The hero, or main character of the game will be The Devil. The player will directly control Satan both on the ground and in air, and in two forms; as the mighty fallen angel and the manipulative, cunning serpent. The style of the game will be a mix of role-playing quest elements, hack n’ slash fight gameplay, and puzzle-like obstacles for the player to overcome later in the game.
There are 4 main areas where the game takes place; Heaven, Hell, the Gates of Hell, and the Garden of Eden, in chronological order respectively. The player begins the game fighting angels loyal to God in Heaven, before being defeated and falling down to Hell. A cinematic is cued as Satan falls, and several lines of text from the corresponding point in "Paradise Lost" are used. At this point, the player must find and exit through the Gates of Hell, cuing another cinematic with "Paradise Lost" text, and then embark on a dangerous journey to the Garden of Eden. (The main danger is risking falling into Oblivion; an even darker pit than Hell.) Once in Eden, the Player must lure Eve to the tree and trick her into eating the fruit from the Tree of Life. At this point, the Player has achieved victory and it is game over. The Devil has won.
Here I include vistas of possible scenes for each area of the game, and specify which passages of text I will use in the following analytic paragraphs.
As a conceptual starting point for the adaption of “Paradise Lost” into videogame digital form, I examined the story largely through the viewpoint of Satan, and identified several theaters of act, where most of his storyline took place. I wanted to bring his character to life in a lifelike, concrete manner that had never been attempted before, and to do that I needed powerful dialogue that encapsulated the way in which his character develops. I chose three main passages of text, the first from his fall into Hell: “Him the Almighty Power / Hurld headlong flaming from th' Ethereal Skie [ 45 ] / With hideous ruine and / combustion down / To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, / Who durst defie th' Omnipotent to Arms.” I chose this particular passage because it provides the relevant backstory to Satan’s character; how he ended up in Hell, and why. In continuing the storyline, I chose to include a passage relating to Satan’s plan of action as he relates it to his compatriots: “But first whom shall we send / In search of this new world, whom shall we find /Sufficient? who shall tempt with wandring feet / The dark unbottom'd infinite Abyss [ 405 ]… I abroad / Through all the Coasts of dark destruction seek /Deliverance for us all: this enterprize [ 465 ] /None shall partake with me”. After Satan passes through the Gates, I of course had to include the defining moment of Satan’s temptation, and the signal for a Player victory: “ was at first as other Beasts that graze / The trodden Herb, of abject thoughts and low, / As was my food, nor aught but food discern'd / Or Sex, and apprehended nothing high: / Till on a day roaving the field, I chanc'd [ 575 ] / A goodly Tree farr distant to behold / Loaden with fruit of fairest colours mixt,… / Shall that be shut to Man, which to the Beast / Is open? or will God incense his ire / For such a petty Trespass, and not praise /
Rather your dauntless vertue”.
Through this process, I gained significant insight into the Satan character. He lost his appearance of evil, and gained one of newfound respect. Imagining the challenges and hardship that he went through, the dedication and determination to rebel against the tyranny of far superior forces that he possessed almost drew me to sympathize with his cause. Yet, as always, the fact that he then preyed upon the innocent race of Man highlights the brutal and innately wicked character that he really is. To me, Satan became more corporeal, and more definite; while I cannot ally with him, I have a better understanding of his decisions and his reasons for making them. By delving into his world pictorially and digitally instead of purely through literature, I was able to realize his story in a different manner… through a brighter and more revealing light.
-Britton Forsyth