Dante's Inferno Has Room For "At Least" Two More Games

Keane Ng

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Dante's Inferno Has Room For "At Least" Two More Games



Dante's Inferno devs Visceral Games say there's room for the franchise to expand to "at least" two more games, if the first one works out alright.

Like Star Wars, The Godfather or Robocop, Dante's The Divine Comedy has three parts. Inferno takes Dante through hell, Purgatorio finds him chilling out in Purgatory, and in Paradiso (spoiler alert) he finally makes it into Heaven, where he's reunited with his beloved Beatrice and literally comes face-to-face with God.

Only one of these books is being made into a videogame at the moment - Inferno - but the fact that there's more material to adapt means that the folks at Visceral Games feel that, post-Dante's Inferno, there's "at least room for two more [games] after that," as they told VG247 [http://www.vg247.com/2009/06/09/dantes-inferno-room-for-at-least-two-more-games-says-schofield/].

This could mean more games in the Inferno vein, and I'd imagine that they should, because Purgatorio and Paradiso don't exactly make as exciting reading as Inferno, and moreover don't seem nearly as suited toward a game adaptation, however loose. How you can turn a book about a dude walking around Heaven into an action game starring a guy who wields a huge scythe and slays demons is beyond me.

That'll be a bridge Visceral will cross when it comes to it, however. The studio seems to have a large vision of where they could go with the franchise, but are firmly focused on the task of getting Inferno out the door in good condition right now.

"We're not going to make any other games unless this one comes out fantastic, and that's the same thing with any game that we're working on," general manager Glen Schofield said. "We focus, focus, focus on this one, knowing that there are opportunities to make others, but nobody's thinking about them right now."


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Kilo24

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I... er... meep... eh.

Granted, that was my reaction to the initial announcement of its release. Maybe it'll change into a stealth game, stalking Beatrice as a period-accurate form of courtly love. The original books basically lacked that certain element of conflict necessary to a game.

...Now I could understand if they turned it into an Ultima-whatever-number-it-was-esque game about laboring to improve your virtues. That would maintain the tone. Somehow, I doubt that they will.

Edit:
Internet Kraken said:
Keane Ng said:
Only one of these books is being made into a videogame at the moment
That's a laugh.

This game is almost nothing like the book.
Hey! It hasn't been released! You don't know that!

...Actually, never mind.
 

Andy_Panthro

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"How you can turn a book about a dude walking around Heaven into an action game starring a guy who wields a huge scythe and slays demons is beyond me."

Change "heaven" to "hell" and you have the main criticism from people who've read the book.

To be honest, the game is only very vaguely associated with Dante's Inferno at the moment, so I can imagine them looking at purgatory and heaven as possible sequels.

Heaven seems the easiest, you could have him fight angels and saints to get a second chance on Earth with his love... would attract some free publicity also.

Not sure what the best angle for purgatory would be though.

[edit]
Kilo24 said:
...Now I could understand if they turned it into an Ultima-whatever-number-it-was-esque game about laboring to improve your virtues. That would maintain the tone. Somehow, I doubt that they will.
Ultima IV: Quest of the Avatar [http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/ultima-iv-quest-of-the-avatar] - this was actually my first Ultima game, which I never completed! (I was young, it was tough!)

I figured the point-and-click adventure route would have been able to be the most faithful.
 

scotth266

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Andy_Panthro said:
Not sure what the best angle for purgatory would be though.
You fight everyone there? Purgatory could be a sort of middle ground, a gladiatorial arena area where souls fight to escape the edges of hell and get back into the real world. Think Ratchet Deadlocked.

The game looks bad anyway... I hope that isn't the case though, fan of the Inferno that I am.
 

sheic99

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I doubt this game will sell enough copies to warrant a seconded game.
 

Andy_Panthro

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scotth266 said:
Andy_Panthro said:
Not sure what the best angle for purgatory would be though.
You fight everyone there? Purgatory could be a sort of middle ground, a gladiatorial arena area where souls fight to escape the edges of hell and get back into the real world. Think Ratchet Deadlocked.

The game looks bad anyway... I hope that isn't the case though, fan of the Inferno that I am.
Since Purgatory is usually portrayed as mindless everlasting toil, grey and boring, to punish minor sins... I'd say it should be a poorly conceived dull RPG level grind for about 50 hours.
 

gmer412

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Keane Ng said:
Only one of these books is being made into a videogame butchered at the moment
Fixed.

Paradiso and Purgatorio would be awful as games. Even worse than this one. At least the inferno has the setting of hell for SOMETHING. I can see Paradiso now: "Well, Dante, you've made it to heaven. Congratulations." "That's it?" "Yup." "Cool. What is there to do here?" "Well, there's shuffleboard......."
 

WrongSprite

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Keane Ng said:
Dante's Inferno Has Room For "At Least" Two More Games

Dante's Inferno devs Visceral Games say there's room for the franchise to expand to "at least" two more games, if the first one works out alright.
There we go, no need to worry about any more games.
 

Skreeee

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To bad Heaven's not as tangible or interesting a concept to the general public as Hell is. Just compare the great detail as to just what Hell's supposed to be compared to what Heaven and Purgatory are generally described as. Unless the first game breaks some sort of sales records I doubt they'll waste the money and man hours making sequels that would be even harder conceptual sells.
 

JRCB

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KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!!

Seriously, this series doesn't need any more butchering.
 

DeadlyYellow

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I take it they'll end with a cliffhanger then?

I don't know how, but they seem intent on perverting the Divine Comedy.
 

Keane Ng

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All you guys complaining about how Inferno is nothing like Inferno - I was with you at the beginning, but at this point I think the adaptation is so loose that there's barely even anything to criticize anymore. It's just a completely different entity from the poem, there's no point in getting bothered over the fact that it's "butchering" Dante.

I just can't see how you could even stretch things so far to make something out of Purgatory or Heaven - that seems to me like making a game out of Ulysses or something. But crazier things have been done.
 

Kilo24

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Izzil said:
To bad Heaven's not as tangible or interesting a concept to the general public as Hell is. Just compare the great detail as to just what hell's supposed to be compared to what Heaven and Purgatory are generally described as. Unless the first game breaks some sort of sales records I doubt they'll waste the money and man hours making sequels that would be even harder conceptual sells.
Until Dante's Inferno came out, that wasn't true. Sensationalizing hell with vivid descriptions was basically the main allure of the book (as well as not writing it in Latin, the flagrant noncomformist.) And he did render Purgatory and Paradisio in a similar fashion, but no one remembers those as well.

So, care to muse about prospective boss fights, anyone? Socrates hurling hemlock for the first layer while summoning swarms of gadflies? Pope Clement V sticking out of a boulder rolling around to kick at you with flaming feet? Lucifer's heads spitting out Judas, Brutus, and Cassius to quadruple-team you?

Bonus points if the main character screams at any point in the game, "Eat contrapasso, dudes!"
 

Kilo24

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Keane Ng said:
All you guys complaining about how Inferno is nothing like Inferno - I was with you at the beginning, but at this point I think the adaptation is so loose that there's barely even anything to criticize anymore. It's just a completely different entity from the poem, there's no point in getting bothered over the fact that it's "butchering" Dante.
Well, that's kind of the point. It shares the name of Dante's Inferno, and as such connotes association with the classical literature that is not followed through on. And that's the source of bitching in one sentence.

Keane Ng said:
I just can't see how you could even stretch things so far to make something out of Purgatory or Heaven - that seems to me like making a game out of Ulysses or something. But crazier things have been done.
After the first game, we'll all just say "What the hell" and toss in for the sequels.

Anyone else heard anything about the upcoming Don Quixote game where he fights legions of invading windmills?