The Book of Watermarks

The Book of Watermarks is an adventure game in the style of Myst, loosely based on Shakespeare’s play The Tempest.

As in Shakespeare’s play, the sorcerer Prospero is betrayed and and cast out of Milan, taking with him thirteen tomes of magic. Finally landing on an uninhabited island, he uses his magic to build a palace, temple and library and styles himself king of the island. One day, his tomes of magic vanish, except for one, the book of watermarks, which is a catalog of all the books in the world. Without his books, Prospero’s magic is also lost, and his creations on the island are threatened.

Years later, the player arrives on the island in the role of Ferdinand, brought there by a tempest on the sea. Prospero tasks him with finding the lost books, with the help of the book of watermarks, to avoid disaster. The game plays out in a similar fashion to Myst, with the player moving around Prospero’s palace in prerendered CGI sequences, solving puzzles to unlock the way to the twelve lost books. The book of watermarks contains hints on how to find these other books.

The only character shown in the game is Prospero, played by actor Jack Donner in FMV sequences in-between gameplay. The game is fully voice acted in English with Japanese subtitles.