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The Forgotten Element
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| Developer: | Lemmy & Captain Binky |
| Platform: | PC |
| Genre: | Adventure |
| Release Date: | 2006 |
| Article Posted: | April 2006 |
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Preview by Ugur Sener
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Far from the rest of civilization in the open waters of the sea, lies the Seahorse Island. This is a calm and peaceful place. Forgotten by time and change, nothing ever really seems to happen around the island. Its humble people go about their lives and enjoy the beautiful landscape that seems to be a true blessing. The denizens of Seahorse Island enjoy a unique sense of peace and serenity. Yet this dreamlike place may not remain as a safe haven much longer.
Something terrifying, something unnatural has come over Seahorse Island. The plants wither and die. Decay is spreading across the land. The crops do not grow despite the best care. The incessant rain cannot seem to bring nourishment to the plants. It seems as though life itself is abandoning the island. There is a growing sense of gloom. The beautiful landscape is turning into something horribly wrong and twisted. Seahorse Island is becoming a place of death.
In the midst of the decay spreading across the island, a lone woman peacefully sleeps. Surrounded by the dying grass and the trees, Mia seems defiantly beautiful and almost deliberately full of life. The island doctor finds her in the woods and brings her to the local hospital. Dr. Carter has no idea who the mysterious woman is or how she might be related to the terrible events taking place on the island. But Mia might just be the key to unlocking the mystery behind the horrors threatening the entire island.
The game begins as Mia comes to her senses at the island’s hospital. She is not quite sure who she is or how she got there. Her head filled with questions, Mia sets off on a journey to discover the truth and understand what is happening to the island. Along the way, she will challenge the islanders to change their belief systems. She will be the driving force beckoning the prejudiced and close-minded denizens of Seahorse Island to embrace the changing world away from the timeless shores of the island. Perhaps through her unfaltering drive and dedication, she will save the island from the horrible decay and gloom. And if she is lucky, perhaps Mia will come to understand who she really is and why she came to the island in the first place.
The Forgotten Element is a traditional point-and-click adventure game currently being developed by the enigmatic duo Lemmy and Captain Binky. In the role of Mia, the game invites players to explore the diverse environments of the Seahorse Island. Between the island’s woods, mountains, beaches, and some underwater locations, The Forgotten Element promises a wide array of locations for adventurers to explore.
As Lemmy and Captain Binky put it, “The Forgotten Element has been designed by two avid Monkey Island fans.” The game’s interface should be familiar to adventure gamers who have played through the Monkey Island series. The development team has implemented the “Lucasarts visual and interactive approach to telling the story.” The Forgotten Element is also presented in cartoon-like 2D graphics and a 320X200 resolution, staying true to many of the traditional adventure games of the 90’s. The game will have an overall serious tone, however players can expect plenty of good-natured humor and rather unique characters throughout the journey.
Interaction with non-player characters should play an important role in The Forgotten Element. So far, two of the game’s main characters have been revealed besides the player character Mia. Dr. Carter, the gentleman who finds Mia at the beginning of the game, will prove to be an important ally throughout the adventure. He will continually support Mia, even though he may not always believe her opinions as to what is happening to the island. Mr. Clancy on the other is hand the well-traveled and highly trusted wise man of the Seashore Island. Quite opinionated and set in his ways, Mr. Clancy already has his own ideas as to what is happening to the island. It seems he will be more of an obstacle on Mia’s path than any of the other characters.
Lemmy and Captain Binky do promise a number of other colorful characters. The developers express that these non-player characters will “have their own story arcs and have an important part to play in the main story, as well as various sub-plots.”
The Forgotten Element is expected to feature a wide variety of puzzles. Adventure gamers can expect traditional inventory-based puzzles along with a number of dialogue-based challenges. The game will also feature puzzles demanding players to traverse dangerous environments. Some of the challenges will have a time limit. The developers explain that they are trying to find a good balance of different types of puzzles. They are also trying to avoid unnecessary pixel-hunting or overcrowded screens with too many hotspots.
The Forgotten Element is designed to have three separate acts. The first act of the game is scheduled for a 2006 release. All three acts of the game will be available for download from the official game site, which is currently gearing up for a launch. The developers express that their goal with The Forgotten Element is to contribute to the efforts “to rejuvenate the point-and-click genre.” They also intend to make the artwork, music, and other source materials that will go into the game publicly available so other independent developers can benefit from these assets.
Based on the preliminary information available, The Forgotten Element has the makings of a solid adventure game. Lemmy and Captain Binky might be intending to make all three acts of the game available free of chage, but between the interesting concept, intriguing environments, and colorful characters, The Forgotten Element could easily deliver the kind of gaming experience that can rival a commercially released adventure.
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