Software:Méwilo

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Méwilo
Méwilo cover.png
Developer(s)Coktel Vision
Publisher(s)Coktel Vision
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

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

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

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

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

  • Jeux & Stratégie #49[25]

Awards and nominations

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

See also

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

References

  1. ↑ "Game Mag 02". 1987. https://archive.org/details/game-mag-02acme/page/n11/mode/2up?q=Mewilo. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Salvador, Phil (2018-03-05). "Muriel Tramis speaks about her career and the memory of Martinique" (in en-US). https://obscuritory.com/essay/muriel-tramis-interview/. 
  3. ↑ (in german) Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (January 1988). January 1988. http://archive.org/details/asm_magazine-1988-01. 
  4. ↑ Aktueller Software Markt - Ausgabe 1988/09. http://archive.org/details/Aktueller_Software_Markt_-_Ausgabe_1988.09. 
  5. ↑ Tronic-Verlag (2020-11-22). ASM.N24.1988.09 [+400dpi]. http://archive.org/details/ASM.N24.1988.09. 
  6. ↑ Secret Service 11 12 2014. http://archive.org/details/secret-service-11-12-2014. 
  7. ↑ Baker, Chris. "How 'French Touch' Gave Early Videogames Art, Brains" (in en-US). Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. https://www.wired.com/2010/06/french-touch-games/. Retrieved 2022-08-19. 
  8. ↑ Wolf, Mark J. P. (2015-05-01) (in en). Video Games Around the World. MIT Press. ISBN 978-0-262-52716-3. https://books.google.com/books?id=pZb5CAAAQBAJ&dq=M%C3%A9wilo&pg=PA182. 
  9. ↑ (in French) Commodore Revue Magazine (French) Issue 03. http://archive.org/details/commodore-revue-03. 
  10. ↑ Sipress (1988-12-21). Joystick Hebdo 07. http://archive.org/details/JoystickHebdo07. 
  11. ↑ ulule. "MEWILO and the secret of the jar of gold" (in en). https://www.ulule.com/mewilo/. 
  12. ↑ "Mewilo 30th anniversary". 2018-06-09. http://mewilo30th.com/ENG-index.php. 
  13. ↑ Verlag Rätz-Eberle (September 1988). Atari Magazin 88/09. http://archive.org/details/Atari-Magazin-88-09. 
  14. ↑ DMV Daten und Medien Verlagsges. (November 1988). Joystick (Deutsch) 1988-11-12. http://archive.org/details/joystick-de-1988-11-12. 
  15. ↑ DMV Daten und Medien Verlag Widuch (February 1989). Joystick (Deutsch) 1989-02. http://archive.org/details/joystick-de-1989-02. 
  16. ↑ (in german) Aktueller Software Markt (ASM) Magazine (May 1988). May 1988. http://archive.org/details/asm_magazine-1988-05. 
  17. ↑ TRONIC-Verlag (2020-06-13). ASM.N18.1988.01 [+300dpi]. http://archive.org/details/ASM.N18.1988.01. 
  18. ↑ Tronic-Verlag (2020-11-22). ASM.N22 1988.05 [+400dpi]. http://archive.org/details/ASM.N22.1988.05. 
  19. ↑ (in French) Amstar Magazine (French) Issue 24. http://archive.org/details/amstar-magazine-24. 
  20. ↑ AMSTAR. http://archive.org/details/AMSTAR. 
  21. ↑ Laser Presse (February 1988). Am-Mag 31. http://archive.org/details/AmstradMag31. 
  22. ↑ "Mewilo : Hall Of Light - The database of Amiga games". http://hol.abime.net/4767/review. 
  23. ↑ NewsEdition (July 1988). A-News 004. http://archive.org/details/amiganews-004. 
  24. ↑ Editions Mondiales S.A. (February 1988). Tilt 051. http://archive.org/details/Tilt051. 
  25. ↑ "Jeux & stratégie 49". February 1988. https://archive.org/details/jeux-et-strategie-49/page/n81/mode/2up. 
  26. ↑ Joker Verlag, Haar (1992-12-23). PC Joker January 1993. http://archive.org/details/pcjokerjanuar1993images. 



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