This is the first official Ken Follett videogame to be developed. It will revolve around the story of Follett’s best-selling novel “The Pillars of the Earth”. At the same time, Ken Follett is also working on a new novel, which is scheduled to be published in fall 2017, and will be taking readers back to the fictitious medieval town of Kingsbridge in South England.

The Pillars of the Earth, published in 1989, takes place in medieval England, in the fictitious town of Kingsbridge. Setting around the building of a cathedral, the historical novel traces the development and disputes between clergy, nobility and the simple people, suffering from exploitation.

The development team took the 1200-pages book as the blueprint and, turned it into an interactive novel. Players follow a nonlinear storyline with 3 playable main characters.

This has been the biggest and most ambitious project Daedalic has embarked on to date. Matt Kempke and Kevin Mentz, both author and game designer, stated, “We took the source material completely apart and reassembled it as a unique experience for the player. We kept the core story but of course a game gives us more freedom to add decision-making and interaction.” The game provides a compelling and involving version of “The Pillars of the Earth”. Players develop a deep emotional connection with the characters while controlling their way through the dense and thrilling story. Moreover, the game lets player change events from the novel as well as influence the fates of its characters.

Set in 12th century England, a time of great poverty and war, “The Pillars of the Earth” takes place in the fictional town of Kingsbridge as it begins the construction of a Cathedral to assure wealth and security for its people. Philip, a monk, becomes the prior of Kingsbridge abbey. Jack, an ambitious architect, is commissioned to build the village cathedral. Aliena and her younger brother Richard, have to survive on their own; after their father, the Earl of Shiring, is incarcerated and murdered. Meanwhile, Prior Philip's rivals, Bishop Waleran and William Hamleigh, a vengeful noble rejected by Aliena, see the town and its rise to importance as a thorn in their flesh. They want to see Kingsbridge burn.

Features

• A thousand-page novel, adapted as a videogame across 21 chapters
• Change events from the novel and influence the fates of its characters
• Faithful rendition of the 12th century with over 200 hand painted backgrounds
• Three main playable protagonists, with two extra playable characters
• Orchestral soundtrack by the FILMharmonic Orchestra, Prague

The Pillars of the Earth game is going to be released as three books with seven chapters each, starting with the first episode in August 2017.

Players purchase a season pass when buying book 1 – Daedalic will share more information about book 2 and 3 at Gamescom this year.