Making it in Unreal: Imperium Omni is a new kind of novel adaptation

Imagine, for one panicked moment, that you have to make a videogame based on a novel. Adaptation is tricky enough but it’s still a new concept in the game industry - perhaps mastered only by CD Projekt Red. The Witcher games would be a wise model to follow; go hard on established and beloved characters while rebuilding the world to fit around them. That’s one aspect to get your head around. Now imagine that the novel isn’t written yet. You’ll be writing code and prose at the same time, weaving one project into the other, rooting them both in the same fantasy lore and atmosphere. Screaming yet? Here’s an important caveat: you’ve got two decades of development time. “Technically, I began writing both the story and game 20 years ago,” Imperium Omni developer and writer Matt Thomas tells us. “Although practically, it’s been just the last two years since I released the novel and now the Kickstarter campaign to create the videogame.” Imperium Omni enters the final phase of its development - the actual creation of the game - on January 28, when its crowdfunding campaign gets started. It’s a unique, parallel project that Thomas has chosen to put together in Unreal Engine 4.

from PCGamesN http://bit.ly/2sqhmL3