Literary Bible Game Over


Game Over is a silent series. The primary characters are the Little Barbarian (the hero), the princess and the Blorks.

The word “Blork” is a generic term standing for the monsters present in the series. These monsters are stupid rather than evil, grotesque rather than frightening, even though their objective is to prevent the Little Barbarian from reaching his goal.

The different characters evolve in a world of video games. The Little Barbarian’s quest is a dual one: find a way out, save the princess, or both. In both cases he will fail. The elimination of the Little Barbarian or of the princess signifies the end of the game and therefore, the end of the gag. Their adventures are therefore an eternal fresh start between the hero’s quest and his elimination. Onomatopoeia is permitted, but will be “internationalised” if necessary. The action always unfolds in a fairy-tale space; to the greatest extent possible, temporal and geographical landmarks will be avoided. If it is necessary to use a vehicle, it will be either a cart or a futuristic mini-jet, not a Ferrari or a Peugeot.

Along the same lines, the Little Barbarian can use sophisticated weapons or clubs. He must not be plunged into a current setting; he has to remain in a geographically abstract environment, such as a desert, a maze, a tunnel, a ravine, a jungle etc., or in a medieval setting. Therefore no gag staging the Eiffel Tower or the Statue of Liberty. No gag in a metro, either, or in any setting that makes it possible to identify the place and the era. The end of the gag is always punctuated by the text “Game Over” drawn in a different way each time, in relation to the gag. Avoid gags that are too simplistic. We stopped counting how many times we got the gag of the Little Barbarian throwing a boomerang on a Blork, missing the target and it comes back to knock out the Little Barbarian. Same goes for the Little Barbarian that walks on a trapped slab which starts an infernal death-trap.

Do not hesitate to immerse yourself in the examples below