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Still Life (video game)
Encyclopedia
Still Life is a 2005 computer adventure game
by Microïds
. While not sharing its name, Still Life is a sequel to Post Mortem. A sequel, Still Life 2
, was released in 2009. The game has since sold 240,000 copies worldwide.
A major theme throughout the game is art, especially the technique of still life
that the game is named after. The game also uses a storytelling device of switching back and forth between two player character
s.
Special Agent Victoria McPherson is investigating a series of brutal murders in 2004 Chicago. While visiting her father for Christmas she discovers an old notebook that belonged to her grandfather, private investigator Gustav McPherson. Victoria is surprised to learn that Gus had been involved with investigating a very similar series of murders in 1920s Prague
. The player alternates between these two characters as they work to hunt down what seems to be the same serial killer
more than 70 years apart.
In both cases the murderer targets sex trade workers: street prostitutes in Prague, and employees of an exclusive Chicago massage parlor and S&M club called the Red Lantern. The killer or killers are disguised in a dark cloak, top hat, and silver mask.
Gus eventually identifies the man responsible for the Prague murders, but the killer escapes justice and relocates to America. Near the end of the game Victoria discovers that similar murders occurred in 1931 Chicago and later in 1956 Los Angeles
.
The identity of the 2004 Chicago killer is never revealed. Victoria encounters him several times, but never sees behind his mask. She does not believe he is the same person as the Prague killer, but rather a younger person who has been influenced by the Prague killer in some way. At the climax of the game Victoria manages to shoot the Chicago killer in the chest, but he falls into the Chicago river and goes under. As the game ends, the Chicago police are still searching the river for the killer's body. Victoria plans to travel to Los Angeles to learn more about the 1956 killings.
as the first, Still Life ends without revealing the villain. The story was meant to continue in a third game, but it seemed unlikely that the finalé would ever be made, as part of the development arm of Microïds
in Canada was bought out by Ubisoft
. However, on December 6, 2007, Microïds announced the development of a sequel, Still Life 2
, which was released in 2009. The mysterious serial killer's identity will apparently be revealed in the sequel. On September 19, 2008 a new Still Life series website was opened, covering the three games.
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applications; the same software as Post Mortem and some other Microïds games. The point and click gameplay is also based on the first two games in the Syberia
franchise.
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,...
by Microïds
Microïds
Microïds is a French software brand belonging to Anuman Interactive that publishes and develops video games. In recent years the company's collection of brands and game licenses has grown since being a part of MC2 France...
. While not sharing its name, Still Life is a sequel to Post Mortem. A sequel, Still Life 2
Still Life 2
Still Life 2 is a 2009 computer adventure game by Microïds. It is a sequel to the 2005 game Still Life, and follows on from the characters and themes of 2003's Post Mortem.- Plot :...
, was released in 2009. The game has since sold 240,000 copies worldwide.
A major theme throughout the game is art, especially the technique of still life
Still life
A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...
that the game is named after. The game also uses a storytelling device of switching back and forth between two player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s.
Plot
FBIFederal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
Special Agent Victoria McPherson is investigating a series of brutal murders in 2004 Chicago. While visiting her father for Christmas she discovers an old notebook that belonged to her grandfather, private investigator Gustav McPherson. Victoria is surprised to learn that Gus had been involved with investigating a very similar series of murders in 1920s Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. The player alternates between these two characters as they work to hunt down what seems to be the same serial killer
Serial killer
A serial killer, as typically defined, is an individual who has murdered three or more people over a period of more than a month, with down time between the murders, and whose motivation for killing is usually based on psychological gratification...
more than 70 years apart.
In both cases the murderer targets sex trade workers: street prostitutes in Prague, and employees of an exclusive Chicago massage parlor and S&M club called the Red Lantern. The killer or killers are disguised in a dark cloak, top hat, and silver mask.
Gus eventually identifies the man responsible for the Prague murders, but the killer escapes justice and relocates to America. Near the end of the game Victoria discovers that similar murders occurred in 1931 Chicago and later in 1956 Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
.
The identity of the 2004 Chicago killer is never revealed. Victoria encounters him several times, but never sees behind his mask. She does not believe he is the same person as the Prague killer, but rather a younger person who has been influenced by the Prague killer in some way. At the climax of the game Victoria manages to shoot the Chicago killer in the chest, but he falls into the Chicago river and goes under. As the game ends, the Chicago police are still searching the river for the killer's body. Victoria plans to travel to Los Angeles to learn more about the 1956 killings.
Ending / sequel
A controversy surrounding the game is its lack of an ending. Originally planned as the second of a trilogy, with Post MortemPost Mortem (game)
Post Mortem is a murder mystery adventure game by Microïds, released in 2002. Its sequels are Still Life and Still Life 2.- Plot :...
as the first, Still Life ends without revealing the villain. The story was meant to continue in a third game, but it seemed unlikely that the finalé would ever be made, as part of the development arm of Microïds
Microïds
Microïds is a French software brand belonging to Anuman Interactive that publishes and develops video games. In recent years the company's collection of brands and game licenses has grown since being a part of MC2 France...
in Canada was bought out by Ubisoft
Ubisoft
Ubisoft Entertainment S.A. is a major French video game publisher and developer, with headquarters in Montreuil, France. The company has a worldwide presence with 25 studios in 17 countries and subsidiaries in 26 countries....
. However, on December 6, 2007, Microïds announced the development of a sequel, Still Life 2
Still Life 2
Still Life 2 is a 2009 computer adventure game by Microïds. It is a sequel to the 2005 game Still Life, and follows on from the characters and themes of 2003's Post Mortem.- Plot :...
, which was released in 2009. The mysterious serial killer's identity will apparently be revealed in the sequel. On September 19, 2008 a new Still Life series website was opened, covering the three games.
Still Life: Prelude
Still Life: Prelude was a section of the game which continued on the game's website, but is not online anymore. It placed you once again in control of Victoria McPherson investigating cases prior to those encountered in the main Still Life game plot.Chicago
- Victoria McPherson - An FBI agent, Granddaughter of Gus; one of the player's characters (Sarah Leger)
- David Miller - Chicago Police/FBI Officer (Arthur HoldenArthur HoldenArthur Holden is a Canadian voice actor, born in Montreal, Quebec. He voices Baba-Miao in Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, Mr. Ratburn in Arthur, and Mr...
) - Claire Ashby - Chicago Police/FBI Coroner (Pauline Little)
- William Tate - Chicago Police Officer (Terrance Scammel)
- Todd Browning - Chicago FBI Chief (Terrance Scammel)
- Vaclav Kolar - Chicago University Tutor (Harry StandjofskiHarry StandjofskiHarry Standjofski is a Canadian-born actor and voice actor as well as a theater director and playwright. He has appeared in films such as Guy X, The Aviator, Protection, and Hidden Agenda and has voiced characters in video games such as Assassin's Creed, Prince of Persia: The Two Thrones, Splinter...
) - Patrick McPherson - Father to Victoria, son of Gustav and Milena (A. J. Henderson)
- Richard Valdez - Boyfriend of Victoria; works at Chicago Art Gallery (Marcel Jeannin)
- Bouncer Mr. Zero - Bouncer at Chicago Red Lantern Club (Terrance Scammel)
- Mia Holmes - Works at Red Lantern Club; Neighbour of Kolar (Jennifer Seguin)
- Roslyn Checa - 1st Chicago Victim
- Elizabeth Walmsley - 2nd Chicago Victim
- Shannon Braeme - 3rd Chicago Victim
- Natalie Kenworth - 4th Chicago Victim
- Cynthia Woods - 5th Chicago Victim
- Stephanie Wallace - 6th Chicago Victim
Prague
- Gustav McPherson - Private Detective, first featured in the game Post Mortem. (Sven Eriksson)
- Jiří Skalnic - Prague Police Investigator (Mark CamachoMark CamachoMark Camacho is a Canadian actor who has starred in many films, and more notably, some voice acting roles, such as Oliver Frensky in Arthur, Lyle in Animal Crackers, Dad in Rotten Ralph, Harry and Dragon in Potatoes and Dragons, Spritz T...
) - Kazimír Stašek - Prague Police Officer (Marcel Jeannin)
- Emil Korona - Prague Coroner (A. J. Henderson)
- Mark Ackerman - American Artist (Arthur Holden)
- The Crow Man - Coachman in Prague (Arthur Holden)
- Patrick Bell - US Embassy in Prague (Marcel Jeannin)
- Otokar Kubina - Prague Pimp; Owns Lingerie shop (Harry Standjofski)
- Petr Jesenský - Henchman for Kubina in Prague; Brother of Roman (Terrance Scammel)
- Roman Jesenský - Henchman for Kubina in Prague; Brother of Petr (Terrance Scammel)
- Ida Skaličková - Prostitute in Prague; Gustav's Girlfriend (Sarah Leger)
- Milena - Prostitute in Prague; Gustav's wife (Claudia Besso)
- Apolena - Prostitute in Prague (Jennifer Seguin)
- Vladana Tominová - Prostitute in Prague; Benefactor for bridge (Holly Gauthier-FrankelHolly Gauthier-FrankelHolly Gauthier-Frankel is a Canadian voice actress, singer, and Burlesque dancer. She is the daughter of Ron Frankel and Mary Lou Gauthier. Holly is best known for supplying the voice of Fern in Arthur, Sagwa, the Chinese Siamese Cat, Teri in What's with Andy?, Loulou in Wimzie's House, and Flora...
) - Františka - Prostitute/Victim in Prague
- Anežka - Prostitute/Missing in Prague
- Annika Vitti - Prostitute/Victim in Prague
- Sasha - Prostitute/Victim in Prague
- Katarina Bulgari - Prostitute/Victim in Prague
- Nadia Burkowski - Prostitute/Victim in Prague
- Herbert Ackerman - Ambassador; Father of Mark
- Michael Harrison - Los Angeles Police Officer
Development
Still Life was made with VirtoolsVirtools
Virtools is a software developer and vendor, created in 1993 and owned by Dassault Systèmes since July 2005.-History:Virtools was a company founded 1993. They offered a development environment to create 3D real-time applications and related services, targeted at system integrators, game studios and...
applications; the same software as Post Mortem and some other Microïds games. The point and click gameplay is also based on the first two games in the Syberia
Syberia
Syberia is a 2002 computer adventure game conceived by Benoît Sokal, developed by Microïds and published through The Adventure Company. It follows the protagonist Kate Walker as she attempts to wrap up a sale on the behalf of her law firm...
franchise.
Lead character biographies
- Gustav McPherson is a Private Detective, who grew up in New York City. In the mid-1920s Gustav moved to ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
and took up the profession of an Artist. In 1925 a mysterious woman, Sophia Blake, hired Gustav to investigate the murders at the Orphee Hotel, of her 'sister' and brother-in-law. This mystery unfolded into a paranormal encounter with an item called the 'Head of Baphomet', which would give eternal life to its beholder. In 1929 Gustav was enlisted by his then girlfriend Ida to investigate the murders of multiple prostitutes in PraguePraguePrague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
. While uncovering that the murderer was also an artist, Ida herself was murdered causing Gustav to be distraught. Gustav, Vladanna Tominova and Milena fled the murderer by working their way back to America. Gustav and Milena settled in Chicago, where they married and had a son, Patrick McPherson. In 1932 Gustav also stole some FBI files related to the murders, which he later passed on in 1956 to a police officer in Los Angeles, Michael Harrison. Harrison was investigating murders which were almost identical to the ones in Prague.
- Victoria McPherson is an FBI Agent working in ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
. She is the daughter of Patrick and granddaughter of Gustav. As a child she loved listening to her grandfather's stories and would later find herself entangled in similar circumstances to one of Gustav's cases. Later in her career Victoria was sent to work in MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
.
External links
- Still Lifes original official website - Captured by the Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
, March 29, 2005 - Still Life PC, at Microïds