Trine is a physics-based jump’n’run game developed by Frozenbyte, that features three characters in a quest to save the fantasy kingdom from evil. To break the spell of The Trine, the Three Heroes must find clever solutions to challenges presented by hazardous puzzles and threatening enemies. The gameplay is based on fully interactive physics – each character’s different Abilities and tactics can be used to invent new ways to overcome obstacles and save the kingdom!
Plot
The storyline of the plot is gradually unfolded throughout the game by the Narrator.
Prelude:
In ages past, three powerful Artifacts were created, that had been used to balance all of the good and evil in the world. When the world was finally in harmony, these immortal objects had been given to three Guardians, who had kept the Artifacts safe in three separate locations. The Guardians had enchanted the Artifacts with powerful charms that would protect them for centuries. In time the Guardians passed away but the charms remained.
- The first Artifact (The Trine), that of soul and righteousness was kept in the shrine that was located deep within the Astral Academy. The Trine has the power to bind souls together and allows mortals to be resurrected when they die.
- The second Artifact, that of mind and power was kept in the Great Castle located in the middle of the Forest. The Artifact had protected the castle for long centuries and many kings and knights had tried to approach the Artifact without success. There is a legend which foretells that one day, a hero of pure mind would come and claim the Artifact.
- The third Artifact, that of body and matter was kept at the highest location on the pedestal in the ancient Ruins of the Perished, the long forgotten home of the Guardians. Not too long ago an earthquake had rocked the pedestal, destroying the shrine containing the Artifact of body and matter. The charms that had protected the third Artifact failed and it was stolen.
At the end of the long reign of kings, Sarek (also known as the “Old King”) became obsessed with the Artifacts. He managed to get possession of two of the Artifacts and placed them at the very top of a tall dark Evil Tower, now the stronghold of his army. He took the Artifact of body and matter and paired it with the Artifact of mind and power. Without the Artifact of soul and righteousness, the power of the Artifacts became twisted and brought to life the Undead Army. Sarek became corrupted and when he died his corrupted spirit became known as the “Skeleton Wizard”. From his stronghold Sarek sends out the Undead Army - hordes of skeletons to wreak havoc throughout the kingdom. Many places in the kingdom have been deserted by the people as the Undead Army advances across the land.
Far away from the Evil Tower, in a mountain forest the Astral Academy nestles quietly, almost abandoned. In the shrine located deep within the academy and protected by powerful charms, the first Artifact is waiting. The first Artifact (The Trine) is the only thing that can bring back balance to the world.
On a moonlit night, fate will bring three heroes to the shrine and The Trine will bind their souls together as one.
Storyline:
- Narrator: Once upon a time, in a land far, far away, a kingdom was prospering. But peace could only last so long. The old King died. With no descendant to the throne, the kingdom fell into chaos. Lust for power blinded warriors and wizards alike. New kings emerged only to fall the next day. But the madness of men would soon be overshadowed by a far greater evil. The magic that once gave life and good fortune… had transformed into something sinister. One by one, grave by grave, the dead began to rise, feeding off the energy that grew stronger with each passing night. Fear spread throughout the kingdom, and it was soon abandoned. But… Something was about to happen that would change the course of history.
Zoya - The Thief
- Narrator: On the outskirts of the kingdom near the Astral Academy a thief carried out her cunning plan. She had learned of an ancient object of tremendous value. The Astral Academy left to rot in the face of the terrible enemy, had no-one to keep the treasure safe. The time was right. Everything was perfect. She had made her way to the castle and would soon lay her hands on the treasure she so desired. The gentle moon smiled at the Thief as she made her way towards the shrine of ancient treasure. Strangely, the protective charms around the shrine allowed her to enter unharmed. As the Thief lay her hand on the treasure, she had a tingling sensation. The Thief would soon discover that fate had taken hold of her.
Amadeus - The Wizard
- Narrator: Unknown to the Thief, a wizard was just waking up. The Wizard had just taken a look in the spyglass, and seen the terrible undead army. He was keen not to die. He had been studying the stars and trying hard to learn the elusive fireball spell that all wizards ought to know. Of course, that was a lie. For you see, the Wizard had a certain reputation with the ladies. What he had really been up to was the creation of a fake fireball potion that would have impressed the ladies and improved his status. The potion had backfired causing a fortnight of sleep. The wizard saw a glimmering light coming from the shrine. No-one had been able to visit it for centuries, because of the ancient magic protecting whatever lay inside.
The Wizard enters the shrine and finds the Thief holding a mysterious object.
- Narrator: The Wizard touched the Thief’s hand, and then the object. His hand got stuck. For once the Wizard was more interested in magic than anything else. He was also afraid for his dear life. But there was someone nearby who welcomed a challenge.
Pontius - The Knight
- Narrator: At the other end of the Astral Academy, a knight had been practicing his own skills, to battle the undead and prove himself worthy of joining the King’s army. Between me and you, he did not quite understand what ‘undead’ meant - but this was his chance to be the bravest knight of all. The Knight felt it was his duty to protect the Astral Academy during this time of despair. He was on the lookout for anything unusual. The Knight saw a faint light coming from the age-old shrine. Could there be a thief? Was this the Knight’s day of honour? He had sworn an oath, to himself, to protect the shrine and the Academy. Nothing could stand in his way.
The Knight enteres the shrine and finds the Thief and the Wizard holding the mysterious object.
- Narrator: The Knight joined in, taking a firm grip of the objects third side, in a way that only a mighty warrior can. There was a flash of light, and the Wizard, the Thief and the Knight… simply disappeared.
The three heroes reappear in the Academy Hallways and begin their quest to free themselves from the spell that has bound them together.
- Narrator: Our new heroes were overwhelmed by the effect of the mysterious object. The Wizard tried hard to remember everything he had learned of the shrine and it’s Artifact. His mind raced through ancient tales and legends. Finally the Wizard remembered. The treasure, the ancient object, was a device that could bind souls together. How it worked he did not know. But he knew that it was connected to the legend of the Guardian, whose earthly remains had been buried in the catacombs deep underneath the Astral Academy - the tomb resided right below the shrine. The Wizard could not explain it, but he was sure the object was called ‘The Trine’.
They search the Astral Academy looking for the tomb of the Guardian.
- Narrator: What lay ahead of our heroes, was unknown. They had not seen another man, woman or child in ages. The undead had transformed everything, they were now surrounded by evil. But our heroes had to press on. They were in search of the tomb. The Wizard was sure that it would belong to the founder of the Astral Academy, one of the three Guardians. If they could find his tomb, perhaps they would find a spell to get them out of The Trine.
The three heroes finally reach the tomb which is covered in ancient inscriptions.
- Narrator: As the Wizard read the inscriptions, legends of Artifacts began to emerge. There had once been three Guardians each with an Artifact to protect. The Trine was an Artifact of the soul and righteousness, and a catalyst for the powers of good that had quietly helped raise, young good-hearted wizards in the Astral Academy. The two remaining Artifacts were mentioned only briefly. The second Artifact, that pertained to mind and power, had been stored, in the great castle in the middle of the kingdom. The Wizard did not yet understand everything the inscription said, because some pieces were clearly missing. But it was enough. Their destination was the castle, home of the second Artifact. Ominous sounds echoed in the distance, a vast wasteland lay between our heroes and the castle - the Dragon Graveyard.
The heroes battle their way valiantly through the Dragon Graveyard.
- Narrator: Having survived the wasteland of the Dragon Graveyard, our heroes carried on. The Wizard delved deeper into the inscriptions about the Guardians. There had once had been three Artifacts. One for the soul and righteousness, one for the mind and power, and one for the body and matter. These immortal objects had been used to balance all good and evil in the world. When everything was in harmony, the Artifacts had been given to the three Guardians, who had kept them safe for centuries. The Guardians enchanted the Artifacts with powerful protective charms that only allowed those with pure intents to come near. Eventually the Guardians passed away and only the charms remained.
After many adventures the heroes reach the castle only to find that the second Artifact is not there.
- Narrator: The second Artifact, that of mind and power had protected the castle and given strength to the king and his men. But the Artifact was also protected by powerful charms and only minds with pure thoughts could touch it. Over the decades, many kings and knights had tried to approach the Artifact to no avail. The legend foretold that one day a hero of pure mind and justified intent would come and claim the Artifact. But as our heroes came through the castle door, they realised that the undead had seized everything in the castle. This once magnificent place had been transformed into a place of terror.
They did however discover the Old King’s journal in the castle.
- Narrator: With great enthusiasm the Wizard absorbed the contents of the King’s journal. Of particular interest were the last pages. The King told of how they had found the ancient ruins, abandoned long ago. Statues of virtue and architecture beyond imagination had clearly impressed the Old King. The King’s journal did not contain much on the Artifacts but the vivid descriptions matched the signs on the tomb of the first Guardian. In legend there exists a place that the Guardians had called their home. If this was true and the ruins were the origin of the Artifacts, our heroes might finally get some answers. The journal had carefully mapped out the location of the ruins. It was in the middle of the forest a long distance away. Our heroes began to follow the directions in the King’s journal.
The three heroes finally reach the ancient ruins.
- Narrator: The ‘Ruins of the Perished’ as the Old King had called them, and they looked exactly as described in the journal, beautiful and majestic despite the centuries gone by. The third Artifact could perhaps be found at the highest location of the ruins.
Greatly disappointed, the heroes discover that the third Artifact is nowhere to be found in the ruins.
- Narrator: Not too long ago, an earthquake had rocked the pedestal, destroying the shrine that surrounded the Artifact of body and matter. The charms that had protected the third Artifact broke, and it was stolen. Even worse, it was paired with the Artifact of mind and power. Without the Artifact of soul and righteousness, the power of the Artifacts became twisted, and brought to life creatures of bones and dust, capable of moving, but lacking soul and meaning. The Trine was the only thing that could bring back balance to the world.
Continuing on their quest the heroes see a tall dark tower in the distance.
- Narrator: As our heroes looked west, they could see darkness. Where nothing had been before, there now stood a dark tower, black, even against the evening sky. An Evil Tower. Our heroes understood what they must do. The only way to purge the land of corruption and raze the black tower to the ground, was to bring The Trine and the other Artifacts together.
Our heroes must travel to the Evil Tower to reunite the three Artifacts.
- Narrator: Our heroes broke through the gates of the Evil Tower and entered the forge where the undead prepared their weapons and armour. Looking down on them, the Evil Tower stood tall and menacing. This was the heart of evil. As our heroes climbed the stairs, a terrible coldness chilled them to the bone, and the sounds of the forge faded. It was quiet. Too quiet. And then, they heard the voice…
The three heroes climb the tower and overcome many obstacles and dangers. The three Artifacts are brought together and the heroes are finally released from The Trine’s spell. Sarek (the Old King) is defeated and peace returns to the world.
- Narrator: As the evil vanished, the Old King, or what little remained of his human soul, was set free. The Artifacts slowly restored the balance of the world. Life and it's joys returned to the kingdom. In the spring a new king was elected. The new King offered rewards to our heroes.
- Narrator: The Knight refused to become the captain of the King’s men. Instead, he finally followed his father’s hopes and acknowledged his other passion, that of food and ale. He became the King’s royal ale provider.
- Narrator: The Thief was offered riches beyond her wildest dreams but she felt a longing to go back to the forest ruins. The King granted her wish and gave her reign over the forest, where life slowly returned, restoring it to its former splendour.
- Narrator: As for the Wizard… He finally understood that the road to success did not have anything to do with the fireball spell. He wasn’t sure what it was, but saving the kingdom certainly helped. After being married a few years to a lady named Margaret, she gave birth to triplets. A charmed moment, many said. We also do not know whether the father felt pride, shame, or both, when each of his children mastered the fireball before the age of one.
- Narrator: But despite everything… They All Lived Happily Ever After.
Gameplay
- Characters - The player controls three characters, the Knight, the Thief and the Wizard who have various different useful skills (Abilities). In single player mode the player only controls one character at a time and switches between them as their different skills are needed. In cooperative mode the three characters can be controlled independently by different players.
- Abilities - Each of the three characters has different Abilities that will help them to overcome the many challenges that they will encounter. They will be able to gain new Abilities by finding 6 special treasure Chests. They will also be able to acquire enchantments by finding the 26 Secrets that will be found in treasure Chests.
- Experience - There are two types of Experience point that the three characters can find, which will allow the the player to upgrade the Abilities that are gained.
- Pickup Items - These will allow each of the three characters to restore their energy and health. Each of the characters has their own energy and health bars. Pickup Items will also allow the player to collect Experience points.
- Inventory Menu - This will show the current status of the three characters Abilities, upgrades and enchantments.
- Game Over Menu - If all Three Heroes die or are killed the player will have certain options in this menu.
- Checkpoint - There are a number of Checkpoints in each level where the characters can be resurrected and will also be able to restore their energy and health.
- Enemies - There are many creatures, monsters and bosses that the three characters will have to defeat.
- Hazards - Many different types of danger will be encountered by the three characters, often in the form of obstacles, traps and environmental hazards.
Variants
Trine was released in various re-releases, including an "Enhanced Edition".