EA Reveals Dante’s Inferno

Electronic Arts has announced in a press release the official debut of Dante’s Inferno, a new third-person action adventure from Redwood Shores, the developer behind Dead Space. The videogame is based on The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri. You can read part of the press release below:

The dark fiction gave birth to the Tuscan Italian dialect and is widely considered to have defined the western world’s contemporary conception of hell and purgatory. The poem tells the tale of Dante who journeys through the twisted, menacing nine circles of hell in pursuit of his beloved Beatrice.

Written in the 14th Century, The Divine Comedy was published and read aloud in Italian (unlike the Bible), thereby making the poem accessible to the mass public. The poem delivers a striking and allegorical vision of the Christian afterlife and the punishments of hell. In part one, known as Dante’s Inferno, Dante traverses all nine circles of hell; limbo, lust, gluttony, greed, wrath, heresy, violence, fraud and treachery.

The trailer, which can be viewed on the official site, depicts a bleak and ravaging visage of hell. Gamers will debate, of course, the utility of The Divine Comedy as a mere inspiration for the setting of hell made famous by Dante’s work or whether Dante’s Inferno should be more of an adaptation. Although an anachronism by today’s standards, the biggest objection is that the eternal themes might be better expressed in something other than the FPS or action adventure genres that are deployed across the board whenever somebody has an idea for a game. And if they’re distancing themselves from the source material, then the press release gives no indication of that. If Dead Space is an accurate barometer, then Redwood Shores, at the very least, is in a position to capitalize upon the horrifying vision they’ve established.

Jonathan Knight, the executive producer of Dante’s Inferno, went on to say in the press release:

“The time is right for the world of interactive entertainment to adapt this literary masterpiece, and to re-introduce Dante to an audience that, until now, may have been unfamiliar with the remarkable details of this great work of art. It’s the perfect opportunity to fuse great gameplay with great story.”

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