Méwilo

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Mewilo
Developer(s)Coktel Vision
Publisher(s)Coktel Vision
Designer(s)
Platform(s)Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, DOS, Thomson TO7
ReleaseNovember 28, 1987[1]
Genre(s)Adventure

Méwilo is a 1987 French adventure video game by Coktel Vision.

Development[edit]

It was the first game by Muriel Tramis who was designer and producer at Coktel Vision.[2][3] It saw a new direction for the developer, which had previously released strategy games.[4][5] Tramis "proposed to program a game that [she] thought totally original", which became Mewilo.[2] The head of the Coktel Vision, Roland Oskian, allowed her to develop her own story, and she began work in 1986.[6] Collaborating with Martiniquan créolité writer Patrick Chamoiseau the game was inspired by the Caribbean legend of jars of gold.[7] It was graphic designed by Philippe Truca.[8] The software was accompanied by a short story by Chamoiseau.[9]

Plot and gameplay[edit]

Set in the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique on May 7, 1902, the game takes place a day before Mount Pelée is set to erupt, causing catastrophic damage. The player is a parapsychologist called into town to investigate zombie sightings.[2]

Release and aftermath[edit]

Tramis suggests that while the game was a failure in France, Mewilo performed better in Germany due to the country being "tinged with colonialism".[10]

For the 30th anniversary, Tramis created a crowdfunding campaign to create a remake.[11][12]

Critical reception[edit]

Atari Magazine praised the "excellent graphics, which can hardly be surpassed in terms of color and richness of detail"; it also highlighted the German localisation.[13] Joystick deemed it an "exciting and instructive adventure",[14] highlighting themes of slavery and the social ills of the tropical plantations.[15] Aktueller Software Markt felt it was "very complex and extensive",[16] and praised the "thought-out story' which "included the cultural and social background of [Tramis'] home country".[17] Additionally, the magazine wrote "Tramis understood how to create a captivating atmosphere through the interesting and realistic background of the story".[18] Amstar Magazine thought the game was original in its subject and execution, far from the traditional adventures games containing monsters and dungeons.[19][20]

Am Magazine praised its "cultural dimension" which it felt was "rarely found among its colleagues in adventure games".[21] Generation 4 described it an "educational adventure game" and wished more games in this sub-genre would be released.[22] Amiga News felt the software "leaves something to be desired", commenting that the "animation (for the rare times when there is some...) is sloppy and jerky".[23] Tilt wrote it offered a "real dive into the Caribbean soul, all at the same time complex, passionate, violent and irremediably marked by the claws of its history (slavery)".[24]

Reviews[edit]

Awards and nominations[edit]

Tramis asserts that the city of Paris gave her a silver medal for the work.[26]

See also[edit]

  • Freedom: Les Guerriers de l'Ombre / Freedom: Rebels in the Darkness (fr), the follow-up 1988 game by Coktel Vision.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Game Mag 02". 1987.
  2. ^ a b c Salvador, Phil (2018-03-05). "Muriel Tramis speaks about her career and the memory of Martinique". The Obscuritory. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  3. ^ Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (January 1988) (in German). January 1988.
  4. ^ Aktueller Software Markt - Ausgabe 1988/09.
  5. ^ Tronic-Verlag (2020-11-22). ASM.N24.1988.09 [+400dpi].
  6. ^ Secret Service 11 12 2014.
  7. ^ Baker, Chris. "How 'French Touch' Gave Early Videogames Art, Brains". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  8. ^ Wolf, Mark J. P. (2015-05-01). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-52716-3.
  9. ^ Commodore Revue Magazine (French) Issue 03 (in French).
  10. ^ Sipress (1988-12-21). Joystick Hebdo 07.
  11. ^ ulule. "MEWILO and the secret of the jar of gold". Ulule. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  12. ^ "Mewilo 30th anniversary". 2018-06-09. Archived from the original on 2018-06-09. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  13. ^ Verlag Rätz-Eberle (September 1988). Atari Magazin 88/09.
  14. ^ DMV Daten und Medien Verlagsges. (November 1988). Joystick (Deutsch) 1988-11-12.
  15. ^ DMV Daten und Medien Verlag Widuch (February 1989). Joystick (Deutsch) 1989-02.
  16. ^ Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (May 1988) (in German). May 1988.
  17. ^ TRONIC-Verlag (2020-06-13). ASM.N18.1988.01 [+300dpi].
  18. ^ Tronic-Verlag (2020-11-22). ASM.N22 1988.05 [+400dpi].
  19. ^ Amstar Magazine (French) Issue 24 (in French).
  20. ^ AMSTAR.
  21. ^ Laser Presse (February 1988). Am-Mag 31.
  22. ^ "Mewilo : Hall Of Light - The database of Amiga games". hol.abime.net. Retrieved 2022-08-19.
  23. ^ NewsEdition (July 1988). A-News 004.
  24. ^ Editions Mondiales S.A. (February 1988). Tilt 051.
  25. ^ "Jeux & stratégie 49". February 1988.
  26. ^ Joker Verlag, Haar (1992-12-23). PC Joker January 1993.
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