set to be introduced on the PC, the Xbox One home console from Microsoft, the PlayStation 4 from Sony, as well as on devices powered by iOS.
The third Kingsbridge novel and the new video game will be linked in unspecified ways, although the two companies are not yet willing to offer any details on the story or the mechanics.
Ken Follett is quoted as saying that “I’m thrilled that The Pillars of the Earth - which is probably my most famous book - is going to be turned into a computer game by Daedalic, now part of the Lubbe organization. I believe this will bring my work to the attention of a new generation of readers.”
Carsten Fichtelmann, the founder and chief executive officer of Daedalic Entertainment, believes that his company needs to make sure that the adaptation of The Pillars of the Earth is faithful to the original vision of the author but also offers a solid game experience.
He adds, “Adventure games are interactive literature, and we at Daedalic dedicated ourselves to the perfection of this genre’s playing experience. We are very happy and feel extremely honored that our work is being acknowledged by one of the world’s best-selling authors, and to be allowed to take his work into interactivity.”
Adventure games are enjoying a revival
The Pillars of the Earth was first published in 1989 and takes readers back to the world of Medieval England, to the made-up town of Kingsbridge.
A range of characters and viewpoints allow fans to explore how the clergy, the nobles and the common people interact as a big new cathedral is being built.
Daedalic has been creating a number of adventure titles in the last few years, including the Deponia series and experiences based on the Dark Eye fantasy settings.
Telltale Games, another developer of adventure games, has also been enjoying successful launches for its own series, which offer an episodic approach, and they are currently getting ready to launch a new season based on Game of Thrones.
