This game is 100% historically accurate…

…is what I would say if we were making an entirely different game. But we’re not. We’re making EDGAR, a 2D adventure platformer starring Edgar Allan Poe. If you are unfamiliar with our project, check out our announcement post, though you may as well keep reading this update to learn about the game at a little bit deeper level.

When we announced EDGAR, we were thrilled to see that people enjoyed the concept of it as much as we did, but we also received a lot of questions, so before I go on: Yes, I am aware that Edgar Allan Poe lived in Boston and, yes, I am aware that Poe died just under 40 years before the Whitechapel murders took place. There may be some people out there for whom these inaccuracies prove to be insurmountable and to them I apologize. To everyone else, however, I hope to deliver to your machine a fun, funny, and all together fascinating journey through Victoriana.

Just because we have made the decision to forgo historical accuracy, does not mean that our game will not be educational. Quite the contrary in fact. We aim to immerse the player in an imaginative, 19th Century world that has a distinct, “Victorian” feel. We are taking inspiration from music, literature, art, and themes from one of the most culturally rich periods of history and shoving it through our Pixel-O-Tron (patent pending) for your consumption.

An example of a literary concept with roots in the Victorian Era, which we have been drawing from, is that of detective stories. Arguably, the most well known detective is Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes who first appeared in 1887. However, Poe himself dabbled in detective tales with his character Dupin. Dupin’s tales were a source of inspiration for Sir Arthur Conan Doyle who asked, “Where was the detective story until Poe breathed the breath of life into it?” We’ve crafted the story of EDGAR with all of this in mind, so much of the game will revolve around Poe locating clues, each one bringing him closer to unraveling the mysteries of his wife’s disappearance. Yes, we have already stated that Jack the Ripper is the villain of this tale, but in a game where a brooding 19th Century poet can run around in silky pink pajamas while wielding a foam finger, I caution every player to expect the unexpected.

Victorian literature will also have many direct references throughout the game. We aren’t ready to go into too much detail just yet, but we will say that one character who will be stepping off the pages and into our game, is Dracula, from Brom Stoker’s 1897 novel. As Poe continue’s through his dark journey, he will encounter numerous characters familiar to the player (or English majors at least), some friendly, some not so much. Each cameo will serve as a glimpse into the expansive literary world that awaits those who may have always meant to read some of the classic novels but never got around to it.

If all of this sounds ambitious, then great! We have big plans for EDGAR. If all of this sounds like gibberish, then you may have aphasia.

We hope you enjoyed discovering a little more about our game, and as always, we’d love to hear your questions and comments, either right here on the blog, or Twitter @EdgarAllanPwnd.