14 DAY TRIAL // One of my recent passions is experiencing all content linked to the R.R. Martin created saga A Song of Ice and Fire and that includes a lot of time spent with Game of Thrones Ascent, the social game based on it that Disruptor Beam has created for Facebook.
This is, of course, linked to the fact that HBO is at the moment running the third series of the television show based on it, which I am enjoying tremendously despite the fact that I have already read the books on which it is based.
The game is updated with new quest chains based on the aired episodes, creating an interesting synergy between the two mediums, something I suspect will become more common in the near future.
With the game and the series exploring the same literary grounds, I ask myself every week: which one do I want to experience first and why?
If I watch the episode and then launch the quests, then I tend to criticize the approach of the development team, the way they only approach the edges of the series rather than putting the player in the middle of the experience.
If I first play the game, I tend to resent the HBO series for not offering any sort of choice, something the medium cannot achieve.
The same dilemma probably also affects other fans of A Song of Ice and Fire and it will probably result in them abandoning one of the two experiences in order to fully enjoy the other.
I, for one, will probably limit my time with the Facebook titles until the television series is done with its third season.
But I would like to see, in the near future, a more thoughtful mix between gaming and TV that manages to enhance their respective unique features and create a deeper Game of Thrones experience for me.