Dante's Inferno (HD Cinematic Gameplay Trailer)

Punish the Damned to Save The Woman You Love

A Man Who Fears No Death

In The 9 Circles Learns Quickly

To Fear His Sins

Story:

Close to seven hundred years ago, Dante Alighieri, who is widely thought of as the father of the Italian language, wrote a book that became the definitive medieval view of the afterlife. A mix of Biblical references as well as Italian folklore and mythology of the time, the Divine Comedy encapsulated Dante's quest for his ideal woman, Beatrice. Not only is the Divine Comedy widely considered to be one of the greatest classics of literature, but it influenced artists like Rodin, Blake, Dore and Delacroix. Soon, the Divine Comedy will influence a new kind of media with EA's upcoming release of Dante's Inferno. I managed to go to Florence, Italy (the birthplace of Dante) to get some hands on time with the game and learn about the adaptation of the book into an action experience for the 21st century.

Jonathan Knight, the Executive Producer and Creative Director of Dante's Inferno, mentioned at the start of his presentation that since Dante's work had been interpreted in movies, music and art, the development team would have to determine which elements of the Comedy could be manipulated to fit a video game context and which could remain the same. After a bunch of work, there were four elements he wanted his team to focus on: the setting, the characters, the theme and the story itself. Knight mentioned that the overall setting of the inferno would essentially remain the same. "We start at the gates of hell, on the surface and it finishes in the ninth circle of hell with the ultimate boss, of course," Knight said. Thanks to Dante's vivid descriptions of Hell, Knight said, the concept of the game was essentially created as a level based experience. "Dante has fundamentally mapped Hell," Knight said, and those directions influenced just about every segment of the environmental design for each level.