Cross of the Dutchman
Encyclopedia
Cross of the Dutchman or CotD is an upcoming game by the Dutch game developer Triangle Studios
. CotD will be an action adventure game about the Frisian
folk hero Pier Gerlofs Donia
and is set in sixteenth century Western Europe. The game will run on the Unity
game engine.
Pier loses everything he has to a band of Dutch and German mercenaries and invaders who have been invading and plundering his lands for many years before. In a land torn apart by civil war and horrendous crimes, bloody rebels and pirates, the stories hero vows revenge against those responsible for his personal tragedy. He embarks on an epic adventure to rid the lands of Frisia from foreign invaders and restore his ancient homeland to its old glory, joined in this by Charles, Duke of Guelders
and his nephew and right-hand Wijerd Jelckama
. Pier becomes a pirate, a rebel, a freedom fighter, a hero to the people and earns his place in history as the Cross of the Dutchman. But at what cost? Follow in the footsteps of a legendary warrior who will become known as the Cross of the Dutchman for his naval exploits and the many brutal battles he fights and wins.
On his quest, Pier encounters many challenges of which the outcome should determine how the people could have seen Pier. Will the player cause chaos and destruction on his path, or will he spare the villagers and take out the enemy when the innocent are out of harms' way? The way in which the player plays the game will allow him to see how a person can turn into a legend, or strike fear in the hearts of anyone who would stand against him.
With a lot of time and effort, Triangle Studios wrote their version of the historical story, created the game world, and built prototypes to prove the game play. All this was done while at the same time, the studio were still working on other games like WINtA, Muddy Monsters, Graffiti Wars, SalePlay and others.
It has been stated by Remco de Rooij, the director of Triangle Studios, that because of the twelve to sixteen age range for the game, it is not intended to be overly violent and is also meant to appear to a international audience. The total budget created for the game is 275,000 euros (369,160 dollars), 80,000 of which was donated by Noardwest Fryslân because of the historical nature of the game. Because of the international aspirations of the game, it is meant to feature subtitles in numerous languages, including Frisian, Dutch
and English
.
Triangle Studios
Triangle Studios is a mid-sized computer game development company based in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands, founded in 2005. It has developed several games for the PC, the Nintendo DS and is currently working on a major game for the PlayStation 3 . On March 2, 2010, the company opened a new branch...
. CotD will be an action adventure game about the Frisian
Frisians
The Frisians are a Germanic ethnic group native to the coastal parts of the Netherlands and Germany. They are concentrated in the Dutch provinces of Friesland and Groningen and, in Germany, East Frisia and North Frisia, that was a part of Denmark until 1864. They inhabit an area known as Frisia...
folk hero Pier Gerlofs Donia
Pier Gerlofs Donia
Pier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian warrior, pirate, and rebel. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname "Grutte Pier" , or by the Dutch translations "Grote Pier" and "Lange Pier", or, in Latin, "Pierius Magnus", which referred to his legendary size and strength. His life is mostly shrouded in...
and is set in sixteenth century Western Europe. The game will run on the Unity
Unity (game engine)
Unity is an integrated authoring tool for creating 3D video games or other interactive content such as architectural visualizations or real-time 3D animations. Unity's development environment runs on Microsoft Windows and Mac OS X, and the games it produces can be run on Windows, Mac, Xbox 360,...
game engine.
Plot
The story of CotD will be centered around the figure of Pier Gerlofs Donia, who went by the nickname of Grutte Pier (Big Peter, in the old-Frisian language).Pier loses everything he has to a band of Dutch and German mercenaries and invaders who have been invading and plundering his lands for many years before. In a land torn apart by civil war and horrendous crimes, bloody rebels and pirates, the stories hero vows revenge against those responsible for his personal tragedy. He embarks on an epic adventure to rid the lands of Frisia from foreign invaders and restore his ancient homeland to its old glory, joined in this by Charles, Duke of Guelders
Charles, Duke of Guelders
Charles of Egmond was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen between 1492 and his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catharine of Bourbon...
and his nephew and right-hand Wijerd Jelckama
Wijerd Jelckama
Wijerd Jelckama was a Frisian military commander, warlord and member of the Arumer Zwarte Hoop . He was the lieutenant of Pier Gerlofs Donia and fought along his side against the Saxon and Hollandic invaders...
. Pier becomes a pirate, a rebel, a freedom fighter, a hero to the people and earns his place in history as the Cross of the Dutchman. But at what cost? Follow in the footsteps of a legendary warrior who will become known as the Cross of the Dutchman for his naval exploits and the many brutal battles he fights and wins.
On his quest, Pier encounters many challenges of which the outcome should determine how the people could have seen Pier. Will the player cause chaos and destruction on his path, or will he spare the villagers and take out the enemy when the innocent are out of harms' way? The way in which the player plays the game will allow him to see how a person can turn into a legend, or strike fear in the hearts of anyone who would stand against him.
Development
Extensive historical research was done in order to accurately recreate sixteenth century Western-Europe in the game. Development began in early 2009 and, at first, was mainly focused at creating a historically correct storyline and researching the weaponry, clothing, language, ships and culture of that time. The game was officially announced in November 2009.With a lot of time and effort, Triangle Studios wrote their version of the historical story, created the game world, and built prototypes to prove the game play. All this was done while at the same time, the studio were still working on other games like WINtA, Muddy Monsters, Graffiti Wars, SalePlay and others.
It has been stated by Remco de Rooij, the director of Triangle Studios, that because of the twelve to sixteen age range for the game, it is not intended to be overly violent and is also meant to appear to a international audience. The total budget created for the game is 275,000 euros (369,160 dollars), 80,000 of which was donated by Noardwest Fryslân because of the historical nature of the game. Because of the international aspirations of the game, it is meant to feature subtitles in numerous languages, including Frisian, Dutch
Dutch language
Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
and English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
.
Characters
The games characters would mostly be actual historical figures from the era. Others would be made up entirely or from several figures blended into one, in order to keep the story accessible to a broader audience and easier to follow. Five main characters have thus far become known, these would include:- Pier Gerlofs DoniaPier Gerlofs DoniaPier Gerlofs Donia was a Frisian warrior, pirate, and rebel. He is best known by his West Frisian nickname "Grutte Pier" , or by the Dutch translations "Grote Pier" and "Lange Pier", or, in Latin, "Pierius Magnus", which referred to his legendary size and strength. His life is mostly shrouded in...
as the main character and hero of the story. He is a very large and strong man, born into a noble family but grew up on a farm in Kimswerd. - Rintsje Piers, his wife, described as "a stubborn, but loving woman". Her original surname was ‘Syrtsema’. Very little is known about her, except for that she died in 1515. Pier loved her, and her death brought him much grief, but even more anger.
- Maarten van RossumMaarten van RossumMaarten van Rossum was a Dutch Guelderian military tactician and later field marshal at the service of Charles, Duke of Guelders....
is a Guelderian commander. He forms an alliance with Pier during the story of CotD. Though not the main commander of the Guelderian forces, he was known for his experience and a feared commander. - Wijerd JelckamaWijerd JelckamaWijerd Jelckama was a Frisian military commander, warlord and member of the Arumer Zwarte Hoop . He was the lieutenant of Pier Gerlofs Donia and fought along his side against the Saxon and Hollandic invaders...
is Pier's nephew and personal friend. After Pier took up arms, Wijerd immediately joined in. Though instead of the Frisian freedom, money and adventure was one of his major interests for joining Pier. - Charles, Duke of GueldersCharles, Duke of GueldersCharles of Egmond was Duke of Guelders, Count of Zutphen between 1492 and his death. He was the son of Adolf of Egmond and Catharine of Bourbon...
ruled over Guelders (Gelre), and provided finances and men for Pier’s army, the Arumer Black Heap. He is a cunning and smart man. He seems to be noble and honest, but is no better than all the other selfish lords around the Netherlands. - Wybe, a war veteran, is the man who started gathering men for the rebellion in the first place, though at his age he isn’t worth what he used to be. He seems to have experienced some dark times and events.