Wilde, incest, and the Bible: Tale of Tales announce Fatale

12:20 PM on 06.25.2009   |   Joseph Leray

9 comments

This is how Tale of Tales (The Path, The Graveyard) creators Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn describe their new game, Fatale, which is based on the biblical story of Salomé:

We're interested in the idea of a love story that ends in death, but we also want to include other elements of the tale. The fact, for instance, that Salomé may have been just an insecure girl who was manipulated by her mother, Queen Herodias - who then ends up becoming the real "femme fatale." We're also very sensitive to the political tension that underlies the tale: a Middle Eastern country -- Judea -- occupied by Westerners -- Romans -- at a time of religious unrest --- the birth of Christianity. And this girl, Salomé, just has the head chopped off of one of the most important figures of the time. On a whim, apparently, or for unrequited love, changing the course of history.

That's a hell of a pitch for a game, don't you think?

Here's a little background, paraphrased from the Book of Matthew and Wikipedia: Herod Antipas, king of Gallilee, is married to his brother's ex-wife, Herodias, who has a daughter, Salomé. John the Baptist denounces the marriage, pissing Herodias off in the process. So, Herodias manipulates her hot daughter into "dancing" for her husband, who is so enamored that he promises her anything in the world. Naturally, she requests the head of John the Baptist, preferably without the rest of him.

There's an artsy fartsy twist, though: Tale of Tales' Fatale will be based on an Oscar Wilde play (Salomé), which is itself based on the biblical legend. Wilde's version is a touch different: Salomé ends up (ahem) kissing the severed head of Lil' Jon the Baptist. Fatale will be released on October 5th, the 78th anniversary of the play's first English performance.

It sounds like an ambitious project and I can certainly appreciate the nod to Wilde, but I'm a little wary: our Ahmadinejad-look-alike in residence didn't have many nice things to say about either The Path or The Graveyard, and I can't imagine that Tale of Tales' newest undertaking will be much different.

[Via Offworld; image is Aubrey Beardsley's Salomé]