Stride & Prejudice

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Stride & Prejudice
Stride and Prejudice.png
Developer(s) No Crusts Interactive
Publisher(s) No Crusts Interactive
Director(s) Carla Engelbrecht Fisher
Platform(s) iOS, Fire OS
Release
  • iOS
  • October 31, 2013
  • Fire OS
  • April 1, 2014
Genre(s) Endless running
Mode(s) Single-player

Stride & Prejudice is an endless running game developed by No Crusts Interactive and directed by Carla Engelbrecht Fisher. It is based on the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Players control Austen's character Elizabeth Bennett in a two-dimensional perspective as she runs along the words in the novel's text, tapping the touchscreen to jump whenever a gap appears. Players can either choose to play until they fall or play endlessly regardless of falling. Fisher designed the game with the intention of creating a gateway to both game players and book readers, as well as to celebrate the 200th anniversary of Pride and Prejudice. It has received a generally positive reception for the cleverness of the concept, though reviewers were also critical of the constant pace of the reading and the relative difficulty involved in retaining information.

Contents

Gameplay

Players control Elizabeth Bennett, the protagonist of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice , from a two-dimensional perspective. Elizabeth automatically runs along the text of the book. [1] Players must prevent Elizabeth from falling off of words by tapping the screen to jump over gaps in the text. Stride & Prejudice has two modes of play: Survival mode, where players see how far they can get in the story before Elizabeth falls, and Reader mode, where players can play endlessly with infinite attempts. [1] The game's scrolling speed can be increased or decreased and the color of the text and background can be changed. [2]

Development and release

Stride & Prejudice was developed by No Crusts Interactive and directed by Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, who created it with the intention of it being a gateway work for both gamers and book readers. [1] Fisher sought out subject matter that was public domain, and chose Pride and Prejudice to coincide with its 200th anniversary. [3] During development of the game, Fisher created demos in order to get feedback and create press for the game. [4] She has considered making more games in this vein based on other books, including Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and "Anna Karenina", but felt that Pride and Prejudice lent itself better to this style than those did. [1] While she admits that endless runners are not a good means by which to read a book, due to the effort it takes, she argues that interactivity has a place in literature. [5] Stride & Prejudice was released for iOS devices on October 31, 2013, and for Fire OS devices on April 1, 2014. [4] [6]

Reception

Stride & Prejudice was met with a generally positive reception. It reached number 14 on the Apple Education Store, though fell out of the top 100 after four days. [4] It was included in a recommendations list by Eric Smith for The Mary Sue of "bookish iPhone games", which praised the quality of the game and its value. [7] Eli Hodapp for TouchArcade found the game clever and readable due to its ease of play, though they noted that iOS has better auto-runner titles. [8]

Stride & Prejudice faced criticism for the relative difficulty faced by players trying to follow the story. While Philip Michaels for PC Gamer found the game clever and entertaining, he found it sub-optimal for reading due to the genre. [3] Simon Sharwood for The Register also found it a poor means to read, and felt that it would not appeal to players of more "hyperkinetic fare". [9] Michelle Parnett-Dwyer for The Strong National Museum of Play found it difficult to keep track of the characters and felt that people who want to read Austen's work would not bother with Stride & Prejudice. [10] Ryan Vogt for The Independent found the Reader mode to be an interesting take on the autorunning genre, and felt that the Survival mode helped put early passages, including its opening line, into players' heads. He was less enthused by its pace, which made it, he suggested, difficult to follow along with the novel. He ultimately felt that the designer succeeded in getting him interested in the book, but he opted to read it instead of play it. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> Novel by Jane Austen

Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel of manners written by Jane Austen in 1813. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Its humour lies in its honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain.

Pemberley is the fictional country estate owned by Fitzwilliam Darcy, the male protagonist in Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. It is located near the fictional town of Lambton, and believed by some to be based on Lyme Park, south of Disley in Cheshire.

<i>Pride and Prejudice</i> (1995 TV series) 1995 British television drama series

Pride and Prejudice is a six-episode 1995 British television drama, adapted by Andrew Davies from Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth starred as Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy. Produced by Sue Birtwistle and directed by Simon Langton, the serial was a BBC production with additional funding from the American A&E Network. BBC1 originally broadcast the 55-minute episodes from 24 September to 29 October 1995. The A&E Network aired the series in double episodes on three consecutive nights beginning 14 January 1996.

<i>First Impressions</i> (musical) musical

First Impressions is a Broadway musical with music and lyrics by George Weiss, Bo Goldman, and Glenn Paxton, and book by Abe Burrows, who also directed the musical. It is based on Helen Jerome's 1935 stage adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice.

<i>Pride & Prejudice</i> (2005 film) 2005 film by Joe Wright

Pride & Prejudice is a 2005 romantic drama film directed by Joe Wright, in his feature directorial debut, and based on Jane Austen's 1813 novel of the same name. The film depicts five sisters from an English family of landed gentry as they deal with issues of marriage, morality and misconceptions. Keira Knightley stars in the lead role of Elizabeth Bennet, while Matthew Macfadyen plays her romantic interest Mr. Darcy. Produced by Working Title Films in association with StudioCanal, the film was released on 16 September 2005 in the United Kingdom and Ireland and on 11 November in the United States.

Elizabeth Bennet Pride and Prejudice character

Elizabeth Bennet is the protagonist in the 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. She is often referred to as Eliza or Lizzy by her friends and family. Elizabeth is the second child in a family of five daughters. Though the circumstances of the time and environment push her to seek a marriage of convenience for economic security, Elizabeth wishes to marry for love.

<i>Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy</i> 2003 film by Andrew Black

Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy is a 2003 independent romantic comedy film directed by Andrew Black and produced by Jason Faller. The screenplay, by Anne Black, Jason Faller, and Katherine Swigert, is an adaptation of Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice set in modern-day Provo, Utah. The film stars Kam Heskin as college student Elizabeth Bennet whose dreams of becoming an author supersede the cultural and societal pressures to be married. Elizabeth tries to escape the advances of several bachelors, including handsome but haughty businessman Will Darcy.

<i>Becoming Jane</i> 2007 film by Julian Jarrold

Becoming Jane is a 2007 British-Irish biographical romantic drama film directed by Julian Jarrold. It depicts the early life of the British author Jane Austen and her lasting love for Thomas Langlois Lefroy. American actress Anne Hathaway stars as the title character, while her romantic interest is played by Scottish actor James McAvoy. Also appearing in the film are Julie Walters, James Cromwell and Maggie Smith. The film was produced in cooperation with several companies, including Ecosse Films and Blueprint Pictures. It also received funding from the Irish Film Board and the UK Film Council Premiere Fund.

Mr. Darcy Pride and Prejudice character

Fitzwilliam Darcy, generally referred to as Mr. Darcy, is one of the two central characters in Jane Austen's 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. He is an archetype of the aloof romantic hero, and a romantic interest of Elizabeth Bennet, the novel's protagonist. The story's narration is almost exclusively from Elizabeth's perspective; the reader is given a one-sided view of Darcy for much of the novel, but hints are given throughout that there is much more to his character than meets the eye. The reader gets a healthy dose of dramatic irony as Elizabeth continually censures Mr. Darcy's character despite the aforementioned hints that Mr. Darcy is really a noble character at heart, albeit somewhat prideful. Usually referred to only as "Mr. Darcy" or "Darcy" by characters and the narrator, his first name is mentioned twice in the novel.

<i>Mr. Darcys Daughters</i> book by Elizabeth Aston

Mr. Darcy's Daughters is a 2003 novel by the English author Elizabeth Aston, published by Simon & Schuster in the United States. Set in 1818, Mr. Darcy's Daughters is written as a sequel to Jane Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice. It features the five daughters of Fitzwilliam Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet – aged 21 to 16 – as they navigate London society in the absence of their parents, who have embarked on a diplomatic post to Constantinople. In London, the sisters meet new friends and find themselves in various romantic entanglements, all while learning what is acceptable behaviour among the city's elite.

Becoming Jane Austen was researched and written by the Jane Austen scholar Jon Hunter Spence. It chronicles a demi-biographical version of Austen's early biography based on Spence's interpretation of the novel Pride and Prejudice as possibly being modeled on Austen's real life, although Austen herself does not make this claim for her novel.

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<i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> book by Seth Grahame-Smith

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies is a 2009 parody novel by Seth Grahame-Smith. It is a mashup combining Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice (1813) with elements of modern zombie fiction, crediting Austen as co-author. It was first published in April 2009 by Quirk Books and in October 2009 a Deluxe Edition was released, containing full-color images and additional zombie scenes. The novel was adapted into a 2016 film starring Lily James and Sam Riley.

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Mr William Collins fictional character from Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

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<i>Pride and Prejudice and Zombies</i> (film) 2016 film by Burr Steers

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Susannah Fullerton Australian writer

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George Wickham is a fictional character created by Jane Austen who appears in her 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice. George Wickham is introduced as a militia officer who has a shared history with Mr. Darcy. Wickham's charming demeanour and his story of being badly treated by Darcy attracts the sympathy of the heroine, Elizabeth Bennet, to the point that she is warned by her aunt not to fall in love and marry him. It is revealed through the course of the story that George Wickham's true nature is that of a manipulative unprincipled layabout, a ne'er-do-well wastrel, compulsive liar and a degenerate, compulsive gambler, a seducer and a libertine, living the lifestyle of a rake. Lacking the finances to pay for his lifestyle, he gambles regularly and cons credit from tradesmen and shopkeepers and skips out on paying-up.

Longbourn is a 2013 novel by the British author Jo Baker. It gives an alternative view of the events in Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, telling the story from the perspective of the servants at Longbourn, the Bennet family home. It has been translated into twenty-one languages, was shortlisted for the IBW Book Award and is due be made into a film, directed by Sharon Maguire.

References

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  2. Grubb, Jeff (October 31, 2013). "Stride & Prejudice is exactly what you think it is — a Jane Austen endless runner". VentureBeat . Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  3. 1 2 Michaels, Philip (November 1, 2013). "Sharpen your Austen powers with Stride & Prejudice". PC World . Archived from the original on June 10, 2016. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  4. 1 2 3 Engelbrecht Fisher, Carla (November 6, 2013). "How my game reached #14 in the Apple Education Store". Gamasutra . Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  5. Brown, Mark (November 1, 2013). "Stride & Prejudice is the App Store's first endless-reader". Pocket Gamer . Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  6. Engelbrecht Fisher, Carla (April 11, 2014). "Developer Dissects the Performance of Stride & Prejudice". Games and Learning. Archived from the original on September 26, 2015. Retrieved October 5, 2019.
  7. Smith, Eric (March 25, 2014). "Five Bookish iPhone Games You Should Be Playing Right Now". The Mary Sue . Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  8. Hodapp, Eli (October 31, 2013). "'Stride & Prejudice' – The Weird Result of Mixing Reading and Running". TouchArcade . Archived from the original on August 20, 2019. Retrieved August 20, 2019.
  9. Sharwood, Simon (November 14, 2013). "Oh Mr Darcy! You're PRESSING MY BUTTONS". The Register . Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
  10. Parnett-Dwyer, Michelle (June 16, 2014). "Explore Your Reading List with These Video Games". The Strong National Museum of Play . Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved August 23, 2019.