L'Orfeo,
by Claudio Monteverdi, is one of the oldest surviving operas
currently in rotation, if not the oldest. It retells the myth of
Orpheus, a tragic hero who goes on a noble quest to the underworld to
rescue his true love only to lose her once again to his own doubt.
The version being discussed here, a 1978 production directed by
Jean-Pierre Ponnelle, had a very interesting mise en scene that made
it feel almost like a fantasy movie. The sets were complex and
detailed and changed dramatically with the setting, the costumes
period-accurate and often featuring ornate fantasy-inspired makeup
(particularly Pluto), and included cinematic special effects such as
varied lighting and fog. It seems as if Ponnelle had aspirations to
stage this as if it were a blockbuster movie, and from that my
inspiration for a video game adaptation really takes shape.
If
I were to adapt L'Orfeo into
a video game, I would most likely aspire for it to be something in
the recently-reemerged interactive drama genre, in a similar vein to
games like Heavy Rain
and Beyond: Two Souls.
Seeing as this game is primarily a story being told through dialogue
and music, it wouldn't make much sense to make it action-heavy, so it
would be a good fit as a story that the player is simply on the ride
for, albeit one that hinges on their decisions. The most prominent
element of gameplay would be the playing of Orpheus' lyre, which
would be used for rhythm game-esque segments in which the player
would have to perform songs at a certain level of accuracy to charm
or manipulate his target as Orpheus often did. Difficulty would be
adjustable to give it replay value. Beyond that, the story would
largely be told through dialogue, sung-through of course, and the
player
would
be able to select their responses from a list as opposed to being
chained to watching a scene, a style of storytelling showcased in
games such as Mass Effect.
These selections would not heavily alter the story, but they would
vary in demeanor and selecting the right tone of response would
impact whether or not the player could advance. In walking sections
between spoken bits, there would be a loop of the instrumental
section that precedes the next bit of dialogue, to give it the feel
that it is a continuous musical.
Visually,
I would want to capture the mise en scene of the Ponnelle production,
so there would be a lot of fantastical set pieces. I would deviate,
however, from realistic character models, as I believe purely-human
form would hinder the story. Instead, I would go with a cel-shaded
visual style similar to games like Naruto: Ultimate Ninja.
This would give it the
appearance of an animated film, and would allow for more surreal and
imaginative scenarios in the story, particularly once Orpheus begins
his descent into the underworld. There would be a bit of a meta twist
though, to appeal to the shifting sensibilities of modern media
consumers: the game itself would be a frame narrative within a
performance of the opera. This is inspired by Act 1 of L'Orfeo
where the story of Orpheus is
seemingly introduced by the performers, and at one point a backdrop
change is deliberately visible, and the fact that throughout the
performance, there are a few instances of the orchestra shown,
creating an odd pseudo-fourth-wall-breaking sensibility. In the
segments that frame the main storyline, the orchestra will be
visible, and the set will appear much more shoddy than the ornate and
fantastical animated sequences that take place in the main segments.
This will give interesting context to the gameplay, and will
additionally give the game an almost innocent theme of imagination
that I'm certain will be valued heavily by the players, and will
compliment the scenes of Orpheus' magical journey well.
Claudio
Monteverdi's L'Orfeo,
given its age of over 400 years and its even older roots as a
Greek
myth, is still tremendously ripe for modern adaptation. Jean-Pierre
Ponnelle's 1978 production
showcased
a version steeped in the tropes of fantasy film, and from there a
sort of big-budget interactive drama adventure game could be derived.
In lieu of traditional action or platforming, the game would present
heavy musical dialogue, and would offer the gamer exciting quicktime
events in the form of Orpheus' lyre. Visually, the game would be
cel-shaded to create similarities to a cartoon movie, and while
featuring ornate and surreal environments in the main storyline, it
would be framed within a performance of a play with
comparatively-shoddy set pieces and undisguised bit players,
juxtaposing it with the main adventure to create a sense of
imagination and wonder. There aren't many, if any games, that have
framed themselves as narrative musicals in the same style as operas,
so if something like this were to be made, based on any opera, it
would be revolutionary, but L'Orfeo heart-wrenching
and adventurous narrative and relatable humanistic morals would make
it a prime target for this sort of adaptation.
L'Orfeo.
By Claudio Monteverdi. Dir. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle. Perf. Philippe
Huttenlocher. Zurich Opera House, Switzerland. 1978. Performance.
