The average virtual theater company can’t afford the rights to perform the latest Broadway hits, so they often rely on the tried-and-true (and public domain) classics like Shakespare to bring the performing arts to the digital realm. For The Firebird Theatre inFinal Fantasy 14, their latest performance was from the works of Arthur Conan Doyle–the mysteries of Sherlock Holmes.
The performances ofA Scandal in Aldenard, an adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes mysteryA Scandal in Bohemiafor the world ofFinal Fantasy 14, ran through the end of May on the Faerie server. During the last week of performances, Game Rant sat down with Stanzek Rosyasch, the actor for Watson, Holmes’ faithful assistant, about the ways the adaptation brought the often wallflower-y character to life.
Breathing Life into the Audience Stand-In
In the classical renditions of Holmes stories, Watson is typically quiet, taking notes, and providing the story’s framing narrative. He follows Sherlock around, always observant and always recording, like a Victorian camera crew. As the years went on and the classical Holmesian canon was reinterpreted in different forms, Watson largely remained the audience surrogate, clinging on as a “ride or die” friend for Sherlock, Rosyasch explained.
“Watson absolutely serves as an audience stand-in. As an example, when the AMP reveals his true identity of Hroderic Thorne, no one in the audience will know who that is. However, Watson knows who that is and is suddenly quite nervous about the potential situation. In that moment, he’s a guide to the audience, saying “You should care about who this person is. This is a big deal.”
Watson also has an ability to ground stories that can often get swept up in their larger-than-life characters. With people like Sherlock Holmes or Irene Adler running around, having someone who is essentially anordinary ex-military doctorin the mix gives a relatable emotional center for the audience to connect with.
Watson Knows One Thing Better Than Holmes
Rosyasch’sWatson also puts Sherlock in needed contextlike many memorable iterations of the character. Where Holmes goes around monologuing in his traditional style, a reaction added into the script for Rosyasch gives Watson the role of emotionally anchoring the Holmes antics. Similarly, the script Rosyasch used gave him a larger part in scenes where Watson simply acted as that Victorian camera crew, passively retelling Holmes’ adventure. This helped to create a Watson character more fit for stage than page, as it were. Watson also adds some great moments of comedy to the story simply by being the most grounded and relatable character in a script of literary titans, Rosyasch explained.
During scene 6, he witnesses his friend get into what equates to a fist fight with two street thugs. It all goes according to plan, of course–this is Holmes we are talking about. After this, during a small interlude, Watson is alone while the lights dim and rise to signify the passage of time. When he believes no one is watching, he does what every young boy has done after they saw an amazing fight scene in their favorite show or movie: he pretends he’s fighting the thugs and starts shadowboxing with no one. Naturally, that’s when Holmes shows up to startle Watson and elicit some laughs from the audience!
The story told inA Scandal in Aldenardstarts with Watson having a successful, and busy, medical practice. Viewers are introduced to an overworked doctor who still finds time to write books about his adventures with his friend Sherlock. Holmes, true to form, finds Watson’s recounting of events to be overly emotional, burying his cool logic with pathos. Watson makes a statement at this moment about being the audience surrogate. As Rosyasch put it, “Logic is less astounding after-the-fact.” Audiences want the emotional connection.
Despite this, Rosyasch characterizes Watson as a “ride or die friend” who is instantly entranced by the latest mystery, and the game is on. Watson is as mystified by Holmes’ abilities as the audience, but in contrast to Holmes, he understands what makes a good story and what makes a good case are two different things.
There are a lot of adaptations of the stories of Sherlock Holmes. Thisperformance isn’t even the only one inFinal Fantasy 14, as the main game’s Hildibrand questline draws from the rich well of comedic adaptations of literature’s greatest detective. While less a direct parody thanHerlock Sholmes from some games, Hildibrand Manderville certainly evokes some of the iconography of Sherlock Holmes in a more slapstick and silly setting that tackles issues with sometimes surprising narrative weight.
Final Fantasy 14 (2010)
WHERE TO PLAY
Begin your adventure in FINAL FANTASY XIV: A Realm RebornCreate your very own Warrior of Light and embark upon a quest to deliver the land from an eternity of Darkness.Take to the skies in FINAL FANTASY XIV: HeavenswardTake your first steps in the reclusive nation of Ishgard, locked in a seemingly never-ending struggle with dragons.Rekindle the fires of hope in FINAL FANTASY XIV: StormbloodJourney to the East and rise up against the might of the Garlean Empire.Become the darkness in FINAL FANTASY XIV: ShadowbringersTravel to a world where light ushers all unto oblivion. But hope is not yet lost, for where there is light there is shadow.Journey to the very stars above in FINAL FANTASY XIV: EndwalkerA great calamity has been building - a second advent of the Final Days. The Warrior of Light must journey ever higher and stand firm as hope’s last bastion.Set forth for new horizons in FINAL FANTASY XIV: DawntrailBlue seas, clear skies, and boundless possibilities await! Explore uncharted territories with familiar faces as hope’s light dawns once more.
