Paradise – Preview
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Preview Paradise
Preview by Randy Sluganski |
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So what is this new game Paradise? Well, actually, it is Lost Paradise renamed. The developers – White Birds Productions – felt that Paradise more accurately described the game and it’s environments and I think they made a wise decision (unlike Atari, who changed Fahrenheit to Indigo Prophecy; what is bothersome is that according to my source, the name change was made because it was feared that us stupid Americans would confuse Fahrenheit with Fahrenheit 911).
Now imagine if you will four grown men in suits sprawled on a littered, threadbare carpet around a glowing laptop screen. Far from the deafening noise that is the E3, I met with Olivier Fontenay & Michel Bams of White Birds Productions and Francois Logeais of Micro Application for a private screening of Paradise conceptual art, a walkthrough of a few of the game’s environments and a short, playable game demo.
While much of what I saw is still embargoed, one of the most striking images was that of the Molgrave tribe that lives entirely above the ground in the trees as they believe everything related to the earth is evil and they never touch the ground their entire life. Their dead are ‘buried’ by lashing the wrapped corpse vertically to a pole staked high above the earth. It was an eerie and haunting sight.
Anyone who is familiar with Amerzone and Syberia I & II will immediately recognize Benoit Sokal’s touch – exotic animals and lush environments so inviting that the gamer desperately wants to believe in their existence. First perceptions evoke memories of the tropical forests of Amerzone integrated with a strong, female character reminiscent of Syberia’s Kate Walker.
Benoit has done numerous sketches on specific angels, actors, secondary actors and game details to be incorporated into the game. Paradise will feature many more characters (who we hope are just as quirky as Hans and Oscar) than Syberia and its cinematographic look will allow for many 3D effects such as fog, mist and real-time lightening to be added. The score will be composed by Dimitri Bodiansky who was responsible for the haunting melodies of the first Syberia.
The heroine is Karenn Crown and she is the estranged daughter of King Rodon of Maurania, an actual African sanctuary that 19th century travellers believed to be Paradise on earth (some of you may also remember a 1923 Heurcule Poirot short story “The King of Clubs” that featured a Prince Paul of Maurania). As King Rodon’s health deteriorates from a tropical disease, he reaches out to make amends with his daughter and she concedes to return from Switzerland for one last visit with her father.
Unbeknownst to Karenn, Maurania is in turmoil as an uprising against the atrocities of King Rodon has begun and rebel forces shoot down her plane before it can land safely at the airport.
Forced to crash-land in the desert near the city of Madargane – and the only survivor of the wreckage – the injured Karenn wanders the desert until found by authorities from nearby Madargane. With the help of clues found in her personal belongings, she soon remembers details of her personal live in Switzerland, but not of her heritage. She is determined to return to Europe and the Prince of Madargane agrees to help her escape to the south, but only if she will take with her a special black leopard that must be returned to where it was born.
As this unlikely pair of traveling companions journey down the African continent, she wonders why the posters of King Rodon she spots in villages, seem so familiar to her….
That should be more than enough to whet your appetite, without spoiling any of the story!
But Paradise is envisioned to be much more than a game for White Birds Productions for their goal is produce and develop not only games, but also merchandising, graphic novels and movies that tie-in to their games universe.
To this extent, Benoit will write the storyline for four Paradise graphic novels, each of which will correspond to a world of the game. The first one will be released in Europe at the end of October and a single book containing all the novels will be released in April 2006.
The graphic novels will take advantage of the medium to present the story in a different way. They will feature more character depth and plot development while remaining parallel adaptations of the game and, in that grand European tradition, will also include nudity.
Finally, as if more proof is needed that White Birds is devoted to the advancement of the adventure genre, there will soon be a major announcement of a deal with a leading French graphic novels publisher that will give White Birds access to a rich library of graphic novels from which to develop future games.
So while Paradise itself is poised to be the most exciting adventure release of 2006, it may also be possible that White Bird is on the threshold of finally changing the way adventure games are marketed to a mass audience.
Let’s hope that the North American publisher – and there are currently ongoing negotiations with a few – that distributes Paradise, has the foresight to follow the marketing and merchandising trail blazed by White Birds in Europe.
