Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne
| Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne | |
|---|---|
| File:Voyage.jpg | |
| Developer(s) | Kheops Studio |
| Publisher(s) | The Adventure Company |
| Platform(s) | PC |
| Release | 16 August, 2005 |
| Genre(s) | Adventure game |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne, previously called Journey to the Centre of the Moon, is a PC game that is based loosely on the novel From the Earth to the Moon by Jules Verne. Developed by Kheops Studio and published by The Adventure Company, the game was released in August 2005.
The Investigation
During the course of Voyage, the main character Michel Ardan must piece together a mystery of which he can remember nothing, because at the time he was unconcious (read below). The investigation into the mystery closes well into the game, but it has been placed here chronologically. Template:Spoiler The story begins in Baltimore, 1851. The President of the Gun Club, Barbicane, decided do something unheard of. He wished to send a projectile to the moon, which was really a giant bullet that was going to be shot from a large cannon. The interior of the bullet projectile capsule was to be the home of Michel Ardan, a Frenchman, for the duration of the trip. Despite public interest and enthusiasm, an engineer by the name of Captain Nicholl publicly voiced his disbelief of President Barbicane's plan succeeding. Michel Ardan, wanting to stall any further feuding between Nicholl and Barbicane, told them both to accompany him with the promise that they would have front row seat to see which one of them was right. Both men accepted the offer, and the capsule was prepared for launch.
Meanwhile, a woman called Diana wanted desperately to travel to the moon. Passed down through her family over generations, she had a book of lunar ideograms in her possession. Her ancestors had been part of a cult that worshipped the inhabitants of the moon. This was because the moon inhabitants had travelled to earth eons ago, and made contact with them. Diana tried to seduce Barbicane into allowing her on the voyage, but was rejected. In vain, she also tried to seduce Nicholl, but once again failed. She wrote a letter to Barbicane, apologizing for her seductive behaviour, and in it begged him to not reveal the events that transpired. Barbicane conceals the letter in his hat.
Just before the capsule's departure, Ardan decided to play a joke on Barbicane and Nicholl, by sneaking a Gallinacea rooster aboard. He planed to place it on the moon upon their arrival without telling the other two men, and wanted to see their reaction when they saw a terrestrial animal perched on the lunar surface.
Take-off of the capsule occurred, and while Ardan, Barbicane, Nicholl and the hidden rooster headed towards the moon, in their wake they left a heart-broken Diana behind. All three men fell unconscious, but the rooster remained awake. Barbicane and Nicholl regain consciousness before Ardan, and realize that by their own negligence there would not be enough oxygen for three men. There was only one solution, and the two prominent men accepted it. They decided to both sacrifice themselves for Ardan. Barbicane decides to die by the shot of a gun, and Nicholl by a poisoned drink. Barbicane wrote an explanatory note to Ardan explaining why he and Nicholl had to sacrifice themselves. The two doomed men toasted each other with a wine that was brought on the voyage. Before they drank, Nicholl laces his drink with cyanide. The two men drank, and Barbicane fell to the shot of a gun fired by Nicholl. In the confusion of the sudden shot of a bullet, the rooster accidentally clawed part of Barbicane's explanatory note to Ardan and it caught alight and was ruined over the gas burner. Nicholl them proceeded to lay down and die painlessly from cyanide, leaving only the rooster and Ardan alive aboard the capsule.
Ardan woke up a time later, and discovered his two companions dead. He read the part of Barbicane's note that was not destroyed. It only mentioned the fact that there was not enough oxygen for three men. Ardan also found the note that Barbicane had concealed in his hat, from Diana.
After successfully landing on the moon and receiving a Belbaab Conch shell, with the ability to make the user understand all forms of life, Ardan conversed with the irritated Gallinacea rooster who had witnessed the death of Nicholl and Barbicane. After he discovered the truth from the creature, he had pieced together the mystery. The investigation was closed.
Michel Ardan
Michel Ardan is the Frenchman who decided to participate in President Barbicane's plan to send men to the moon. He is also the narrator of the story, offering insightful observations and hints relating to the foreign Selenite civilization. He is humourous and outgoing, and also acts as a mediator between Barbicane and Nicholl. Unfortunately, both of them died before Ardan could forge a strong friendship with them. Ardan has orange, 'mad-scientist' like hair, wears a purple overcoat and ludicrous pants, and is an extremely eccentric man.
The Selenites
The Selenites are a civilization of intelligent beings that live on the moon. They have blue skin, black eyes, transparent hemispheres (cerebral lobes) on the sides of their heads and are divided into castes. The highest caste contains the single Supreme Moon Ruler. The Selenites live in a complex dug into the mountain, and venture out rarely. Only the mentally deranged and problematic Selenites spend most of their time outside the complex. Many plants also adorn the surface of the moon outside the complex, and the Selenites utilize these plants frequently. In ancient times, the Selenites visited the earth, but over time they came to dislike its inhabitants, and eventually left.
SELENITE CHARACTERS
- The Supreme Moon Ruler
The Supreme Moon Ruler is the most powerful figure in Selenite society. He has dominance over all Selenites, yet is revered by them due to his kindness and benevolence. Whenever the Supreme Moon Ruler blinks his frontal ommatidia, it is custom that all Selenites present light up their cerebral lobes as a sign of respect and approval. Ardan communicates with the Supreme Moon Ruler only twice, in which he is given two Selenite keys. On the first occasion, Ardan must explain why he cannot light up his cerebral lobes (because he has none), and on the second, he receives a Selenite key after doing two tasks asked of him by the Supreme Moon Ruler himself. Ardan never sees the Supreme Moon Ruler in person, only on a large screen in the dignitary's office. Also, the Supreme Moon Ruler is one of only two Selenites that speaks to Ardan in English.
- The Dignitary
The Selenite dignitary has an office within the mountain complex. The dignitary is the first Selenite that Ardan converses with. To enable Ardan to better understand the written and spoken aspects of Selenite language, the dignitary allows him to access a reading screen to test his comprehension of lunar ideograms, and a harmonic educator to help him understand the melodious language spoken by the Selenites. The dignitary also possesses a rare Belbaab Conch shell which allows him to understand all form of life. Ardan has access to a distributor which he can use to buy goods, and can gain money by selling goods to the dignitary. The dignitary is the only Selenite apart from the Supreme Moon Ruler who speaks to Ardan in English. However, when Ardan wishes to sell goods to the dignitary, in accordance with ancient Selenite customs the price must be read in traditional Selenite tongue. A request bell is also on the dignitary's desk, which Ardan can use to gain higher level Selenite keys, which allow him access to new areas.
- Scurvy
Scurvy is a Selenite of the lowest caste who has deficiency in his morphean glands causing him to experience perpetual insomnia. He guards the door to the sleeping quarters, which house hundreds of Selenites. He is also the shepherd for the exiled Selenites. He rarely has to venture to the surface of the moon, normally just maintaining the devices used to ensure the exiles come inside at night. He occasionally plays a special pneumatic organ which emulates the sound patterns of the exile's favourite plants, drawing them to safety before a storm occurs. Scurvy enjoys solving logical problems during his never ending insomnia. He can also make the exiles move to certain locations and do certain things. During his adventure, Ardan must call on Scurvy's help in shepherding the exiles.
- Scrupul
Scrupul is a first rank technician of a high caste who looks after the lumen production machine, which was an old source of energy for the Selenites but is now broken. He claims that the purifier in his laboratory is the Selenite's most special machine, even if it isn't used as much anymore. This is because it can purify the Selenia Sagittaria plant into pure isotopes. He shares with Ardan a wealth of knowledge about the lumen machine, and this allows Ardan to repair it, which powers the parabolic mirror that the Selenites used Age of Voyages, to communicate with Selenites on earth. Scrupul is constantly on the look out for resource-taking from his lab, and is quick to stop Ardan taking much needed supplies. A specialized meal is needed to distract the constantly-on-watch technician from his policing duties.
- Insect Spy
The insect spy is one of many tiny devices created by the Selenites to patrol the moon and report any new objects that are found. One of these tiny spys finds Ardan as soon as he lands, and reports his presence to the Selenites. During Ardan's meeting with the dignitary he is told about this tiny spy, and for the rest of his adventure, the tiny insect spy gives useful hints and tips to him. The insect spy also allocates or deducts points from Ardan's intelligence score. Ardan needs to reach a certain intelligence score to upgrade his Selenite key level.
SELENITE EXILES
There are three Selenite exiles, banished from the main community because of mental aberrations and deficiencies. They are not intelligent, and live their lives on the surface of the moon, only coming inside to their stable at night. The exiles each have two different plants on either shoulder. They are extremely close to these plants, and share a special bond with them. For this reason, they spend most of their time near plants they like and eat. When approached, the exiles have a fiery temperament, not allowing anyone to pass by them. To calm them down, their favourite food must be brought to them.
The Selenite Ages
- Age of Worship
Eons ago, the Selenites dreamed of travelling to earth. They worshipped the blue and white planet, and even built a necropolis dedicated to it. Upon the floor of the necropolis in lunar ideograms was written 'see earth and die', and sarcophagi lined the walls. The necropolis was perfectly in line with the earth.
- Age of Voyages
The Selenites reached the technological point where they could travel to earth. To do so, they used capsules very similar to the one Ardan uses to get to the moon. They set up a cannon to propel the capsules towards earth, and set up one on earth to return to the moon, to allow for regular crossings. In the earlier days of the Age of Voyages, the Selenites would hold their breath for the duration of the journey to earth. The Selenites could withstand prolonged lack of oxygen, although it was quite uncomfortable. This changed towards the end of the Age of Voyages, when an oxygen producing chemical was devised. On earth, the Selenites discovered barbaric humans and tried to teach them. The Selenites on the moon set up a parabolic mirror to communicate with the Selenite colonists on earth.
- Age of Disillusionment
The Selenites finally decided to leave earth, as they did not approve of humanity's brutality. The Selenites returned to the moon, and Selenite civilization withdrew unto itself, no longer concerning itself with the outside universe. The Age of Disillusionment continued until Ardan reached the surface of the moon and made contact with the Selenites.
Lunar Plantlife
Five bizarre plant species live on the surface of the moon, and blossom into life when the sun shines on them. They are violent by nature and attack anyone unknown that approaches on sight. The game depends on the plantlife native to the moon, and in particular the plants' relationships with each other and their own individual properties, to create a number of the game's puzzles. These puzzles range from cooking meals with the plants, to using one plant to scare another into a docile position. While colorful, several internet reviews have criticised them for displaying exceptionally poor graphics for 2005 standard games.
Gameplay
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne is a typical adventure game, in which a point-and-click system (node system) is used to navigate through virtual environments. This technique allows for photorealism, and enhanced graphics effects as compared to a 3D game. This style also has a more layed back feel than 3D games, and allows the player to observe the environment clearly. This is crucial for point-and-click games, because they almost always involve puzzles to be solved, which require analysis of each 'node' the player is in. Although slow paced, franchises such as Myst have popularized this style of game, and the production of adventure games has therefore heightened considerable. A unique feature to Voyage however, is its inventory system. This allows the player to combine objects that are collected through the course of the game, and is crucial in solving puzzles presented.
18th Century Scientific Beliefs
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne highlights key scientific beliefs which were held by Jules Verne, and others in the scientific community, in the 1800s. Such elements as weightlessness in space were hypothesised by Verne, but at times inaccurately applied to situations. An example is when Ardan is in between the gravitational field of the earth and the moon. He experiences weightlessness, but it subsides after he leaves this cross-gravitational field. Verne failed to realize that the gravity of a planet does not affect objects in space to the same degree as it does objects in the planet's atmosphere. Also, Verne did not think that it was dangerous to be exposed to empty space for short periods of time, as in Voyage, Ardan brazenly openes the bottom hatch several times to peer into the emptiness of the universe.
The key point, however, that Voyage truly highlights, is the facination with the moon in the 18th century, and how many respected scientists belived that the dark side of the moon contained alien life. Although in Verne's novel 'From the Earth to the Moon' Ardan, Barbicane and Nicholl never reached the moon and instead fell back to the earth, in Voyage Ardan does reach his destination. Although the civilization of the Selenites is more artistic license of Kehops Studios and The Adventure Company rather than real 18th century ideas and concepts, it still provides a unique insight into a time where the moon was a truly unknown place.
Success in the Gaming World
In terms of success, Voyage has generally underperformed. Several internet reviews (some of which are listed below) criticize the game's puzzle aspects as being clumsy and badly planned. The game's graphics have also been criticized for being out-dated. Few details have been released regarding sales figures and other aspects of the game's reception in the gaming world. The Adventure Company website has little written about Voyage, and Kehops Studio has only a small website dedicated to the game. The companies seem to have paid little interest in the title they produced, despite anticipation generated at the E3 exhibition in 2005. The game's unique setting and plot, based on a classic Verne novel, have not saved it from being poorly received. One possible reason for the game's failure to do well at retail is the fact that a recent fluctuation in adventure games has caused the level of expectation in these types of games to rise considerably.