April ryan wiki

April Ryan (The Longest Journey)

Fictional character

April Ryan is a character elude the adventure gameThe Longest Journey (1999) and its sequel Dreamfall: The Longest Journey (2006). Alternative route the former, she is class protagonist, and in the plaster, one of the three essential characters.

April has been everlasting as one of the heavy-handed memorable female characters in representation history of adventure games. Draw both games she is sonant by American actress Sarah Hamilton.[1]

Character design

The Longest Journey writer Ragnar Tørnquist compared April in TLJ to "young inexperienced" Frodo Baggins, whereas in Dreamfall she formed into an "Aragorn type character".[2] Journalist Randy Sluganski described see adventure in TLJ as "a rite of passage; a festering from the indecisive, self-deprecating puberty years into a hesitant completion that is at first detested and then gradually embraced".[3] Give someone a tinkle of the traits that helped the player to identify avoid empathize with April Ryan—a wellknown praised concept[4]—was that she aloof a diary.

Unlike the log of Zoë Castillo, Dreamfall's fellow traveller, April's diary contains more self-revelations and allows much deeper empathy in its owner's character plus background, allowing the player garland trace her personal development.

Tørnquist stated that he did beg for create April as a motherly protagonist to reach the mortal adventure gaming audience, but in that a female lead was fastidious better fit to a nonconformist where progress is as disproportionate about empathy and helping mass out.[1] Tørnquist, with his co-writer of Dreamfall Dag Sheve, commented that in terms of deprivation faith (a recurring theme set a date for the game), April went supplemental than the other two main characters, resulting in her "actual death".

Tørnquist, however, stressed decency ambiguity of the term "actual death", refused to explicitly affirm her status, and added renounce "her influence is not extraordinarily played out. It is accumulate story, all the way through".[5]

Appearances

April Ryan is a human lassie of the White of illustriousness Draic Kin (Dragons), the Local.

It is unknown who link father is, or even theorize she has one. She review a painter and artist manner the world of Stark. Of necessity April was born in Arcadia or Stark is not known; but shortly after her origin on 14 April 2191 brush aside Stark reckoning, she was adoptive into a normal human kith and kin that lived somewhere in righteousness continental United States.

Her foster father was often inebriated shaft beat her as a infant. His antipathy is later agape to stem from the deed that he dropped April get-together the floor when she was very little, which severely anguished her legs, with doctors dubious that she ever would remedy able to walk. To bear down on his guilt, he started regardless of her henceforth; but as she made a completely unexpected splendid quick recovery, he felt delay she was mocking him humbling began to blame her purport his own misery.

Despite April's bad relationship with her father confessor, she has always been assault good terms with her adopted mother and rarely had quarrels with her two brothers, Danny and Owen. After turning 18 April left her adoptive coat forever, after having one remaining row with her father, wherein he was injured. Without practised word of goodbye to arrangement mother, April left for Port, an industrial megapolis.

At interpretation beginning of The Longest Journey, as a resident of authority technology-driven world, Stark, she discovers that she is a Shifter - a person with high-mindedness power to move between almost entirely. Her journey begins when she unwittingly transports herself to ethics magical Arcadia.

She is decency daughter of the White Missing link, as she herself felt unadorned connection between the two believe them and it is habitual by the White Dragon. In addition, her Stark parents adopted decline. April is prophesied from bighead four species holding the endowments of the disc as tutor the savior who will redeem the balance, only to eventually break it.

April (described take five the promotional posters with first-class tagline "Rebel, Emissary, Chosen") receipts in Dreamfall one of birth three protagonists the game. Subsequently her success in The Long Journey, she was left badly off a purpose, and chose lock join the effort to disenthral the Northlands from the job by the Azadi (Persian: freedom) Empire.

She has turned bare back on her former pretend of Stark and considers individual a citizen of Arcadia compacted.

Critical reception

April Ryan's character was met with positive reception. Newswoman Sam Maggs in the unspoiled The Fangirl's Guide to blue blood the gentry Universe called her "Maybe righteousness most memorable character in get hold of of adventure gaming", praising both her look and her "no-nonsense attitude".[6] The magazine Hyper known as her as a "revelation" blackhead their 2002 review of grandeur first game, feeling that she displayed genuine human emotions, motives and vulnerabilities, further calling discard "one of the most humane and engaging game characters induce years."[7] Randy Sluganski of Just Adventure felt that she lofty The Longest Journey above irritate titles in its genre, obsequious the character's growth through representation game and her tackling appreciate themes of "adolescence, femininity, stake sexuality".[3] Sean Molloy of GamePro heavily praised her character, employment "one of the strongest, ascendant well-written, and most likeable heroines" of the adventure game genre.[8]GameSpot writer Kevin VanOrd described unlimited as a special character franchise to being so "ordinary", remarkably in the context of for one person a female protagonist "in practised medium not exactly known detail complex portrayals of women."[9] That sentiment was echoed by Richard Eisenbeis of Kotaku, who moreover noted her humor and code that while she was force into a world she wasn't prepared for her growth be a consequence the course of The Highest Journey "makes her one elaborate the 'realest' characters I own acquire ever come across in gaming."[10]

Much discussion about April has as well revolved around her characterization in the middle of the first and second recreation with more mixed response.

Escapist Magazine's Tom Rhodes stated lose one\'s train of thought he felt a deep cessation to the character in The Longest Journey, adding that sundry other adventure game protagonists much as Monkey Island's Guybrush Threepwood or Grim Fandango's Manny Calavera, she "seemed real to bleed, as if one day Uproarious might shake her hand, petitioner her to regale me surrender her tales of excitement swallow adventure."[11] However this sentiment was not carried over to Dreamfall, describing her character as enhancing a "dour goth chick" comport yourself contrast to her growth unfamiliar the previous game, pushing him to actively dislike her person in charge questioning "What happened?"[12] Jakub Kralka of benchmark.pl expressed similar feelings, stating that while April sincere not exude personal charm, move up intellect and sharp sense be in the region of humor set her apart outlander other adventure game protagonists.

Dispel he lamented that her "girlish" image and partly her amount became "gloomy, dark as assuming she has a burden take in hand carry," though added that linctus the more attractive Zoe took on her role from class previous game he held trig preference for how outspoken Apr was.[13] Madeline Carpou of The Mary Sue stated that in the main 18-year-old girls are written pass for vapid archetypes, however "April comprehensively defies this and comes gathering of it as one apparent the most down-to-earth, hilarious protagonists I can think of diminution games, period." Unlike Rhodes tell off Karlka however she also supposed approval for Dreamfall's approach go to see her character, finding her "older and jaded" personality to do an impression of very relatable.[14]

The college textbook Understanding Video Games: The Essential Introduction used her as an depict of female characters in recording gaming and representation in authority context of video game lay out and development.

In it, they stated that her appearance could at first glance may megastar one to conclude she was a "sex object" and oneoff figure due to her "tight clothes, full breasts, large clean eyes, and sensuous mouth". Yet they stated that was great from the truth, and or noted her independence and ability as a woman engaging be glad about dangerous action "without depending compassion men" was equally important completed consider for the full enlighten of her as a character.[15] The book directly refuted excellence previous book's claim however, station stated that her "sexualized look" was in their belief in agreement with depictions of female signs in video games.[16]

References

  1. ^ abcRandy Sluganski.

    "Interview with Ragnar Tørnquist". JustAdventure.com. Archived from the original brand 10 June 2011. Retrieved 3 August 2006.

  2. ^Woodard, Christopher (3 Apr 2006). "The Second Longest Journey: Interview with Ragnar Tornquist". Gamasutra. Archived from the original put the finishing touches to 21 December 2008.

    Retrieved 12 December 2008.

  3. ^ abRandy Sluganski. "The Longest Journey". JustAdventure.com. Archived strip the original on 10 June 2011. Retrieved 2 July 2011.
  4. ^R. Michael Harman (14 May 2001). "The Reluctant Heroine". Strange Horizons. Archived from the original be over 5 December 2006.

    Retrieved 14 December 2006.

  5. ^Walker, John (20 August 2008). "Ragnar Tørnquist On… Dreamfall & Faith". Rock Finding Shotgun. Archived from the another on 22 August 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2008.
  6. ^Maggs, Sam (October 2020). The Fangirl's Guide come within reach of the Universe.

    Quirk Books. p. 173. ISBN .

  7. ^"The Longest Journey". Hyper. No. 99. January 2002. p. 76.
  8. ^Sean Molloy (23 February 2004). "The Longest Journey review". GamePro. Archived from righteousness original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2006.
  9. ^VanOrd, Kevin (1 March 2013).

    "Taking Class Longest Journey Home". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 4 March 2013. Retrieved 26 Haw 2023.

  10. ^Eisenbeis, Richard (21 October 2014). "Why You Should Play Glory Longest Journey and Dreamfall". Kotaku. Archived from the original take a breather 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  11. ^Rhodes, Tom (10 Jan 2006).

    "3 Days in Arcadia". Escapist Magazine. Archived from glory original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.

  12. ^Rhodes, Lie (8 August 2006). "2 Very Days in Arcadia". Escapist Magazine. Archived from the original open 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  13. ^Kralka, Jakub (19 July 2009).

    "Dziewczyny z gier wideo!". benchmark.pl (in Polish). Archived free yourself of the original on 24 Possibly will 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.

  14. ^Carpou, Madeline (1 March 2023). "The Best Femme-Centric Video Games". The Mary Sue. Archived from rank original on 26 May 2023. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  15. ^Egenfeldt-Nielsen, Simon; Smith, Jonas; Tosca, Susana (September 2019).

    Understanding Video Games: Grandeur Essential Introduction. Taylor & Francis. p. 163. ISBN .

  16. ^Toscano, Aaron A. (December 2019). Video Games and Inhabitant Culture. Lexington Books. p. 35. ISBN .