Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Developer(s) | Daedalic Entertainment |
| Publisher(s) | Daedalic Entertainment |
| Designer(s) | Matthias Kempke Kevin Mentz Valentina Tamer |
| Programmer(s) | Thorben Kohler |
| Composer(s) | Tilo Alpermann |
| Platform(s) |
|
| Release date(s) | Linux, macOS, Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One 16 August 2017 iOS 4 April 2018 Amazon Luna 20 October 2020 Nintendo Switch 2 March 2023 |
| Genre(s) | Point-and-click adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth is an exciting point-and-click adventure video game. It was created by a German company called Daedalic Entertainment. The game is based on the famous book The Pillars of the Earth by Ken Follett.
This game lets you experience the story of the book across 21 chapters. It was released in three main parts, called "Books." Book 1 came out in August 2017, Book 2 in December 2017, and Book 3 in March 2018.
Contents
Playing the Game: A Point-and-Click Adventure
The Pillars of the Earth plays like a classic point-and-click adventure game. You control one of three main characters. As you play, you explore beautiful, detailed backgrounds.
How to Control Your Character
You mostly use your mouse to play. You click and hold the left mouse button over objects or people. This brings up a menu with choices like "look," "talk," or "use." If you press the space bar, important items or characters in the world will light up. This helps you find things you can interact with.
Using Your Inventory and Solving Puzzles
The game also has an inventory screen, which you open with the right mouse button. This is like a backpack where you store items you find. You can use these items in the game world or combine them with other items. This helps you solve puzzles and move the story forward. There are also mini-games where your character interacts with things in their environment in real time.
Who You Play As and Where You Go
You'll meet many characters from the original book. Some of the main characters you can play as are Tom, Philip, Jack, and Aliena. You'll see them at different ages in the game.
The game takes you to fictional places like Kingsbridge and Shiring. You also visit real historical cities in England, such as Gloucester, Lincoln, Salisbury, and Winchester.
The Story: Building a Cathedral in Medieval Times
The game starts with an optional tutorial inside a grand cathedral. Then, the main story begins in 1135 in a snowy forest near Shiring. Here, you meet Tom, his pregnant wife Agnes, and their children. Sadly, Agnes dies during childbirth.
Book 1: From the Ashes
The story then moves to Kingsbridge Priory, where the monks are sad about the death of their leader, Prior James. Philip, a monk, is surprised by the news. He learns that a new prior will be chosen soon. Philip agrees to be nominated for the role. He also helps his brother, Francis, find a missing letter.
Meanwhile, you see what happens after Agnes's death. Her newborn child is left alone but then rescued. Tom's family joins with Ellen's family. You follow Jack from Ellen's cave to Shiring and then to Earlscastle. He helps Tom find work there. You also meet Aliena and William Hamleigh. Philip delivers the letter to Bishop Waleran.
In January 1136, Philip becomes the new prior with Waleran's help. Waleran also encourages the Hamleigh family to attack Earlscastle. Philip and the monks then welcome about 200 people who fled from Earlscastle. Tom and his family are among them. Jack helps Tom find work again, and they successfully destroy the old cathedral.
Philip travels to Winchester to meet with Waleran, the Hamleighs, and Bishop Henry. They all want to gain power from King Stephen. Philip and the Hamleighs discover that Waleran has been dishonest. Philip then makes a separate deal to get resources for building. Book 1 ends with Philip and Tom planning the new cathedral. Tom is chosen as the master builder. Jack then explores the building site and becomes friends with Aliena again.
Book 2: Sowing the Wind
This part begins with William and his helper Walter holding Aliena and Richard captive at Earlscastle. William is impatient and often insults Aliena. Aliena and Richard escape on William's horse and go to Winchester to find their father. There, they become friends with a wool merchant's wife. They promise their dying father they will stay strong.
Aliena decides to buy wool directly from a shepherd to sell it herself. Philip invites her to Kingsbridge. The story jumps to 1141. Jack and Aliena are now a couple, but they keep it a secret. Building the cathedral continues, even with money problems and issues with the Hamleighs. The Hamleighs are also ruling harshly.
Aliena goes to the Shiring marketplace and uses her earnings to give money to Richard. Philip and Aliena meet the new earl, William, who demands that the priory's market be closed. Waleran continues to make plans against them. Philip goes with Richard to Lincoln to ask the king for help. King Stephen first says no. But after losing the Battle of Lincoln, both Philip and Stephen are captured.
After William changes sides, Stephen agrees to allow a market at Kingsbridge. In revenge, William attacks the market, and Aliena loses her way of making money. Jack becomes a novice monk, and Aliena tells him she will marry Alfred. Jack then leaves to search for his father in France. Aliena finds out she is pregnant with Jack's child and leaves to find him. Alfred goes to Shiring to work on a different cathedral.
Book 3: Eye of the Storm
This part starts with a quick look back at the White Ship disaster. Then, it jumps to July 1142, when Aliena arrives in Normandy. In Tours, she finds clues about Jack. She then travels on the Camino de Santiago. Meanwhile, Jack has become friends with a Muslim merchant in Toledo. Aliena tracks him to Saint Denis, where they get married.
The family returns to Cherbourg, where Jack is recognized by his father's mother. Next, Philip reluctantly accepts Jack's statue, which makes money for the cathedral rebuilding. Philip, Jack, Aliena, and Richard travel to Shiring. They warn Waleran and William not to interfere with the Kingsbridge renovations.
The story moves forward 11 years to 1154. England is suffering from a long drought and famine. After a crack appears, Jack finds Prior James's secret room under the cathedral. He finds the chalice his father was accused of stealing. He also reveals his part in the cathedral fire. Meanwhile, after almost 15 years, the civil war ends. Aliena becomes friends with Elizabeth Hamleigh during a storm.
Philip's book, written during this time, causes problems. Outlaws, led by 'The Butcher', start to gather in the quarry. Aliena goes into Earlscastle to try and remove William from power. She confronts him as Richard and the outlaws attack. Walter then helps with the change of power. Waleran arrests Philip. At the trial before Bishop Henry in the cathedral, all the different parts of the story come together through Prior Remegius. Waleran is arrested, and Philip goes through a trial by fire. In the Epilogue, 20 years later, Philip and Waleran meet one last time.
How the Game Was Made
The idea for The Pillars of the Earth game started in May 2014. This was when a company called Bastei Lübbe bought most of Daedalic Entertainment. They wanted to make more types of products. At a book fair in 2014, Daedalic's CEO, Carsten Fichtelmann, suggested turning Ken Follett's novel into a game.
Game Development and Release Dates
The game's style is similar to other point-and-click games made by Daedalic. These include The Whispered World, A New Beginning, and Deponia. The game was released in three parts. Book 1 came out in mid-August 2017 on Steam. Book 2 followed in mid-December. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions were available in January 2018. Book 3: Eye on the Storm was released at the end of March 2018. An iOS version came out on April 4, 2018, and a version for Amazon Luna was released on October 20, 2020.
Art, Music, and Languages
The game was made using the Visionaire Studio engine. It features over 200 hand-painted backgrounds. Animated characters move on top of these beautiful scenes. The music was created by Tilo Alpermann. The score was recorded in Prague by the FILMharmonic Orchestra. Medieval choir music was recorded in Berlin-Pankow.
The game is available in eleven languages. These include Chinese, Danish, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Voice actors recorded almost 40 hours of dialogue. Even Ken Follett, the author of the book, lent his voice to the game!
