OBSEQUIUM: A CULTURAL, TECHNOLOGICAL, AND EMOTIONAL ACCOUNT OF THE ABBEY OF CRIME

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Antonio Giner, Enrique Colinet, Jaume Esteve, Jose Luis Sanz, Jose Manuel Brana, Jose Manuel Fernandez, Juan Manuel Moreno, Manuel Pazos

“Welcome to this abbey, brother. I beg you to follow me; something terrible has happened.”

With these words, the abbot of The Abbey of Crime welcomed us more than twenty-five years ago. Over a quarter of a century, the game created by Paco Menéndez and Juan Delcán has become a cultural and emotional landmark for an entire generation of players.

No Spanish game from the Golden Age of Spanish software sparks more debate than The Abbey of Crime, and Obsequium was born with the worthy intention of providing its supporters – and, why deny it, its detractors as well – with enough material to examine the game from different perspectives.

What was the context surrounding the game when it was released? Was it a good adaptation of The Name of the Rose? Why was Juan Delcán so determined to use that controversial camera system? Was Paco Menéndez's code truly brilliant, or was it nothing more than binary-code nonsense? How was the game received by the contemporary press? And by players? Has it stood the test of time in terms of pure, straightforward gameplay? How far has its legacy extended, both in the video game industry and in society?

These and other questions are answered in this book, coordinated by Jaume Esteve, with contributions from José Manuel Braña Álvarez, Enrique Colinet, José Manuel Fernández, Antonio Giner, José Antonio Morales, Juan Manuel Moreno, Manuel Pazos, and José Luis Sanz.

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