Game of Thrones - Paradoxes of Adaptation @ Joystiq

Joystiq's regular RPG column with Rowan Kaiser takes a look at Cyanide's Game of Thrones and the difficulties in making an adaptation of a book property:

The authenticity of the story and world, as well as the game's ability to function as a playable product can all come into conflict, creating the paradox of the perfect adaptation. In story terms, many of the better adaptations don't directly follow the famous stories of their original media. The Third Age may include many of the heroes of the films, but you play a different set of characters, running through the world in parallel to the main characters.

This is also the case with Game Of Thrones, although it goes much further – only a handful of characters from the novels/show make appearances. Instead, it tries to tell a similar story to the source material, using the world and tone of the novels and show –succeeding at the former, just missing on the latter. In an interview with Joystiq, A Song of Ice and Fire creator George R.R. Martin explained this was the only direction he was willing to take with the story in Cyanide's RPG. In contrast: Betrayal At Krondor built, with its author's blessing, a story that took place in the years between two of its source's novels, ten years after the first series of novels and ten before the next book.