Adventure Forums - View Single Post - AG Community Playthrough #13: Gabriel Knight 2

AndreaDraco83 · 02-22-2010, 05:19 AM

Hi everyone! As promised yesterday, I'm back with my usual column about the game and this time around it will be particularly rich, so I hope that you'll enjoy it!

A well-hidden depth

If you have played Sins of the Fathers or Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, one of the first thing that will strike you in The Beast Within is the lack of interactive hotspots on screen. As a matter of fact, it's pretty obvious - and many of you already noticed it - that gone are the lengthy descriptions of the environments, the fascinating details about the most unassuming objects and witty remarks just about everything. However, labelling The Beast Within as shallow will be a serious mistake. While Gabriel's first and third adventures are more similar to written novels, The Beast Within, like it or not, is an interactive movie and - just like every movie out there - its depth is conveyed more through the visuals (cinematic directions, different types of shot, cinematography, use of colors) than through written thoughts. Surely, Jane could have gone with a voice-off commentary like the beloved Tex Murphy series, but - while the off-camera voice is a common trope in Noir fiction - it doesn't lend itself very well to an intimate horror mystery. The depth, though, is there, and I will try to find it with you.

Let's start with the Huber farm: the use of roses, yellows, beiges and warm wooden tones - the cupboard, the crucifix, the table, the carpet - create a very safe, cozy ambiance and, in fact, the farm's living room will be a safe haven for all the adventure. But what does it tell us about the Hubers, even without Gabriel's remarks about the setting? The books in the sideboard, which are mostly about religious matters, and the crucifix certainly tell us that the Hubers are a very catholic family, perhaps even a slightly bigoted one, while the antlers on the wall reveal that Sepp was a skilled hunter (much like everyone from Rittersberg and surroundings). The china collection and Gabriel's comment about it - if you're a die-hard fan of the series, you know that this obsession with china is a recurring joke throughout the three adventures -, on the other hand, refers to his condemnation of a typical bourgeois lifestyle (G. Gozzano's good things of really bad taste), while hinting at his longing toward the safe world of his childhood (Grandma Knight), a world that now more than ever is forever lost to him.

Chapter One's other pivotal location, Herr Doktor Klingmann's office, reveal another well planned construction: the colors here are more dull - but not cold and aseptic like in the Biology lab at the University -, but the huge photographs on the wall are placed there for a reason. To the left of the doctor, for example, the wolves in the frame display a reddish color, like they were photographed at sunset, while the photo behind Gabriel portrays a pack of wolves in a snowy setting. The clash between the two images is a metaphor of the clash between Klingmann's point of view on nature and Gabriel's own views on the subject. More deeply, they also hint at the plot's future developments.

Spoiler:
The snowy wolves refer obviously to Ludwig, while the red ones hint at Klingmann's connection with the (were)wolves responsible for the death of Tony Huber and, generally speaking, at his views on the state of nature

Philosophy: The State of Nature

Herr Doktor Klingmann's theories about wolves clearly refer to a philosophical concept known as state of nature. If we read Hobbes' work, and he's perhaps the first philosopher to create such a notion, we see that his theory of bellum omnium contra omnes, sometimes referred to as homo homini lupus, is an obvious precedent of the "survival of the fittest" and a type of mentality Klingmann seems to endorse. In this theory, anyone has a natural right to to do anything to preserve his life, as much as any state, on a political scale, as the natural right to do anything to preserve (and expand) their wealth, even at the cost of less powerful states. Life in this state of nature is described by Hobbes in the Leviathan as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.", and - aside from the last adjective - I find that this description perfectly fits what we will find out later about the Black Wolf. This pessimistic view was later discarded both by Locke (who used Christian beliefs to formulate his theory about Reason as the fundamental law of nature), and Rousseau, who - despire never actually using the "noble savage" expression - indeed postulated a state of nature where people where neither good or bad, while writing that "you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody." (Discourse on Inequality)

Occult Lore: On Werewolves

We may, however, say that a werewolf is a human being, man, woman or child (more often the first), who either voluntarily or involuntarily changes or is metamorphosed into the apparent shape of a wolf, and who is then possessed of all the characteristics, the foul appetites, ferocity, cunning, the brute strength, and swiftness of that animal. [...] The Transformation, again, such as it is, if desired, can be effected by certain rites and ceremonies, which in the case of a constitutional werewolf are often of the black goetic kind. The resumption of the original form may also then be wrought at will. Werewolfery is hereditary or acquired; a horrible pleasure born of the thirst to quaff warm human blood, or an ensorcelling punishment and revenge of the dark Ephesian art

Montague Summers, The Werewolf in Lore and Legend, Dover 2003, p. 2 (originally published in 1933 as The Werewolf)

Real-life Locations: Marienplatz

Literally meaning Mary's Place, Marienplatz is the most important - and perhaps the most famous - Munich landmark, with its beautiful Glockenspiel, which celebrates the end of the 1517 plague (and the subsequent tournament of 1568), the golden Marian Column, the Old Town Hall, originally built in 1474 and reconstructed after World War II, the Church of the Holy Spirit (interior, exterior) and, of course, the stunning New Town Hall.

I don't know if you're already familiar with Ipkiss's Real Life Locations Tour (he's even a member here, and I really hope that he can take a little time and hop in), but, in my opinion, his videos are priceless. So, in my Real Life paragraph, I'd like to link at his tours and, if you haven't already seen them, I strongly suggest you to do so right away: the first part of his original tour take us to the zoo and to Marienplatz, while these other two videos (Part 12, Part 13) focus on the platz itself and on Ubergrau's office (exterior and interior).

Chapter One in the Novel
He was a tall man, at least six-two. He was extravagantly handsome with dark hair that curled on the shoulders of his immacolate gray suit and a strong, rugged yet boyish face. As he stepped forward, the breadth of his shoulders and the long, angular lines they narrowed to struck a chord of envy in the shorter American. [...] "Gabriel. Like the angel" the main said, looking with bemused curiosity into Gabriel's eyes.

Jane Jensen, Gabriel Knight: The BEast Within, Roc 1998, pp. 48-49

PS: Sorry, I couldn't resist to put up a quote from my favorite character!

02-22-2010, 05:19 AM	#23
AndreaDraco83 Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Italy Posts: 2,684	Hi everyone! As promised yesterday, I'm back with my usual column about the game and this time around it will be particularly rich, so I hope that you'll enjoy it! A well-hidden depth If you have played Sins of the Fathers or Blood of the Sacred, Blood of the Damned, one of the first thing that will strike you in The Beast Within is the lack of interactive hotspots on screen. As a matter of fact, it's pretty obvious - and many of you already noticed it - that gone are the lengthy descriptions of the environments, the fascinating details about the most unassuming objects and witty remarks just about everything. However, labelling The Beast Within as shallow will be a serious mistake. While Gabriel's first and third adventures are more similar to written novels, The Beast Within, like it or not, is an interactive movie and - just like every movie out there - its depth is conveyed more through the visuals (cinematic directions, different types of shot, cinematography, use of colors) than through written thoughts. Surely, Jane could have gone with a voice-off commentary like the beloved Tex Murphy series, but - while the off-camera voice is a common trope in Noir fiction - it doesn't lend itself very well to an intimate horror mystery. The depth, though, is there, and I will try to find it with you. Let's start with the Huber farm: the use of roses, yellows, beiges and warm wooden tones - the cupboard, the crucifix, the table, the carpet - create a very safe, cozy ambiance and, in fact, the farm's living room will be a safe haven for all the adventure. But what does it tell us about the Hubers, even without Gabriel's remarks about the setting? The books in the sideboard, which are mostly about religious matters, and the crucifix certainly tell us that the Hubers are a very catholic family, perhaps even a slightly bigoted one, while the antlers on the wall reveal that Sepp was a skilled hunter (much like everyone from Rittersberg and surroundings). The china collection and Gabriel's comment about it - if you're a die-hard fan of the series, you know that this obsession with china is a recurring joke throughout the three adventures -, on the other hand, refers to his condemnation of a typical bourgeois lifestyle (G. Gozzano's good things of really bad taste), while hinting at his longing toward the safe world of his childhood (Grandma Knight), a world that now more than ever is forever lost to him. Chapter One's other pivotal location, Herr Doktor Klingmann's office, reveal another well planned construction: the colors here are more dull - but not cold and aseptic like in the Biology lab at the University -, but the huge photographs on the wall are placed there for a reason. To the left of the doctor, for example, the wolves in the frame display a reddish color, like they were photographed at sunset, while the photo behind Gabriel portrays a pack of wolves in a snowy setting. The clash between the two images is a metaphor of the clash between Klingmann's point of view on nature and Gabriel's own views on the subject. More deeply, they also hint at the plot's future developments. Spoiler: The snowy wolves refer obviously to Ludwig, while the red ones hint at Klingmann's connection with the (were)wolves responsible for the death of Tony Huber and, generally speaking, at his views on the state of nature Philosophy: The State of Nature Herr Doktor Klingmann's theories about wolves clearly refer to a philosophical concept known as state of nature. If we read Hobbes' work, and he's perhaps the first philosopher to create such a notion, we see that his theory of bellum omnium contra omnes, sometimes referred to as homo homini lupus, is an obvious precedent of the "survival of the fittest" and a type of mentality Klingmann seems to endorse. In this theory, anyone has a natural right to to do anything to preserve his life, as much as any state, on a political scale, as the natural right to do anything to preserve (and expand) their wealth, even at the cost of less powerful states. Life in this state of nature is described by Hobbes in the Leviathan as "solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.", and - aside from the last adjective - I find that this description perfectly fits what we will find out later about the Black Wolf. This pessimistic view was later discarded both by Locke (who used Christian beliefs to formulate his theory about Reason as the fundamental law of nature), and Rousseau, who - despire never actually using the "noble savage" expression - indeed postulated a state of nature where people where neither good or bad, while writing that "you are undone if you once forget that the fruits of the earth belong to us all, and the earth itself to nobody." (Discourse on Inequality) Occult Lore: On Werewolves We may, however, say that a werewolf is a human being, man, woman or child (more often the first), who either voluntarily or involuntarily changes or is metamorphosed into the apparent shape of a wolf, and who is then possessed of all the characteristics, the foul appetites, ferocity, cunning, the brute strength, and swiftness of that animal. [...] The Transformation, again, such as it is, if desired, can be effected by certain rites and ceremonies, which in the case of a constitutional werewolf are often of the black goetic kind. The resumption of the original form may also then be wrought at will. Werewolfery is hereditary or acquired; a horrible pleasure born of the thirst to quaff warm human blood, or an ensorcelling punishment and revenge of the dark Ephesian art Montague Summers, The Werewolf in Lore and Legend, Dover 2003, p. 2 (originally published in 1933 as The Werewolf) Real-life Locations: Marienplatz Literally meaning Mary's Place, Marienplatz is the most important - and perhaps the most famous - Munich landmark, with its beautiful Glockenspiel, which celebrates the end of the 1517 plague (and the subsequent tournament of 1568), the golden Marian Column, the Old Town Hall, originally built in 1474 and reconstructed after World War II, the Church of the Holy Spirit (interior, exterior) and, of course, the stunning New Town Hall. I don't know if you're already familiar with Ipkiss's Real Life Locations Tour (he's even a member here, and I really hope that he can take a little time and hop in), but, in my opinion, his videos are priceless. So, in my Real Life paragraph, I'd like to link at his tours and, if you haven't already seen them, I strongly suggest you to do so right away: the first part of his original tour take us to the zoo and to Marienplatz, while these other two videos (Part 12, Part 13) focus on the platz itself and on Ubergrau's office (exterior and interior). Chapter One in the Novel He was a tall man, at least six-two. He was extravagantly handsome with dark hair that curled on the shoulders of his immacolate gray suit and a strong, rugged yet boyish face. As he stepped forward, the breadth of his shoulders and the long, angular lines they narrowed to struck a chord of envy in the shorter American. [...] "Gabriel. Like the angel" the main said, looking with bemused curiosity into Gabriel's eyes. Jane Jensen, Gabriel Knight: The BEast Within, Roc 1998, pp. 48-49 PS: Sorry, I couldn't resist to put up a quote from my favorite character! __________________ Top Ten Adventures: Gabriel Knight Series, King's Quest VI, Conquests of the Longbow, Quest for Glory II, Police Quest III, Gold Rush!, Leisure Suit Larry III, Under a Killing Moon, Conquests of Camelot, Freddy Pharkas Frontier Pharmacist. Now Playing: Neverwinter Nights, Professor Layton and the Diabolical Box Last edited by AndreaDraco83; 02-22-2010 at 07:54 AM.