Both Pankratz and Honza Mayer tell stories

The comedy adventure “Hot Summer” comes from the workshop of the Maxon studio. The main character who accompanies the player throughout the story, Gonza Mayer. Boys call him Rambo, girls call him jerks. He and his family go to the island of Majalagundjimini, where his father, as a botanist, has to study exotic flora. However, their journey is soon interrupted by a gang of local cannibals who kidnap the Myers. Except the main character, of course, to save them all. But because Honza is such a strong fighter (hear the sarcasm?), he overcomes every obstacle, saves the family from a boiling kettle, and everyone runs home. However, for one game plot, this will not be enough, because of which the family is attacked by the mafia boss Andreas, for whom Honza’s father must create a new drug.

Games almost always start cut-scene, which introduces players to the story as it happens in Hot Summer. Here he meets the main character and introduces us to the circumstances of his journey. Here we learn what happened to the poor family, and therefore what is our task. Only then does the player take the reins in their own hands and finally be able to see what the game world looks like through their eyes. The cartoonishness and very colorful graphics are great for the desert island environment. In terms of sound, the game is a little poorer. Music is completely absent here, but the surrounding sounds in the form of nature sounds, elephant trumpets or the murmur of the sea are still present. The protagonist, like all other characters, is cursed by Zdenek Yser.

However, the hot summer won the hearts of its fans not mainly with music or plot, although it certainly also has a certain influence on its popularity. The main element is a special kind of humor. Honza Mayer takes care of him for the most part, commenting on almost everything he can. However, humor is an individual matter, so some messages may seem more awkward than funny. And yet, many scenes are really worth it. Have you tried, for example, combining a pole with a can of beer in your inventory? Then Honza could scold you with words “You’re talking about MY bottomless jar”. Many also appreciated allusions to the Czech Republicfor example, when Honza in the cannibal village responds to your interaction with the window: “Window to the world, or a wild version of TV Nova”. For younger readers: yes, TV Nova existed in the 20th century.

Gonza is a typical snowstorm, vizsle and an alcoholic, which is why it is so funny and unusual what he can do and how it is presented to us. It seems that many things he did only by accident, and he is not even aware of what he has done. There may be a built-in poetic quality to this stimulus, because at one time he speaks like a tiler, and then in the next sentence you will be surprised by the soft use of bookish expressions: “Then the first fragrant night came, beautiful and calm, as if nothing was going to happen. But since luck remained somewhere in Prague, maybe my mother forgot to pack it, and fate is unpredictable, our idyll was not supposed to last long. He is not shocked or saddened by the kidnapping of his family. and he reacts to this fact rather playfully and prudently. In general, there is a minimum of negative emotions in the game, and if they arise, they are transmitted to the players in a mild form.

So, we have mentioned the figure of Khonza, the figure of the omnipotent essence that he has. power over the musical and visual component and what guarantees when the story is to be told and when it allows the player to act, but what about the player himself? Does he have a chance to turn the history of the game? Well, not much. The rules of the game are so rigid that we can interact with the surrounding objects and try different combinations, but as a result we always come to the same end in the same way. The only way to influence the outcome of the game is to die. Don’t worry, it won’t be black in the end, it’s enough for the protagonist to make the wrong decision. For example, we can wake up a cannibal guard who will kill him. But is this the right ending? Of course not. Just load the game from the last saved position and we can continue happily. However, if you choose to exit the game at this point, that’s up to you. You have the same power as the players. The rest of the game is purely linear and for myself I recommend playing it to the intended end, which offers a lot of comical situations.

In 1998, SleepTeam and Zima Software brought us the first part of the now legendary Polda game series. This title once again uses professional dubbing, and although the game takes place in a setting very similar to Hot Summer, the story is told differently. How are the protagonist, “developer” and player involved in the storyline of this adventure?

At the beginning of the game, we again see the opening scene, in which the news moderator and the news reporter introduce us to the circumstances of the story. Two citizens were abducted in the village of Lupany, so a policeman from Pankrats is called in to identify the criminal. Through them, we first meet the main character. But do you think the speakers have high hopes for his investigation? But no way! They laugh at him. And in this way they make fun of the player’s ability to solve a kidnapping case. Just listen to what these two people have to say about Pankrác: “Neither I nor Slava know him, and you, dear viewers, no longer exist. A photo of this policeman should be published during the reporting, so that you, dear viewers, can get an idea of ​​​​what all this can turn out to be. Well, as you can see, dear viewers, not so much.” This I doubt the ability of the player this happens a lot in games and should make us even more eager to show everyone what an elbow is. But later we find out that Pankratz really is as stubborn as they say he is. He is incompetent, shooting at anything that moves and using his position whenever possible.

From an aesthetic point of view, the performance is very similar to “Hot Summer”, but the opposite is true with music. The sounds of the surroundings are almost inaudible here, but there are several melodies that should create a “detective” and mysterious atmosphere.

Do you remember the fairy tale About the gingerbread house right from the start of the game? So, you remember that her story was somewhat strange, especially at the end. After the witch was killed, the children did not return home, but went to the police to write a statement. Maybe the narrator named Mr. Narozhny wanted to shoot the players, or maybe it’s just another humorous part of the game. However, only at the very end do we find out how much the fairy tale is connected with the whole story, because this is a very free adaptation. During the game, however, this is not known at all, and the game again makes fun of us with only humorous stories about Pankrác and the surrounding characters. However, they are no longer based on vulgarity and unnaturalness, but on puns, absurdity, and small-town deconstruction. I can say that this style of humor suited me much more than the one in Hot Summer. For example, do you remember the homeless in the garbage? So, imagine that this character is very familiar with his rights, and after a dialogue with him, the player learns that the homeless man is an experienced lawyer who wants to provoke Pankratz into shooting and receive financial compensation. One “Humles” he says it’s for him “Revenue Brigade”.

As players, we both get to know and develop the character we play as. Let’s get the same information. However, our reactions may coincide with the reaction of the protagonist or differ from it. Accordingly, we form a relationship with our character and based on this, we may want to help her, or we curse her to the seventh knee and let her go through her worst moments. There is no limit to the imagination.

Well, how is it with voice of the narrator? Do we have a choice? Will our narrative voice resonate with the story of this adventure? The game is again set to a single main storyline and we have even fewer options to make our own decisions. We can choose the most attractive answer in the dialogues, but as a result, this does not change anything fundamental in the story, because in the end we can try almost all other dialogue options, which is also desirable for the game. There is no possibility of an early death here, so we just need to move within the given boundaries and reach the end of the story as intended.

The seventh series of the legendary Poldy has just been released, and some of you already know how this game is doing. For now, I’m still hoping for the best.How important is story to you in games? As you can see, even superficially identical games can approach it from a different point of view precisely because of the settings of the protagonist, the sound and graphics of the game, and the boundaries in which we, the players, can move. Do you prefer more freedom in influencing the course of the game, or do you always want to reach the end, which is the main thing?