In 2023, for the tenth anniversary of the "Night of the Rabbit" point-and-click video game, Matt Kempke started airing a bi-weekly page-cast [1]
which breaks down chapters of a novel that he is currently writing. The novel, which can be enjoyed without having played the game, serves as both a prequel and a sequel to the story within the game, filling out many details of the world and exploring the mysteries of the titular Rabbit Magician and the order of the Tree Walkers.
The story of the page-cast is based in part on a two-part audio drama that involved the voice cast of the German version of the video game, having aired in 2021 under the titles, "Der Zauberlehrling des Kaninchens" and "Wahre Baumläufer". While the audio dramas are available online through Amazon and other sources, it is German-language only and there are no English translations.
The first book of said page-cast, "The Rabbit's Apprentice", contained ten chapters that aired from July 9th to October 1st of 2023.
A two-part Holiday special, "Winter's Tale", aired December 25th and 31st of 2023.
Book Two, "The Trial of the Rabbit", is planned to air in the early autumn of 2024.
The Tropes of the Rabbit:
- Just Before the End: The story's prologue is set on a dying world populated by intelligent animals, drained of its resources by a collection of massive corporations who have divided up all of its territories amongst themselves. One such Nebulous Evil Organization is run by a greedy bullfrog, the Squamatax, who desperately wants to find a way to travel between worlds so he can find new worlds to plunder.
- Mouse World: The village of Mousewood is revealed to be this, existing on a parallel Earth in which sapient mice and other small animals live in the shadow of humans, even sharing the same trains. Humans seem to be oddly unaware of the existence of these animals as anything unusual, quickly putting them out of mind if they spot one of them. The Marquis and his apprentice shrink magically down to mouse size when visiting them.
- Nom de Guerre: When asked about his real name by his apprentice Maksim, the Marquis de Hoto laughs it off, saying that his title is the only name that he has; while he has tried other names over the years, this is the only one that he feels at home with. In "Winter's Tale" we learn a name that he used when he was a child: Winter.
