GDC 07: The Ugly Prince Duckling
I'd heard rumblings of The Ugly Prince Duckling, a third-person adventure game centered around a fictionalized version of 19th Century fabulist Hans Christian Andersen, but hadn't given it too much thought just yet - largely because although the game has been out in Norther Europe since late 2006, it doesn't hit North America until March 28. But the game absolutely grabbed me by the face and pulled me in as I was passing its booth at the GDC Expo today - seeing a new, vitalized adventure game with such a creative style and drop-dead gorgeous visual style (especially by adventure game standards) is a real thrill for fans of the genre. Recent-ish adventure entries such as Dreamfall and Call of Cthulhu have upped the ante, but there's always room for more point-and-click engrossing goodness.
Set in Copenhagen during the Golden Age of 1820, The Ugly Prince Duckling envisions a 14 year-old Andersen as he pursues his dream of becoming a famous actor with the Royal Theatre - mixing quest-based adventure with magic, trolls, and an imperiled princess as well as a simulation of life in the city. The graphics were crisp and smooth and the characters rendered with a colorful, Pixar-esque feel. Danish developer Guppyworks looks to have done a fine job.
I didn't get too much time to explore the world, as La Brute dragged me away to talk shop, but the adventure fan in me was definitely piqued! It's not a genre that gets too much attention these days, even though the days of hyperbolic exclamations of the "death of the adventure game" have, thankfully, passed. I'll definitely be picking up an Ugly Prince of my own, later this month; meanwhile, have any of our European readers had a chance to play? If so, please dish the good dish!
tiny dancer
Posted to Video Games on 9 March 2007
· Comments (1)
Other stuff like this: gdc 2007, guppyworks, hans christian andersen, pc, the ugly prince duckling
well here we are, then - tiny was just talking with jeb havens about the possibility of a gay lead character in a mainstream video game, and now we've proof! it didn't even take five years, either!
seriously though, in the words of stephen fry, andersen was "well gay," and while his sexual orientation is a matter of some dispute, it's generally accepted that he was, at the very least, a bit queer. "The Ugly Duckling," by his own admission in personal correspondence, was a story he wrote for people like himself who had "deviant" (for so they were perceived at the time) sexual proclivities.
now, certainly, i very much doubt whether andersen's sexuality will play any role in the game, but that's true for most games, if you think about it. so what are we looking for when we say we want a gay lead in a game? what would that mean? what would that look like? would it mean tidus and wakka gazing into each other's eyes instead of tidus and yuna?
anyway, chin chin to a gay lead character, even if nobody knows he's gay.