Raindrops on Roses (Part Eight) -- Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist

(trailer)

Imagine a one-man-show. This is going to be a pretty gross oversimplification, but in general, it’s the single person on stage running everything. There’s only one microphone, so sound is well-managed, and tech cues are generally minimal, maybe a sound cue or some minor special effects that someone else needs to handle, but by and large, one person has designed everything. The opposite, therefore, would be a one-audience-show, with a massive amount of work behind the scenes trying to give one singular audience member the experience of their lives.

This is the sort of analogy that Dr. Langeskov, the Tiger, and the Terribly Cursed Emerald: A Whirlwind Heist attempts to make, when it’s being serious enough to make any sort of analogy at all. But hey, it’s actual free, so maybe consider playing it first, and we can go from there. It’s only an hour long, and this blog isn’t going anywhere, so hey, give it a shot maybe?

Ready? Okay.

So like Birdman before it, Dr. Langeskov is very interested in the production of media and the idea of keeping up appearances despite hardship. Despite almost everybody else having joined a picket line, the show must go on, and so Simon Amstell has to guide a random schmoe through the process of making sure whoever is actually playing Dr. Langeskov remains immersed in what turns out to be a pretty ridiculous experience.

During the first playthrough, it’s this reading that is brought to prominence. On the second one, though, a tape player becomes available, and we start hearing the perspective of somebody who would even create such an experience. Instead of the collaborative “the show must go on” nature of art, this second playthrough presents an auteur character, the singular creator, who everyone else is below.

It’s this contrast that I think makes the game a complete whole, because the second character (voiced by Justin Roiland of Rick and Morty fame, if you enjoy that sort of trivia) is a complete moron. It’s clear he’s in charge, but it’s his inadequacy that has lead to the situation his game is now in, with only Simon Amstell remaining to pick up the pieces.

-F

Next time: Pondering adaptation and America