Video Game Adaptation In the Works For A Song of Fire and Ice 183
On Wednesday, French game development studio Cyanide announced that they will be working with George R. R. Martin to bring his popular fantasy series, A Song of Fire and Ice, to the realm of video games. The press release implies that there will be more than one game, and the games will come out for PCs and "next-gen consoles." Apparently an HBO television series is in the works as well, in addition to board and card games related to the books.
What sort of game is it going to be? (Score:3, Interesting)
Cyanide studio (http://www.cyanide-studio.com/) has previously published mostly sports games, although they currently got a Blood Bowl esque RTS -game in develoment along with a cartoonty MMO called "Dungeon Party".
I'm personally bit wary of this SoI&F game they've announced, as their track record of games doesn't really fit in too well with what I'd hope from a SoI&F game. I think something like A Sharp's King of Dragon Pass could well enhance the Soi&F exprience far better.
Still, I guess Cyanide has displayed ability to jump genres with their new productions, so pretty much anything is possible from the SoI&F game?
Re:Is it good? (Score:4, Interesting)
A bunch of subplots centered in a confused mishmash and a vague promise that "winter is coming".
We don't even know what that means, except that the wildlings are supposed to invade from the north. Only - the wildlings were killed off in the last book.
I see everyone begging Mr. Martin to please finish the series - but how would it be finished? There's no end condition.
Re:I would prefer... (Score:3, Interesting)
Dude, the story is the characters. It really is a fantasy based soap opera where all the excitement is the interaction between characters and you wondering whether your favorite will die on the next page or not.
If you really want a main plot, Daenerys (sp?) is going to come overseas with a huge army and then confront The Song of Ice and Fire (aka a main character in the books that I won't spoil), and either they fall in love or kill each other, or both. Everything else is just more reasons for more character interaction, in my opinion.
Re:I would prefer... (Score:2, Interesting)
It is a fantastic retelling of "War of the Roses". England, 1455. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wars_of_the_Roses [wikipedia.org]
Like any biography or true story there is usually no single grand ending because it is based on historic events that is based upon the rise and fall of many different characters. Each character has a story and we are taken through this by the author.
Re:I would prefer... (Score:3, Interesting)
The killing off of major characters and showing the more noble side of previously loathed villains is an interesting subversion of the usual predictable fantasy tropes. I think that's part of its appeal to me - it reads more like a history, and less like another iteration of the "Monomyth [wikipedia.org] of the Hero". Or at least it would, if our history books and documentaries didn't usually reduce the real world's personalities to fantasy-esque narrative caricatures.
On the other hand, The Song of Ice & Fire's non-compliance with what Pratchett calls Narrative Causality can certainly put readers off. Personally I just wish the story would continue, and at some point, actually *wrap up*; a story that never ends is just unsatisfying. Also, when you have such a huge, sprawling work with such long gaps between volumes, by the time the next part comes out you have no hope of remembering who most of the characters are or what took place in the earlier books!