Misplaced Pages

#679320

73-541: In the distant past a corrupt monk, Draak, turned against the goddess of light, Kaliba, and turned himself into a dragon. However, he was eventually thwarted from destroying the world via the Time Orb, created from seven of Kaliba's tears. To protect the Time Orb from Draak's followers, it was split apart again by Kaliba's monks and the seven crystals hidden across the four lands of Uma. The game begins when Draak has recovered from his earlier defeat and returned with his minions to

146-578: A "holy grail" by those seeking such. A mysterious "grail" (Old French: graal or greal ), wondrous but not unequivocally holy, first appears in Perceval, the Story of the Grail , an unfinished chivalric romance written by Chrétien de Troyes around 1190. Chrétien's story inspired many continuations, translators and interpreters in the later-12th and early-13th centuries, including Wolfram von Eschenbach , who portrayed

219-744: A 20% stake in the company by February 1999. Also in February 1999, Gathering of Developers co-founded the Independent Games Festival , which was to premier Game Developers Conference , and also co-hosted and funded the 1999 edition of it. In May 1999, Gathering of Developers signed an agreement with Sega to distribute eight of their games on the Heat.net platform. During the Electronic Entertainment Expo trade shows, Gathering of Developers offered free barbecue , live music and beer to

292-634: A cloak that makes the player randomly drop items from their inventory, so a shopkeeper can remove these for you. Finally, if the player wants to hear a song about the Darkstone, they can toss a coin to the singer Audren. Magic can be learnt by all characters, via finding or buying spellbooks, with 32 potential spells of varying difficulty. A variety of skills can also be learnt, such as thieving from other characters, repairing your own gear, disarming traps, etc. Spells and skills can be acquired by all character types apart from lycanthropy , which can only be learnt by

365-432: A derivative of crater or cratus , which was, in turn, borrowed from Ancient Greek krater ( κρᾱτήρ , a large wine-mixing vessel). Alternative suggestions include a derivative of cratis , a name for a type of woven basket that came to refer to a dish, or a derivative of Latin gradus meaning " 'by degree', 'by stages', applied to a dish brought to the table in different stages or services during

438-416: A glass bowl near Glastonbury; a group of his friends, including Wellesley Tudor Pole , retrieved the cup in 1906 and promoted it as the original Holy Grail. Glastonbury and its Holy Grail legend have since become a point of focus for various New Age and Neopagan groups. In the early 20th century, esoteric writers identified Montségur , a stronghold of the heretical Cathar sect in the 13th century, as

511-440: A kick out of this game without feeling like they paid 30 bucks too much." Edge gave the former version six out of ten, saying, "The particle effects and realtime lighting generated by the multitude of magic spells are fantastic, and it is certainly one of the most cleanly presented PC games you're ever likely to see. But Darkstone lacks passion, and that's a fatal flaw in any roleplaying game, no matter how innovative and easy it

584-404: A meal". In the 15th century, English writer John Hardyng invented a fanciful new etymology for Old French san-graal (or san-gréal ), meaning "Holy Grail", by parsing it as sang réal , meaning "royal blood". This etymology was used by some later medieval British writers such as Thomas Malory , and became prominent in the conspiracy theory developed in the book The Holy Blood and

657-477: A mounting for use as a chalice. The bowl may date to Greco-Roman times, but its dating is unclear, and its provenance is unknown before 1399, when it was gifted to Martin I of Aragon . By the 14th century, an elaborate tradition had developed that this object was the Last Supper chalice. This tradition mirrors aspects of the Grail material, with several major differences, suggesting a separate tradition entirely. It

730-435: A publishing label for games with "a consumer friendly price point and a mass market appeal". Following the departure of On Deck Interactive's CEO Robert Westmoreland, the label was shut down again on March 5, 2001, with all of its upcoming games shifted to Gathering of Developers. On May 3, 2001, Gathering of Developers co-founder Myres unexpectedly died of an asthma attack . In his honor, Gathering of Developers announced

803-663: A seat on the publisher's board of directors . Other founding partners included Edge of Reality , 3D Realms , Epic Games , PopTop Software , and Ritual Entertainment . By February 1998, the company had struck an investment deal with Pennsylvania Merchants Group. On June 1, 1998, video game publisher Take-Two Interactive announced a "subsistantial non-equity investment" in Gathering of Developers, wherein Take-Two Interactive would distribute games published by Gathering of Developers. Take-Two Interactive later went on to acquire

SECTION 10

#1732905377680

876-414: A single character. Darkstone was developed under the working title Dragon Blade and went through several iterations, initially being designed as a fully 3D game akin to Tomb Raider . After the game's original publisher, BMG Interactive , closed its doors, work on Dragon Blade went into a suspended state, with Delphine putting most of its resources towards developing Moto Racer 2 . Darkstone

949-466: A sub-quest). I don't throw recommendations around lightly -- but if you're a big RPG fan like me, you owe it to yourself to grab this one." John Thompson gave the PlayStation version three-and-a-half stars out of five, saying, "In the end, Darkstone plays well, even if it is a bit repetitive and clichéd. For ten dollars, fans of the genre can't do any better, and even weekend hack-n-slashers just might get

1022-533: A vast influence on conspiracy and alternate history books. It has also inspired fiction, most notably Dan Brown 's 2003 novel The Da Vinci Code and its 2006 film adaptation . The combination of hushed reverence, chromatic harmonies and sexualized imagery in Richard Wagner 's final music drama Parsifal , premiered in 1882, developed this theme, associating the Grail – now periodically producing blood – directly with female fertility. The high seriousness of

1095-447: A veritable treasure-trove of other features such as generously creepy sound effects, heart-rending cries for help when your co-companion needs help, a haunting and effective music track (be sure to give the balladeers in town a few gold pieces, then just sit back, close you eyes and enjoy), supremely enjoyable multi-player action, incredibly deep quests and integrated puzzle-solving (such as stringing events and knowledge together to complete

1168-575: Is a treasure that serves as an important motif in Arthurian literature . Various traditions describe the Holy Grail as a cup, dish, or stone with miraculous healing powers, sometimes providing eternal youth or sustenance in infinite abundance, often guarded in the custody of the Fisher King and located in the hidden Grail castle. By analogy, any elusive object or goal of great significance may be perceived as

1241-447: Is not associated with Joseph of Arimathea or Jesus' blood; it is said to have been taken to Rome by Saint Peter and later entrusted to Saint Lawrence . Early references do not call the object the "Grail"; the first evidence connecting it to the Grail tradition is from the 15th century. The monarchy sold the cup in the 15th century to Valencia Cathedral , where it remains a significant local icon. Several objects were identified with

1314-405: Is spelled in its earliest appearances, comes from Old French graal or greal , cognate with Old Occitan grazal and Old Catalan gresal , meaning "a cup or bowl of earth, wood, or metal" (or other various types of vessels in different Occitan dialects). The most commonly accepted etymology derives it from Latin gradalis or gradale via an earlier form, cratalis ,

1387-451: Is to play." Barry Brenesal of GamePro called the PC version "a Diablo clone: a real-time action game complete with spells, swords, dozens of quests, and thousands of monsters-and a few interesting ideas of its own." However, Uncle Dust said of the PlayStation version, "Even at its low price, Darkstone isn't worth the money. It's far better to spend a few more bucks for a used copy of any of

1460-1337: The Holy Grail , the Royal Diadem, the Shield of Light, the Unicorn's Horn, the Horn of Plenty, the Dragon's Scale, the Magic Anvil, the Path Book, the Medallion of Melchior, the Sacred Scroll, the Stone of Souls, the Cursed Sword, the Storm Flower, the Claw of Sargon, the Celestial Harp, the Bard's Music Score and the Broken Vase. The monsters are the ratman Buzbal the Furious, the vampire Nosferatu and

1533-781: The "Doug Myres Substance Award" in June that year, which would be handed out at the July 2001 edition of the Cyberathlete Professional League , with a donation to the Dallas Children's Advocacy Center made in the recipient's name. Gathering of Developers' Dallas offices were closed down by Take-Two Interactive in August 2001, with all operations relocated to Take-Two Interactive's headquarters in New York City. All staff were laid off or left

SECTION 20

#1732905377680

1606-554: The "Grail" originally referred to the Image of Edessa . Goulven Peron (2016) suggested that the Holy Grail may reflect the horn of the river-god Achelous , as described by Ovid in the Metamorphoses . In the wake of the Arthurian romances, several artifacts came to be identified as the Holy Grail in medieval relic veneration. These artifacts are said to have been the vessel used at

1679-483: The 'voice-overs are clean and crisp, and surprisingly well acted'. For the PlayStation version, however, the website later stated, 'anybody who liked Diablo or anything else in the realm of dungeon-hack RPGs should be able to get their pocket-change's worth out of it', but that the 3D presentation means there is a loss of graphical detail and the lack of story means that it is a basic hack n slash dungeon crawler. Jeff Lundrigan of NextGen ' s November 1999 issue called

1752-725: The 15th century. The narrative developed is that Jesus was not divine, and had children with Mary Magdalene , who took the family to France where their descendants became the Merovingian dynasty. Supposedly, while the Catholic Church worked to destroy the dynasty, they were protected by the Priory of Sion and their associates, including the Templars, Cathars, and other secret societies. The book, its arguments, and its evidence have been widely dismissed by scholars as pseudohistorical, but it has had

1825-438: The 1904 silent film Parsifal , an adaptation of Wagner's opera by Edwin S. Porter . More recent cinematic adaptations include Costain's The Silver Chalice made into a 1954 film by Victor Saville and Brown's The Da Vinci Code turned into a 2006 film by Ron Howard . Gathering of Developers Gathering of Developers, Inc. (shortened as G.O.D. or GodGames , and branded as Gathering between 2003 and 2004)

1898-538: The 1970s, and was elaborated upon in the bestselling 1982 book Holy Blood, Holy Grail . The theory combines myths about the Templars and Cathars with various other legends, and a prominent hoax about a secret order called the Priory of Sion . According to this theory, the Holy Grail is not a physical object, but a symbol of the bloodline of Jesus . The blood connection is based on the etymological reading of san greal (holy grail) as sang real (royal blood), which dates to

1971-529: The Cathars guarded the Grail at Montségur, and smuggled it out when the castle fell in 1244. Beginning in 1933, German writer Otto Rahn published a series of books tying the Grail, Templars, and Cathars to modern German nationalist mythology. According to Rahn, the Grail was a symbol of a pure Germanic religion repressed by Christianity. Rahn's books inspired interest in the Grail within Nazi occultist circles, and led to

2044-509: The Grail and of the quest to find it became increasingly popular in the 19th century, referred to in literature such as Alfred, Lord Tennyson 's Arthurian cycle Idylls of the King . A sexualised interpretation of the grail, now identified with female genitalia, appeared in 1870 in Hargrave Jennings ' book The Rosicrucians, Their Rites and Mysteries . In the cinema, the Holy Grail debuted in

2117-551: The Grail as a stone in Parzival . The Christian, Celtic or possibly other origins of the Arthurian grail trope are uncertain and have been debated among literary scholars and historians. In the 1190s, Robert de Boron in Joseph d'Arimathie  [ fr ] portrayed the Grail as Jesus 's vessel from the Last Supper , which Joseph of Arimathea used to catch Christ's blood at

2190-464: The Grail castle. Similarly, the 14th-century Rosslyn Chapel in Midlothian , Scotland, became attached to the Grail legend in the mid-20th century when a succession of conspiracy books identified it as a secret hiding place of the Grail. Since the 19th century, the Holy Grail has been linked to various conspiracy theories. In 1818, Austrian pseudohistorical writer Joseph von Hammer-Purgstall connected

2263-541: The Grail to contemporary myths surrounding the Knights Templar that cast the order as a secret society dedicated to mystical knowledge and relics. In Hammer-Purgstall's work, the Grail is not a physical relic, but a symbol of the secret knowledge that the Templars sought. There is no historical evidence linking the Templars to a search for the Grail, but subsequent writers have elaborated on the Templar theories. Starting in

Darkstone - Misplaced Pages Continue

2336-466: The Holy Grail , in which sang real refers to the Jesus bloodline . The literature surrounding the Grail can be divided into two groups. The first concerns King Arthur's knights visiting the Grail castle or questing after the object. The second concerns the Grail's earlier history in the time of Joseph of Arimathea . The nine works from the first group are: Of the second group there are: The Grail

2409-677: The Holy Grail in the 17th century. In the 20th century, a series of new items became associated with it. These include the Nanteos Cup , a medieval wooden bowl found near Rhydyfelin , Wales; a glass dish found near Glastonbury , England; the Antioch chalice , a 6th-century silver-gilt object that became attached to the Grail legend in the 1930s; and the Chalice of Doña Urraca , a cup made between 200 BC and 100 AD, kept in León ’s Basilica of Saint Isidore . In

2482-455: The Last Supper until later, in the wake of the Grail romances; the first known association is in Jacobus de Voragine 's chronicle of Genoa in the late 13th century, which draws on the Grail literary tradition. The Catino was moved and broken during Napoleon 's conquest in the early 19th century, revealing that it is glass rather than emerald. The Holy Chalice of Valencia is an agate dish with

2555-455: The Last Supper, but other details vary. Despite the prominence of the Grail literature, traditions about a Last Supper relic remained rare in contrast to other items associated with Jesus' last days, such as the True Cross and Holy Lance . One tradition predates the Grail romances: in the 7th century, the pilgrim Arculf reported that the Last Supper chalice was displayed near Jerusalem. In

2628-569: The PC version had sold around 130,000 units in the US. The PC version was a nominee for CNET Gamecenter ' s 1999 "RPG" award, which went to Asheron's Call . It was also nominated for the "Role-Playing Game of the Year" award at GameSpot ' s Best and Worst of 1999 Awards, which went to Planescape: Torment . Holy Grail The Holy Grail ( French : Saint Graal , Breton : Graal Santel , Welsh : Greal Sanctaidd , Cornish : Gral )

2701-579: The SS chief Heinrich Himmler 's abortive sponsorship of Rahn's search for the Grail, as well as many subsequent conspiracy theories and fictional works about the Nazis searching for the Grail. In the late 20th century, writers Michael Baigent , Richard Leigh , and Henry Lincoln created one of the most widely known conspiracy theories about the Holy Grail. The theory first appeared on the BBC documentary series Chronicle in

2774-596: The authority of a certain (probably fictional) Kyot the Provençal , claimed the Grail was a Stone, the sanctuary of the neutral angels who took neither side during Lucifer's rebellion . It is called Lapis exillis , which in alchemy is the name of the philosopher's stone . The authors of the Lancelot-Grail Cycle used the Grail as a symbol of divine grace ; the virgin Galahad, illegitimate son of Lancelot and Elaine ,

2847-400: The chalice of the Last Supper to collect Christ's blood upon his removal from the cross. Joseph is thrown in prison, where Christ visits him and explains the mysteries of the blessed cup. Upon his release, Joseph gathers his in-laws and other followers and travels to the west. He founds a dynasty of Grail keepers that eventually includes Perceval. In Parzival , Wolfram von Eschenbach, citing

2920-566: The crucifixion . Thereafter, the Holy Grail became interwoven with the legend of the Holy Chalice , the Last Supper cup, an idea continued in works such as the Lancelot-Grail cycle, and subsequently the 15th-century Le Morte d'Arthur . In this form, it is now a popular theme in modern culture, and has become the subject of folklore studies , pseudohistorical writings, works of fiction, and conspiracy theories . The word graal , as it

2993-517: The dungeons: the purple Crystal of Wisdom, the red Crystal of Virtue, the blue Crystal of Bravery, the yellow Crystal of Nobility, the turquoise Crystal of Compassion, the green Crystal of Integrity and the grey Crystal of Strength. These are magically reassembled by the hermit Sebastian to form the crystal Time Orb. Villagers will ask the player to do optional quests in return for money, either retrieving artifacts or killing an infamous monster, and are randomly selected for each new game. The artifacts are

Darkstone - Misplaced Pages Continue

3066-611: The early 20th century, writers, particularly in France, further connected the Templars and Grail to the Cathars. In 1906, French esoteric writer Joséphin Péladan identified the Cathar castle of Montségur with Munsalväsche or Montsalvat, the Grail castle in Wolfram's Parzival . This identification has inspired a wider legend asserting that the Cathars possessed the Holy Grail. According to these stories,

3139-560: The esoteric significance of the grail, relating it to the Iranian Islamic symbols that he studied. Richard Barber (2004) argued that the Grail legend is connected to the introduction of "more ceremony and mysticism" surrounding the sacrament of the Eucharist in the high medieval period, proposing that the first Grail stories may have been connected to the "renewal in this traditional sacrament". Daniel Scavone (1999, 2003) has argued that

3212-465: The evangelist of Britain rather than as the custodian of the Holy Grail, but from the 15th century, the Grail became a more prominent part of the legends surrounding Glastonbury. Interest in Glastonbury resurged in the late 19th century, inspired by renewed interest in the Arthurian legend and contemporary spiritual movements centered on ancient sacred sites. In the late 19th century, John Goodchild hid

3285-470: The former "An addictive little title that is, in some ways, even better than the trendsetter it closely resembles." Eighteen issues later, however, Emmett Schkloven called the latter "an addictive action RPG port, and the graphics are impressive. But if its generic elements prevent it from being a classic, the cheap entry fee still makes it worthwhile." Michael L. House of AllGame gave the PC version four-and-a-half stars out of five, saying that it "contains

3358-444: The four lands of Uma - Ardyl, Marghor, Omar and Serkesh - to solve quests, kill the evil creatures roaming the lands and delve into dungeons to locate the seven crystals to form the Time Orb. At some point in the gameplay the Darkstone itself erupts out of the ground in the village, switching the game from the previous colour scheme of a sunny day to more oppressive purples. There are seven crystals to be found after completing quests in

3431-515: The hero instead with a platter containing his kinsman's bloody, severed head. The Grail is first featured in Perceval, le Conte du Graal ( The Story of the Grail ) by Chrétien de Troyes, who claims he was working from a source book given to him by his patron, Count Philip of Flanders . In this incomplete poem, dated sometime between 1180 and 1191, the object has not yet acquired the implications of holiness it would have in later works. While dining in

3504-613: The label in-house, to New York City. The label was shut down in September 2004, with all assets consumed by Global Star Software . Gathering of Developers was announced by Mike Wilson in 1997, with the official opening scheduled for January 1998. Wilson had previously been the CEO of Ion Storm , a video game developer . Wilson's stated vision for the company was to have a video games publisher run by experienced developers rather than marketeers and conventional businessmen. Gathering of Developers

3577-404: The lands and dungeons beneath. The village acts as an initial training area with firing ranges and example weapons, then subsequently as a trade base for adventurers to sell their loot, bank their cash, buy upgrades, repair armour and weaponry, buy new spellbooks and stock up on health and mana potions as well as food (characters can die from hunger). It is possible to pick up cursed items, such as

3650-602: The legend as essentially Christian in origin. Joseph Goering identified sources for Grail imagery in 12th-century wall paintings from churches in the Catalan Pyrenees (now mostly moved to the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya ), which present unique iconic images of the Virgin Mary holding a bowl that radiates tongues of fire, images that predate the first literary account by Chrétien de Troyes. Goering argues that they were

3723-471: The magical abode of the Fisher King , Perceval witnesses a wondrous procession in which youths carry magnificent objects from one chamber to another, passing before him at each course of the meal. First comes a young man carrying a bleeding lance, then two boys carrying candelabras. Finally, a beautiful young girl emerges bearing an elaborately decorated graal , or "grail". Chrétien refers to this object not as "The Grail" but as "a grail" ( un graal ), showing

SECTION 50

#1732905377680

3796-457: The modern era, a number of places have become associated with the Holy Grail. One of the most prominent is Glastonbury in Somerset , England. Glastonbury was associated with King Arthur and his resting place of Avalon by the 12th century. In the 13th century, a legend arose that Joseph of Arimathea was the founder of Glastonbury Abbey . Early accounts of Joseph at Glastonbury focus on his role as

3869-536: The nearly 10,000 attendees that would cross the street into their parking lot, dubbed the "Promised Lot". At the 2001 edition of the event, Gathering of Developers' booth displayed booth babes dressed up as schoolgirls to promote their adult content. On May 1, 2000, Take-Two Interactive announced that they had acquired Gathering of Developers. The deal was signed mainly due to Gathering of Developers' financial instability. On May 4, 2000, Take-Two Interactive and Gathering of Developers launched On Deck Interactive as

3942-512: The next morning alone. He later learns that if he had asked the appropriate questions about what he saw, he would have healed his maimed host, much to his honour. The story of the Wounded King's mystical fasting is not unique; several saints were said to have lived without food besides communion, for instance Saint Catherine of Genoa . This may imply that Chrétien intended the Communion wafer to be

4015-464: The original inspiration for the Grail legend. Psychologists Emma Jung and Marie-Louise von Franz used analytical psychology to interpret the Grail as a series of symbols in their book The Grail Legend . They directly expanded on interpretations by Carl Jung , which were later invoked by Joseph Campbell . Philosopher Henry Corbin , a member of the Eranos circle founded by Jung, also commented on

4088-618: The origins of the Holy Grail before Chrétien, suggesting that it may contain elements of the trope of magical cauldrons from Celtic mythology and later Welsh mythology , combined with Christian legend surrounding the Eucharist , the latter found in Eastern Christian sources, conceivably in that of the Byzantine Mass , or even Persian sources. The view that the "origin" of the Grail legend should be seen as deriving from Celtic mythology

4161-439: The significant part of the ritual, and the Grail to be a mere prop. Though Chrétien's account is the earliest and most influential of all Grail texts, it was in the work of Robert that the Grail truly became the "Holy Grail" and assumed the form most familiar to modern readers in its Christian context. In his verse romance Joseph d'Arimathie , composed between 1191 and 1202, Robert tells the story of Joseph of Arimathea acquiring

4234-518: The skeletal Evil Garth. The crystal quests are found by exploring the lands of Uma to find NPCs who send you into nearby dungeons. A typical medieval RPG, Darkstone is similar to Baldur's Gate and Diablo in gameplay style and themes. Gameplay revolves around improving the character stats of strength, magic, dexterity and vitality as well as the character's gear, weapons, magical knowledge, etc. The four lands of Uma increase in difficulty and are accessed sequentially, with different enemies patrolling

4307-458: The sorceress. This allows her to change into a werewolf and converts all magic stat points to strength points. Quests for each new game are randomly selected from 20 options, with different dungeon placement and land layouts, improving the game's replayability. The PC version allows the player to control two characters, switching between them at will, though the Playstation version only allowed for

4380-729: The subject was also epitomized in Dante Gabriel Rossetti 's painting in which a woman modeled by Alexa Wilding holds the Grail with one hand, while adopting a gesture of blessing with the other. A major mural series depicting the Quest for the Holy Grail was done by the artist Edwin Austin Abbey during the first decade of the 20th century for the Boston Public Library . Other artists, including George Frederic Watts and William Dyce , also portrayed grail subjects. The story of

4453-454: The successful end of the Grail Quest and are witnesses of his ascension to Heaven . Galahad and the interpretation of the Grail involving him were picked up in the 15th century by Thomas Malory in Le Morte d'Arthur and remain popular today. While it is not explicit that the Holy Grail is never to be seen again on Earth, it is stated by Malory that there has since then been no knight capable of obtaining it. Scholars have long speculated on

SECTION 60

#1732905377680

4526-431: The terrific RPGs that have come out for the PlayStation over the years." The PC version debuted at #13 on PC Data 's computer game sales rankings for August 1999. The firm tracked 63,553 domestic sales of the game through the end of 1999. This number rose to roughly 75,000 units by March 2000, which led GameSpot ' s writer P. Stephan "Desslock" Janicki to remark that the game "sold quite poorly". As of October 2001,

4599-431: The wake of Robert de Boron's Grail works, several other items came to be claimed as the true Last Supper vessel. In the late 12th century, one was said to be in Byzantium ; Albrecht von Scharfenberg 's Grail romance Der Jüngere Titurel associated it explicitly with the Arthurian Grail, but claimed it was only a copy. This item was said to have been looted in the Fourth Crusade and brought to Troyes in France, but it

4672-454: The word was used, in its earliest literary context, as a common noun. For Chrétien, a grail was a wide, somewhat deep, dish or bowl, interesting because it contained not a pike, salmon, or lamprey, as the audience may have expected for such a container, but a single Communion wafer which provided sustenance for the Fisher King's crippled father. Perceval, who had been warned against talking too much, remains silent through all of this and wakes up

4745-432: The world of Uma. As part of his return he has created the Darkstone, which drains life energy from Uma, bringing death and mayhem. Players take on the role of an adventurer who has to recreate the Time Orb and use this to slay Draak in his lair. Beginning in an unnamed village, the player can choose from a range of characters (warrior/Amazon, wizard/sorceress, assassin/thief and monk/priestess) and from here they quest across

4818-456: The world's greatest knight and the Grail Bearer at the castle of Corbenic , is destined to achieve the Grail, his spiritual purity making him a greater warrior than even his illustrious father. The Queste del Saint Graal ( The Quest of The Holy Grail ) tells also of the adventures of various Knights of the Round Table in their eponymous quest. Some of them, including Percival and Bors the Younger , eventually join Galahad as his companions near

4891-463: Was an American video game publisher based in New York City. Founded by Mike Wilson and associates in January 1998 and originally based in Dallas , the company was acquired by Take-Two Interactive in May 2000. Between May 2000 and March 2001, Gathering of Developers also operated a division , On Deck Interactive, which acted as their mass market label. In August 2001, Take-Two Interactive closed Gathering of Developers' Dallas headquarters and moved

4964-441: Was championed by Roger Sherman Loomis , Alfred Nutt , and Jessie Weston . Loomis traced a number of parallels between medieval Welsh literature and Irish material, and the Grail romances, including similarities between the Mabinogion ' s Bran the Blessed and the Arthurian Fisher King, and between Bran's life-restoring cauldron and the Grail. The opposing view dismissed the "Celtic" connections as spurious, and interpreted

5037-417: Was considered a bowl or dish when first described by Chrétien de Troyes. There, it is a processional salver , a tray, used to serve at a feast. Hélinand of Froidmont described a grail as a "wide and deep saucer" ( scutella lata et aliquantulum profunda ); other authors had their own ideas. Robert de Boron portrayed it as the vessel of the Last Supper . Peredur son of Efrawg had no Grail as such, presenting

5110-482: Was initially an alliance of eight development companies, with each of the founding companies having an equity in the publisher and a representative on the board of directors . The opening of the company took place on January 13, 1998. Co-founders included Harry Miller, Jim Bloom, Rick Stults and Doug Myres. The same month, video game developer Terminal Reality became an equity partner of Gathering of Developers, through which their vice-president , Brett Combs, took

5183-418: Was lost during the French Revolution . Two relics associated with the Grail survive today. The Sacro Catino (Sacred Basin, also known as the Genoa Chalice) is a green glass dish held at the Genoa Cathedral said to have been used at the Last Supper. Its provenance is unknown, and there are two divergent accounts of how it was brought to Genoa by Crusaders in the 12th century. It was not associated with

5256-413: Was made available in 2001. Versions for iOS and Android was later released on 19 March 2014. The game was eventually released on Steam for modern operating systems. The PlayStation version received mixed reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic . IGN said of the PC version that, despite playing 'very similarly to Diablo', it 'is an incredibly fun and addictive game' and that

5329-494: Was released in 1999 for the PC. Although Delphine self-published the game in Europe, it was instead published by Gathering of Developers in the US. In March 2000, Delphine released an editor for custom quests via their website. Simultaneously, Delphine also released Darkstone: Journey in Uma online, a free expansion for Darkstone which contained additional quests. A PlayStation version

#679320