That headline is perhaps misleading in that it’s a gross over simplification of the issue at hand. That issue being that a game is currently being developed in Europe centered on the Holocaust. In it, you play a young French boy who escapes the horrors of Nazi occupation during World War II by retreating into a fantasy world. Does that premise sound familiar to you Pan’s Labyrinth fans?
Nintendo officials have stated the game will not see a US release. The game, titled Imagination Is the Only Escape, is being developed by a single independent artist and distributed by British company Alten8. It appears to be an artistic attempt to deal with the horrors of the Holocaust in a game that might educate young people.
The developer, Luc Bernard, claims the game features no actual on screen violence and is himself the son of a Jewish mother and grandmother. The Anti-Defamation League said they had yet to see the title and would reserve judgment until then.
If you have not seen Pan’s Labyrinth, and aren’t terribly squeamish, then you owe it to yourself to do so. In it, a young girl escapes the horrors of the Spanish Civil War by escaping into a fantasy world that is in some ways equally horrific. Sound familiar? In Mr. Bernard’s defense, The Chronicles of Narnia basically tell the same story, as well. So if he is indeed ripping off Pan’s Labyrinth, it was just as much a rip-off.
Still, such games with higher messages are desperately needed in an industry clamoring for respect. If Imagination truly lives up to its potential, then it is exactly the type of game that needs release in the US.
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March 10th, 2008 at 7:13 am
I’m not clear on who is blocking this game from the US, but it’s a shame. It sounds like the type of game that could get people thinking as much as BioShock did.
God forbid something with a deep message takes retail shelf space from games like “Chicken Hunter”.
..and was I the only one who found that NYTimes article incredibly patronizing and poorly written? Does noone in American media realize that adults play games?
March 10th, 2008 at 10:27 am
I’ve read all the Narnia books (admittedly a few years ago) and watched Pan’s Labyrinth a couple of times… I don’t see how it “rips off” Narnia just because it happens to involve a real life and a fantasy element.
The more I think about it the more I disagree with you. Narnia was about creating a shared cultural mythology (in a heavily Christianised perspective) for the English, much like Tolkien’s vision — they were close friends at one point. That’s in stark contrast to the depiction of a little spanish girl’s perspective on the brutal events she witnessed in a civil war.
The objectives of the two are very different, and the realisations themselves rather different too. I don’t believe your flippant comparison holds any merit.
March 10th, 2008 at 10:40 am
Adam, you raise good points. However, I would argue that both works are to one extent or another about children escaping the horrors of reality for a fantasy world. You seem to overlook that The Lion, The With, and The Wardrobe begins with the children fleeing the air raids of World War II. Also, in a similar manner to Pan’s, the fantasy world they escape to is perhaps just as dangerous as the real world.
It’s the idea of children creating a fantasy in order to deal with the overwhelming reality. Pan does seem to borrow this idea. You are right in that the eventual messages are different, as Narnia provides reassurances to the children of their protection from God.
It is funny that you mention Tolkien, since many consider his WWII experience to be the defining shaper of The Lord of the Rings. So, three different fantasy classics shaped by war.