The Book of Watermarks is a video game by developer Arc Entertainment, published in Japan in 1999 by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation. Self-described as an "adult-friendly adventure", the game is an interactive adventure game with pre-rendered graphics similar to Myst, with a visual and narrative style strongly influenced by the Shakespeare play The Tempest and the 1991 film Prospero's Books. Although released to minimal fanfare, The Book of Watermarks has retrospectively been assessed by critics as a unique and experimental entry in the early catalog of PlayStation games.
Plot
Prospero (played by Jack Donner), the Duke of Milan, is deposed and exiled on a desert island. Prospero invites the player, in the role of Ferdinand, to solve a series of puzzles as they explore his estate to uncover twelve of Prospero's thirteen magical books, within which are the source of his powers. As the player collects the books around the island, Prospero opines over the knowledge within through a series of full motion video scenes, in which each are the source and sum total of human knowledge, responsible for many of the social and historical changes of the Renaissance. However, once the player obtains all the books, Prospero reveals that he seeks the books not to recover them, but to destroy them, stating that the books are "monsters spawned by limitless human desire," with the titular Book of Watermarks creating infinite and uncontainable amounts of information dangerous to humanity. Once Prospero retrieves the books, he vows to cast each of them into the sea.
Gameplay
The Book of Watermarks is played as a conventional adventure game in which the player navigates the pre-rendered scenery of two islands, Ceres and Iris Island, to collect the twelve books sought by Prospero. The game is navigated from a first-person perspective, with the player using directional controls to travel between static scenes, with animations playing between transitions. To progress, players complete a series of puzzle mechanics, including finding keys for locked doors, completing patterns or words found on clues elsewhere in the island, or navigating mazes. If the player is stuck, they are able to find and consult the titular Book of Watermarks to receive clues about where to go next, either identifying the location of the next puzzle, or providing a solution. Rarely for a Japanese release, the game's full motion video cutscenes and much of its text are mostly in English.
Development
The Book of Watermarks was developed over the course of two years by three staff members of Arc Entertainment, led by director Takashi Kobayashi. Kobayashi stated the game was developed under several influences, primarily the Shakespeare play The Tempest, of which Prospero plays a character, the Jorge Luis Borges story The Library of Babel, and the 1991 Peter Greenaway film Prospero's Books, as well as heavy use of Classical and Renaissance aesthetics and philosophy. Sony Computer Entertainment held a release event and interview with Kobayashi on 14 July 1999 in Ginza. At the event, Kobayashi praised the game as a "game for adults", reflecting upon his aim of developing a game that "has an appropriate amount of intelligence, have a world that arouses the imagination, and (is not) noisy." The soundtrack of the game is partly contributed to by Irish composer Moya Brennan, member of Clannad and sister to Irish new age artist Enya.
Reception
The Book of Watermarks received lukewarm attention upon release. Chinese publication Game Software praised the game's production as "outstanding among similar works" due to the involvement of Sony Computer Entertainment, although finding the puzzles "a bit too difficult". Japanese magazine Dengeki PlayStation praised the "splendor" of the game's graphics, although found the movement of the camera slow and "unsuitable for impatient people".