Kontextmaschine

29th August 2022

Post reblogged from David J Prokopetz with 1,845 notes

dagny-hashtaggart:
Falling down a wiki hole about video game adaptations of The Name of the Rose, and particularly La Abadia del Crimen (a 1987 Spanish-language adventure game based on the novel; a redux version is available for free on Steam, including translations into English, French, and Italian), which has yielded what is certainly one of the better paragraphs written about a video game:
If the player disobeys any orders, or are late for services or meals, then their obsequium level, indicated on the bottom right-hand-side of the screen, will drop (obsequium is Latin for subservience or obedience). If the player’s obsequium level drops to zero, the abbot will not tolerate their disrespect any longer, and the player is asked to leave the abbey, while missing a prayer office or being caught wandering around at night results in immediate expulsion - both mean that the game is over.
There is also a form of copy protection: if an illegal copy of the game was detected, then once the player entered the church, instead of “Ave Maria” playing, a voice would cry “¡Pirata!” (Spanish for “pirate”) ten times in descending tones before the game crashed.
The game had a modest commercial success and was never officially released outside of Spain, a country where it came to achieve a cult following. The game is considered one of the perfect ten games for the Spectrum 128 according to Retro Gamer.
The game was referenced on a Spanish postal stamp.

Tagged: vidya