![]() Nonetheless, Colin Thiele’s Storm Boy on the Nintendo Switch is a refreshing take on a classic tale, backed by high production values and a keen eye for beauty. The ending does poignantly capture some of the sadness in the original story, backed up by some excellent sound design, but the build-up towards it is patchy and ultimately the emotional weight is not as heavy as I would have hoped. ![]() This is particularly shown through Storm Boy’s father, Hideaway Tom, who is driven to live in a run-down shack on the beach, and the inferences the reader makes about their family life – but this theme is largely absent from the game. The original novella, while aimed towards young readers, still had its fair share of loneliness and pathos. While I felt that the game’s depiction of the natural landscape was spot on, the adaptation does stumble a little in its portrayal of human relationships. I felt that the decision to gamify the experience would have robbed the original story of its merit – Blowfish Studios did not feel the need to challenge players or make them compete, but just to encourage them to play – and so overall I think the adaptation works nicely. My total time spent lasted for around half an hour, which is as much time as it would take to read the novella straight. This design choice leaves the game feeling short, depending on how much time you spend advancing the story and how much time is spent on the minigames. The game eschews the need to add contrived challenge such as platforming segments or puzzles that impede the player’s progress. ![]() Every now and then you can tap into the aforementioned minigames, but these do not have scoring systems or anything of the like, and instead act as small empathy moments to get the player into the headspace of the boy. The story is told as a two-dimensional walking simulator, and the plot unfolds as you walk to the right. It has to be mentioned that as an adaptation of a novel, Blowfish Studio’s Storm Boy is not a traditional game, as much as it is a space to play in. This is represented through various minigames which can be played with either touch or button controls – everything from playing catch, drawing lines in the sand, or flying around the landscape. Together, they play along the beach as a normal boy would play with a puppy. The story of Storm Boy concerns the friendship between the protagonist and a pelican which he raises, affectionately naming Mr. The animations are similarly detailed, and this game can easily hold the title of best animated pelican in the whole industry. The rolling sand dunes and white crested waves are animated with care, and are a joy to run through. The game adaptation absolutely nails the graphical style, creating a world which is both whimsical and yet reflective of the Australian landscape that is so crucial to the success of the book. I love that Storm Boy is part of an unspoken collective Australian consciousness, and so while people my age might not be the target audience for Sydney based Blowfish Studio’s adaptation on the Nintendo Switch, I’m still hugely excited that there’s now another way that people around the world can enjoy this classic novella. Two months ago, when a beloved used bookstore in Sydney closed, I picked up a water-damaged copy, and a bunch of my friends remembered reading the book too, even though none of us could recall any plot details. I have fond memories of this story as one of the first books I’d finished in English, and I think that if I dug around, I could find the poster I made on pelicans in third grade. It’s a touching story of a boy living with his reclusive father on the wild South Australian coastline, and his interactions with the natural environment. Courtney plays the younger version of the protagonist’s protective father, who removes himself and his son from society following the untimely death of his wife and daughter, to live on a remote coastline.Colin Thiele’s Storm Boy is a book taught in primary schools across Australia. ![]() Rush, who won an Academy Award as best actor for his role in 1996’s “Shine” and has been nominated three more times, plays the adult version of the protagonist, who recounts his childhood adventures to his troubled teenage granddaughter in an effort to stop her making the same mistakes he made. The film is a contemporary re-telling of a 1976 Australian family classic described as a “heartwarming tale about unusual friendship and unconditional love.” It is based on a 1964 novel by Australian author Colin Thiele. ![]() Local media report a theatrical release set for Jan. The company has acquired Australia and New Zealand rights only, Sony told Variety. The company replaces previously attached Studiocanal as the distributor in the film’s home territory. Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has come on board “ Storm Boy,” a multi-generational Australian drama starring Geoffrey Rush and Jai Courtney (“Suicide Squad”). ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |