The narrow streets and canals of Venice by night provide the backdrop for the player’s adventure. The artwork of the game was developed on the basis of real photographs of Venice, which were reworked during development into a watercolour effect capable of blending together real locations and fictitious characters. The player can explore real photographs of places in Venice like the District of Cannaregio, the island of Sant’Erasmo, the Rialto Bridge or, in video game re-visitations, like that of the cemetery of San Michele, characteristic places like the small cafés and bookshops overflowing with books, like the famous Acqua Alta Bookshop or the picturesque Porta dell’Arsenale, which is the focal point of an entire sequence.
The narrow streets and canals of Venice by night provide the backdrop for the player’s adventure. The artwork of the game was developed on the basis of real photographs of Venice, which were reworked during development into a watercolour effect capable of blending together real locations and fictitious characters. The player can explore real photographs of places in Venice like the District of Cannaregio, the island of Sant’Erasmo, the Rialto Bridge or, in video game re-visitations, like that of the cemetery of San Michele, characteristic places like the small cafés and bookshops overflowing with books, like the famous Acqua Alta Bookshop or the picturesque Porta dell’Arsenale, which is the focal point of an entire sequence.
Graphic adventure
A video game loosely based on the Corto Maltese – Fable of Venice comic book by Hugo Pratt. A tourist is poisoned in a bar by none other than the barman, who gives him the mission of finding a precious emerald in exchange for the antidote. The protagonist must investigate and solve puzzles to find the emerald and save himself; along the way he is assisted by a magic compass and a Corto Maltese comic book. The tourist meets characters from the Corto Maltese universe and, using the comic book, finds a sort of dreamlike guide in the ‘lucky gentleman’, in an ongoing game of references back and forth between comic books and artwork in Venice.
