In bygone ages, Christian clerics would spend decades hunched over scrolls of vellum and parchment, ornamenting the text with scenes of questing knights, creeping chimera, spiralling verdure, and perhaps the occasional bare bottom, as a treat. They would sacrifice their wits and tendons to the cultivation of microcosms, planted in the eyes of capital Os, or growing around the bars of capital Es.
Now, you can crap on their efforts by slapping together rad illuminated pages in seconds in a video game editor. That game is Scriptorium: Master of Manuscripts, a book-adorning sim from the creators of pen-and-paper (hah!) strategy game Inkulinati. It’s got a playtest running till 10th July.
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“Fulfil orders from prestigious patrons by making your own designs on pages of medieval books,” explains the Steam page. “Create, get paid, and unlock new orders, design elements, and grow your workshop. And with time and practice, your works and fame may reach the Queen herself!”
There are over 1000 scene elements to choose from, all apparently based on real-life medieval manuscript art, and client requests will range from the “quaint” to the “bizarre”. You can also take on commissions from let’s players, via mechanisms yet to be explained, and “export your in-game designs and create medieval memes to share with your friends”.
Memes, eh. Hildegard of Bingen is spinning in her grave.
The playtest includes a stretch of the game’s story mode, where you can complete 17 commissions for six clients. There’s also a sandbox mode, which includes all the assets from the story. This being a playtest, expect “bugs, rough edges, and weirdness”. You might want to try Inkulinati out, too – Rachel (RPS in peace) expressed enthusiasm for its monk-on-monk action and “uppity bishop cats”. A concluding brainfart: is there such a thing as illuminated computer code? Code that has been decorated in some way, to make reading it feel vaguely sacred? If not, should there be?
