Fallen London
| Fallen London | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Failbetter Games |
| Engine | StoryNexus |
| Platform(s) | Browser, iOS |
| Release date(s) |
Browser
iOS
|
| Genre(s) | Adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Fallen London, originally titled Echo Bazaar and developed by Failbetter Games, is a browser-based choose-your-own-adventure game set in "Fallen London", an alternative Victorian London with gothic overtones.[1][2] The franchise subsequently expanded to other games, including a PC game of "survival, discovery and loneliness", Sunless Sea.
The game won The Escapist "Best Browser-Based Game" award for the year 2009.[3]
Setting
The titular bazaar of the game is a sentient being. It is controlled by several Masters, each with their own control over Fallen London's business (Mr Apples, for instance, controlling agriculture, while Mr Fires rules industry). The monarch of the city, Her Enduring Majesty the Traitor Empress, sold the city to the bazaar to spare the life of her husband Albert, Prince Consort in 1861. The entire city was then taken a mile beneath the surface by a swarm of bats, where it has remained for nearly thirty years.
London is only the latest, fifth city to be taken underground in a pattern stretching across thousands of years, although certain storylines show that it has not lost contact with the outside world. Surrounding Fallen London is the Unterzee, a subterranean ocean with many islets and infested with monstrous sea life; experienced players may sail across it to visit other locations in connection with story lines based in Fallen London. Among these is Polythreme, a country where inanimate objects become alive and sentient (and source of Clay Men, the golems used as cheap labor in London), the Iron Republic, a devil-ruled place in which even reality is subject to the capricious and constantly changing written laws, and the Khanate, a rival nation to Fallen London made up of the descendents of the fourth city that was taken, Karakorum.
Fallen London has also found itself much closer to Hell: devils appear constantly and casually in various storylines, and even maintain an embassy in the city itself. A dream-realm, Parabola, is closer to London than to surface locations, and is sometimes visible through mirrors.
Release
Fallen London was released in 2009 as a browser game. An iOS version was released in 2016.[4]
Successors
A tabletop game titled Knife & Candle (named for the competitive sport within the setting that combines elements of tag and a free-for-all murder spree) was in development.[5] However, as of May 30, 2013, John Harper has stated that the game "didn't come together."[6]
Tales of Fallen London: The Silver Tree, a prequel to Fallen London, was released on October 23, 2012.[7] The Silver Tree is also a browser-based choose-your-own-adventure game, but occurs roughly five hundred years before the time of Fallen London and focuses on the events surrounding the fall of the Fourth City, Karakorum, capital of the Mongol Empire.
Sunless Sea is a roguelike spin-off of Fallen London that takes place in the same universe and around the same time period. The game was officially released on 6 February 2015.[8]
References
- ↑ Taymar (February 12, 2010). "How to Play Echo Bazaar". MMORPG.com. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ↑ "The Thing About Echo Bazaar, or Why I Have Over Fifty Tattoos of a Nonexistent Aunt". Pissy Little Sausages. May 11, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ↑ The Escapist Staff (March 12, 2010). "The Escapist Awards 2009 – Winners Announcement". The Escapist. Themis Group. Retrieved April 27, 2011.
- ↑ Matulef, Jeffrey (May 28, 2015). "Sunless Sea's predecessor Fallen London is coming to iOS". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
- ↑ "Knife & Candle, a Game for Delicious Friends".
- ↑ "Knife & Candle, RE: Update?". Retrieved 11 August 2014.
- ↑ Failbettergames.com
- ↑ Myers, Adam (27 March 2015). "Sunless Sea Sales and Funding Deep Dive, Part III: Early Access and Final Release". Gamasutra. UBM plc. Retrieved 30 March 2015.