The indie video game community has been turning to literature for its inspiration, and in particular, the works of Haruki Murakami. Bitz Byterz is currently running a kickstarter to fund Memoranda, a 2D point-and-click adventure inspired by Murakami’s short stories. Ackk Studios is also working on a Murakami-themed title, YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, in the style of the Mother games. Both are currently slated for late 2015 release.
With work praised and prized around the world, Murakami is one of today’s most influential and recognized contemporary writers and a go-to for postmodern literature. Taking his wind-up birds and hard-boiled wonderlands as inspiration for video games got me thinking: what other works of fiction could be reimagined for consoles, and what other genres could literary games emulate? Here are a few picks I wouldn’t mind seeing. (more…)
Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir, Hero and Traitor of Ferelden
It all started with Teyrn Loghain Mac Tir, a brilliant military strategist, the hero of the Battle of Riverdane, trusted advisor to King Cailan, father of the queen, and loyal friend and guardian to Cailan’s father Maric. When King Maric’s ship was lost at sea, Loghain spent two years searching for him, nearly bankrupting the Ferelden coffers. Why then would this man orchestrate the death of Maric’s heir—a boy whom Loghain had helped to raise in honour and memory of his lost friend—and throw Ferelden into civil war with a Blight looming on the horizon? As I played through BioWare’s Dragon Age: Origins, Loghain’s scenes showed me a man filled with regret. I got to speak with characters who had known and trusted him. Some of them thought him suddenly mad with ambition or fear that the nation of Orlais would once again attempt to take over Ferelden. But his history with Ferelden and with his best friend Maric implied that there was more to him. That this regicide had been a difficult decision, and it had cost him deeply. The question then of why Loghain would go to such lengths plagued me.
This was how I took my first step into the world of gaming tie-ins.
Mother, geek, executive assistant sith, gamer, writer, lazy succubus, blogger, bibliophile. Not necessarily in that order. Publisher at WomenWriteAboutComics.com
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