Once upon a time, in a story written not too long ago, there was a princess named Lulu. As in fairy tales, her parents - the king and queen - were beautiful, young, and kind. They lived in a dream castle in a faraway land, but sadly, Lulu had no sisters, brothers, or friends to play with. Until one day, her solitude (and the genre) is shattered by the crash landing of a flying saucer. Mn�mo, the robot pilot, recuperates at the castle, and before long he and Lulu set off on a great voyage. Separated in the Sahara and reunited at the North Pole, Lulu eventually returns to her book and Mn�mo to his planet - both enriched by their encounters. This, in short, is the plot of one of the most captivating CD-ROMs I've ever seen, Le Livre de Lulu.
Romain Victor-Pujebet's story is in the original French (an English translation narrated by Laurie Anderson is due out late this year). By CD-ROM storybook standards it's long, with more than 100 pages, but what sets it apart is its quality. The pages, made of a creamy rich paper, rustle voluptuously as you turn them. The evocative music and the laid-back drowsiness of the author's narration help create a mesmerizing atmosphere, and the creator, Dada M�dia, has mixed video footage, 3-D ray-traced animation, and painted scenery to produce a stunning, jewel-like presentation. The book comes to life in all kinds of ways. Click on an illustration, a paragraph, or a vignette and anything may happen: the story might jump a few pages through an animated sequence, there might be a game to play, the characters might speak or dance - the CD-ROM follows no rules or predictable conventions. At one stage, Mn�mo leaves the confines of the book to turn the pages himself. Lulu's originality and attention to detail is astounding: even the mouse pointer changes page by page from a spinning ball to a fluttering butterfly to a flaming torch - each beautifully colored and animated.
It's sensual, clever, and poignant, with echoes of Antoine de Saint- Exup�ry's The Little Prince, and though aimed at children aged 5 or older, there's enough allegory here to keep a room full of French intellectuals happily arguing for hours.
Le Livre de Lulu, Mac and PC hybrid CD-ROM in French: FF499. Flammarion Multim�dia: +33 (1) 40 51 30 42, fax +33 (1) 43 29 21 48. English version available in late 1996 for US$39.95. Organa:+1 (212) 233 5161, fax +1 (212) 233 5160, email info@organa.com, on the Web at www.organa.com/.
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