Riverworld (video game)
Encyclopedia
Riverworld is a PC game released in 1998 by Cryo entertainment, based on the series of novels
by Philip José Farmer
.
In the game, the player takes the role of Richard Burton
, the nineteenth century explorer. The game begins with a lengthy cinematic sequence, showing what happens to Burton after he has died - how he comes to enter Riverworld.
The game is similar in concept to real time strategy games, such as Microsoft
's Age Of Empires. Although Burton is the central character, it is seen from a third-person perspective, and other people within the game can be moved and controlled.
The game begins in the Wood age - a very primitive time where wood from trees is the main resource. The game then advances, after completing sufficient technological research and recruiting a special sort of builder (e.g. Jules Verne from the Electric Age) to build a special structure to proceed to the next ages, including the Stone and Iron Ages to more modern ages (Steel, Uranium), and through to the future, with corresponding advances in technology and weaponry.
Riverworld
Riverworld is a fictional planet and the setting for a series of science fiction books written by Philip José Farmer . Riverworld is an artificial environment where all humans are reconstructed. The books explore interactions of individuals from many different cultures and time periods...
by Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer
Philip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
.
In the game, the player takes the role of Richard Burton
Richard Francis Burton
Captain Sir Richard Francis Burton KCMG FRGS was a British geographer, explorer, translator, writer, soldier, orientalist, cartographer, ethnologist, spy, linguist, poet, fencer and diplomat. He was known for his travels and explorations within Asia, Africa and the Americas as well as his...
, the nineteenth century explorer. The game begins with a lengthy cinematic sequence, showing what happens to Burton after he has died - how he comes to enter Riverworld.
The game is similar in concept to real time strategy games, such as Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
's Age Of Empires. Although Burton is the central character, it is seen from a third-person perspective, and other people within the game can be moved and controlled.
Gameplay
The player begins with control of one territory along the River, with two opponents - shown in green and blue, and led by other historical figures - controlling other territories. These areas of land can be captured by gaining control of the central grail stone - a mushroom shaped object in the centre of each. More people can be recruited by building houses, for which building material needs to be collected. Towers can be built for defense purposes, Barracks can be built to train soldiers, Warehouses can be built to construct war machines, Stores can be built to add building materials to stockpile, Docks can be built to construct ships, Workshops can be built to train people as engineers and scientists and Technology centres can be built in order to advance the civilisation.The game begins in the Wood age - a very primitive time where wood from trees is the main resource. The game then advances, after completing sufficient technological research and recruiting a special sort of builder (e.g. Jules Verne from the Electric Age) to build a special structure to proceed to the next ages, including the Stone and Iron Ages to more modern ages (Steel, Uranium), and through to the future, with corresponding advances in technology and weaponry.
External links
- Philip José Farmer's Riverworld at MobyGames