Fine purveyor of good books Random House have made the leap into game publishing with Black Crown. It’s something they’re terming a narrative experience but it falls under the banner of Interactive Fiction. Interestingly, it’s also a free-to-play title with plotlines locked off behind microtransactions. A novel way of finding revenue in a book – similar to the Bernard Black technique.
Written by Rob Sherman, Black Crown has you play the role of a researcher joining the Widsith Institute. As part of the institution you’ll discover all its dark secrets, including the eponymous Black Crown Project.
It’s good to see a company like Random House getting in on the Interactive Fiction game, if they hire writers who know the medium well then they could produce some really high quality games, ones which are all of a good standard. However, if they rush in and treat IF simply as interactive books then this may become a bit of a fail.
You can sign up to play Black Crown over here.