Articles
The differences and similarities
between the Jules Verne novel and Return to Mysterious Island
It’s
difficult to provide a short answer to this question. In fact,
the
game is a logical sequel of the book “The Mysterious Island”,
which
was the sequel to the previous Jules Verne’s novel “20,000 Leagues
Under The Sea”. In order to understand the links between the game
and the novels, we have to summarise the books, and explain who Captain Nemo
is, as he
appears in both novels.
Captain Nemo (“nobody” in Latin), whose real name is Prince Dakkar,
is the son of an Indian rajah. He takes part in a rebellion against the English
occupying his country. His wife and children are killed during the confrontations
and the rebellion is crushed. Nemo, filled with bitterness, withdraws from society
and secretly builds the Nautilus, a revolutionary submarine.
Nemo travels the seas
in his Nautilus for many years. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea takes
place during this period.
As time goes on, Nemo,
who is aging, sees the members of his crew die one by one. He gives
up navigating and retires on a remote island in the Pacific
Ocean,
an island not found on any map. His Nautilus is anchored in a large sea
cavern, hidden on the side of the volcano which towers over the
island.
Years go by… On a dark night, a hot air balloon crashes leaving five American
citizens on the island. Their adventures are related in the novel The
Mysterious Island.
Nemo, who is a misanthropist,
savours his solitude. He hides from the castaway men, leaving them
to manage by themselves. They have neither
tools nor
weapons, but a great deal of experience. They manage not only to survive
but to prosper
using the island’s resources. In just a few years, they are able to master
pottery, metallurgy, agriculture and raise animals. They build a mill, a hydraulic
machine, roads, dig lakes and caverns with explosives and even build a telegraph
that connects their farm to the main house.
All the while, the castaways
feel that they are being spied on. Nemo watches them. When very
difficult situations occur, Nemo is compelled
with his
natural generosity to help them, but without being seen.
This is the end of the
story as Jules Verne tells it:
Nemo, who is dying, comes out of hiding and invites the castaways
to come on board the Nautilus. At his request they scuttle the
Nautilus along with
Nemo
and the treasures on board. The volcano erupts shortly after and
destroys
the island. The castaways, who miraculously survive the explosion,
manage to reach
a narrow reef, the only remains of the island. They are then taken
in by a passing ship.
Our game is based
on the following idea: Nemo’s death, the
destruction of the Nautilus and the explosion of the island never
happened. Jules Verne’s story is a white lie invented in order
to protect the Captains’ solitude. In reality, the captain
is in perfect health when the castaways leave him to return to civilization!
Alone once again, the
captain invents an isolating shield which surrounds its island.
Nothing can go out from there: neither material object,
nor radio waves.
But in the opposite direction, the shield will allow radio waves to pass
so news from the outside world is allowed in. It also sometimes
occurs, during
violent storms, that a change of tension neutralizes temporarily the shield
which delivers passage to an object of small size: fish, seal… or the
body of a shipwrecked woman pushed by the current: our Mina.
So, our game puts the
player in Jules Verne’s setting some
one hundred fifty years after the novel. Mina will of course find
a lot of ruins let by the castaways. (Devoted Jules Verne’s
reader will recognize some features!) Many puzzles consists on repairing
existing elements on the Mysterious Island. This is our tribute to
Jules Verne all game long, not an adaptation, but we are very close
to the spirit of this novel. So, we have a lot of item’s combination,
too, in order to capture the “build your own technology” feeling
of the book.
Character descriptions
of Mina and Jep, and the importance of their relationship in the
game
Mina is a young navigator engaged in a solitary race. She has
studied Botany in the past. She likes nature, knows the plants
well and loves animals. She
is a strong, positive, cordial and sensitive character.
In Return to Mysterious
Island, Mina discovers that the island is the home of a troop of
monkeys. The majority are hostile and very protective of their
home and make every attempt to drive Mina away. One young monkey however,
bullied by its peers, is nursed back to health by Mina and becomes her
pet animal.
She gives him the name “Jep” (We took inspiration here from the
novel, whose heroes also tame a monkey called “Jup.”)
Jep appears a very useful
helper. More important, he’s a friend
and an ally to Mina, as the main thing for a castaway, after survival,
is to avoid loneliness and find company. Jep can be combined with
inventory items to complete tasks in the game that Mina cannot do
– climb a high tree, for example and cut something down from the
top of it. There are, of course, some emotional links between Mina
and the monkey, as well as between Mina and her ‘guardian,’ Nemo’s
ghost
