If ever there was a classic writer whose works would be a good fit for the fantastical worlds of video games, it’s the father of surrealism, Franz Kafka. You may not know him by name (though you probably should), but chances are you’ve at least peripherally crossed paths with The Metamorphosis, Kafka’s at-turns bizarre and comic tale of a man who wakes up one morning to discover he has transformed into a giant beetle.
Kafka often explored absurdist themes of bureaucracy and alienation, among other things. Given his pioneering surrealist tendencies – Kafka’s characters tended to be in nonsensically horrifying bureaucratic nightmares from which there was no escape – indie developer Denis Galanin’s adaptation of several of the authors works into a game seems to make sense.
It’s not entirely clear what kind of game The Franz Kafka Videogame will be, exactly, but given that it adapts The Castle (which Kafka interestingly never finished and somehow wrote in a way that the narrative theoretically continues on forever – seriously), The Metamorphosis and others one would imagine a game adaptation of the hapless K.’s adventures will probably revolve around adventure game-style design (logic puzzles are mentioned on the game’s website).
This isn’t actually the first time Kafka’s works have been used to fuel the design (at least initially) of a video game, either – The Castle was reportedly the initial surrealist foundation for what eventually became Suda51’s Shadows of the Damned. However that works.
The Franz Kafka Videogame hits PC, Mac and mobile next year.
Via Joystiq
