Game of Thrones (game)

A mock-up of the box art of the Xbox 360 version of the game.

The limited edition of the game, including art book.

Game of Thrones is the title of a single-player role-playing video game developed by Cyanide Studios and published by ATLUS in North America and Focus Home Interactive in Europe. It is available on PC, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. Originally a game based solely on the A Song of Ice and Fire novels by George R. R. Martin, Cyanide reached a deal with HBO to use art assets, music and voice actors from the TV series to make it a licensed product. It was released in the United States on 15 May 2012, and Prima Games released a strategy guide for it on the same day.

Premise

A publicity image of the game.

The game follows two characters through events in Westeros, beginning approximately four months before the death of Jon Arryn and continuing into the early part of the first season. The first character is Mors Westford, a sworn brother of the Night's Watch who is serving on the Wall with his faithful dog. The second is Alester Sarwyck, a nobleman from the south who has spent years in exile in Essos and become a priest of R'hllor, the Lord of Light. He is summoned home to Riverspring by the death of his father and an attempt by one of his bastard cousins to claim the castle. Whilst their stories are initially separated by thousands of miles, they will eventually have an impact on one another.

Characters known to appear in the computer game include Cersei Lannister, Varys and Lord Commander Jeor Mormont. Conleth Hill and James Cosmo reprise their roles from the TV series for the latter two roles. Locations from the TV series will include Castle Black and King's Landing. Other locations include Riverspring, Mole's Town and the abandoned Night's Watch castle of Icemark.

Canon status

Although using actors, music and imagery from the TV series, the computer game also references events from the Song of Ice and Fire novels that do not take place in the TV series. In addition, the visual representation of locations such as the Red Keep and Castle Black differ from the TV series in many respects. For this reason, it is assumed that the computer game is not to be considered canon for either the TV series or books, but as its own self-contained entity. For this reason, information on the houses and characters from the game should not have its own entries on this wiki.

Development

A publicity image of the game.

Cyanide Studios bought development rights to the Song of Ice and Fire novels in 2007. Initially the deal was only between Martin and Cyanide, with no involvement from HBO. Cyanide announced they would be simultaneously developing two games, an RPG and a strategy game entitled A Game of Thrones: Genesis. The strategy game, with no involvement from HBO, was released in September 2011 to largely lukewarm and negative reviews. Shortly before this, Cyanide and HBO announced that they had reached an agreement for the RPG to be released under a license allowing Cyanide to use HBO art assets, the logo from the TV series and some of the actors as well. This required some rewriting of materials already completed for the game.

George R. R. Martin has acted as consultant on the game's script, whilst Cyanide has also been advised on the setting and history of Westeros by Elio Garcia and Linda Antonsson of the Westeros.org fan site, co-writers of the forthcoming World of Ice and Fire companion book.

Reception

The game received a mixed reception, with reviewers praising the game's superior storyline and its surprising plot twists but also criticising the game's dated graphics and poor voice acting. By 18 June, the game's Metacritic rating stood at 52 out of 100.

Limited edition

The limited edition pre-order bonus included: a 64-page hardbound book showing artwork from the development of the game.

Similarities with the TV series

• Conleth Hill and James Cosmo reprise their roles as Varys and Jeor Mormont from the TV series and the character models are based closely on their depictions of the roles.
• The game uses Ramin Djawadi's main title theme from the TV series as its main theme music.
• The game uses the TV show's versions of the banners of the major houses, particularly House Arryn's which is different from the version in the novels.
• The game uses the TV show's imagery for the depiction of the exteriors of Castle Black and the Red Keep.

Differences from the TV series

• Cersei Lannister appears and plays a key role, but is not voiced by Lena Headey and does not bear a close resemblance to her.
• Qhorin Halfhand appears, though he is not voiced by Simon Armstrong, nor does he resemble him. In this case, the reason is that the deal with HBO was reached before the second season aired, and HBO chose not to give reference materials to Cyanide for Armstrong's depiction of the character.
• The interior depictions of the Red Keep and Castle Black differ notably from the TV show's. Castle Black has the switchback stair from the books (which is missing from the TV series) and its buildings are much larger.
• The exterior of King's Landing differs from the TV series. Whilst the TV series version depicts a Mediterranean-style city, the game uses a more traditional, northern European city as a model.
• Book characters who do not exist in the TV series, including Chataya and her daughter Alayaya, play a role in the computer game. In the TV series, their functions have been taken over by Ros, who is not present in the game.
• The game dates Robert's Rebellion to fifteen years before the events of the series (as in the books), not seventeen as in the TV series.
• The term 'The Others' is used in addition to the term 'White Walkers'. The TV show uses 'White Walkers' exclusively.
• The term 'R'hllor' is used in addition to the term 'Lord of Light'.

See also

• Official game website
• Focus Home Interactive press release at Westeros.org.
• Translation of a detailed playthrough of the first part of the game.