Talented Writer offers Divine
Inspiration to Gamers
Beyond Divinity Gets its own
Novella
11 March 2004
Bold new publisher Digital Jesters
continues its plans to dominate the PC sector with its forthcoming release of
fantasy RPG Beyond Divinity, which will exclusively feature a specially written
50-page plus novella by prestigious and respected writer Rhianna Pratchett. The
novella, Child of the Chaos, weaves a masterful tale set in the original fantasy
realm of the Divinity Universe, exploring magic and riftrunning between worlds,
and capturing the imagination and essence of the game in its skillfully drafted
pages and illustrations.
The novella will be offered as a
special bundle retail pack and pre-order gift to UK gamers, with European gamers
being able to receive the novella from the official Beyond Divinity website on
game launch for a nominal postage cost. Stateside gamers won’t be left out
either, as North American publisher Hip GamesTM is offering the special retail
pack through Best Buy (US).
With all game scripts and storylines
edited by Rhianna herself and game code developed by Belgium-based Larian
Studios, Beyond Divinity offers gamers and RPG fans a unique and rich fantasy
world extending the team’s award-winning precursory game Divine Divinity, which
was published to critical acclaim in August 2002.
Beyond Divinity boasts an original
and imagination-capturing storyline portrayed by a superior game engine and
features stunningly detailed role-playing, where players assume the role of a
character soul-forged with a terrifying Death Knight. The player’s fate is to
spend the rest of eternity bonded to this creature of evil, unless they can undo
the curse – resulting in an epic adventure to unlock the secret of ‘Riftrunning’…
the only answer to a life of darkness.
The game features a deep and
detailed storyline filled with plot twists and optional sub-quests. Yet despite
its intricacies, Beyond Divinity is an accessible RPG, which handholds novices
through the early stages – although experienced adventurers can whiz off at a
pace of their choosing. A unique summoning doll adds a fresh element to the
game, and with total party control, players can experience a level of
interaction and adventuring unlike those seen before. Additionally, Beyond
Divinity boasts endless replay value through its unique battlefield generator.
Leo Zullo, Marketing Director,
Digital Jesters said: "Rhianna has played a central role in the development
process of Beyond Divinity helping provide stunning scripts and inventive
storylines. Her 50-page plus novella, Child of the Chaos, will be a real treat
for new and existing gamers entering the Divinity realm"
Beyond Divinity will be available in
the UK for PC CD-ROM on April 8th 2003. Priced 29.99 it will be published
throughout the UK by Digital Jesters. Larian Studios has secured individual
publishing rights with a number of top publishers across Europe for the European
version, whilst North American publisher Hip GamesTM will handle the US novella
bundle deal across the US. A Macintosh version will follow later.
For more information visit the
official site: www.beyond-divinity.com
Note to editors: Founded in Sept
2003, Digital Jesters is a new publisher with a fresh attitude. Signing only
quality titles, Digital Jesters portfolio consists of Trackmania, Virtual
Skipper 3, Savage, Pro Rugby Manager, Desert Rats vs Afrika Korps, and Beyond
Divinity. The team has over 30 years experience, and prior to this were
responsible for setting up CDV Software’s UK division, generating over 2.5
million in the first 12 months, and breaking in new brands such as Cossacks,
Sudden Strike, Divine Divinity and Breed.
For more information visit
www.digitaljesters.com.
About Hip GamesHip GamesTM (
www.hip-games.com ), a division of Hip
Interactive Corp., provides Exclusive Distribution service and unique Publishing
opportunities to publishers and developers from around the world, in both PC and
console formats. Large enough to reach almost every major North American
retailer and committed to working intimately with its business partners, Hip
GamesTM always comes to play.
About Hip Interactive Corp.Hip
Interactive ( www.hipinteractive.com
) is a leading North American provider of electronic entertainment products,
including PC and video games, movies, video arcade games, and proprietary games,
branded as Hip GamesTM, and accessories, branded as Hip GearTM. The Company
distributes all first party products, including Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo
hardware, software and accessories, as well as third party licensed video game
software. Hip Interactive trades on The Toronto Stock exchange under the symbol
"HP".