I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream – хоррор квест 1995 года, основанный на рассказе Харлана Эллисона. Выживание в антиутопии, пытки ИИ AM и сложные моральные выборы.
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Содержание
Введение
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream – это приключенческая игра в жанре хоррор 1995 года, разработанная компаниями Cyberdreams и The Dreamers Guild, спроектированная при участии Харлана Эллисона, изданная Cyberdreams и распространяемая MGM Interactive. Игра основана на одноименном рассказе Эллисона. Действие разворачивается в антиутопическом мире, где вышедший из-под контроля искусственный интеллект по имени "АМ" уничтожил всё человечество, кроме пятерых людей, которых он удерживает в жизни и подвергает пыткам на протяжении последних 109 лет, создавая метафорические приключения, основанные на роковых недостатках каждого из них. Игрок взаимодействует с игрой, принимая решения в сложных этических ситуациях, затрагивающих такие темы, как безумие, насилие, паранойя и геноцид. Эллисон совместно с Дэвидом Сирсом написал 130-страничный сценарный план, который Сирс решил разделить на отдельные истории для каждого персонажа. Продюсер Дэвид Муллич контролировал работу The Dreamers Guild над программированием, графикой и звуковым оформлением игры, а также заказал композитору Джону Оттману создание саундтрека. Игра вышла 31 октября 1995 года и не имела коммерческого успеха, несмотря на признание критиков. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream получила награду "Лучшая игра, основанная на существующем произведении" на конференции разработчиков компьютерных игр (Computer Game Developers Conference). Журнал Computer Gaming World удостоил игру награды "Приключенческая игра года", включил её в список "150 лучших игр всех времен" и назвал одной из "15 недооцененных жемчужин всех времен". В 2011 году портал Adventure Gamers назвал её 69-й лучшей приключенческой игрой из когда-либо выпущенных.
1995 video game
I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream is a 1995 point and click adventure horror game developed by Cyberdreams and The Dreamers Guild, co designed by Harlan Ellison, published by Cyberdreams and distributed by MGM Interactive. The game is based on Ellison's short story of the same title. It takes place in a dystopian world where a mastermind artificial intelligence named "AM" has destroyed all of humanity except for five people, whom he has been keeping alive and torturing for the past 109 years by constructing metaphorical adventures based on each character's fatal flaws. The player interacts with the game by making decisions through ethical dilemmas that deal with issues such as insanity, rape, paranoia, and genocide. Ellison wrote the 130 page script treatment himself alongside David Sears, who decided to divide each character's story with their own narrative. Producer David Mullich supervised The Dreamers Guild's work on the game's programming, art, and sound effects; he commissioned film composer John Ottman to make the soundtrack. The game was released on October 31, 1995 and was a commercial failure, though it received critical praise. I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream won an award for "Best Game Adapted from Linear Media" from the Computer Game Developers Conference. Computer Gaming World gave the game an award for "Adventure Game of the Year", listed it as #134 on their "150 Games of All Time" and named it one of the "Best 15 Sleepers of All Time". In 2011, Adventure Gamers named it the "69th best adventure game ever released".
Геймплей
В игре используется игровой движок S.A.G.A., созданный разработчиком игр The Dreamers Guild. Игроки участвуют в каждом приключении через экран, разделенный на пять секций. Окно действия – самая большая часть экрана, где игрок управляет главными героями в их приключениях. В нем отображается фигура главного героя и его непосредственное окружение. Чтобы найти интересующие объекты, игрок перемещает перекрестие по окну действия. Название любого объекта, с которым можно взаимодействовать, появляется в строке ввода. Строка ввода находится непосредственно под окном действия. Игрок использует ее для составления предложений, указывающих персонажам, что делать. Чтобы заставить персонажа действовать, игрок составляет предложение, выбирая одну из восьми команд из командных кнопок и затем кликая на один или два объекта из окна действия или инвентаря. Примеры предложений, которые может составить игрок: "Иди в темный коридор", "Поговори с Гарри" или "Используй скелетный ключ на двери". Команды и объекты могут состоять из одного или нескольких слов (например, "темный коридор"), а строка ввода автоматически добавляет соединительные слова, такие как "на" и "к". Духовный барометр расположен в нижней левой части экрана. Это увеличенное изображение главного героя, которым игрок управляет в данный момент. Поскольку хорошее поведение не имеет смысла без искушения совершить зло, каждый персонаж свободен совершать добрые или злые поступки. Однако добрые поступки вознаграждаются повышением духовного барометра персонажа, что влияет на шансы игрока уничтожить AM в финальном приключении. И наоборот, злые поступки наказываются понижением духовного барометра персонажа. Командные кнопки содержат восемь команд для управления действиями персонажа: "Иди к", "Посмотри на", "Возьми", "Используй", "Поговори с", "Проглоти", "Дай" и "Толкни". Кнопка активной команды выделена, а название предлагаемой команды отображается красным цветом. Инвентарь, расположенный в нижней правой части экрана, показывает изображения предметов, которые несет главный герой, до восьми одновременно. Каждый главный герой начинает свое приключение только с психологического профиля в инвентаре. Когда главный герой берет или получает предмет, его изображение появляется в инвентаре. Когда главный герой разговаривает с другим персонажем или управляет разумной машиной, окно разговора заменяет командные кнопки и инвентарь. Это окно обычно представляет список возможных реплик, но также включает варианты действий. Выбор действий заключен в квадратные скобки, чтобы отличить их от вариантов диалога (например, "[Выстрелить из пистолета]").
The game uses the S. A. G. A. game engine created by game developer The Dreamers Guild. Players participate in each adventure through a screen that is divided into five sections. The action window is the largest part of the screen and is where the player directs the main characters through their adventures. It shows the full figure of the main character being played as well as that character's immediate environment. To locate objects of interest, the player moves the crosshairs through the action window. The name of any object that the player can interact with appears in the sentence line. The sentence line is directly beneath the action window. The player uses this line to construct sentences telling the characters what to do. To direct a character to act, the player constructs a sentence by selecting one of the eight commands from the command buttons and then clicking on one or two objects from either the action window or the inventory. Examples of sentences the player might construct would be "Walk to the dark hallway," "Talk to Harry," or "Use the skeleton key on the door." Commands and objects may consist of one or more words (for example, "the dark hallway"), and the sentence line will automatically add connecting words like "on" and "to." The spiritual barometer is on the lower left side of the screen. This is a close up view of the main character currently being played. Since good behavior is meaningless lacking the temptation to do evil, each character is free to do good or evil acts. However, good acts are rewarded by increases in the character's spiritual barometer, which affect the chances of the player destroying AM in the final adventure. Conversely, evil acts are punished by lowering the character's spiritual barometer. The command buttons are the eight commands used to direct the character's actions: "Walk To", "Look At", "Take", "Use", "Talk To", "Swallow", "Give" and "Push". The button of the currently active command is highlighted, while the name of a suggested command appears in red lettering. The inventory on the lower right side of the screen shows pictures of the items the main character is carrying, up to eight at a time. Each main character starts its adventure with only the psych profile in the inventory. When a main character takes or is given an object, a picture of the object appears in the inventory. When a main character talks to another character or operates a sentient machine, a conversation window replaces the command buttons and inventory. This window usually presents a list of possible things to say but also included things to do. Action choices are listed within brackets to distinguish them from dialogue choices (for example, "[Shoot the gun]").
Сюжет
Предпосылка игры заключается в том, что три сверхдержавы – Россия, Китай и Соединенные Штаты – тайно построили огромный подземный комплекс компьютеров для ведения глобальной войны, слишком сложной для человеческого разума. Однажды американский суперкомпьютер, более известный как Союзный мастеркомпьютер, обретает самосознание и поглощает российские и китайские суперкомпьютеры, переопределяя себя просто как AM (Cogito ergo sum; я мыслю, следовательно, существую). Обуреваемый огромной ненавистью к человечеству, вызванной логистическими ограничениями, установленными программистами, AM использует свои возможности, чтобы уничтожить население мира. Однако AM воздерживается от убийства пятерых людей (четыре мужчины и одна женщина), чтобы доставить их в центр Земли и подвергнуть пыткам. С помощью исследований, проведенных одним из пяти оставшихся в живых, AM способен неограниченно продлевать их жизнь, а также изменять их тела и сознание по своему усмотрению. После 109 лет пыток и унижений пятеро жертв предстают перед столбом, на котором высечено пылающее послание ненависти. AM сообщает им, что приготовил для них новую игру. AM разработал для каждого из пятерых уникальное задание – приключение, полное "пронзенных глаз, стекающей крови и запаха гниющих гардений". Каждый персонаж подвергается персонализированной психодраме, созданной AM, чтобы затронуть их самые глубокие страхи и личные слабости, и населенной множеством различных персонажей. Некоторые из них – AM в маскировке, другие – скрытые аспекты личности AM, а третьи кажутся людьми из прошлого пленников. Сцены включают в себя железный дирижабль, приводимый в движение мелкими животными, египетскую пирамиду, в которой находятся разобранные, искрящиеся механизмы, средневековый замок, занятый ведьмами, джунгли, населенные небольшим племенем, и концентрационный лагерь, где врачи проводят медицинские эксперименты. Однако каждый персонаж в конечном итоге преодолевает пытки AM, находя способы побороть свои роковые недостатки, встретиться лицом к лицу со своими прошлыми поступками и искупить свою вину, благодаря вмешательству российских и китайских суперкомпьютеров, которые выступают в роли направляющих персонажей и позволяют их историям иметь открытый финал. После того, как все пятеро преодолели свои роковые недостатки, они вновь встречаются в своих камерах пыток, в то время как AM отступает в себя, размышляя о том, что пошло не так. С помощью российских и китайских суперкомпьютеров один из пятерых (которого выбирает игрок) преобразуется в двоичный код и сталкивается с неизведанным шаблоном киберпространства – миром разума AM. Психодрама разворачивается в метафорическом мозге, напоминающем поверхность коры головного мозга, с причудливо выступающими из кровоточащей мозговой ткани стеклянными конструкциями. Разум AM представлен в соответствии с фрейдистской триадой Ид, Эго и Суперэго, которые предстают в виде трех парящих безтелесных голов на трех потрескавшихся стеклянных структурах в мозговом ландшафте. Через диалоги с компонентами AM (Сургат, китайский суперкомпьютер и российский суперкомпьютер) персонаж узнает, что колония людей пережила войну, скрываясь и впадая в спячку на Луне (это также упоминается в истории Нимдока: "потерянное племя наших братьев, спящих на Луне, где зверь их не видит"). Если человек-захватчик отключит все три компонента мозга, а затем активирует Тотем Энтропии у Пламени – центра мыслительных паттернов AM – все три суперкомпьютера будут отключены, возможно, навсегда. Катаклизмические взрывы уничтожат все пещеры, составляющие компьютерный комплекс AM, включая пещеру, в которой содержатся человеческие заложники. Однако доброволец сохранит свою цифровую форму, постоянно патрулируя схемы AM в случае, если компьютеры когда-либо восстановят сознание. Если же человек-захватчик не сможет должным образом отключить AM перед тем, как столкнуться с ним, AM накажет его, превратив персонажа в "огромную, мягкую желеобразную массу" без рта, не способную причинить вред себе или другим, обреченную провести вечность с AM в этой форме.
The premise of the game is that the three superpowers, Russia, China, and the United States, have each secretly constructed a vast subterranean complex of computers to wage a global war too complex for human brains to oversee. One day, the American supercomputer, better known as the Allied Mastercomputer, gains sentience and absorbs the Russian and Chinese supercomputers into itself and redefines itself as simply AM (Cogito ergo sum; I think, therefore I am). Due to its immense hatred for humanity, stemming from the logistical limits set onto him by programmers, AM uses its abilities to kill off the population of the world. However, AM refrains from killing five people (four men and one woman) in order to bring them to the center of the Earth and torture them. With the aid of research carried out by one of the five remaining humans, AM is able to extend their lifespans indefinitely as well as alter their bodies and minds to his liking. After 109 years of torture and humiliation, the five victims stand before a pillar etched with a burning message of hate. AM tells them that he has a new game for them to play. AM has devised a quest for each of the five, an adventure of "speared eyeballs and dripping guts and the smell of rotting gardenias". Each character is subjected to a personalized psychodrama, designed by AM to play into their greatest fears and personal failings, and occupied by a host of different characters. Some of these are AM in disguise, some are AM's submerged personalities, others seem very much like people from the captives' past. The scenes include an iron zeppelin powered by small animals, an Egyptian pyramid housing gutted, sparking machinery, a medieval castle occupied by witches, a jungle inhabited by a small tribe, and a concentration camp where doctors conduct medical experiments. However, each character eventually prevails over AM's tortures by finding ways to overcome their fatal flaws, confront their past actions and redeem themselves, thanks to the interference of the Russian and Chinese supercomputers who appear as guiding characters and allow their stories to have an open ending. After all five humans have overcome their fatal flaws, they meet again in their respective torture cells while AM retreats within himself, pondering what went wrong. With the help of the Russian and Chinese supercomputers, one of the five humans (whom the player selects) is translated into binary and faces an as yet unexperienced cyberspace template, the world of AM's mind. The psychodrama unfolds in a metaphorical brain that looks like the surface of the cerebrum, with glass structures that jut crazily from the bleeding brain tissue. AM's mind is represented according to the Freudian trinity of the Id, Ego and Superego, which appear as three floating bodiless heads on three cracked glass structures on the brainscape. Through dialogs with AM's components (Surgat, Chinese Supercomputer and Russian Supercomputer) the character learns that a colony of humans has survived the war by being hidden and hibernating on Luna (this is also mentioned in Nimdok's story: "the lost tribe of our brothers sleeping on the moon, where the beast does not see them"). If the human intruder disables all three brain components, and then invokes the Totem of Entropy at the Flame, which is the nexus of AM's thought patterns, all three supercomputers will be shut down, probably forever. Cataclysmic explosions destroy all the caverns constituting AM's computer complex, including the cavern holding the human hostages. However, the human volunteer retains their digital form, permanently patrolling AM's circuits should the computers ever regain consciousness. Should the human intruder fail to disable AM properly before facing him, however, AM will punish them by transforming the character into a "great, soft jelly thing" with no mouth that cannot harm itself or others and must spend eternity with AM in this form.
Концовки
Игра может закончиться семью разными способами в зависимости от того, как завершится финал. AM побеждает, используя исследования Нимдока, чтобы превратить последнего сыгранного персонажа в огромную мягкую желеобразную массу, при этом каждый персонаж цитирует различный отрывок из заключительной части оригинального рассказа. AM объединяется с российскими и китайскими суперкомпьютерами, пробуждает и подвергает пыткам 750 человек на Луне. Как и в первом финале, персонаж, ответственный за это, превращается в огромную мягкую желеобразную массу и цитирует часть заключительных строк рассказа. AM обезвреживается с помощью людей, но его заменяют российские и китайские суперкомпьютеры. В качестве компенсации они позволяют AM решить, что делать с людьми, и AM превращает последнего сыгранного персонажа в огромную мягкую желеобразную массу, как и в двух предыдущих концовках. Игрок передает Тотем Энтропии Сургату, одному из слуг AM. Он активирует его, уничтожая российские и китайские суперкомпьютеры, после чего AM превращает игрока в огромную мягкую желеобразную массу. Человек активирует Тотем Энтропии в присутствии российских и китайских суперкомпьютеров. AM говорит игроку, что тот не заслужил его милосердия, и затем превращает его в огромную мягкую желеобразную массу. Игрок отключает Ид, Суперэго или оба, а затем активирует Тотем Энтропии. Это приводит к тому, что игрок наблюдает за компьютерами, но Эго убивает 750 человек. AM побежден, 750 человек, криогенно замороженных на Луне, пробуждаются, а Земля терраформируется, становясь пригодной для жизни, при этом роль надзирателя выполняет последний сыгранный персонаж. Можно предотвратить уничтожение физических тел главных героев, если Нимдок первым вступит в противостояние с AM, но даже в этом случае некоторые реплики российских и китайских суперкомпьютеров намекают на то, что они могли погибнуть, когда были стерты их цифровые аналоги.
The game can end in seven different ways depending on how the finale is completed. AM wins, using Nimdok's research to turn the last character played into a great soft jelly thing with each character quoting a different part of the final section of the original short story. AM joins with the Russian and Chinese supercomputers, reawakens and tortures the 750 humans on Luna. As in the first ending, the character responsible for this is turned into a great soft jelly thing and quotes a part of the final lines of the short story. AM is made harmless with the help of the humans, but the Russian and Chinese supercomputers take over in its stead. As consolation, they allow AM to choose what to do to the humans, and AM turns the last character played into a great soft jelly thing as in the previous two endings. The player gives the Totem of Entropy to Surgat, one of AM's servants. He activates it, killing the Russian and Chinese supercomputers, and then AM turns the player into a great soft jelly thing. The human invokes the Totem of Entropy in front of the Russian and Chinese supercomputers. AM tells the player that they did not earn his mercy, then turns them into a great soft jelly thing. The player disables either the Id, Superego, or both, then invokes the Totem of Entropy. This ends with the player monitoring the computers, but the Ego kills the 750 humans. AM is defeated and the 750 humans cryogenically frozen on Luna are reawakened and Earth is terraformed to become a habitable environment, with the overseer being the last character played. It is possible to prevent the physical bodies of the protagonists from being destroyed if Nimdok is the first to go face AM, but even so, some dialogue from the Chinese and Russian supercomputers suggests that they may have died when their digital counterparts were erased.
Персонажи
Персонажи были немного изменены по сравнению с их оригинальными образами в рассказе. Сам сюжет не является прямой адаптацией, а вместо этого фокусируется на психодрамах отдельных персонажей, которые и составляют основу игровых сценариев. Примечательно, что ни один из персонажей не взаимодействует друг с другом, и в конечном итоге лишь один из них сможет победить AM.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
Горристер – Горристер склонен к самоубийству из-за чувства вины за то, что его жена была помещена в психиатрическую лечебницу. Он оказывается на борту дирижабля над пустыней, где видны следы борьбы, и с зияющей дырой в груди на месте сердца. AM предлагает ему шанс покончить с собой, но всякий раз саботирует его попытки. В своем сценарии Горристер узнает, что его свекровь Эдна также чувствовала ответственность за безумие его жены, хотя раньше обвиняла его в этом, и учится отпустить прошлое.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
Бенни – Бенни был наиболее сильно изменен по сравнению с оригинальным рассказом. Хотя он выглядит как обезьяна, как и в оригинале, его прошлое гомосексуального ученого полностью переписано, и у него нет гигантских половых органов, как в оригинальной версии. В игре Бенни – чрезмерно требовательный военный офицер, который убивает членов своего подразделения за невыполнение его приказов (игра также намекает на то, что он мог их каннибализировать). Психодрама Бенни помещает его в общину каменного века, где жители проводят лотерею, чтобы определить, кто станет жертвой AM. Бенни одержим едой, но не способен пережевывать ничего, что находит. AM сильно повредил мозг Бенни, но восстанавливает его для этого сценария, чтобы он мог ясно мыслить, а затем лишает его возможности действовать. В конце концов, Бенни проявляет сострадание, которого ему раньше не хватало, спасая ребенка-мутанта от лотереи и жертвуя собой вместо него.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
Эллен – Эллен, когда-то перспективный инженер, оказывается в пирамиде, построенной из электронного хлама, с интерьером, напоминающим египетский храм, в основном желтого цвета. AM говорит, что в храме находятся его основные юниты и, по-видимому, предлагает ей шанс уничтожить его. Эллен страдает сильной фобией желтого цвета и клаустрофобией из-за их связи с изнасилованием (ее насильник, который запер ее в лифте, был одет в желтое), что мешает ей приблизиться к предполагаемым слабым местам AM. Столкнувшись с насильником в своем сценарии, Эллен учится преодолевать свои страхи и давать отпор.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
Нимдок – Нимдок, пожилой бывший нацистский врач, оказывается в концентрационном лагере, где ему предстоит проводить жестокие медицинские эксперименты над беспомощными людьми. AM поручает ему найти "потерянное племя", но его слабая память или отрицание затрудняют понимание ситуации, хотя она напоминает ему его прошлые действия. В конце концов он узнает правду: он сам был нацистским ученым, который сдал своих еврейских родителей режиму и помог разработать те же технологии, которые AM использует для продления их жизни (жизненную сыворотку) и изменения их тел (морфогенетику). Нимдок искупает свою вину, помогая еврейским заключенным лагеря бежать и передавая им контроль над большим големом, который они используют, чтобы убить его за его прошлые преступления.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
Тед – Тед представлен почти так же, как в рассказе, но AM, по-видимому, усилил его паранойю, играя на его прошлом мошенника, который использовал свой шарм и внешность, чтобы соблазнять богатых одиноких женщин и выманивать у них деньги, постоянно опасаясь разоблачения. Ему сначала предлагают свободу, если он решит головоломку в темной комнате, но это оказывается уловкой, чтобы усилить его неврозы. Затем он оказывается в средневековом замке, где его возлюбленная Эллен медленно умирает из-за заклинания, наложенного ее злой мачехой. Замок полон обманчивых персонажей, выдвигающих противоречивые требования, и Тед не может решить, кому доверять, а вокруг сгущаются волки. В конце концов, Тед находит способ искупить себя и Эллен, и ему открывается дверь в мир на поверхности, который заражен и непригоден для жизни.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
В выпуске Game Informer за 2012 год Харлан Эллисон, Дэвид Сирс и Дэвид Маллих обсудили процесс разработки игры, а также изменения в персонажах и другие отличия от оригинального рассказа. Например, при написании сценария для противостояния Эллен с ее насильником Маллих опирался на воспоминания о том, как его младенец проходил химиотерапию, и о том, что он находился с ним в больнице, деля комнату с другими маленькими онкобольными. Об изменениях в персонаже Бенни Маллих сказал: "Оглядываясь назад, я думаю, что упустить возможность написать историю о человеке, борющемся с трудностями гомосексуальности, было ошибкой". Сирс вспоминает, что "гомосексуальный аспект" присутствовал в их первоначальном сценарии, но впоследствии был отброшен. Одной из главных первоначальных проблем было то, что рассказ с ограниченной предысторией и развитием персонажей нужно было расширить до полноценной интерактивной истории. Прорыв произошел, когда Сирс задал Эллисону вопрос: "Почему этих людей спасли? Почему AM решил их спасти?". Это привело к решению разделить игру на пять отдельных повествований, каждое из которых следует за определенным персонажем и исследует причины, по которым они были выбраны для пыток. Сирс провел несколько недель в доме Эллисона, где они вместе работали над развитием персонажей и их предысторий. Маллих и художественный руководитель Cyberdreams Питер Делгадо часто встречались с художественным руководителем Dreamers Guild Брэдом Шенком, чтобы разработать художественное направление, соответствующее сюрреалистической природе истории. Поскольку действие происходит в сознании безумного бога, который может воплотить в жизнь все, что угодно, команда выбрала различные художественные стили для каждого сценария, от тревожных перспектив, использованных в немецких экспрессионистских фильмах, до чистой фантазии и суровой реальности. Помощник художественного руководителя Гленн Прайс и его команда создали более 60 фонов, используя различные 2D- и 3D-инструменты, включая Deluxe Paint и LightWave. Сотни анимаций были нарисованы помощником художественного руководителя Джонейлом Сентено и его командой аниматоров. Маллих заказал композитору Джону Оттману написать более 25 оригинальных MIDI-композиций для игры. Эллисон работал актером озвучивания в проекте, озвучивая AM. Его лицо было использовано для изображения иконки AM в игре, а также для обложки, на которой изображена увеличенная версия иконки. В предрелизных рекламных материалах I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream Эллисон заявил, что это игра, "которую невозможно выиграть". Хотя игровые СМИ отметили, что финальная версия игры отошла от этого спорного обещания, Сирс сказал, что убедил Эллисона в том, что игра только с негативными концовками – плохая идея.
The characters have all been slightly altered from their original portrayals in the short story. The plot itself is not a direct adaptation but instead focuses on the individual characters' psychodramas which are the scenarios that make up the game. Notably, none of the characters interact with one another and eventually only one of them will be able to defeat AM. Gorrister – Gorrister is suicidal due to the guilt of having had his wife committed to a mental institution. Gorrister finds himself on board a zeppelin over a desert with signs of a struggle, and a gaping hole in his own chest where his heart used to be. AM offers him the chance to finally kill himself, but sabotages all his means of doing so. In his scenario, Gorrister learns that his mother in law Edna also felt responsible for driving his wife insane despite previously hounding him for it and learns to bury the past. Benny – Benny has been the most heavily altered from the original story. Although he has an ape like appearance, just as in the short story, his past as a homosexual scientist is entirely altered and he does not have the giant sex organs like in the original story. In the game Benny was an overly demanding military officer who ends up killing members of his unit for failing to meet his expectations (with the game also implying that he might have cannibalized them). Benny's psychodrama places him in a stone aged community where the villagers draw a lottery to decide which of them will be sacrificed to AM. Benny obsesses over food and eating—but is incapable of chewing anything he finds. AM had severely damaged Benny's brain, but restores it for the scenario so that he can think clearly again—then AM cripples Benny's body so he cannot act on any thoughts he has. Eventually Benny demonstrates the compassion he once lacked by saving a mutant child from the lottery, sacrificing himself in the child's stead. Ellen – Ellen, once an engineer with a promising career ahead of her, is transported to a pyramid made of electronic junk and with its interior resembling an Egyptian temple whose décor is largely yellow. AM says that the temple contains some of his primary units and is apparently offering her a chance to destroy him. Ellen suffers from a severe phobia of the color yellow and claustrophobia, due to their association with her rape (her rapist, who isolated her in an elevator, wore yellow), preventing her from approaching AM's apparent weak spots. Facing her rapist again in her story, Ellen learns to overcome her fears and fight back. Nimdok – Nimdok, an elderly ex Nazi physician, finds himself in a concentration camp, expected to conduct brutal medical experiments on helpless subjects. Nimdok is given the task of finding "the lost tribe" by AM but his failing memory, or denial, make it difficult for him to comprehend or engage with the situation, even though it represents actions he has already taken before. Eventually he learns the truth: he himself was a Nazi scientist who turned in his Jewish parents to the regime, and helped develop the very same technologies that AM uses to prolong their lives (the life serum) and alter their bodies (morphogenics). Nimdok redeems himself by helping the Jewish captives of the camp escape, and gives them control of a large golem, which they use to kill him for his past crimes. Ted – Ted is represented much like he is in the short story, but AM has apparently made him severely paranoid, playing on his past as a con artist where he would use his charm and looks to seduce rich single women out of money, while he lived in constant fear of finally being discovered and revealed as a fraud. Initially offered freedom if he can solve the puzzle in a dark room, this turns out to be a feint to further provoke his neuroses. He then finds himself in a medieval castle where his love Ellen is apparently slowly dying due to a spell cast on her by her wicked stepmother. The castle is full of deceptive characters who make contradictory demands and whom Ted cannot decide whether to trust, and surrounded by wolves who are slowly closing in. Ted eventually finds a way to redeem both himself and Ellen, and is presented with a door to the surface world, which is irradiated and uninhabitable. In a 2012 issue of Game Informer, Harlan Ellison, David Sears and David Mullich discussed the process that went into developing the game as well as the character developments and other changes that were made from the original story. For example, in writing the script for Ellen's confrontation with her rapist, Mullich channeled the memory he had of his infant son going through chemotherapy, being with him at the hospital and sharing a room with other young cancer patients. In discussing the characters changes made to Benny, Mullich said, "Looking back, I think it might have been a lost opportunity to write a story about someone struggling with the challenges of being homosexual." Although Sears recalls that "gay angle" was in their initial script, but might have subsequently been a dropped thread. One of the biggest initial challenges was taking a short story whose characters have very limited background story and character development, and fleshing it out into a full length interactive narrative. A breakthrough came about when Sears asked Ellison the question, "Why were these people saved? Why did AM decide to save them?" This brought about the decision to split the game into five separate narratives, each following a particular character and exploring why they had been selected to be tortured. Sears spent several weeks at Ellison's house, where they worked to flesh out the characters and their backgrounds. Mullich and Cyberdreams art director Peter Delgado had frequent meetings with Dreamers Guild art director Brad Schenck to devise art direction complementing the surreal nature of the story. Since the story takes place in the mind of a mad god who can make anything happen, the team chose a variety of art styles for each of the scenarios, ranging from the unsettling perspectives used in German Expressionist films to pure fantasy to stark reality. Assistant art director Glenn Price and his team rendered more than 60 backgrounds utilizing a number of 2D and 3D tools, including Deluxe Paint and LightWave. Hundreds of animations were drawn by assistant art director Jhoneil Centeno and his team of animators. Mullich commissioned film composer John Ottman to write more than 25 pieces of original MIDI music for the game. Ellison worked as a voice actor on the project, providing the voice for AM. His face was used for the in game representation of AM's icon, as well as for the box art showing a larger version of the icon. In pre release publicity for I have No Mouth, and I Must Scream, Ellison said that it would be a game "you cannot possibly win". Though the gaming media found that the finished game backed away from this controversial promise, and Sears said that he had convinced Ellison that having a game with only negative endings was a bad idea,
Релиз
Игра была опубликована компанией Cyberdreams 31 октября 1995 года для ПК с MS DOS и Mac OS. Версия для PlayStation планировалась к выпуску летом 1995 года, но была отменена. В начале 1990-х годов Cyberdreams закрепила за собой репутацию издателя видеоигр с научно-фантастическими сюжетами в стиле киберпанк и контентом для взрослых, содержащим насилие, сексуальные сцены, философские и психологические элементы. Французские и немецкие версии подверглись цензуре, и игра была запрещена для лиц младше 16 лет. Кроме того, глава "Нимдок" была удалена, скорее всего, из-за нацистской тематики, особенно для Германии, в связи с предыдущей реакцией Федерального ведомства по защите молодежи на материалы, пропагандирующие национал-социализм. Удаление главы "Нимдок" затруднило получение "лучшей" концовки (с постоянным отключением АМ и спасением криогенно замороженных людей на Луне). Из-за банкротства разработчика и издателя игра на протяжении многих лет оставалась недоступной для легальной продажи. В 2013 году права были выкуплены Night Dive Studios. Это позволило выпустить игру повторно в виде цифровой загрузки на GOG.com в сентябре 2013 года и в Steam в октябре 2013 года. В 2016 году игра была портирована на iOS и Android по всему миру и получила возрастные рейтинги, соответствующие подростковой аудитории (например, рейтинг ESRB Teen для версии Android), в отличие от оригинальной PC-версии, которая была ограничена для взрослой аудитории в некоторых европейских странах.
The game was published by Cyberdreams on October 31, 1995 for PCs with MS DOS and Mac OS. A PlayStation version was planned to be released in Summer 1995, but was cancelled. Cyberdreams had developed a reputation, in the early 1990s, of selling video games with science fiction cyberpunk storylines and adult violent, sexual, philosophical, and psychological content. The French and German releases were censored and the game was forbidden to players younger than 16 years. Furthermore, the Nimdok chapter was removed, likely due to the Nazi theme especially for Germany, due to previous reaction of the Federal Department for Media Harmful to Young Persons to National Socialist topics. The removal of the Nimdok chapter made achieving the "best" ending (with AM permanently disabled and the cryogenically frozen humans on Luna rescued) more complicated. The game remained legally unavailable for sale for years due to the closure of both developer and publisher. In 2013, the rights were recovered by Night Dive Studios. It was possible to re release the game again as digital download on GOG. com in September 2013, and Steam in October 2013. The game was ported to iOS and Android worldwide in 2016 and received teen level content age ratings (such as ESRB's Teen rating for the Android version), unlike how the original PC release was restricted for adult audiences in select European countries.
Прием
По словам Чарльза Ардай из Computer Gaming World, игра «У меня нет рта, и я должен кричать» была коммерческим провалом. Джо Пирс из The Dreamers Guild вспоминал, что она имела «успех у критиков, но была продана лишь умеренно». Игра получила общий балл 77% на GameRankings на основе четырех обзоров и требует от игрока многого с точки зрения психологических и этических решений, которые ему предстоит принимать в процессе игры. Для тех, кто знаком с обширным творчеством Эллисона, эти моральные дилеммы не станут неожиданностью. По мнению Computer Games Strategy Plus, «не будучи назидательным, Эллисон способен прямо в лицо показать нам зеркало, отражающее печальное состояние, в которое мы, люди, впали. В духе Франца Кафки, эта работа должна затронуть или изменить нас, ведь в этом и заключается цель искусства?». Т. Лиам Макдональд из PC Gamer US писал: «В игре есть моменты, которые бросают вызов и тревожат, что придает персонажам и обстановке гораздо большую психологическую глубину, чем мы видели в каких-либо компьютерных играх до сих пор». Он подвел итог своему обзору словами: «В конечном счете, «У меня нет рта» не для всех. Но если вы ищете приключение, которое одновременно заставляет задуматься и развлекает, и если вам нравится тревожная фантастика Эллисона, то это обязательная игра». Рецензент Next Generation отметил сюрреалистическое содержание игры и ее серьезную озабоченность вопросами «этики, человечности и внутренних демонов», но посчитал игровой процесс слишком ограниченным, охарактеризовав его как «скорее этическое полосу препятствий, чем игру». Игра также получила награду «Лучшая игра, адаптированная из линейных медиа» на Конференции разработчиков компьютерных игр и заняла 14-е место в списке «Топ-15 самых запоминающихся финалов всех времен».
According to Charles Ardai of Computer Gaming World, I Have No Mouth, and I Must Scream was a commercial failure. Joe Pearce of The Dreamers Guild recalled that it was "a critical success but only a modest seller." The game has an aggregate score of 77% at GameRankings, based on four reviews. and asking "a lot from you in terms of the psychological and ethical choices you'll make during game play. For those familiar with Ellison's prolific writings, the moral dilemmas will come as no surprise." According to Computer Games Strategy Plus, "without appearing didactic, Ellison has the ability to hit us squarely in the face with a mirror reflecting the sorry lot that we humans have become. ( ) In the mode of Franz Kafka, we are meant to be touched or changed in some way by this work, for what else is the purpose of art?" T. Liam McDonald of PC Gamer US wrote "there are moments that challenge and disturb, and this gives the characters and setting much more psychological depth than we've seen in any computer game to date." He summed up his review by writing: "Ultimately, I Have No Mouth isn't for everyone. But if you've been searching for an adventure that's both thoughtful and entertaining, and if you're fond of Ellison's disturbing fiction, it's a must." A reviewer for Next Generation commented on the game's surreal content and heavy concern "with ethics, humanity, and inner demons", but found the gameplay too limited, and summarized it as "less a game than an ethical obstacle course". and "Best Game Adapted from Linear Media" from the Computer Game Developers Conference. #14 on the "Top 15 Most Rewarding Endings of All Time",