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.