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Adventure Game Scene of the Day — Wednesday 5 September 2012

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Something a bit special today: not a scene from a game, but a scene that should have been in a game.

When Paradise was first announced, frequent references were made by White Birds to a quote from Hemingway’s The Snows of Kilimanjaro, which had inspired the game: “Close to the western summit there is the dried and frozen carcass of a leopard. No one has explained what the leopard was seeking at that altitude.” It was even part of the earliest teaser for the game. And so I was a bit disappointed when the game didn’t touch on this episode at all—and failed to provide any closure to the leopard’s story.

It was only several months later, when the 4th tome of the Paradise graphic novel was finally released, that the mystery of the leopard on the mountain was finally resolved. The events of the game’s 4th chapter, all the way to its shocking conclusion, take up the first 33 pages, but then the story goes on for another 13 pages! This extended ending provides a neater resolution to the various story threads, but also dramatically changes the tone of the ending, replacing the game’s dark, hopeless conclusion with an epilogue full of sadness but also ultimately optimistic. Don’t ask me which ending I like best! (Although I’ll say that the overall quality of the storytelling is vastly superior in the graphic novels.) When material contingencies (having to cut stuff when running out of time and money) and artistic considerations interact, it can lead to some complex situations.

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Since the graphic novel was never translated into English, in the next post I’ll give an illustrated (and highly spoilery!) recap of the extended ending.

     
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WARNING This post contains spoilers

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So, if you remember, we had left AnnMalkia aboard her father’s ship, after her eventful reunion with him.

Shortly afterwards, the rebels take over the ship and find Malkia, who has not recovered from her father’s death.

Siri, the leader of the rebels, decides that she is to be executed . . .

. . . but at the last second the leopard jumps in and saves her life. (In the game, that would certainly have been the 4th chapter’s sequence where the player controls the animal.)

They manage to escape and steal a truck, heading towards the mountains to escape the country. Siri decides not to give chase, considering that Malkia, like her father, belongs to the country’s past, whereas he’s concerned with the future.

The ending is pure Sokal. Malkia and the leopard reach the mountains but the truck dies and they have to continue on foot. As they reach the pass out of Maurania, the leopard—its fate inextricably tied to the country, its now defunct king and Malkia’s past—lies down . . .

. . . and dies in Malkia’s arms.

In the final pages, we hear Malkia’s last words to the leopard

“On the other side of this mountain, we’ll be free. As far as the eye can see, there are valleys full of grass and flowers, long, lazy rivers where big, quiet and thoughtful animals come to drink. It will be like the first day of the world… Like in earthly paradise…”

and, in the last page, we see her gaze at the land beyond the mountains, a beautiful, lush, virgin land where maybe she will find peace—and a new start.

     
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I love Sokal’s graphic novels. And Paradise is such a fantastic series. For those who can read French(or Dutch) I highly recommend his latest series: Kraa. It’s got a wonderfully original story and fantastic artwork.
Check it out:

 

     

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