Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne
Encyclopedia
Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne (known as Journey to the Moon in the United Kingdom) is a point-and-click adventure game with pre-rendered graphics, developed by Kheops Studio
and published by The Adventure Company
for the PC
in 2005. The game's story focuses on a French adventurer's journey to the moon in the 19th century, and the ancient lunar civilization he subsequently finds.
Voyage is loosely based on the novels From the Earth to the Moon
and Around the Moon
by science-fiction
author Jules Verne
, and the novel The First Men in the Moon
by science-fiction author H.G. Wells. Reactions to the game were generally mixed. In particular, some reviewers praised it for immersing the player in the look and feel of the 19th century; others have criticized it for featuring dated graphics and dull textures.
While staying true to most adventure game conventions, Voyage has some unique features for its genre. These include two dexterity minigames which take advantage of the reduced gravity in the game's lunar setting, and an "Intelligence Management System", in which a score is assigned to the player for every puzzle he solves, and for certain actions. The Adventure Company introduced this feature to motivate players to replay the game to increase their cumulative score.
Voyage features two unique dexterity minigame
s. Using a low-gravity setting, the first minigame requires the player to collect floating bubbles in a can, and the second requires the player to execute large jumps across the surface of the moon. These two minigames form only a minor part of the game. The game also has several timed sequences requiring the player to complete puzzles under a time limit. The consequence of failing a puzzle of this sort is death, after which the player is able to return and replay the puzzle. Players can also be killed as the result of taking incorrect actions related to the game's story.
A critical aspect of gameplay in Voyage is the inventory system, which allows the player to pick up and keep dozens of different items. However, the maximum quantity of an given item that the player may keep in his inventory at any one time is three. One of the main uses of the inventory is to combine items together to make new items. This process of breaking and reforming items in the inventory comprises a large portion of the puzzle aspect of the game. The inventory can also be used to create meals which the player can consume; this ability plays a major role in several puzzles. Another use of the inventory is to create hybrid lunar plants, which play a critical role in the earlier puzzles of the game.
In the same interview, Alexis Lang, the Lead Game Designer at Kheops, commented that: "[A] low score does not mean that you are stupid in any way, it just means that some pompous and bombastic lunar people think that your character is dumb!" This reflects the fact that the "Intelligence Management System" is designed primarily to earn the respect of the Selenites. However, Hozjan also said that he hopes "players will try to increase their score and certainly share their experience through forums." The Adventure Company has marketed the system as bringing a degree of replay value to Voyage, as players can replay the game to achieve a higher score.
' s protagonist, Michel Ardan, volunteers to travel in the aluminium shell. After the game's brief introduction in the shell, Ardan lands on the moon and discovers the Selenites, as well as a complex ecosystem of lunar plants. The main accessible areas in the game are the moon's surface, and the underground Selenite civilization.
The 'Selenites' are the subterranean inhabitants of the moon, and are a highly intelligent society maintained by hierarchy and secret. They possess blue skin, large black eyes and transparent cerebral lobes on the sides of their heads. They are divided into castes. The Selenites live in a large complex under the surface of the moon from which they rarely venture, with the exception of the 'exiles'. The Selenites "banish [these] dregs of their society, the criminals and psychotics," to the surface of the moon. There are three Selenite exiles with whom the player can interact; they live on the surface and sleep in their isolated underground stables at night. Each exile has two different plants on either shoulder with which they share a special bond.
is Michel Ardan, an eccentric and intrepid French scientist who is enthusiastic, daring and cheerful. President Barbicane, the President of the Gun Club, and Captain Nicholl, an engineer, are both found dead at the start of the game, not having survived the flight to the moon. A woman called Diana features in the game's backstory, as a woman whose ancestors made contact with the Selenites. Apart from these human characters, there are also several Selenite characters such as the Supreme Moon Ruler, the High Dignitary, Scurvy, Scruple, and the three exiles.
.
Journey to the Center of the Moon was later renamed Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne. Benoît Hozjan explained the change, saying that Journey to the Center of the Moon "seems to be confusing and some people thought that it could be the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth," another Verne-inspired PC game, "so marketing decided to change it." The name was changed on July 7, 2005, a few months after the game's announcement.
Benoît Hozjan explained Kheops Studio's choice of Jules Verne's work as a basis for Voyage, saying that: "Jules Verne's novels provide the two core elements of adventure games: dreams and challenges. Characters are ordinary men engaged in concrete challenges that are [a] great inspiration for puzzles." He further went on to say that the game is influenced by Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, which documents the lead up to the lunar trip, but draws more heavily from the sequel Around the Moon, which recounts the actual voyage. The main difference, Hozjan said, was that in the novel the protagonists fail to reach the moon, whereas in Voyage the trip is a success. Additionally, Alexis Lang attributed the inspiration for the Selenites to H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon, explaining that: "[Wells] pictured a very ancient Selenite civilisation horrified at human roughness. Wells was more misanthropist than Verne. To balance this fact, we've added a touch of irony in our story and chosen a very optimistic and joyful main character."
The Adventure Company announced the release of the Voyage demo on August 3, 2005. The demo included the game's introduction in the shell. Voyage, originally slated for a September 27 release, was shipped to stores ahead of schedule on August 16, 2005. The game retailed for US$
19.99.
, reviewers have given Voyage scores between 60% and 86%. One of the more positively received aspects of the game was its ability to recreate the mood of 19th century science-fiction, with GameSpot
writing that the game "nicely re-creates the whimsical mood of 19th-century sci-fi [and] a sense of wonder fills every pixel of the graphic design." In contrast, Game Over Online Magazine said that once the player leaves the capsule and arrives on the moon, instead of viewing colorful and wondrous sights, the game turns into a drab and unlikely bore. The puzzle aspect of Voyage met with mixed responses. On the other hand, GameSpot
accused the puzzle aspects of Voyage of "reduc[ing] Jules Verne's tale of a visit to the moon in 1865 to a series of clumsily arranged logic puzzles geared to try the patience of adventure-game veterans." The puzzles in the game are often extremely difficult, with Just Adventure attributing the unexpected difficulty in the game to the fact that there are often several different ways to achieve the same goals, thanks to the game's "Intelligence Management System". The game's inventory system received praise from Gamersinfo as being very well done.
In terms of graphics, Voyage was poorly received, with the graphics being described by Gamezone as containing some vibrant colors, but lacking the lush, spectacular view that has been seen in countless other adventure games. Voyage has also been criticized for its lack of story and over-reliance on back story. The game's music was generally appreciated, with Jolt describing the music has having a nice retro-futuristic feel which sets the mood perfectly. G4
commented on the game's voice acting as overly dramatic but appropriate, but criticized many of the sound effects as being cheesy. GameSpot
described Ardan's dialogue as somewhat lame, and also criticized the game's sound effects. Metacritic
averaged out the scores of several internet reviews of Voyage to reach a rating of 71%, the closest to an 'overall' rating of the game.
Kheops Studio
Kheops Studio is an independent video game development studio created in September 2003. The company was co-founded by Benoît Hozjan , who also serves as the Creative Director for the studio and Stéphane Petit , who serves as Technical Director...
and published by The Adventure Company
The Adventure Company
The Adventure Company, is a publishing label of Nordic Games. It is formally a division of DreamCatcher Interactive but was sold to Nordic Games in 2011 following DreamCatcher's parent JoWooD Entertainment being sold after entering administration.-History:...
for the PC
Personal computer
A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
in 2005. The game's story focuses on a French adventurer's journey to the moon in the 19th century, and the ancient lunar civilization he subsequently finds.
Voyage is loosely based on the novels From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon
From the Earth to the Moon is a humorous science fantasy novel by Jules Verne and is one of the earliest entries in that genre. It tells the story of the president of a post-American Civil War gun club in Baltimore, his rival, a Philadelphia maker of armor, and a Frenchman, who build an enormous...
and Around the Moon
Around the Moon
Around the Moon , Jules Verne's sequel to From the Earth to the Moon, is a science fiction novel continuing the trip to the moon which left the reader in suspense after the previous novel...
by science-fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
author Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
, and the novel The First Men in the Moon
The First Men in the Moon
The First Men in the Moon is a 1901 scientific romance novel by the English author H. G. Wells. The novel tells the story of a journey to the moon undertaken by the two protagonists, the impoverished businessman Mr Bedford and the brilliant but eccentric scientist Dr. Cavor...
by science-fiction author H.G. Wells. Reactions to the game were generally mixed. In particular, some reviewers praised it for immersing the player in the look and feel of the 19th century; others have criticized it for featuring dated graphics and dull textures.
While staying true to most adventure game conventions, Voyage has some unique features for its genre. These include two dexterity minigames which take advantage of the reduced gravity in the game's lunar setting, and an "Intelligence Management System", in which a score is assigned to the player for every puzzle he solves, and for certain actions. The Adventure Company introduced this feature to motivate players to replay the game to increase their cumulative score.
Gameplay
The main focus of Voyage is puzzle-solving. The player can move by clicking, and can swivel the camera 360 degrees. There are several types of puzzle in Voyage including those involving native plant life on the moon, mechanical puzzles, audio puzzles, and mathematical puzzles. Many of these puzzles require the player to decipher and use the native language of the moon.Voyage features two unique dexterity minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s. Using a low-gravity setting, the first minigame requires the player to collect floating bubbles in a can, and the second requires the player to execute large jumps across the surface of the moon. These two minigames form only a minor part of the game. The game also has several timed sequences requiring the player to complete puzzles under a time limit. The consequence of failing a puzzle of this sort is death, after which the player is able to return and replay the puzzle. Players can also be killed as the result of taking incorrect actions related to the game's story.
A critical aspect of gameplay in Voyage is the inventory system, which allows the player to pick up and keep dozens of different items. However, the maximum quantity of an given item that the player may keep in his inventory at any one time is three. One of the main uses of the inventory is to combine items together to make new items. This process of breaking and reforming items in the inventory comprises a large portion of the puzzle aspect of the game. The inventory can also be used to create meals which the player can consume; this ability plays a major role in several puzzles. Another use of the inventory is to create hybrid lunar plants, which play a critical role in the earlier puzzles of the game.
Intelligence Management System
The "Intelligence Management System" featured in Voyage is a score assigned to the player by the Selenites, the natives of the moon. For each puzzle the player solves, and for certain actions, this score is increased, and the Selenites treat the player with more respect. During an interview with GamersInfo, Benoît Hozjan, Managing Director and co-founder of Kheops Studio, described the system, saying:In the same interview, Alexis Lang, the Lead Game Designer at Kheops, commented that: "[A] low score does not mean that you are stupid in any way, it just means that some pompous and bombastic lunar people think that your character is dumb!" This reflects the fact that the "Intelligence Management System" is designed primarily to earn the respect of the Selenites. However, Hozjan also said that he hopes "players will try to increase their score and certainly share their experience through forums." The Adventure Company has marketed the system as bringing a degree of replay value to Voyage, as players can replay the game to achieve a higher score.
Setting
Voyage is set in 1851. President Barbicane of the 'Gun Club' decides to build an enormous cannon in Baltimore to shoot a shell, capable of supporting human life, towards the moon in the hopes of a successful landing. VoyageThe 'Selenites' are the subterranean inhabitants of the moon, and are a highly intelligent society maintained by hierarchy and secret. They possess blue skin, large black eyes and transparent cerebral lobes on the sides of their heads. They are divided into castes. The Selenites live in a large complex under the surface of the moon from which they rarely venture, with the exception of the 'exiles'. The Selenites "banish [these] dregs of their society, the criminals and psychotics," to the surface of the moon. There are three Selenite exiles with whom the player can interact; they live on the surface and sleep in their isolated underground stables at night. Each exile has two different plants on either shoulder with which they share a special bond.
Characters
The player characterPlayer character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
is Michel Ardan, an eccentric and intrepid French scientist who is enthusiastic, daring and cheerful. President Barbicane, the President of the Gun Club, and Captain Nicholl, an engineer, are both found dead at the start of the game, not having survived the flight to the moon. A woman called Diana features in the game's backstory, as a woman whose ancestors made contact with the Selenites. Apart from these human characters, there are also several Selenite characters such as the Supreme Moon Ruler, the High Dignitary, Scurvy, Scruple, and the three exiles.
Plot
Voyage begins as Ardan awakes in the shell and discovers his two dead companions: Barbicane and Nicholl. He finds a note written by Barbicane, explaining that he and Nicholl sacrificed themselves for Ardan, as there was insufficient oxygen to support three men. Ardan also finds a note that Barbicane had concealed in his hat from Diana, and a love letter from Diana to Nicholl. Diana had been attempting to gain passage to the moon bu seducing these men, but had failed. Once Ardan successfully lands the shell on the moon, he must solve a series of puzzles on the surface in order to gain access to the hidden civilization below. There he encounters the Selenite race. Following this, Ardan focusses on finding a way to leave the moon and report his findings to Earth. During his adventure, Ardan acquires a 'Belbaab Conch' shell, which allows him to talk to a rooster, who tells him what happened to Barbicane and Nicholl. After acquiring what he needs, Ardan travels back to Earth in the shell. He lands in the ocean and manages to swim to a nearby island, where he meets another famous Jules Verne character, Captain NemoCaptain Nemo
Captain Nemo, also known as Prince Dakkar, is a fictional character featured in Jules Verne's novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island ....
.
Development
Journey to the Center of the Moon was announced for the PC at E3 2005. The Adventure Company collaborated with developers Kheops Studios for the release. Benoît Hozjan, the co-founder of Kheops Studio, became Managing Director of the game, while Alexis Lang became the Lead Game Designer.Journey to the Center of the Moon was later renamed Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne. Benoît Hozjan explained the change, saying that Journey to the Center of the Moon "seems to be confusing and some people thought that it could be the sequel to Journey to the Center of the Earth," another Verne-inspired PC game, "so marketing decided to change it." The name was changed on July 7, 2005, a few months after the game's announcement.
Benoît Hozjan explained Kheops Studio's choice of Jules Verne's work as a basis for Voyage, saying that: "Jules Verne's novels provide the two core elements of adventure games: dreams and challenges. Characters are ordinary men engaged in concrete challenges that are [a] great inspiration for puzzles." He further went on to say that the game is influenced by Verne's From the Earth to the Moon, which documents the lead up to the lunar trip, but draws more heavily from the sequel Around the Moon, which recounts the actual voyage. The main difference, Hozjan said, was that in the novel the protagonists fail to reach the moon, whereas in Voyage the trip is a success. Additionally, Alexis Lang attributed the inspiration for the Selenites to H.G. Wells' The First Men in the Moon, explaining that: "[Wells] pictured a very ancient Selenite civilisation horrified at human roughness. Wells was more misanthropist than Verne. To balance this fact, we've added a touch of irony in our story and chosen a very optimistic and joyful main character."
The Adventure Company announced the release of the Voyage demo on August 3, 2005. The demo included the game's introduction in the shell. Voyage, originally slated for a September 27 release, was shipped to stores ahead of schedule on August 16, 2005. The game retailed for US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
19.99.
Reception
In general, Voyage received mixed reviews upon its release. According to MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
, reviewers have given Voyage scores between 60% and 86%. One of the more positively received aspects of the game was its ability to recreate the mood of 19th century science-fiction, with GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
writing that the game "nicely re-creates the whimsical mood of 19th-century sci-fi [and] a sense of wonder fills every pixel of the graphic design." In contrast, Game Over Online Magazine said that once the player leaves the capsule and arrives on the moon, instead of viewing colorful and wondrous sights, the game turns into a drab and unlikely bore. The puzzle aspect of Voyage met with mixed responses. On the other hand, GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
accused the puzzle aspects of Voyage of "reduc[ing] Jules Verne's tale of a visit to the moon in 1865 to a series of clumsily arranged logic puzzles geared to try the patience of adventure-game veterans." The puzzles in the game are often extremely difficult, with Just Adventure attributing the unexpected difficulty in the game to the fact that there are often several different ways to achieve the same goals, thanks to the game's "Intelligence Management System". The game's inventory system received praise from Gamersinfo as being very well done.
In terms of graphics, Voyage was poorly received, with the graphics being described by Gamezone as containing some vibrant colors, but lacking the lush, spectacular view that has been seen in countless other adventure games. Voyage has also been criticized for its lack of story and over-reliance on back story. The game's music was generally appreciated, with Jolt describing the music has having a nice retro-futuristic feel which sets the mood perfectly. G4
G4 (TV channel)
G4, also known as G4 TV, is an American cable- and satellite-television channel originally geared primarily toward young adult viewers, originally based on the world of video games...
commented on the game's voice acting as overly dramatic but appropriate, but criticized many of the sound effects as being cheesy. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
described Ardan's dialogue as somewhat lame, and also criticized the game's sound effects. Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
averaged out the scores of several internet reviews of Voyage to reach a rating of 71%, the closest to an 'overall' rating of the game.
External links
- Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne official website at The Adventure CompanyThe Adventure CompanyThe Adventure Company, is a publishing label of Nordic Games. It is formally a division of DreamCatcher Interactive but was sold to Nordic Games in 2011 following DreamCatcher's parent JoWooD Entertainment being sold after entering administration.-History:...
(archive) - Voyage: Inspired by Jules Verne at Kheops StudioKheops StudioKheops Studio is an independent video game development studio created in September 2003. The company was co-founded by Benoît Hozjan , who also serves as the Creative Director for the studio and Stéphane Petit , who serves as Technical Director...