Libraries in Video Games

Château Guillard Library (Overwatch)

Happy National Library Week to all our followers in US!

The concept of the infinite library has been explored by authors such as Lewis Carroll, Terry Pratchett, Umberto Eco and Jorge Luis Borges. Library of Blabber is a free video game based on the Borges’ short story “The Library of Babel”, which imagines an endless library which holds all the possible books of the universe, and on Jonathan Basile's libraryofbabel.info project.

The Magic Library is one of the stages available in Heroes Tactics.

Representing libraries as mage academies is a cliche in fantasy RPG and strategy games, which is worth deconstructing. Is it just a way to say that magic recquires a vast amount of knowledge and libraries are the best place to find it? Or are we facing a cliche rooted in a time when only a few could read and libraries were an area restricted to an elite? Although the role of modern libraries is to provide access to timely and accurate information, the library as a restricted area -therefore, the librarian as a gatekeeper- remains a stereotype in popular culture (see for example Irma Pince in Harry Potter). What do you think about it?

Kaer Morhen Library - The Witcher

Unlike most libraries in role-playing video games, Kaer Morhen Library does not allow the player to read books about lore or to store the books he finds along his journey. However, it is one of the rooms with more personality at the old keep and it is full of details that bring out the cultural and scientific background in The Witcher.

Snowdin Librarby - Undertale

In the main street of the town of Snowdin there is a library, intentionally misspelled as “Librarby”. Inside you’ll find the librarian, two newspaper editors and a monster called Loox Eyewalker (a little wink to Luke Skywalker).

The Snowdin Librarby contains books about the history, traditions and nature of the monsters that live in the underground. These books feature the same sense of humour which Undertale is famous for.

Fearing the humans no longer, we moved out of our old city, HOME. We braved harsh cold, damp swampland, and searing heat... Until we reached what we now call our capital. “NEW HOME.” Again, our King is really bad at names...?

Monster History Part 4

The books in Firewatch

I beat Firewatch and unlocked 80% of its achievements in 3 hours and a half. It is definetely not a long game, but it comes with some hidden content that increase its replay value and personality. The books of Firewatch immediately caught my attention and as soon as I finished the story mode I started a free roam just to get them all and see how they looked on Henry’s fire lookout tower.

Most of them can be found in cache boxes, which contain not only supplies, but also books to help the lookouts to withstand loneliness. These improvised lending libraries reminded me of bookcrossing shelves.

An in-depth catalogue of the collection is available on Steam Community. As you may notice, only a few of the titles and authors are real; most of them are easter eggs that make reference to other games and books.

The Accidental Savior is the book wrote by Terrence Greenbriar, father of Samantha in the video game Gone Home. Some have compared Firewatch to that game.

Wizards & Wyverns is the name of a real tabletop role-playing game, but the handbook shown in Firewatch is a tribute to the first edition of Dungeons & Dragons. You can also find a 20-sided dice, a character sheet and a map. It goes without saying that I absolutely loved this wink at old school tabletop RPG.

The Patriots is named after a secret organization in Metal Gear Solid franchise allegedly responsible for slaying the DARPA Chief Donald Anderson.

The author of The Singular Mind, Dr. Jonas Allard, is a reference to Jay Allard, CTO of Microsoft when Xbox was released. In the back cover, Allard is described as “a wizard”.

I cannot conclude without saying some words about Richard Sturgeon, author of a collection of ten crime novels included in the game. Every title has a number from 1 to 10 (One Chance to Die, Death Strikes at Two, Three Blind Rats, etc.), which could be a reference to Sue Grafton’s alphabet series.

Libraries in Video Games is coming back

Hi there!

Sorry for not posting in a while. I’ve had a huge workload these last months that kept me away from updating the blog.

However, I’ve been playing video games working on new content during my breaks and Libraries in Video Games is coming back next tuesday! I aim to post once or twice a week, starting with the games shown in the picture.

I only play on PC, so it would be awesome if you submit screenshots of console exclusives like Bloodborne or the new Zelda: Breath of the Wild. 

Thank you for your understanding.

Forlorn Monastery - Momodora: Reverie Under the Moonlight

Momodora is a series of side-scrolling action games developed by Bombservice. If you like challenging gameplays and beautiful artworks, you should try them.

One of the stages you have to complete in order to reach the Accursed Queen of Karst and defeat her is Forlorn Monastery, which contains a library in one of its ends. This room is fitted with two full bookshelves, a kind of circulation desk and a study table

The Library of the Old Man in the Cliff - Dragon Warrior VII

Which reader hasn’t dreamt of living in a tiny house full of books away from the bustle of the city? The wise old hermit is a cliché noticeable in books, movies... and also in video games. Early in Dragon Warrior VII, you have to find a sage who lives on a cliff and request him to decipher an ancient scroll.

The first thing that you see when you enter his house is an open book on a table and two bookshelves. But the interesting stuff awaits you downstairs—a library in a dimly lit cave. The bookshelves hold “difficult books”that your character, still a kid, can’t understand. The sage is a book collector not used to receive visits and he confuses you with a book seller. As soon as he realise how valuable the scroll is, he volunteers to examine it.

If you come back before have gathered with the prince, you will surprise him reading a porn magazine instead of working:

Wow! Look at those fun-bags! This is incredible! Gaah! Oh, it’s you. You little sneak, don’t scare me like that! What? No, I’m not reading another dirty book. See? I’ve got the ancient tome right here! Get your mind out of the gutter! Besides, I know I’ll get no privacy with you bothering me. In any case, I’ll need some more time to decipher this text. If you find anything else, you should go try it out on that statue. I’ll be the brains and you be the brawn. Ha ha ha!

Anyone who has played this franchise knows that humour and light tone are recurrent in Dragon Quest. Not for nothing Akira Toriyama is the graphic designer since the beggining.