Warning: I wrote this post nearly a decade ago so it’s a bit cringe.
The things I write on this blog are all things that are personally interesting to me. I want people to read them (I really want people to read them, if you enjoy reading them consider linking your friends who might enjoy them too) but I don’t pick topics based on what’s popular or controversial to get views. But I also don’t want to disappoint people and today I am bending to popular opinion - here’s the blog post I know my subscribers have really been wanting me to write: An overanalysis of a trailer for an indie visual novel game from 2012.
When the trailer for Long Live the Queen first popped up in my Facebook feed courtesy of GOG.com I’m not sure why exactly I clicked on it. I don’t think I’d ever bought a visual novel and I don’t normally bother watching videos on my Facebook feed either. It’s a very good trailer and it immediately piqued my interest in the game. After checking out a few reviews and one or two snippets from let’s plays of the game I bought it and quite enjoyed it. But I found myself doing quite odd: A couple of times I just went back and watched the trailer again.
You might want to watch it before continuing this post.
Now it’s a pretty good trailer just in the simple function of selling the game I think. It gives an informative broad-strokes idea of how the player can guide Elodie without getting bogged down in the stats-picking. It manages to present gameplay footage of a visual novel and make it look interesting. That is praiseworthy in itself! It also gets across the game’s morbid sense of humour. The narrator’s delivery is perfect to the point to the point where it almost seems a shame he’s not a feature of the game itself. But I think there’s something else to the trailer - it’s not just showing four possible playthroughs of the game - it’s showing the metanarrative of a single player making multiple attempts at the game.
We start off with “the fair Princess Elodie” and this is the player’s first time through. They’re probably picking choices as a matter of taste rather than something that can lead to game-ending consequences down the line. They make moral decisions rather than political decisions and attempt to play a kind, gentle soul. They probably even make sure Elodie’s mood is happy all the time. Everything is going well. Elodie is a lovely princess who everyone adores. And then she takes an arrow in the side and dies. It’s hardly fair but it’s a wake up call. The player realises that the real goal of the game is not to try and get the princess ready for her coronation so that she can be the best possible Queen; it’s to survive long enough to get there in the first place. They readjust their priorities.
And now we have “the agile Princess Elodie.” All decisions have been refocused on survival. Public appearances are out and social engagements are refused - that’s what got Elodie killed the first time. No more risks of any kind. Reflexes and Medicine are probably the top priority skills to learn, perhaps with some weapons for self defence a situation where they are necessary comes about. The sense of security is of course false. Hidden away, Elodie neglects her duties to the kingdom and it starts to crumble beneath her feet. A rebellion rises up against monarch-to-be and Elodie is once again killed. “But I was so careful!” cries the poor player.
But they understand this. They know what they did wrong. As a leader you can’t neglect the kingdom. They’ve seen the skill checks they failed. They’ve taken mental notes. They know what they have to do to stop going to war in the south. They know how to rule. Presence, Elegance, Royal Demeanor, Novan History and Foreign Intelligence. These are the keys to politics and rule. We have “clever Princess Elodie” and everything is going fantastically. Peace reigns as Elodie outmaneuvers her rivals and peers. There’s a tournament being organised this week. “I wonder if I’ll get the option to give another speech. What’s this? Chocolates. That’s a bit odd. Why did I just fail three stat checks. No. Stop. Stop eating the fucking chocolates fuck fuck FUCK STOP.” and Elodie is dead again. And then something snaps. “I did everything right! Why wasn’t there an option to just not eat the fucking chocolates?! I did everything right.”
“FUCK THIS GAME FUCK EVERYONE FUCK. This time EVERYBODY DIES. Swords, Naval Strategy, Logistics, Death. This is what we are studying this time Elodie. Peaceful negotiations? No. The south is mine. The kingdom is mine by fire and blood. I am the heir of a bloodline that has ruled for generations by right and might of the power that flows through my veins. I can wield a power to level cities and I just fucking blew myself up.”
At this point the player uninstalls the game and never plays it again.
What I’m saying is that it’s a good trailer.