Maupiti Island (game)
Encyclopedia
Maupiti Island is a French
computer game created in 1990 by Lankhor
. It is a point and click adventure game
similar to Mortville Manor
, its predecessor. The player impersonates a detective attempting to solve a crime by interacting with various characters and collecting clues while further events unveil a complex plot.
from Madagascar
, when a hurricane forces his boat on anchor in a tiny colonial
outpost
in the Indian Ocean
.
, the game featured mostly static graphics
(by Dominique Sablons) with ambient digitized sounds
(by André Bescond), speech synthesis
(by Béatrice Langlois) and a point and click interface
with numerous menus
for actions and movements.
Time was simulated, moving around the island or purposely waiting would make it pass. Events as well as the presence of the islanders in various locations occurred according to a timed script. Depending on his actions, the player could either witness bits of the ongoing plot directly, or question the characters later on about the new turn of events. The player could also occasionally find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in a virtual period of time spent unconscious, or a nasty and early end to the game.
Interaction was achieved through a large list of possible actions, both with objects found on the various scenes, and with characters whom the player had to question, threatening or bribing them if necessary, so as to learn about their whereabouts, their relations with the other inhabitants, or elements of the story. Their attitude toward Jérôme Lange would vary from friendly to hostile, sometimes forcing the hero detective out of Maupiti and causing the game to end if he would behave too rudely.
Coupled with a system that was anything but linear
- the player was given complete freedom -, critical parts of the plot that were easy to miss, and with a complex story to boot, the player could easily be left wondering what to do next. Many attempts from scratch were needed to complete the game and fully understand fine details of the plot imagined by Sylvian Bruchon.
was to be a sequel of Maupiti Island and the adventures of Jérôme Lange started in Mortville Manor
, however the game was never released due to difficulties within the company and low sales of the game Black Sect. Sukiya was seemingly in an advanced stage when the decision to interrupt development was made.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
computer game created in 1990 by Lankhor
Lankhor
Lankhor was a French video game company, notable for producing Mortville Manor, the first video game to feature speech synthesis during gameplay....
. It is a point and click adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
similar to Mortville Manor
Mortville Manor
Mortville Manor is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Lankhor in 1987 on Atari ST. There were several adaptations, amongst other Amstrad CPC, Amiga, IBM PC compatibles. The game was released in French, English and German...
, its predecessor. The player impersonates a detective attempting to solve a crime by interacting with various characters and collecting clues while further events unveil a complex plot.
The story
The story takes place in 1954, Jérôme Lange, the detective already featured in Mortville Manor is on a trip to JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
from Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, when a hurricane forces his boat on anchor in a tiny colonial
Colonialism
Colonialism is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. It is a process whereby the metropole claims sovereignty over the colony and the social structure, government, and economics of the colony are changed by...
outpost
Trading post
A trading post was a place or establishment in historic Northern America where the trading of goods took place. The preferred travel route to a trading post or between trading posts, was known as a trade route....
in the Indian Ocean
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third largest of the world's oceanic divisions, covering approximately 20% of the water on the Earth's surface. It is bounded on the north by the Indian Subcontinent and Arabian Peninsula ; on the west by eastern Africa; on the east by Indochina, the Sunda Islands, and...
.
Technical aspects
Like Mortville ManorMortville Manor
Mortville Manor is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Lankhor in 1987 on Atari ST. There were several adaptations, amongst other Amstrad CPC, Amiga, IBM PC compatibles. The game was released in French, English and German...
, the game featured mostly static graphics
Raster graphics
In computer graphics, a raster graphics image, or bitmap, is a data structure representing a generally rectangular grid of pixels, or points of color, viewable via a monitor, paper, or other display medium...
(by Dominique Sablons) with ambient digitized sounds
Digital audio
Digital audio is sound reproduction using pulse-code modulation and digital signals. Digital audio systems include analog-to-digital conversion , digital-to-analog conversion , digital storage, processing and transmission components...
(by André Bescond), speech synthesis
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
(by Béatrice Langlois) and a point and click interface
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
with numerous menus
Menu (computing)
In computing and telecommunications, a menu is a list of commands presented to an operator by a computer or communications system. A menu is used in contrast to a command-line interface, where instructions to the computer are given in the form of commands .Choices given from a menu may be selected...
for actions and movements.
Time was simulated, moving around the island or purposely waiting would make it pass. Events as well as the presence of the islanders in various locations occurred according to a timed script. Depending on his actions, the player could either witness bits of the ongoing plot directly, or question the characters later on about the new turn of events. The player could also occasionally find himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, resulting in a virtual period of time spent unconscious, or a nasty and early end to the game.
Interaction was achieved through a large list of possible actions, both with objects found on the various scenes, and with characters whom the player had to question, threatening or bribing them if necessary, so as to learn about their whereabouts, their relations with the other inhabitants, or elements of the story. Their attitude toward Jérôme Lange would vary from friendly to hostile, sometimes forcing the hero detective out of Maupiti and causing the game to end if he would behave too rudely.
Coupled with a system that was anything but linear
Linearity (computer and video games)
A video game with nonlinear gameplay presents players with challenges that can be completed in a number of different sequences. Each player sees only some of the challenges possible, and the same challenges may be played in a different order. A video game with linear gameplay will confront a player...
- the player was given complete freedom -, critical parts of the plot that were easy to miss, and with a complex story to boot, the player could easily be left wondering what to do next. Many attempts from scratch were needed to complete the game and fully understand fine details of the plot imagined by Sylvian Bruchon.
Sequel
Sukiya, also by LankhorLankhor
Lankhor was a French video game company, notable for producing Mortville Manor, the first video game to feature speech synthesis during gameplay....
was to be a sequel of Maupiti Island and the adventures of Jérôme Lange started in Mortville Manor
Mortville Manor
Mortville Manor is a point-and-click adventure game developed and published by Lankhor in 1987 on Atari ST. There were several adaptations, amongst other Amstrad CPC, Amiga, IBM PC compatibles. The game was released in French, English and German...
, however the game was never released due to difficulties within the company and low sales of the game Black Sect. Sukiya was seemingly in an advanced stage when the decision to interrupt development was made.