Why make a game out of The Count of Monte Cristo? Part One

I am now embarking on a research journey to adapt Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo to a digital game under the steady guiding hand of The Education Arcade's Creative Director, Scot Osterweil. When Scot and I first discussed possible topics for a directed research project that I would undertake over the course of this academic year, I immediately thought of this idea, which had been floating around in my head for the past year. Monte Cristo is an incredibly rich and fascinating story full of adventure, mystery, and revenge. It has been my favorite novel since childhood, which adds a very personal dimension, and it is also one of Dumas’ longest and most complex works.

Of course, this is a very ambitious program and my research will undoubtably narrow, focus, and refocus over the course of the next year (or perhaps two should this become my thesis topic). Who knows where this journey will take me? Already I am uncovering a wealth of questions and possible game designs. At the moment, my primary research questions for this project are (1) games and their relationship to narrative / narrativity, (2) adaptation of novels to games, and perhaps most importantly (3) how games affect the way people think about complicated social justice issues such as law, morality, revenge, justice, and injustice.

Where does one begin with such a large endeavor? Well, Scot suggested that I first consider the question "Why The Count of Monte Cristo?", encouraging me to think deeply about what it is about this story that so appeals to me. This will be a two-part blog post. In Part One, I will explore why I like this story and why I think this story is compelling. In Part Two, I will reflect on why I believe this novel should be made into a digital game.

Why did I choose Monte Cristo? When I first considered this question, I was apprehensive that perhaps I had chosen this novel for wholly personal and arbitrary reasons; however, on further reflection I believe that, while I may have a personal affection for this novel, perhaps I have been drawn to it, not arbitrarily as I had feared, but for the many excellent attributes I will now outline.

Ultimately, Monte Cristo is a morality tale. It is a swash-buckling, adventurous, pirate / bandit story that is, at its core, a story about right and wrong. Monte Cristo depicts a particular system of law and justice, that may or may not be an accurate portrayal of early 19th century France, in which the protagonist, Edmond Dantès who later becomes The Count of Monte Cristo, is thrown unjustly into the prison Château d’If by deputy procureur Gérard de Villefort. Monte Cristo makes the reader wonder: What is right? What is wrong? What is justice? Conversely, what is injustice? What is corruption? How do we know when we have experienced injustice? How does a society construct a system of justice and for what purpose? Do justice systems fail as a whole because of their inherent human weakness? How is one form of justice (Dantès' justice-revenge) justified and not another (Villefort's selfish-justice)? What does Monte Cristo say about 19th century France’s attitudes about the prison industrial complex?

Monte Cristo is also an exploration of less savory human emotions and behaviors such as greed, jealousy, and cheating. As can be expected, the reader sees the antagonists (Fernand Mondego, Baron Danglers, and Gérard de Villefort) displaying these emotions and behaviors, but Monte Cristo extends this to the “hero” Dantès and his wealth of underworld accomplices. Complicating the issue further, why is one form of cheating (Dantès' wealth is not achieved through his own hard work, though one could argue that escaping from Château d'If is achievement enough) acceptable and not another (Villefort, Mondego, and Danglers achieving success at Dantès' expense)?

It is a story about intense individualism and individual rights: the right to justice, love, and freedom. Dantès asserts himself as an individual and his right to shape the world to his liking. Monte Cristo also deals with core issues of identity. Early on Dantès assumes the identity of the Count, and he continues to assume additional identities during the course of his revenge. Monte Cristo suggests that identity is mutable and socially constructed and thus it is something individuals are free to change. But how far does the right of the individual extend? Is it within Dantès' rights to seek revenge? What is the delicate balance between the rights of the individual and those of the community? Can society hold an individual responsible for maintaining a constant identity? Does society have the power to assign and fix identity?

It is a story of being able to overcome incredible odds and obstacles. It feeds into the idea that a person can achieve all of their dreams and goals through hard work and education. Monte Cristo is the ultimate revenge of the underdog: Edmond Dantès is the champion of the bullied and weak. What types of power systems create bullying and oppression? What stake does the establishment have in these systems? Can some of Monte Cristo’s success in America be attributed to the similarity between Dantès’ rise to wealth and social position and the myth of the “American Dream”?

Monte Cristo is also a story about a tragic, suffering, and somewhat self-sacrificing individual. It is possible to read Dantès as a crusader, superhero archetype, in which he believes himself to be above a system of corrupt laws. It may be worthwhile to explore the similarities between Monte Cristo and superhero comics. But then who watches the watchmen? Who has the right to supercede the law?

I am also interested in Monte Cristo because it is an atypical revenge story. Dantès avoids direct, violent confrontations in favor of a more pacifist, intellectual, and strategic approach, in which he brings his enemies to ruin by allowing their own personal faults to undo them. Though, this is not to contradict its fast-paced adventure narrative. What is the impact of having a less direct action-oriented story? How would the story change if it were more typically masculine? Is there room for a feminist or queer reading of Monte Cristo in light of this and the earlier discussion of identity?

Hopefully, I have been able to clearly articulate some of the key reasons for why The Count of Monte Cristo is an excellent novel, full of compelling themes, ripe for adaptation. In Part Two, I will dive into why Monte Cristo would be excellent in the format of a game in particular, as opposed to the many film, play, and TV adaptations that have already been done.