Spiritual/Aronofsky-like Adventuregame

Started by Digital Mosaic Games, Thu 21/05/2015 20:04:44

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Digital Mosaic Games

Hey guys,

I'm an admirer of Darren Aronofskys early movies Pi and The Fountain. I've always been fascinatet by spiritual/philosophical themes like
the search for meaning of life or immortality. Aronofskys works deal with these subject in a quiet intense way. I was wondering if an
adventuregame could provide a similar spiritual experience. I'm searching for a good philosophical spiritual story plot for a long time now
but I think I'm stuck in a writers block. My question to you is: Have you got any ideas for such an aronofsky-like/philosophical story?
I would really appreciate your help.

The game would be in a style similar to my previous game:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15L13f7jEEg

Thanks

Neon-Games

SilverSpook

I am a massive Aronofsky fan and would greenlight this project 100%.  Aronofsky's films to me are like the cinematic equivalent of poetry, or in Catholic terms, a priest's "homily".  Indeed, he starts many of his films with verse from the Torah or other religious/mythological proverbs.  ("Death Is The Road To Awe").  He has come out saying "The Fountain" is the closest thing he has ever produced that represents his personal spiritual faith.

What makes him a master is his use of metaphorical visuals and abstraction, often on many, many levels simultaneously.  In The Fountain, for example, visuals from medieval Spain, near-present 21st century biotech lab, and a far-future space voyage overlap in a spiraling, super-stylized manner.  You have the golden ring, the golden nebula wrapped around Xibulba, and the golden vale around the Spanish queen all representing a kind of Midas-like, mis-placed obsession and aspiration.  Things that consume the many versions of Thomas, and lead him astray from the truth -- symbolized by the white supergiant, the Queen's white face, the white cancer-patient wrap which she is clothed at toward the end, the white sap of the tree.  The visuals blur and intertwine with one another like the spiraling of a Rabbi's speech, connecting seemingly disparate material (ancient history, biotechnology, sci-fi space voyage) into a cohesive tapestry of meaning.

I am of the eternal opinion that Aronofsky does not receive the credit he is due, in part because of the fact that the average moviegoer is not looking for, or perhaps can't even really "get" what Aronofsky tries to accomplish.

The point-n-click adventure game audience though is a much more niche, and I think comes to the table (or the laptop screen) looking for something deeper than a fun romp to munch popcorn to.  So I think this could really play out well.

I personally think a lot of cyberpunk and sci fi material is inherently deeply philosophical ("What does it mean to be human?  What is consciousness?  What is the best way to organize human society?  What are the impacts of technology on the human species?  Can we have God in a machine?  What would that God be like?")

I would say though, that you might take any given biblical story and try to retell that in a different setting, as a jumping-off point.  Aronofsky's Noah, for example, does this.  Perhaps take something from Genesis (Adam & Eve) and play with potential settings / ways of telling this. 

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