Metaphor



Game Story






 
Game Metaphor

Spolier Warning!

Avalon Legend 's main metaphor is the representation of “Loneliness”, where the world in Avalon Legend is the main character's inner perception of the world around him - full of life (plants); yet vast, empty and meaningless.

The main gameplay mechanic, the switching between 2 modes and learning how to take control of 2 characters simultaneously is designed to reflect a sense of “Separation Anxiety”, where players have to learn to “let go” and stand on their own to better battle "Loneliness". The mastery that players gain over controlling 2 characters individually, as from relying on controlling them as a single unit is meant to represent this gradual progression.

The main character, Arthur, is designed to look like an common salary-man, in a business suit get-up, intended to represent that “Loneliness” exists in the common person, and is the player’s bridge to the game world, and serves as the first step to allow players to draw this reference towards the game.

The game follows Arthur's journey in search of "Avalon", what he deems to be his escape from the world he is trapped in, and in turn, representing an end to one's "Loneliness" (meant for the player to discover and infer upon through the journals obtained in game).

Standing in his way are 9 different enemies or demons, which represent the inner demons or emotions that a person has to deal with when he battles “Loneliness”, such as “Anger”, “Fear”, “Anxiety” and “Doubt”. Each enemy is visually designed to represent these emotions, and each enemy’s behaviour is designed based on a famous quote about that particular emotion (which can be viewed in the game’s gallery).

To assist Arthur are robot companions - Kay, Merlin, Guinevere and Lancelot, and each of them are based on different types of companionship that helps an individual cope with his / her individual sense of “Loneliness.” How these reference the King Arthur legend and the representations of their functions are left for the player to discover and interpret.

In short, every element in the game is meant to reflect a metaphorical meaning in relation to the main metaphor of "Loneliness", such as the reason for the companions being robots, what the sword “Excalibur” represents, the philosophy behind the “Weakness System”, the crystals players collect, etc. And these are left up to the player to discover, explore, ponder upon and interpret based on their gameplay experience, the Journals and Artwork obtained by performing particular tasks in the game.

End Spoiler!