Hi everybody,
I am a newbie here and I have a question. I wrote a book recently, it will be coming out in 2011 (Publisher is Virtual Tales, book name is Spear of Seth). It it about Duat, i.e. Egypt Underworld and hero has to pass through the twelve Gates of the Underworld. Anyway, I thought it would make a cool game, and the levels of detail and historical accuracy is very high, at least in the book. I would have attached the trailer, but not sure if I can attach 13 Mb. Anyway, so based on the limited info I post here (I can add more if anybody wants), does anybody think a) it is worth pursuing, and if so, b) what should I do next, and c) anybody interested enough to participate in the game development or simply would like to know more?
Rene
Duat
Rene
There could be some good synergy between the two assuming your publisher is willing to get behind it. They would need to work it into the marketing plan.
As a great fan of mythology I’m naturally interested in a project of this nature. I would be happy to discuss this in detail if you like which should be the next step with any designer you work with.
You can e-mail the file and any ideas, questions, and the books exact release date (if you know it) to Development( at )pyromythgames.com
David E. Whitcher
Sounds realy intresting, I have a game idea with a simular theem. Escape from hell, using dantes hell as a model. This sounds like a simular thing. So it have my intrest peeked to say the least. I would also like to know more about the book and what you have in mind about its transition to a game. Who knows maby David would be up for a co-op project.
You can reach me at: bo.daniel.jensen@gmail.com
/Daniel
Perhaps you can tell us a little bit more about the story or post the synopsis.
Is it set in the current times or is it historical? I assume by the fact that it involves the Underworld, there is a fantastical element to the story with perhaps gods, supernatural powers and legendary abilities that you might find in mythology. But it might matter quite a bit whether it is set in the current age or in the time of legend when deciding what kind of expectations players might have about encounters and mood.
Is it very deeply Egyptian? Or is it generally mythological? Who is Duat? Who does he encounter? What does he do along the way? Does he have companions? Does he have adversaries? What kind of experience would you like to simulate in a game? Does the story allow for open-ended goals or is it supposed to simulate an adventure? What role do you think the players might take on if it were a game?
There are a lot of details that influence the direction of the design and how it might be constructed and/or marketed. So, anything more that you can provide would be helpful.
I wish I could figure out how to attach a trailer. Anyway, here is the story: it starts at a college. A college student (Alex) gets a new summer job. It it working at a dig led by one of the college professors (with a daughter). They discover a lost temple of Osiris. Prof. gets sick. The dig is de facto under control of his assistant, who is a son of a wealthy and rather strange donor. He (the assistant) discovers in the Temple a Gate into the Egypt Underworld, which is called Duat. What he wants from the underworld is to get into touch and control the Egypt equivalent of the devil (a giant snake, called Apep), plus he wants the Book of Thoth(essentially a know-it all magical book). Now, Alex and the girl follow him when he is going through the temple, but he knows and catches them with his henchmen. He leaves them to die in the firsr Gate of Duat (essentially a cave), tells them that prof. is sick, because he poisoned him using an egyptian poison to get him out of the way, and is off on his quest. The cure for prof. is, according to the egyptians, the Spear of Seth. He (the villain) tells Alex and the girl that to mock them. Seth is actually an Egyptian God and his Spear is a mythical weapon, so it is not exactly clear how that should work. Now, Alex and the girl (plus a friend or two) manage to get o of their bonds and go on a quest on their own, through the Duat, searching for the Spear of Seth. This is the bare bones of the story. If you are interested to hear more, let me know how to contact you and I can send you more details. The Duat is described in a rather realistic way, using Egyptian mythology and trying to convert it into a plausible reality. There are a few monsters along the way, of course, they are supposed to, and a few demons, who happen to care about the Spear too, in a negative way. I did my best to keep the historical accuracy. There is an alchemy angle too, since at one point they (Alex friends) need to get into the Underworld from a different entrance to rescue him, and the key is Dr. Dee's Monas Hieroglyphica (Dee was a famous alchemist, Monas is his major book).
That said, we are talking it over with David (see above).
Here is the link. I posted the trailer on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2a79wz0KF5M
Thanks for the synopsis and YouTube trailer. It sounds like a little bit of a cross between the Da Vinci Code and The Mummy. There are aspects of modern occult, historical mystery and a fantastical story merged into one. The story also seems to involve a lot of going some place to get something... as opposed to a journey through the Underworld. May I ask what audience you are targeting?
Based upon the age of the protagonists, it sounds like a young adult book. If that is the target audience, do you envision the game reaching the same audience or would you like to target people who may know nothing about the title? Basically, should the game stand alone or do you envision it tied into the book quite heavily? And, what kind of marketing do you believe will be in place to create cross-over awareness if the two are supposed to be linked?
An Egyptian mythos allows for a number of possible game design directions which might be commercial viable regardless of their connection to Spear of Seth. You can place the players on an adventure through the underworld (which either takes place through quest cards or along a board). You can make it a treasure hunt in the tombs of the Pharoahs (through tile placement or card collection). You can go in the direction of Ra or Amun-Re and make a game about civilization management/building. However, none of these directions seem to be appropriate for the story you have presented. And, I'm not entirely sure how deeply Spear of Seth is embedded in Egyptian history / mythology anyway.
As a result, you're going to need something novel if you want to tie it into the book/story that you have. But in that case, you risk producing something that is not independently viable. So, it should be a challenge. I see the possibility of retooling Pandemic or Beowulf to fit your story. Make the game a cooperative game of quest solving across the globe (or wherever your protagonists need to go). Or, it could be a digital game/App in the tradition of side-scroller adventures. However, in all these cases, the major question that you're confront is why the story/theme of Spear of Seth is compelling enough to build a game around it. And, specifically what about the adventure in Spear of Seth will make the game idiosyncratic enough to justify a game attached to new IP, as opposed to generic or existing IP?
Basically: as a game player, why should I play a game called Spear of Seth? and, as a game designer, why should I design a game about Spear of Seth?
Hi,
thanks for the question. Anyway, the protagonists are college students, so the audience it the usual audience for a fantasy novel, i.e. YA. I would prefer the game to be independent somewhat of the book. It is indeed too risky to tie it to the book, unless it is a bestseller, and that is not predictable.
Now, the easier question: why should you design it. Basically, one answer is because it may design itself. I think I could make a simple one myself. There are essentially two stories: One hero goes through the Underworld (all 12 gates, which are essentially caverns), looking for Spear of Seth (it has healing powers). The other hero is outside, looking for an exit to the Underworld, in order to get the first hero out (the original entrance was lost). This is where alchemists (the well known Dee and Kelley duo) come in. Dee wrote a book, Monas hieroglyphica, which contain a key how to get in. I think you know the book, judging from your avatar. The Duat part converts well into a game. It was quite a bit of a challenge to get it historically accurate, such as it were, but the world is there in detail, which makes the designer's life relatively easy. I do not know about anybody who tried to reconstruct it, since this really requires plodding through a lot of texts, including Book of the dead, Amduat, Book of Gates, Pyramid texts etc. "Mummy" is very different, and way less complex. Anyway, there are novel challenges in each gate, assorted demons, monsters, people and "gods", as they are supposed to, which makes life quite a bit interesting for the hero.
If the game needs to be more complex, the alchemist story can come in as a secondary level too.
Why should you play it? If you like fantasy games, you will probably like this one, I think. You will learn a lot too, about Egypt, Boook of Thoth, a central European legend and such. I tried to be historically accurate as much as I could. Not much magic involved, apaprt from Apophis in the Twelve Gate.
Anyway, thanks for the interest. I am talking it over in more detail with David now (see above). That said, if you want to know more about the book, I will be happy to send you an outline.
Anyway, Spear of Seth is an important tool in the underworld, since Seth uses it to protect Ra from Apep, as Ra's boat journeyes through the underworld. Just a comment.
I look forward to seeing it on the shelves (of iBooks). And, I wish both you and David good luck with the design. Feel free to keep us updated if you run into any stumbling blocks and need some ideas.
Thanks:).
Thank you, David,
I will send it tonight.
Rene