Gen Katz is editor of Games4Girls.com, an online zine that focuses on games that appeal to girls. For her exclusive Your Studio blogs, she writes about videogames, Princess Bride, and much more.

While I was in search of the S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: The Princess Bride written by William Goldman, it was interesting that the one response that I continually encountered was that, “It was fun.”

Now when an asset is as good and well-loved as is The Princess Bride, and it is translated to another medium, you have what in politics is called “touching the third rail.” Expectations are high, comparisons are severe and judgment unforgiving.

Soooo, will the Princess Bride Game live up to the humor that readers of the book enjoyed?

It’s a real challenge and I hope the designers take advantage of some of the opportunities the book affords. They can even add a few extras of their own.

The title Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure: The Princess Bride already prepares you for what is to come. The exaggeration of “True Love” is sure to elicit an “Oh yeah”, while the ironic choice of young girls’ favorite dress-up games, “Princess” and/or “Bride” as a title, lets you know to expect a tongue in-cheek adventure. Fairy tales are based upon superlatives and Goldman super superlatives his story.

Language is an easy and natural way to express humor and there is plenty, if subtle, exchanges between the characters. The characters themselves have humor integrated into their personalities. Fezzik is a giant committed to rhyming under the most perilous of situations and who in spite of his immense size, wants to give his opponent a fair chance. I hope Vizzini’s over confident expletive “Inconceivable” is in the game, because we all know that once out of his mouth the inconceivable will become conceivable. But it might be near impossible for the game to convey the extreme polite exchange and balletic courtesy between Inigo Montoya and the Dread Pirate before a duel to the death — dialogue is rarely an important part in games.

However, the ridiculous names amuse: Cliffs of Insanity, The Fire Swamp with the R.O.U.S (Rodents Of Unusual Size), The Pit Of Despair, and would anyone name a child Buttercup? Actually, it would be even funnier as a name for a boy.

And then there is what I call associative bonding, the device in which the author makes comments while telling the story. Peter Falk plays this part in the movie. This pseudo character is not part of the story, but this bonding between reader and storyteller is what makes the story so captivating. They need to find a place for him in the game, maybe interjecting humorous helpful hints. It’s an unusual device but it might be too much to expect from a game.

I hope there is room in the game for the play on dead – hey you don’t play with dead — dead is dead, but in The Princess Bride you have mostly dead, sort of dead and all dead. Will the hidden objects have outlandish and inappropriate things? Will races have odd hazards? Will battles melt into humorous puddles? Will romance be a joke – no we have to leave romance untouched by humor.

Share This