Blacksmith Features
November 7th, 2014 by Lord Basse

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Day of the Red Moon

By VonCorgath

Cinematic scenarios, or cut-scenes, are downloaded far less than singleplayer scenarios and campaigns in the Blacksmith, and perhaps that’s not too surprising: most people want action, something they can actually play. Good visuals, a gripping story and a powerful soundtrack are all good to have, but without the element of interactivity, a lot of people don’t really see the point of downloading and playing it through the game; if they wanted a pure AoK cut-scene they’d go to YouTube instead.

While that might be an understandable position, the fact remains that there are a ton of top-notch scenarios hidden away in the Cinematic Scenarios category of the Blacksmith. Some of them are well known, like Legends of Chila, but others that are just nearly as good (some might say they’re even better!) are relatively forgotten. Today we will be bringing up one such gem: Day of the Red Moon by VonCorgath, in my opinion one of the best cinematic scenarios ever made.

“Day of the Red Moon” was an entry to the first AoK Cinematic Scenario Contest hosted back in 2006. It ended up in second place, just behind crasher’s “Immortal Prey: Eye of the Beholder” (another great cut-scene which I highly recommend that you download!), and it was greatly praised at the time. Watching it again, eight years later, you will notice that all the qualities that made it a masterpiece back then are still there, still intact.

This cinematic scenario tells the tale of two neighbouring countries, Tzech and Ungari (named after two central European counterparts!), which are thrown into war. The king of Tzech sends word to one of his finest commanders, Colarin, to come to the fray. Colarin, who believes he is The Chosen One, chosen to save his country from destruction, rides to the capitol just in time to see it besieged.

The story is a simple one and one we’ve heard before, which is only emphasized as the scenario is merely a prologue to a full (so far unreleased) campaign; the rest of the cinematic, however, greatly makes up for its short-comings. “Day of the Red Moon” is one of few cinematic scenarios that really nails the “cinematic” bit: the pacing, the use of music and sound effects and the cutting between scenes and shots bring the world to life, and it really feels like you’re watching an epic medieval war movie (albeit from a third person perspective).

It is a short and powerful cinematic and it bears repeated viewings. Download it now, if you haven’t already, and see for yourself!