Like many people I have recently become utterly hooked on George R.R. Martin’s fantasy epic A Song of Ice and Fire, the first book of which, A Game of Thrones, has been turned into a stunning HBO series starring Sean Bean. If you haven’t already seen it words cannot express how good this series is. Superbly cast and acted and staged with utterly mindblowing production values, it is doing a great job of adapting the book’s complex political intrigue and heart-in-throat battles. Whilst there has been a wealth of superb, intelligent sci-fi series over the years, the best of which is undoubtedly Battlestar Galactica (the remake that is), there hasn’t been a single well made entry into sci-fi’s sister genre, fantasy, until now.
When fantasy is attempted it is either childish (Merlin) or downright kitsch (Xena: Warrior Princess). Of course it doesn’t help that a huge proportion of fantasy novels flooding the market are generic tripe. George R.R. Martin has been described as the American Tolkien for his intricate world building, but unsurpringly, given that fifty years have passed between the two authors, this is a fairly unfair comparison to both men. Tolkien may have started it all but his style of epic, lofty romance borrowed from dusty myth has been done to death, although that hasn’t stopped nine writers out of ten emulating the hell out of it. Thank goodness for George R.R. Martin then, for transcending the genre so magnificently with A Song of Ice and Fire; low fantasy with an incredible immediacy, focusing on blood and sex and very human flaws, rather than elves and heroes with shiny swords (although there are still a few shiny swords). Set in a land named Westeros, which isn’t a million miles from feudal Britain, the novels have a grounding in reality that most works in the genre lack, allowing its more fantastical elements to shine all the brighter.
I’ve not only been avidly watching the series, ploughing through the books at a pace that I haven’t read in a long time, but I’ve also been playing the excellent boardgame and collectable card game based on this incredible world; utterly immersing myself in it as much as possible. Now I have something else to look forward to (hopefully) in the form of a newly announced Real Time Strategy game for the PC called A Game of Thrones – Genesis.
Developed by French Cyanide Studios who, aside from their cycling games, have a couple of previous boardgame adaptations under their belt including Games Workshop’s classic Blood Bowl (American football meets Warhammer). The screenshots on offer thus far show armies amassing in fairly vibrant and well realised terrain and dragons swooping over castles perched on hills. The project certainly sounds promising with the studio showing some awareness for the spirit of the book as they strive for a “real-time strategy game, in which your political prowess will be as important as your strategic and military skills… You can choose to use a military approach and besiege your opponents, strangle them in an economical war, or even use dirty tricks and diplomacy to politically crush them.” My favourite thematic touch is the fact that if you leave your lords for too long without marrying them into alliances then they are likely to father bastards (anyone familiar with the books will know what a key role they play in events), forcing you to pay huge sums to legitimise them or risk them being exposed by the enemy, thus damaging your prestige. Add to it all the fact that the campaign scenario has been supervised by George R.R. Martin himself (though where he finds the time is anyone’s guess) and my interest has been well and truly piqued. In fact I may well have to start saving up for my first gaming PC to play it!
The game spans 1000 years of prehistory to the novels, fleshing out historic battles that are only alluded to in the book, such as Aegon the conqueror’s invasion of Westeros on the backs of huge dragons, and the war of the usurper, which put King Robert on the Iron Throne and set the whole bloody business of the books in motion. You’ll be able to play as one of the eight key houses that make up Westeros, including the wealthy and devious Lannisters, the noble Starks of Winterfell with their dire wolves in tow, the savage Greyjoys of the Iron Isles (“cruel places breed cruel men”) and the last of the Dragon Kings of House Targaryen. I can’t wait to lead the black brothers of the nights watch upon the 600 foot high ice wall that guards against the wildlings of the north, or besiege the Red Keep in King’s Landing and lay my claim upon the Iron Throne; to recreate the battles upon the Trident with the river lords, or bring the fight to the Lannisters at Casterly Rock itself.
As Cersei Lannister once warned Eddard Stark, “When you play the game of thrones, you either win or you die.” Let’s hope that the developers have taken note…
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y9UDq78LeE[/youtube]
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