Portal:Discworld/Article of the day/1

Article of the day

Discworld Noir is a computer game based on the Discworld series, and is both an example and parody of the noir genre. The game was developed by Perfect Entertainment and released for Microsoft Windows and the Sony PlayStation in 1999. The game utilizes a 2D game engine using pre-rendered characters displayed against pre-rendered backgrounds. Only the main character Lewton is using a polygonal model while residing in a walking or standing pose.

The main character is Lewton, the Discworld's first and only private investigator, and former member of the Ankh-Morpork City Watch. His investigation of a brutal murder gets him involved in a sinister plot. The game's story line is a completely original creation, unlike the previous Discworld games, two of which were based on particular novels, and one of which was a mixture of elements from several. It is set in Ankh-Morpork, the largest city on the Discworld. Pratchett was consulted on the story and wrote some of the dialogue; he was credited in-game for causing "far too much interference." As it is a film noir parody, the game's protagonist Lewton frequently engages in hard-boiled soliloquy, or monologue.

The game features many new characters and locales, which do not appear in the Discworld books. However, as the game is set in Ankh-Morpork, characters and locales from the books also appear, such as the Unseen University, the Dysk Theatre, Pseudopolis Yard, the City Watch and eccentric inventor Leonard da Quirm. The game's manual includes an introduction written by Discworld creator Terry Pratchett.

None of the characters created for the game have explicitly been introduced into the Discworld novels, although Neoldian, the blacksmith of the gods and forger of the Golden Falchion (a major plot element in the game) may be the unnamed blacksmith god who appears in The Last Hero.