Black Crown Project narrative gaming experience launched by Random House UK

Random House UK has launched stage one of the Black Crown Project, its narrative gaming experience.

Available now, Black Crown is Random House’s first move into gaming and was written by debut author Rob Sherman.

In the narrative game, players "join the shady Widsith Institute as clerks, whose work is managed through the application of bespoke diseases, to facilitate the task of categorizing and analyzing the Institute's archive of diaries and journals." Said journals belong to explorers who have traveled beyond the edge of the world.

Over the course of the story, players will learn of a mysterious figure from the Miasma Eremite, who journeyed to the town of Loss.

The narrative will also be an organic process, according to the firm, and updated in several stages after stage one’s month-long run.

“Black Crown represents Random House’s ambition to push the boundaries in online storytelling, experiment with new business models and launch a debut author in a groundbreaking way,” says Dan Franklin, digital publisher, Random House Group. “Rob Sherman is a superb writer and a rare talent, and I’m delighted to be publishing him in this way.”

The entire project will be free-to-play, with micropayment options to unlock story strands, expedite the narrative, and acquire items and status within the world.

You can learn more about the project through the official website, and have a look at screens below.