“Mundaun” is a game created from scribbles in an artist's notebook. The game's graphics were penciled by Swiss Michel Ziegler. The result is a comic book aesthetic and represents a new step in the historical relationship between comic books and games.
When the video game debuted on arcade machines, comic books were passing through the Bronze Age, marked by more adult themes.
The adaptation of characters from magazines to cartridges was natural and the evolution of graphics strengthened the ties between games and comics, with one language influencing the aesthetics of the other. They went from 2D to 3D, reaching realism.
Meanwhile, independent authors publish franchise-based sequels, movies, and products.
In this context, “Mundaun” appears. The game is from Hidden Fields studio, and the developer only has Ziegler as an employee.
The plot retains the alternate comic tone. Silent, he creates an atmosphere of fear, as he tells the story of a boy who investigates a pact his grandfather made with the devil to save himself from an ambush in the war. In the opposite direction to the frenetic action typical of the most commercial games, with paper, pencil and eraser, “Mundaun” shows that all expressive possibilities are open.
Translated by Kiratiana Freelon