Tale of Tales (developer)
Encyclopedia
Tale of Tales BVBA is a Belgian
developer
of art game
s and screensaver
s founded in 2002 by Auriea Harvey (concept art
, 3D modeling
and texture mapping
) and Michaël Samyn (interaction, effects and game programming
), who had been working together in the creation of Web sites
and electronic art
as Entropy8Zuper! since 1999. They live very close to the Saint Bavo Cathedral
, which they consider one of their greatest influences. The studio is named after Giambattista Basile
's book The Tale of Tales (Lo Cunto de li cunti), with their main series being retellings of fairy tale
s in the form of adventure game
s, each subtitled "a Tale of Tales" and linked together by a common character referred to as the Deaf-Mute
Girl in a Pretty White Dress
in the 8 Web site and as the Girl in White in The Paths user manual. It was hinted in an interview with ZillionMonkey that their next project, following The Path, will involve the character of Salome
and be developed using the Unity
authoring tool, which they had first trailed with The Graveyard as a side-project during development of The Path.
February 2010 saw the release of Vanitas, described as "a memento mori
for your digital hands," their first work for the iPhone OS
platform and their first with music by Zoë Keating
. On 1 March 2010 it was announced that they were commencing the development of two large projects, alternating between the two of them for the next 18 months (i.e. until September 2011).
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
developer
Video game developer
A video game developer is a software developer that creates video games. A developer may specialize in a certain video game console, such as Nintendo's Wii, Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony's PlayStation 3, or may develop for a variety of systems, including personal computers.Most developers also...
of art game
Art game
An art game or arthouse game is a video game that is designed in such a way as to emphasize art or whose structure is intended to produce some kind of reaction in its audience. Art games typically go out of their way to have a unique, unconventional look, often standing out for aesthetic beauty or...
s and screensaver
Screensaver
A screensaver is a type of computer program initially designed to prevent phosphor burn-in on CRT and plasma computer monitors by blanking the screen or filling it with moving images or patterns when the computer is not in use...
s founded in 2002 by Auriea Harvey (concept art
Concept art
Concept art is a form of illustration where the main goal is to convey a visual representation of a design, idea, and/or mood for use in films, video games, animation, or comic books before it is put into the final product. Concept art is also referred to as visual development and/or concept design...
, 3D modeling
3D modeling
In 3D computer graphics, 3D modeling is the process of developing a mathematical representation of any three-dimensional surface of object via specialized software. The product is called a 3D model...
and texture mapping
Texture mapping
Texture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
) and Michaël Samyn (interaction, effects and game programming
Game programming
Game programming, a subset of game development, is the programming of computer, console or arcade games. Though often engaged in by professional game programmers, many novices may program games as a hobby...
), who had been working together in the creation of Web sites
Web design
Web design is the process of planning and creating a website. Text, images, digital media and interactive elements are used by web designers to produce the page seen on the web browser...
and electronic art
Electronic art
Electronic art is a form of art that makes use of electronic media or, more broadly, refers to technology and/or electronic media. It is related to information art, new media art, video art, digital art, interactive art, internet art, and electronic music...
as Entropy8Zuper! since 1999. They live very close to the Saint Bavo Cathedral
Saint Bavo Cathedral
thumb|right|225px|Sint-Baafs CathedralThe Saint Bavo Cathedral is the seat of the diocese of Ghent. It is named for Saint Bavo of Ghent....
, which they consider one of their greatest influences. The studio is named after Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile
Giambattista Basile was an Italian poet, courtier, and fairy tale collector.- Biography :Born to a Neapolitan middle-class family, Basile was, during his career, a courtier and soldier to various Italian princes, including the doge of Venice. According to Benedetto Croce he was born in 1575, while...
's book The Tale of Tales (Lo Cunto de li cunti), with their main series being retellings of fairy tale
Fairy tale
A fairy tale is a type of short story that typically features such folkloric characters, such as fairies, goblins, elves, trolls, dwarves, giants or gnomes, and usually magic or enchantments. However, only a small number of the stories refer to fairies...
s in the form of adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
s, each subtitled "a Tale of Tales" and linked together by a common character referred to as the Deaf-Mute
Deaf-mute
For "deafness", see hearing impairment. For "Deaf" as a cultural term, see Deaf culture. For "inability to speak", see muteness.Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was both deaf and could not speak...
Girl in a Pretty White Dress
Dress
A dress is a garment consisting of a skirt with an attached bodice or with a matching bodice giving the effect of a one-piece garment.Dress may also refer to:*Clothing in general*Costume, fancy dress...
in the 8 Web site and as the Girl in White in The Paths user manual. It was hinted in an interview with ZillionMonkey that their next project, following The Path, will involve the character of Salome
Salome
Salome , the Daughter of Herodias , is known from the New Testament...
and be developed using 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,...
authoring tool, which they had first trailed with The Graveyard as a side-project during development of The Path.
February 2010 saw the release of Vanitas, described as "a memento mori
Memento mori
Memento mori is a Latin phrase translated as "Remember your mortality", "Remember you must die" or "Remember you will die". It names a genre of artistic work which varies widely, but which all share the same purpose: to remind people of their own mortality...
for your digital hands," their first work for the iPhone OS
IPhone OS
iOS is Apple's mobile operating system. Originally developed for the iPhone, it has since been extended to support other Apple, Inc. devices such as the iPod Touch, iPad, and Apple TV. Apple, Inc. does not license iOS for installation on third-party hardware...
platform and their first with music by Zoë Keating
Zoë Keating
Zoë Keating is a Canadian-born cellist and composer based in San Francisco, California.In her solo performances and recordings , she uses live electronic sampling and repetition in order to layer the sound of her cello, creating rhythmically dense musical structures...
. On 1 March 2010 it was announced that they were commencing the development of two large projects, alternating between the two of them for the next 18 months (i.e. until September 2011).
Main series
- 8 (2002–2009, on hiatus), based on "Sun, Moon, and TaliaSun, Moon, and TaliaSun, Moon, and Talia is an Italian literary fairy tale written by Giambattista Basile in his 1634 work, the Pentamerone...
" and other variants of the "Sleeping BeautySleeping BeautySleeping Beauty by Charles Perrault or Little Briar Rose by the Brothers Grimm is a classic fairytale involving a beautiful princess, enchantment, and a handsome prince...
" myth - The PathThe Path (video game)The Path is a 2009 art game developed by Tale of Tales for the Microsoft Windows operating system and later made available for Mac OS X by TransGaming Technologies. It is inspired by several versions of the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, and by folklore tropes and conventions in general, but...
(2009), based on "Little Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding HoodLittle Red Riding Hood, also known as Little Red Cap, is a French fairy tale about a young girl and a Big Bad Wolf. The story has been changed considerably in its history and subject to numerous modern adaptations and readings....
," originally titled 144
Other games
- Het Min en Meer Spel (The Less and More Game, 2005), for an album by Gerry De Mol and Eva De Roovere
- The Endless ForestThe Endless ForestThe Endless Forest is a multiplayer online game for Windows in which the player is a deer in a peaceful forest without goals or the ability to chat. Unique pictograms above registered deer's heads represent their names. Players communicate with one another through sounds and body language...
(2005–, ongoing) - The Kiss: Incorporator (2007), commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art, AntwerpMuseum of Modern Art, AntwerpThe Museum of Modern Art in Antwerp is the contemporary art museum of the city of Antwerp, Belgium, and it is one of the most important art museums in Belgium...
- The GraveyardThe Graveyard (video game)The Graveyard is a computer game developed by Belgian developer Tale of Tales in which the player assumes the role of an old lady walking through a graveyard to a bench. A song begins to play, after which the player walks out of the graveyard and the game ends...
(2008) - Fatale (2009)
- VanitasVanitasIn the arts, vanitas is a type of symbolic work of art especially associated with Northern European still life painting in Flanders and the Netherlands in the 16th and 17th centuries, though also common in other places and periods. The word is Latin, meaning "emptiness" and loosely translated...
(2010), commissioned for the Art HistoryArt historyArt history has historically been understood as the academic study of objects of art in their historical development and stylistic contexts, i.e. genre, design, format, and style...
of Games symposiumSymposiumIn ancient Greece, the symposium was a drinking party. Literary works that describe or take place at a symposium include two Socratic dialogues, Plato's Symposium and Xenophon's Symposium, as well as a number of Greek poems such as the elegies of Theognis of Megara...
and exhibitionExhibitionAn exhibition, in the most general sense, is an organized presentation and display of a selection of items. In practice, exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls, and World's Fairs...
by the Savannah College of Art and DesignSavannah College of Art and DesignSCAD, the Savannah College of Art and Design, is a private, accredited and degree-granting university with locations in Savannah and Atlanta, Georgia, Hong Kong, and Lacoste, France.-History:...
and the Georgia Institute of TechnologyGeorgia Institute of TechnologyThe Georgia Institute of Technology is a public research university in Atlanta, Georgia, in the United States...
Program in Digital Media
Screensavers
- Poussière sidérale (SiderealSiderealSidereal, of the stars, may refer to:* Measurements of time:** Sidereal time** Sidereal day** Sidereal month** Sidereal year* Sidereal period of an object orbiting a star* Sidereal astrology...
DustDustDust consists of particles in the atmosphere that arise from various sources such as soil dust lifted up by wind , volcanic eruptions, and pollution...
, 2003), screensaver based on particle systemParticle systemThe term particle system refers to a computer graphics technique to simulate certain fuzzy phenomena, which are otherwise very hard to reproduce with conventional rendering techniques...
s designed for 8 - VernanimalculaVernanimalculaVernanimalcula guizhouena is a fossil believed by some to represent the earliest known member of the Bilateria . It is known from deposits dating to . The fossils are between 0.1 and 0.2 mm across...
, screensaver for the National Bank of BelgiumNational Bank of BelgiumThe National Bank of Belgium has been the central bank of Belgium since 1850...
As Entropy8Zuper! (selected)
- Eden.Garden (2001), commissioned by the San Francisco Museum of Modern ArtSan Francisco Museum of Modern ArtThe San Francisco Museum of Modern Art is a modern art museum located in San Francisco, California. A nonprofit organization, SFMOMA holds an internationally recognized collection of modern and contemporary art and was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th century art...
- Wirefire (1999–2003)
- Al-Jahiz (2000), commissioned by Lifetime TelevisionLifetime TelevisionLifetime Television, often referred to as Lifetime TV, or most commonly, Lifetime, is an American cable television specialty channel devoted to movies, sitcoms and dramas, all of which are either geared toward women or feature women in lead roles. The cable network is owned by A&E Television Networks...
- B-O-X (2002)
- Sixteenpages.net (2000)
- skinonskinonskin (1999), first exhibited at Hell.comHell.comHell.com is an internet domain which has achieved a degree of notoriety due to its name, and an intentionally mysterious website that existed there from August 1995 to 2009 created by the first registrant of the domain, artist Kenneth Aronson....
- The Godlove Museum (1999–2006)