"Games From Great Books
Posted by: Arthur Hermansen at June 24, 2005 6:45:32 PM
Great Books Games aims to develop gaming franchises centered about rich stories contained in the Great Books. Dante's Inferno, with it's descent through nine levels of Hell and ever-more-sinster demons leading to a three-headed Satan, is the obvious place to start.
Further projected titles for development are:
The first ten Great Books Games will be:
1. Dante's Inferno
2. The Iliad
3. The Odyssey
4. Shakespeare's Hamlet
5. Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet
6. The Red Badge of Courage (Civil War)
7. Moby Dick
8. Treasure Island
9. Bible Stories
10. The Aeneid
Here's the link.
"
RangerWest Member since: 2/15/2005
Posted - 6/28/2005 11:26:31 AM
Here's a sample writeup of the Dante's Inferno Game from
http://greatbooksgames.com.
Dante's Inferno Game: dantesinfernogame.com.
DANTES INFERNO GAME
Nine levels of hell. A three-headed Satan. One final duel.
ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER
D A N T E S I N F E R N O G A M E
by Dr. Elliot McGucken
Dantes Inferno is a first-person shooter that will be built with the Kismet Visual Scripting System included in the Unreal 3.0 Engine® that will be released with Unreal Tournament 2007®.
With its classic story, fierce demons, rich imagery, and a cornucopia of pre-existing classical art depicting a descent through nine levels of Hell on towards the three-headed Satan himself, The Inferno naturally implies a video game.
Gameplay: In the Great Books Games version, Dante must save the sinners from their demonsdemons that have overtaken their bodies and transformed them into monsters. In each level of Hell, Dante battles the ever-more-sinister monsters, and upon defeating them, the original sinner is separated from the demon and allowed to escape to purgatory. Dante must separate the sinners from their sins to descend to the next level, en route to battling Satan.
Design Team: Great Books Games is currently recruiting artists and level designers to help realize a version of Dantes Inferno thats as close as possible to Dantes original version. The official development will start in 2006, with the release of Unreal 2007.
Blending Public Domain & Proprietary: The game will utilize public domain art, music, art, and architecture, and it will release both educational and commercial versions of the game.
Design Philosophy: Modders may donate art and artwork utilizing Creative Commons licenses, or GBG may pay for the design/development of certain aspects of the game. GBG will develop an archive of artwork for Dantes Inferno as well as other Great Books including the Iliad and Odyssey, both public domain and proprietary, allowing the artists to define their rights and the price of their work.
Soundtrack: As Beethoven wrote nine symphonies and the Inferno has nine levels, Beethovens symphonies will accompany Dante during his descent through Hell. Imagine battling Satan to Beethovens ninth!!!
Join Us! Come one, come all, to greatbooksgames.com and dantesinfernogame.com. Whether youre a modder, gamer, teacher, or fan of classical literature, come join us on this Great Books Games journey!
Preliminary design blueprint:
Canto Region Sin People Punishments
Preface to the Journey
Canto 1 The dark wood Despair Dante; the three beasts; Virgil n/a
Canto 2 The descent Fear Dante, Virgil n/a
The Gate of Hell
Canto 3 Vestibule of Hell The neutral;
uncommitted Pope Celestine V;
Charon Stung by insects; running after banners
Canto 4 Circle 1 Virtuous pagans;
unbaptized infants Homer, Socrates, Plato and other great pagans Afflicted by melancholy; desire without hope
Canto 5 Circle 2 Judgment
The lustful Minos send the wicked to everlasting torment, the good to the Elysian Fields
Dido; Paulo and Francesca
Blown forever by
stormy winds
Canto 6 Circle 3 The gluttons Ciacco Lying in mud, besieged by snow, hail and filthy water.
Guarded by Cerebus
Canto 7 Circle 4
Circle 5 The avaricious, prodigal;
The angry Condemned to useless labor
Attacking one another
Canto 8 Circle 5 The sullen Submerged in Styx, sighs rippling the water.
Transition to Lower Hell
The Realm of Violence and Fraud
Canto 9 Circle 6 Wall of the City of Dis The Furies;
Heavenly Messenger
Canto 10
Canto 11 Circle 6 The heretics Cavalcanti, Farinata; tomb prepared for Pope Anastasius Confined in burning tombs
Canto 12 Circle 7
- Round 1 Violent against neighbors and fellow men: murderers, war makers, homicides Alexander the Great
Attila the Hun
Chiron & Nessus Submerged in hot blood
Guarded by centaurs, who shoot any soul which attempts to rise
Canto 13 - Round 2 Violent against Self (suicides) della Vigna Enclosed in new bodies, as trees and bushes in a black, tangled wood.
Canto 14 - Round 3 Violent against God:
blasphemers, sodomites, usurers - stretched on burning sand
- running on burning sand
- huddled on burning sand
Canto 15 Round 3 cont. Sodomite Brunetto Latini Running
Canto 16 - Circle 8 - MALEBOGE
The Realm of Simple Fraud
Canto 17 - Bolgia 1 Panders and seducers Whipped by devils
Canto 18 - Bolgia 2 Flatterers Jason and others Covered with filth
Canto 19 - Bolgia 3 Simonists (sell ecclesiastical favors) Pope Nicholas III Turned upside down; fire on feet
Canto 20 - Bolgia 4 Fortune Tellers;
diviners Tieresias and others Heads twisted; turned backwards
Canto 21
Canto 22 - Bolgia 5 Grafters Covered by boiling pitch; harassed by devils
Canto 23 - Bolgia 6 Hypocrites Caiaphas Clad in leaden mantles
Canto 24
Canto 25 - Bolgia 7 Thieves Vanni Fucci Trapped in snake pit; hands bound
Canto 26
Canto 27 - Bolgia 8 Evil counselors Ulysses, Diomede, Guido Concealed in flames
Canto 28 - Bolgia 9 Sowers of Discord Mahomet Wounded, mutilated
Canto 29 - Bolgia 10 Alchemists Diseased
Canto 30 - Bolgia 10 Impersonators, Counterfeiters, False Witnesses Sinon Abusing one another
Canto 31 Edge of Pit Elemental Natures Giants: Nimrod, Ephialtes, Briareus, Tityos, Typon, Anteaus Consigned to the depths of the earth
Canto 32 - Circle 9 - Cocytus - Realm of Compound Fraud
Treachery against those to whom sinners have special ties
Canto 32 Round 1
Caina Traitors to family Held in ice, heads bent forward
Canto 33 Round 2
Antenora Traitors to country Archbishop Ruggieri;
Ugolino Gripped by ice
Canto 33
cont. Round 3
Ptolemea Murderers of Guests Held in ice; heads bent backwards
Canto 34 Round 3
Judecca Traitors to lords and benefactors; those who set out to destroy the rightful God. Judas, Brutus, Cassius,
Lucifer At the center of the Earth, completely submerged in ice. The three ultimate traitors are held in Lucifer's three mouths. Lucifer's three wings send forth freezing blasts of impotence, ignorance and hatred.
Canto 34 Round 3
Judecca The Ultimate Destroyer Lucifer Lucifer's three wings send forth freezing blasts of impotence, ignorance and hatred.
ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER
greatbooksgames.com
Dante's Inferno Game.
[Edited by - RangerWest on June 28, 2005 3:26:36 PM]
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Conner McCloud Member since: 1/28/2001 From: Golden, CO
Posted - 6/28/2005 12:59:21 PM
Quote:Original post by RangerWest
Soundtrack: As Beethoven wrote nine symphonies and the Inferno has nine levels, Beethovens symphonies will accompany Dante during his descent through Hell. Imagine battling Satan to Beethovens ninth!!!
There we have it folks. Conclusive proof that these guys aren't complete idiots.
CM
--http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=328064&PageSize=25&WhichPage=2
In accordance with the present invention, the morality feature can be programmed into any suitable video game using known programming techniques for the purpose of enhancing game play. As explained above, the morality of the player's character will be affected by decisions made, enemies faced, as well as any other suitable occurrences and choices that may relate to morality. As the character loses gains or loses morality, the environment and other in game characters, including but not limited to gods, angels, devils, and demons will change in a way that helps or hinders the player's character progress through the game. The present invention provides an added challenge and enables multiple possible scenarios, so that playing of the game may be different each time the game is played, resulting in different stories. Furthermore, deeper, more exalted stories will be realized by this invention. Furthermore, more meaningful relationships, both romantic and based on platonic friendship, will arise via the system and method for morality of the present invention. It is noted that the invention is particularly suited for implementation in action/adventure/RPG games, but that it may be used in any suitable video game or the like, such as MMORPGs, first person shooters, third person shooters, and others.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION PREFERRED EMBODIMENT #2: DANTE'S INFERNO GAME:
As Dante wrote about Beatricehis true love who passed awayin La Vita Nuova:
After this sonnet there appeared to me a marvelous vision in which I saw things which made me decide to write no more of this blessed one until I could do so more worthily. And to this end I apply myself as much as I can, as she indeed knows. Thus, if it shall please Him by whom all things live that my life continue for a few years, I hope to compose concerning her what has never been written in rhyme of any woman. And then may it please Him who is the Lord of courtesy that my soul may go to see the glory of my lady, that is of the blessed Beatrice, who now in glory beholds the face of Him who is blessed forever.Dante
Such sentiments must pervade video games in order for games to reach a higher level of art. A preferred embodiment of the present invention is the Dante's Inferno Game, which may incorporate morality either implicitly or explicitly via a moral level meter, the behavior of other in-game characters, and other means.
DANTE'S INFERNO GAME: Welcome to Dante's Inferno Game! We're a brand new game based on the Beatrice Game Engine! Sign up to be notified as we get underway!
Dante's Inferno is a first-person shooter that will be built with the Kismet Visual Scripting System included in the Unreal 3.0 Engine® that will be released with Unreal Tournament 2007®. The game may also be built with open source engines or GarageGames.com's Torque engine. At any rate, we aim to become a repository for content supporting Dante's Inferno, built upon Open Source CMS with a 22surf philosophy.
With its classic story, fierce demons, rich imagery, and a cornucopia of pre-existing classical art depicting a descent through nine levels of Hell on towards the three-headed Satan himself, The Inferno naturally implies a video game.
Gameplay: In the Great Books Game's version, Dante must save the sinners from their demonsdemons that have overtaken their bodies and transformed them into monsters. In each level of Hell, Dante battles the ever-more-sinister monsters, and upon defeating them, the original sinner is separated from the demon and allowed to escape to purgatory. Dante must separate the sinners from their sins to descend to the next level, en route to battling Satan.
Dante's moral level may be displayed on the screen via a moral level meter 100 , and/or it may be manifested by how Beatrice interacts with him. If he shoots the sinners, his moral level meter 100 declines 111 . If he shoots the demons, his moral level meter 100 augments 110 . If he kills the sinners, his moral level declines 111 . If he kills the demons, his moral level augments 110 .
When Dante's moral level is high, he is visited by an angel named Beatrice who may help him or lead him on further through the game. When Dante's moral level is low, Beatrice does not visit him. Instead, when Dante's moral level is low, he is visited by demons who may impede his progress.
Design Team: Great Books Games is currently recruiting artists and level designers to help realize a version of Dante's Inferno that's as close as possible to Dante's original version. The official development will start in 2006, with the release of Unreal 2007.
Blending Public Domain & Proprietary: The game will utilize public domain art, music, art, and architecture, and it will release both educational and commercial versions of the game.
Design Philosophy: Modders may donate art and artwork utilizing Creative Commons licenses, or GBG may pay for the design/development of certain aspects of the game. GBG will develop an archive of artwork for Dante's Inferno as well as other Great Books including the Iliad and Odyssey, both public domain and proprietary, allowing the artists to define their rights and the price of their work.
Soundtrack: As Beethoven wrote nine symphonies and the Inferno has nine levels, Beethoven's symphonies will accompany Dante during his descent through Hell. Imagine battling Satan to Beethoven's ninth.
