Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
A point-and-click adaptation of Ken Follett's epic historical novel.
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is a 2017 point-and-click adventure episodic video game by Daedalic Entertainment, based on Welsh author Ken Follett's 1989 novel of the same name. The game follows classic point-and-click adventure principles, with players controlling one of three main characters across highly detailed backgrounds. It was released in three books: Book 1 on 16 August 2017, Book 2 on 13 December 2017, and Book 3 on 29 March 2018.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
- Developer
- Daedalic Entertainment
- Director
- Matthias Kempke / Kevin Mentz
- Producer
- Caspar Michel / Matthias Kempke
- Designer
- Matthias Kempke / Kevin Mentz / Valentina Tamer
- Programmer
- Thorben Kohler
- Composer
- Tilo Alpermann
- Platforms
- Linux · macOS · Windows · Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · iOS · Amazon Luna
- Released
- Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One / 16 August 2017 – March 29, 2018 / iOS / 4 April 2018 / Amazon Luna / 20 October 2020 / Nintendo Switch / 2 March 2023
- Genre
- Point-and-click adventure
- Modes
- Single-player
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The concept for The Pillars of the Earth began in May 2014, when publishing company Bastei Lübbe acquired a majority interest in Daedalic Entertainment. At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2014, Daedalic CEO Carsten Fichtelmann suggested to Ken Follett a conversion of his novel. The gameplay resembles other Daedalic point-and-click adventures such as The Whispered World, A New Beginning, and Deponia. The game uses the Visionaire Studio engine and features a 2D scrolling viewport with parallax layers, including over 200 hand-painted backgrounds over which animated sprites interact.
Reader's Guide
The Pillars of the Earth received generally favorable reviews according to Metacritic. GameSpot's Blake Hester praised the game's characters, unique visuals, and story development, but critiqued a lack of drama or tangible tension, a 'snail-paced' narrative, and slow frame rates. The game is notable for its faithful adaptation of a lengthy historical novel into an episodic adventure format, with three distinct books released over eight months. Its inclusion of Ken Follett as a voice actor and the use of a full orchestral score contributed to its production values. The game's availability across multiple platforms, including PC, consoles, and mobile, broadened its reach beyond traditional adventure game audiences.
Did You Know?
- Ken Follett voiced the character Cantor in the game.
- The game includes over 200 hand-painted backgrounds.
- The soundtrack was recorded in Prague by the FILMharmonic Orchestra.
- The iOS version was released on April 4, 2018.
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