Here’s a recommendation for a “Crowning Moment of Heartwarming”/”Crowning Moment of Awesome” and “Tear Jerker:” Marcus’s Poem, the final reward of the Demon Door questline.
The Demon Door quest line isn’t particularly harrowing, but some of the imagery of the worlds behind the doors is particularly terrifying. Among them are a picturesque snow scene that transforms suddenly into a dilapidated shack with strewn skeletons and various torture implements as you enter the front door, an area that was once a sea that is now a complete desert with broken galleons submerged in sand, and don’t get me started on Terry Cotter’s house. Finally, after opening eight doors the ninth and final opens… and reveals one of the most unexpected surprises in the game.
The world within is a tranquil slope adorned with overhanging trees and bushy ferns. The main title’s sequence music plays and there is a sort of calm serenity foreign to even the most striking eye candy up to this point. Even more striking is that this is one of the only places in the game where no weapon can be drawn and no magic can be cast. The rewards behind the door are simple and rather anticlimactic compared to really powerful weapons available elsewhere: just a chest with 50,000 gold (which isn’t that much at the very end of the game), and a single book placed on a pedestal: Marcus’s Poem.
The poem is full of fantastic imagery: of a figure or force that has “dined with kings” “counted all the stars” “done everything that man has dreamed of.” It possesses romantic themes typical for fantasy fare, set in flowery language. Some have expressed disappointed by this reward: it serves no real purpose and seems to have no real connection to the game. Then you get down to the name: Marcus Pete Robert Welfare. He was a tester/developer for Lionhead Studios, working on Fable: The Lost Ages and Black and White 2. In 2006, Marcus died when he drowned in the sea off Dorset, making the final area a truly striking tribute to him, as this final area is the closest thing this game has to paradise.
Here’s a recommendation for a “Crowning Moment of Heartwarming”/”Crowning Moment of Awesome” and “Tear Jerker:” Marcus’s Poem, the final reward of the Demon Door questline.
The Demon Door quest line isn’t particularly harrowing, but some of the imagery of the worlds behind the doors is particularly terrifying. Among them are a picturesque snow scene that transforms suddenly into a dilapidated shack with strewn skeletons and various torture implements as you enter the front door, an area that was once a sea that is now a complete desert with broken galleons submerged in sand, and don’t get me started on Terry Cotter’s house. Finally, after opening eight doors the ninth and final opens… and reveals one of the most unexpected surprises in the game.
The world within is a tranquil slope adorned with overhanging trees and bushy ferns. The main title’s sequence music plays and there is a sort of calm serenity foreign to even the most striking eye candy up to this point. Even more striking is that this is one of the only places in the game where no weapon can be drawn and no magic can be cast. The rewards behind the door are simple and rather anticlimactic compared to really powerful weapons available elsewhere: just a chest with 50,000 gold (which isn’t that much at the very end of the game), and a single book placed on a pedestal: Marcus’s Poem.
The poem is full of fantastic imagery: of a figure or force that has “dined with kings” “counted all the stars” “done everything that man has dreamed of.” It possesses romantic themes typical for fantasy fare, set in flowery language. Some have expressed disappointed by this reward: it serves no real purpose and seems to have no real connection to the game. Then you get down to the name: Marcus Pete Robert Welfare. He was a tester/developer for Lionhead Studios, working on Fable: The Lost Ages and Black and White 2. In 2006, Marcus died when he drowned in the sea off Dorset, making the final area a truly striking tribute to him, as this final area is the closest thing this game has to paradise.
This troper couldn’t hold back the tears.
Sources: http://fable.wikia.com/wiki/Marcus%27s_Poem
http://lionhead.com/forums/t/273017.aspx
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/dorset/4999072.stm