GODHEAD Rating: T
latforms: PC, Mac, Switch
Target Audience: Teen to Young Adult
Genre: Point and Click Adventure
Mechanics: Inventory management, health management, basic combat, puzzle solving, social interaction/roleplay
This game will be based off of two specific myths, merging them to create a more well-rounded experience, as they fill the gaps of one another.
Though many refrain from referring to the Bible as a book of myth, it most certainly is, and it is surprisingly underrepresented in gaming media. One of the most important books in the Bible regarding Christian mythology is the final book, the book of Revelation. This book details the end of the world as it is believed to happen by a man named John who was exiled to a Roman penal colony on the island of Patmos due to his Christianity. He is sometimes believed to be John the Apostle, though it is never specified within the text.
Because John was alive in the early first century (Revelation is estimated to have been written in the 90s—that is, the 0090s), he is considered Catholic, as Catholicism was the only Christian denomination for a good couple of centuries (catholic literally means "all-embracing" or universal). Catholicism is a bit stricter in terms of belief and action than some other denominations—I know this personally, as I went to Catholic school for 11 years! The Nicene Creed details the specific beliefs and values that all Catholics are meant to hold and abide by. One of the main differences between the Catholic church and other denominations, besides association with the Pope and the Vatican, is the Catholic belief that the bread and wine consumed during communion actually becomes the body and blood of Jesus Christ during consecration in a process called transubstantiation. Another is the belief in saints. The belief in saints is not equivalent to worship of the saints. A saint is anyone who is in the Christian Heaven…saints recognized by the Catholic Church are called that because they performed some "confirmed" miracle postmortem, confirming their presence in Heaven. The Virgin Mary is one of the most revered of all of the saints.
The Book of Revelation itself begins with specific messages to certain churches in the time of John of Patmos instructing them on how to be better churches. This is not a part of the myth of Revelation. The rest of the book specifies the end of the world at the hands of Satan and the Anti-Christ. It is a lot to explain here—I'd probably write about ten pages about it—so here is a two part video summarizing Revelation that is pretty accurate and only about a 20 minute watch in total:
The myth of the rabbit in the moon is found in many eastern cultures and even some Native American ones, but I will be focusing on the story of the Rabbit and the Moon, a myth of the Native American Cree tribe. The Cree tribe is a large First Nations tribe located primarily in Canada, occupying "territory in the Subarctic region from Alberta to Quebec, as well as portions of the Plains region in Alberta and Saskatchewan," according to the Canadian Encyclopedia. The word "Cree" is typically only used in English, as the Cree have their own names for themselves in their own languages, including nehiyawak, nihithaw, nehinaw and ininiw. There are multiple different subsects of Cree: "Plains Cree (paskwâwiyiniwak or nehiyawak) in Alberta and Saskatchewan, Woods Cree (sakâwiyiniwak) in Saskatchewan and Manitoba, Swampy Cree (maskêkowiyiniwak) in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Ontario, and James Bay/Eastern Cree (Eeyouch) in Québec; Moose Cree (in Ontario) is considered a sub-group/dialect of Swampy Cree," (Canadian Encyclopedia). The Cree language is a type of Algonquian language, but different types of Cree have different dialects that are sometimes more similar to other Algonquian languages.
Pre-colonization, the Cree were a nomadic people that followed the migration routes of their quarries. They lived in small hunting groups that gathered together in the summertime for socialization, trade, and ceremonies. Cree spirituality values the connection between man and nature, and the connection between nature spirits and dreams. One of the most notable types of spirits/mythological characters is the Trickster archetype, a common archetype in many different First Nations/Native American cultures. The Trickster is "a cultural and spiritual figure that exhibits great intellect, but uses it to cause mischief and get into trouble. The Cree believe one can learn important lessons about how to live — and not to live — good lives from the examples set by the tricksters," (Canadian Encyclopedia).
I was unable to figure out precisely which Cree subtype the story of the Rabbit and the Moon came from; it is possible that the myth is shared among many of them.
According to the children's book Rabbit and the Moon by Douglas Wood, an adaptation of the myth, a small rabbit gains the desire to go to the moon so that he can ride it and see the Earth from far above. He goes to the edge of the world to catch the moon, but can't, so he goes to the highest mountain, but still can't. He tries to get many different birds to help him fly there, but none agree to take him to the moon except for Crane, the one bird he forgot to ask. Crane carries Rabbit to the moon, but the weight of Rabbit stretches out his legs, making them much longer. Rabbit's paws bleed from holding onto Crane's legs, and when he touches Crane's head to thank him, he turns his head red; that is the explanation for why all red-crowned cranes have red heads. This myth notably branches out from the typical Trickster character of the Rabbit.
The setting will be the breadth of modern America, focusing on the modern culture of American Catholicism and modern interpretations of the myth of Revelation. I feel like this is justified, because the culture surrounding the myth still exists—it's just evolved from the early first century. The main characters have to go from North Carolina to the coast of California across a biblically apocalyptic America in order to reach their goal.
The beginning of the apocalypse begins when God is decapitated, causing His head to crash like a meteor off the coast of California. After God is decapitated, all of the angels fall to Earth to act out the Book of Revelation and try to bring God back to life.
The myth of the Rabbit and the Crane is much less apparent, but still represented through the characters of Jackrabbit and Crane as they venture to the Godhead, which is the moon. The transformation of the Angel to Crane because Jackrabbit teaches them how to be human symbolizes the transformation the Crane goes through by taking the Rabbit to the moon.
The modern setting makes the rather complex story of Revelation more comprehensible to modern players, preventing the total alienation some might feel from a game set in a different time period AND covering such a complex myth.