UPDATE for 1 January
Happy New Years to all and welcome to 2019!
I’ve been kicking around a new idea as a yearlong challenge, just to make things even more interesting for me. I am not only a member of this backlog gaming group - I’ve joined an online book reading challenge group for the next year as well. And so I’ve hit on the idea that perhaps I can combine the projects by choosing related items from each.
So to that end, my very first selections for January will be:
| GAME | Orwell: Keeping An Eye On You | est. 9 hours playtime (HLTB) |
| BOOK | 1984 by George Orwell | 328 pages |
Now I won’t promise that all my matchups will be perfect. Due to working off this group’s varying monthly themes and trying to tie my existing game library with my existing book library, it could be an exercise in creativity. In some cases they might only tangentially be related, perhaps by similar settings or genres. But I’ve already got a solid running list of possibilities and I think it could work. Talk about immersion, folks!
And so, my Assassin friends, it begins here.
Games played over the weekend:
- 9.03m
0.2 hours playtime
no achievements
- Conan Exiles
145 hours playtime
16 of 25 achievements
I love this book. If you like it, give “Animal Farm” a try, as well. It’s my favorite from Orwell.
edit: I just saw that it was already recommended, so I’ll just second it.
I have a copy of Animal Farm too in my attic, so I’ll definitely get around someday to reading it. Thanks!
I see you went through with your idea. I really like it, looking forward to your posts. And making some creative connections between the two backlogs sounds like a fun thing to do in itself alone.
Thanks kindly for the encouragement. And yeah, I’ve already spent a bit of time researching plotlines of a few games just to see if I have any matchups. Have a running list of possibilities going on Google Docs lol, and it’s becoming a hobby in itself.
Hmmm cool idea. I read 1984 years ago, and I think the game did a great job of conveying a modern sense of government mandated monitoring. There’s actually a few games that are directly related to novels I can think of.
I would love to hear about any matchups you know of! I’m building a list of possibilities, mainly with games/books I already own since both groups are backlog focused groups. But never know when I acquire new things. ;)
Hmm ok well off the top of my head…
Spec ops : the line is heavily inspired by Josephs Conrad’s ‘Heart of darkness’, and also does a good job of conveying the same sense, albeit in a modern context.
Bioshock is heavily tied in to ‘Atlas shrugged’ by Ayn Rand, although more in the philosophies behind it than in actual story
80 Days is taken from the Jules Verne book
Enslaved : odyssey to the west based on a chinese novel
Alice Madness returns is based on a twisted version of the Lewis Carroll books
The ABC murders is from the Agatha Christie book
Bedlam based on a book by the same name
Ken Follett’s The Pillars of the Earth
Obviously any of the Sherlock holmes games would work
The 39 steps is a bit boring to play, but it’s literally the same story as the novel
James bond obviously, although we’ve not had a new game for a while
Metro 2033 and The witcher series are obviously both based on book series
Then you have your more ‘set in the same universe ‘ type of games, which covers any of the Tom clancy games, any lord of the rings games, the S.T.A.L.K.E.R games and just about any game with a ‘lovecraftian’ angle, so anything with cthulhu, or ‘eldritch’ horrors.
I also recently found out that the assassin’s creed series was inspired by a book called ‘alamut’ from the 1930s, so you could stretch that if you wanted.
Thanks kindly! Adding the ones I didn’t know about to my list of future ideas!
What an interesting idea! Can’t wait to see what you pick for the next “kill”! ;D
Also, good choice in book, George Orwell is great writer. His books offer so much to think about. Animal Farm is great experience too! ;)
i’ve read 1984 but not animal farm — i’ll have to add that to my books backlog.
Hehe, happy to offer an inspiration. ;)
I do have Animal Farm too, and it’s funny that a RL friend recommended I read that one too (instead of 1984 even!)
Just went with 1984 because I thought it might suit the game’s theme a bit better.
Must be a destiny! :D
Yes, I think you chose well the theme, game and book. But I can understand him recommending Animal Farm, don’t want to spoil you the enjoyment or anything, just 1984 can get rather heavy… but well it depends on the reader too. ;)
I am really interested at the outcome of your experiment. :)