Jacob Levenson
3/3/15
Art + Technology
Opera Video Game
Les
Troyens
The
opera I found most interesting to turn into a video game is Les Troyens,
written by Hector Berlioz. Although Les Troyens was originally written and
composed between 1856 & 1858, it did not premiere until 1921 in Paris. This
opera is split into five different acts, most of them taking place in different
settings but all taking place either in the ancient cities of Troy or Carthage.
“Les Troyens” can be translated to English as The Trojans.
The
story of Les Troyens starts off with Act 1, where the Greeks have laid siege on
the city of troy for over a decade. The Greeks have just recently left Troy,
leaving behind a giant wooden horse. The people of Troy are to believe that this
horse is just an offering to Athena. Cassandra the prophetess, however, is the
only individual who is suspicious of the Greeks’ disappearance and of the
horse. The next night Cassandra has a mysterious vision, seeing her dead
brother, Hector. She decides to alert and warn her father and Coroebus, her
fiancé, of the up and coming danger. She explains that she foresees the death
of both of them, but neither of them pay any attention to her. As each day
passes, the Trojans give thanks and offering to the gods for their peace, until
a young warrior reports that the priest, Laocoon, is dead. Laocoon is suspected
of throwing a spear at the horse and urging the crowd to burn it, before two
giant serpents appeared and devoured him and his two sons. As soon as word spreads of the death of
Laocoon, Aeneas orders the horse to be brought into Troy. They beg Athena to
pardon them and spare their lives.
Act 2 starts with
Aeneas getting a vision similar to the one Cassandra previously had, with a
visitation of the ghost of Hector who again tells them to leave the city
immediately. The ghost of Hector reiterates to Aeneas that his destiny is to
start a new empire and to rule the world someday. As soon as Aenea’s vision of
Hector disappears, he gets word that the Greek soldiers have finally emerged
from the wooden horse and have now entered and started destroying the city.
Aeneas hurries to join the fight, but is too late. Corebus has already been
killed, along with most of the soldiers in the city. As the Greek soldiers make
their way through the city and closer to the palace, Cassandra prophesizes the
escape of Aeneas and a few Trojan soldiers who will come back to Troy and start
a new city. Cassandra and the other woman then take their own lives before
Aeneas and his men escape.
Act 3 starts in
Carthage, North Africa, seven years after Aeneas and the Trojans fled the
crumbling city of Troy. After escaping death in a recent storm, Aeneas and his
Trojan Army wash ashore at Carthage.
Dido, the queen of that region, welcomes the Trojans. Soon after the
arrival of the Trojans, news comes that an enemy of Dido plans to attack
Carthage momentarily. Aeneas’s army and the Carthaginians rally and fight
alongside each other. As a final act of assurance, Aeneas leaves his son,
Ascanius, to watch directly over the queen.
Act 4 opens with
Aeneas returning to Carthage victorious. During the festivities and
celebrations over the victory for Carthage, Dido and Aeneas find themselves
together in private and soon discover their love for each other. Several months
pass and the queen’s advisor becomes worried that Dido has been neglecting her
duties as queen. The queen’s advisor
fears that Carthage is now doomed. Both
Aeneas and Dido pay no attention to these accusations. The act ends with Dido
asking Aeneas to describe the last days of Troy and its destruction by the
Greeks. They see each other’s situation as similar to their own and proclaim
their love.
Act 5 opens with a
discussion between the Trojan captain and his men. They become worried and
superstitious about omens and feelings of their failure to return to Troy.
Aeneas becomes torn between his love for Dido and his obligation to return to
Troy. He decides he must stay loyal to his Trojans and leave Carthage, but not
before seeing Dido one last time. Just before seeing Dido for what is to be the
last time, he is again paid a visit not only by the ghost of Hector, but also
by the ghosts of Coroebus and Cassandra as well. The ghosts urge Aeneas to
leave immediately and Aeneas agrees but, before being able to depart, Dido
appears. Aeneas explains his love for her, but that he has a bigger obligation
to the people of Troy. Dido makes multiple attempts to persuade Aeneas to stay,
but nothing will convince him. He and
his army sail away from Carthage. Dido becomes furious with the whole
situation, ordering the destruction of the gifts and tokens of their love. She
comes to the conclusion that she must end her own life and bids her farewell to
the people of Carthage. The last scene involves Dido stabbing herself with
Aeneas’s sword and having a final vision of the destruction of her Carthage by
the Roman Empire, with the curse of Aeneas and his descendants.
The video game I
created based on this opera is named “Trojan Creed.” It is very similar to the
current video game Assassins Creed, which is a historical fiction,
action-adventure, open world, stealth video game. Trojan Creed involves the two
ancient cities of Troy and Carthage, where you can travel freely between the
two. The game consists mostly of the experiences and memories of Aeneas, as
well as the memories of his ancestors. These memories and experiences take
place through an advanced device called the animus. The animus displays
equipment, health, goals, and other features of Aeneas.
Each of the five
acts of the opera has its own unique missions to complete which correspond to
what takes places within the story. The first act’s mission involves the user
in navigating through the city of Troy, while getting adjusted to the controls
and their interactive abilities. The
user must then attempt to save Laoccon’s sons by fighting the serpent. The second act’s mission involves the user,
as Aeneas, seeing and interacting with the ghost of Hector. The user then must
decode Hector’s vision with a variety of puzzles. The puzzles must be completed
in a timed manner in an attempt to stop the Greek invasion. The user must also
run through the ruined city to find Cassandra and the other women in the palace
before they commit suicide. The third act asks the user to fight along side the
Carthaginians against the Numidians who are attempting to take over
Carthage. The user must also assassinate
the Numidian leader, Larbas. The user must use his stealth ability to kill
Larbas without alerting his surrounding soldiers. The fourth act involves the
user in gaining skills and other abilities while exploring Carthage and helping
the people of Carthage. The user must also search an island for secret
artifacts in order to win over Dido’s heart. The fifth and final act asks the
user to strategically round up his or her troops and attempt to sneakily exit
Carthage without alerting Dido and her Carthaginian army.
This video game
provides users the experience of playing as one of the most famous heros in a
non-fictional context. I found turning this opera into a video game not only
interesting but much easier than I thought. I just had to take the extra step
and unlock the artistic and conceptual part of my writing ability. I truly
believe that if I was able to actually create and market this video game,
people throughout the world purchase and enjoy playing this non-fictional,
third person game.
