and the Cootie Catcher
Story
Storyboards
For a visual walkthrough of the story using reference images, visit the individual storyboard pages by clicking below.
Story Overview
The full story consists of seven basic parts and unfolds chronologically as follows:
Princess Backstory
Opening Cutscenes
Castle History
Wizard's Tower
Tower Doors
Prince Charming
Closing Cutscenes
Player Backstory
The Player is introduced in the Opening Cutscenes. Her backstory is superfluous to game play but fits nicely in addition to the other cutscenes. She has run away from home, specifically from her overprotective father, in search of adventure and independence. This unfolds to the Player as a proclamation is read in the town square and we see her sneak away, out of town, along a sunny dirt road.
Opening Cutscenes
The Player passes several faux-adventures enroute to the castle. Signs enlisting a "Pig Bather", "Snake Venom Extractor" and a "Tar and Feather Volunteer" are all passed. "Prince Charming, this way" however, gets her attention; even though it is covered in vines.
The sign leads to a gate with a "Do Not Enter" sign. This is followed by a "Danger" sign and a "Keep Out" sign. Regardless, the Player proceeds. Inside the gate, the grounds populate with structures in disrepair: a tool shed, a barn, toppled sculptures, and forgotten tools.
Finally she comes to a stone wall of what appears to be the main house. When she finds an open window, she climbs inside and lands on a dirt floor far below which appears to be a pantry. She explores an old kitchen which leads her to the threshold of an enormous castle.
The Castle History
At the threshold, the cutscenes end and the Player gains control of the Player Controller. Across the threshold, a banner unfolds and asks the Player to be certain they want to continue. The words on the banner are read by a Narrator.
Here the Player is left to explore the castle. As she explores, she will find animated messages read by the narrator that tell the Castle's History. She must find each 'stanza' of the castle's history in a particular order to unlock the next part of the castle.
The "Castle History" portion of the game is peppered with 2D and 3D animations. Some animations will play like a ghostly apparition and others, like a modern day projector. Props will at times, turn back time to their original state and some will animate. For example a candle might flicker-on to illuminate a writing desk and an unfinished letter.
The Wizard's Tower
The The Wizard's Tower is where we meet the hero's companion, a little mouse who has previously popped up in the telling of the Castle History but seemed insignificant. The mouse leads the Player into the Tower which has been labeled offlimits.
Prince Charming
Along the stairs to the top of the Tower, the Player and the mouse come to several locked doors. The doors are opened by playing a 'Cootie Catcher': a magical puzzle left by a wizard many years before. Little does the hero know that her answers to the Cootie Catchers are actually designing the Prince waiting for her at the top of the stairs.
The Final Door
The Final Door is where the Player finds her Prince. She has one last puzzle to play to unlock the cell door leading to the Prince where she is given the choice to run away and live happily ever after or to "Play Again".
The Closing Cutscenes
The closing cutscene is one of two options, depending on whether the Player chooses to run away with the Prince or not. If she sees him as the "Perfect Prince" then a short, cutesy clip plays of the two embracing each other. If she decides to "Play Again" then the deflated Prince is sent back to his cell and the game restarts.
