Random House, the home of 50 Shades of Grey and The Da Vinci Code, has extended part of its publishing empire into the world of games with The Black Crown Project, a story-based online game based on a suitcase by first-time author Rob Sherman.

via 50 Web-Compliant Shades: With Black Crown, Random House Gets Into Games – Forbes.

I enjoy immersive RPG, puzzle and mystery games. This project is creative and looks interesting. I think the website could use some work…some of the text is too small/fuzzy. It has the feel of the cold war…typewritten messages, gas masks, stained green backgrounds, the content decidedly weird, dreary and at times gruesome/offensive. I think this game would attract those who like the Bioshock and Metal Gear Solid series (n.b. it is a story-based game NOT a FPS game) but it’s not for me.

From the website: “The experience is free-to-play, with opportunities for eager users to make micropayments to unlock story strands, expedite the narrative and acquire items and status within the world.”