Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth

Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is a point-and-click adventure video game developed and published by German studio Daedalic Entertainment. It is based on the Ken Follett award-winning novel of the same name (which was first printed in 1989), with the Prologue/Book 1 part of the game being released on 16 August 2017, with Book 2 being released on 13 December 2017 and Book 3 released on 29 March 2018.

Gameplay
The Pillars of the Earth follows the principles of a classic point-and-click adventure: the user controls one of three main characters as they travel across highly detailed backgrounds as the plot continues. The game is almost exclusively controlled by mouse. The player holds the left mouse button over objects or characters to bring up an interaction menu with "look", "talk", and "use" options. The player may hold the space bar to have the interactive portions of the world, such as objects, highlighted. This shows differently coloured indicators for objects, characters, and travel points. The game also features an inventory screen accessed by the right mouse button. Objects gathered from the world are stored in the character's backpack, which are then used in the world and/or combined with other items to solve puzzles and advance the story. In addition, the game includes minigames, where characters interact in real time with some element in their environment.

Story
In The Pillars of the Earth, primary in-game characters, based on those in the novel, include: Aliena, Cantor (voice acted by Ken Follett), Cuthbert, Earl Bartholomew, Jack, Martha, Philip, Richard, "Shovelmonk", Tom, Waleran, and William. There are only a few playable protagonists, namely Tom, and younger and older versions of Philip, Jack, and Aliena. Game characters visit or revisit in-game locations in the fictional earldom of Shiring, such as Kingsbridge, Shiring (town), Earlscastle, and St.-John-in-the-Forest, alongside historical locations such as Gloucester, Lincoln, Salisbury, and Winchester.

Prologue
The Pillars of the Earth begins with the option of an interactive tutorial inside a cathedral. It then transitions to the Prologue (played as Tom), which is set in Shiring in 1135. It is here in the snow-covered woods near St-James-in-the-Forest, that Tom (a stonemason by trade), his heavily pregnant wife Agnes, and their children Alfred and Martha stop to rest overnight. It ends with the death of Agnes in childbirth, then transitions to the game's opening credits and Book 1.

Book 1: From the Ashes

 * Chapter 1: Philip starts on the outskirts of Kingsbridge Priory as it mourns the death of Prior James. Philip is surprised by the news, and learns of the upcoming vote for the new prior. Noting the lax discipline and sorry state of the monastery, he accepts a nomination, and endeavours to save James' papers from destruction. He also agrees to help his brother, Francis, recover a missing letter.
 * Chapter 2: Jack deals with the aftermath of the death of Agnes, the abandonment and rescue of the newborn child, and the uniting of Tom's family with Ellen (Jack's mother) and Jack.
 * Chapter 3: The Conspiracy follows Jack (accompanied by his newly extended family) from Ellen's cave to Shiring and ultimately Earlscastle, where he interacts with the local soldiers and nobles, and helps Tom to look for and find work. The main characters of Aliena and William Hamleigh are also introduced.
 * Chapter 4: The Prior of Kingsbridge begins as Philip delivers the letter to Bishop Waleran. In return, in January 1136, he gains the priorship over Sub-prior Remegius with the support of Waleran. Also, at Waleran's instigation, the Hamleighs launch a surprise attack on Earlscastle.
 * Chapter 5: The Man in the Flames sees Philip and the monks dealing with the arrival of some 200 refugees traumatised by the attack on nearby Earlscastle. Among the refugees are Tom and his family group. Jack is again tasked with helping Tom to find work, and successfully destroys the old cathedral.
 * Chapter 6: The Hamleighs sees Philip in Winchester meeting with Waleran, the Hamleighs, and Bishop Henry, all seeking the spoils of Shiring from King Stephen. With the guidance of the Hamleighs, he uncovers evidence of Waleran's duplicity at the bishop's palace, and negotiates a separate agreement for building resources.
 * Chapter 7: The Rise of Kingsbridge begins with Philip and Tom discussing plans of the new cathedral, culminating in Tom's appointment as master builder. Jack then wanders around the building site, and outside the priory, just as a new church bell is raised on a wooden platform. Here he meets and re-befriends Aliena. A "next time" preview of Book 2 is then shown, followed by the closing credits.

Book 2: Sowing the Wind
The game restarts with William and his manservant Walter holding Aliena, Richard, and their servant Matthew prisoner at Earlscastle. William chafes while waiting for news from his father, and derides Aliena at every opportunity. A rash attempt by Richard to assist Aliena results in the death of Matthew, and the game then transitions to the opening credits and Book 2.
 * Chapter 8: Aliena starts with Aliena and an injured Richard chained outside in a stable in the rain seeking a way to escape William and his henchmen. Stealing Wiilliam's horse, they head towards Winchester, but Richard's wound soon leads to a fever.
 * Chapter 9: The Oath sees Aliena and Richard in Winchester seeking their father. Needing a penny for the jailer, they befriend the wife of a wool-merchant, and swear oaths to their dying father. They then travel to Huntleigh unsuccessfully seeking their mother's sister. Aliena decides to buy some wool directly from a shepherd for resale, and is invited to Kingsbridge by Philip at the market.
 * Chapter 10: The Rise of Kingsbridge picks up the story in 1141 as Jack, who is now a couple with Aliena, albeit secretly. Building the cathedral continues despite ongoing concerns about costs, and troubles with the Hamleighs over stone and wood resources. Evidence of the Hamleighs' harsh rule become evident as well, as taxes and punishments increase in the earldom.
 * Chapter 11: The New Earl has Aliena heading off to the Shiring marketplace to sell the wool she bought upfront from the priory. With the proceeds of the sale she repays Philip for the wool, and visits Richard to resupply him with funds for his campaigning. Philip, accompanied by Aliena, is granted an audience with the new earl, William, who demands an end to the priory's market.
 * Chapter 12: The Great Beast marks the return of Waleran's schemes and plots. Philip accompanies Richard and men loyal to Stephen to Lincoln, in hopes of an appeal to the king. Stephen initially denies his request, but after the loss of the Battle of Lincoln, both are captured. After Hamleigh switches sides, Stephen decides to pre-date permission for a fleece fair and market at Kingsbridge.
 * Chapter 13: The Fleece Fair sees Tom discussing the ongoing rift between Jack and Alfred with Philip. After Tom's death at the hands of William in the church, Philip endeavours to save young Jonathan amidst the chaos of the raid on the market and the theft of the priory's patron saint. In the aftermath of the attack, Aliena loses her livelihood again, and Jack becomes a novice.
 * Chapter 14: Departure follows Aliena as she informs Jack that she will marry Alfred. Meanwhile, Philip hopes that his missing brother is still alive somehow, and Jack escapes from the priory with the help of his mother, then leaves to search for traces of his father. Aliena finds herself pregnant with Jack's child and leaves to search for him, and Alfred goes to Shiring to work on a rival cathedral. A "next time" preview of Book 3 is then shown, followed by the closing credits.

Book 3: Eye of the Storm
The game picks up with a flashback scene of the White Ship disaster, then transitions to Aliena and her child aboard a ship bound for Cherbourg. and the opening credits and Book 3.
 * Chapter 15: The Journey picks up the story in July 1142 as Aliena arrives in Normandy, having to decide which port (Barfleur, Harfleur, Honfleur) Jack may have used, and which towns or abbeys (e.g. Lessay, Mont Saint-Michel, Le Mans, Tours, Orleans, Rouen, Paris) Jack may have travelled to or through. In Tours, she finds evidence of Jack, and suffers from a fever, before taking the Camino de Santiago. Meanwhile, Jack has befriended a Muslim merchant in Toledo, and Aliena learns there of his move to Saint Denis, where they reunite and marry. The family, with Jack's "weeping statue" return to Cherbourg, where he is recognised by his father's mother.
 * Chapter 16: Home starts with Jonathan and Philip in a garden in the priory. Outside, a priest and jongleurs arrive, and Philip reluctantly welcomes the moneymaking statue as a means to fund Jack's rebuilding program. Philip, Jack, Aliena, and Richard then travel to Shiring to warn Waleran and William against interfering in the renovations at Kingsbridge.
 * Chapter 17: The Storm moves the timeline forward 11 years to 1154 when England suffers from a prolonged drought. After a crack appears, Jack finds Prior James' hidden chamber under the cathedral and the chalice his father was accused of stealing. Meanwhile, after nearly 15 years, the civil war ends and Aliena befriends a distressed Elizabeth Hamleigh during a storm.
 * Chapter 18:
 * Chapter 19: The Return To Earlscastle
 * Chapter 20: The End
 * Chapter 21: Epilogue

Production
The basic game concept for The Pillars of the Earth began in May 2014, when Cologne-based publishing company Bastei Lübbe acquired a majority interest in Hamburg-based video game developer and publisher Daedalic Entertainment to expand its portfolio. At the Frankfurt Book Fair 2014, Daedalic CEO Carsten Fichtelmann suggested to Ken Follett a conversion of his novel. The game, whose German book publishing rights are held by Bastei Lübbe, was then announced around the same time.

The game follows in the genre of similar point and click adventures released by the same company, such as The Whispered World, A New Beginning, and Deponia. Described as "A thousand-page novel, adapted as a videogame across 21 chapters", the game is set in three parts. Book 1 was released in mid-August 2017 on Steam, and Book 2 in mid-December. A GOG release of Book 2 will be by the end of December, and PS4 and Xbox One editions are expected by the end of January 2018. Book 3: Eye on the Storm was released at the end of March 2018.

Like others in the genre, the game is made using the Visionaire Studio engine, and features a 2D scrolling viewport with parallax layers. Visually, the game includes over 200 hand-painted backgrounds over which animated sprites interact. The soundtrack was produced by Tilo Alpermann. The score was recorded in Prague by FILMhaormnic Orchestra, while medieval choral elements were recorded in Berlin-Pankow's Hoffnungskirche. It is available in eleven languages: Chinese (simplified and traditional), Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Voice actors recorded nearly 40 hours of voiceovers, including Ken Follett who also added his voice to the game.

Reception
The Pillars of the Earth has received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Blake Hester from GameSpot praised the game's characters, unique visuals, and story development, but critiqued it also for a lack of drama or tangible tension, "snail-paced" narrative, and slow frame-rates (on Xbox One) and loading times.