K Makes Games

Aurion, legacy of the Kori-Odan by Kiro’o Games studio

Aurion, is an epic action RPG , set in a wonderful African Fantasy world, with a unique, open and dynamic fighting gameplay.

Epic and strategic Real-Time Fighting, Visual evolutive Combos !! 

Gather your Legacy ,merge the Aurions, to create new (21 aurionical transformations can be done !) 

Powerful duels with immersive fighting dialogues. 

Unique scenario & lots of powerful enemies and bosses.

Native to the Northwest Frontier: Interviewing DesertFox on ‘Over The Hills And Far Away’

Set during the oft-forgotten War of 1812, Over The Hills And Far Away is a stunning visual novel rich with an interactive environment and atmospheric soundtrack. This text-based video game will transport you back to America’s early history, dealing with the war within the scope of two very different characters on opposing sides of a larger conflict. What really caught me about this project was Mai (shown above), a young Native American from the Shawnee nation and one of the two main characters featured in the game. The story itself hinges on the developing respect and trust between Mai and William Aubrey, the British soldier seeking refuge in a world falling apart. It’s their story, one of changing perceptions and foregoing stereotypes, that really defines Over The Hills And Far Away as not only an intriguing gameplay experience, but also important to support.

Currently up on Kickstarter, the project has until May 1 to raise its funding goal. I strongly recommend you consider becoming a backer! The team also has a Facebook, Twitter, and website for you to check out in the meantime. Today, I’ll be sharing my interview with DesertFox, the lead developer on this project who was kind enough to answer my enthusiastic questions about the game.

Herald: An Interactive Period Drama About Colonialism

Herald is a two-part interactive period drama for PC, Mac and Linux that plays as a mix between a visual novel and a 3D point and click adventure game. You are Devan Rensburg, a man of mixed heritage, assigned to work as a steward aboard the merchant ship HLV Herald.  

As a steward, you are responsible for the well-being of all passengers on board, be they rich or poor, important or downtrodden. Your job is best done without anybody noticing, so if a conflict should arise, you are well-served to solve it before the captain gets wind of it.  

Which side of morality will you be on? Are you going to stand up for the oppressed, or will you help those in authority abuse their power? Either way, you are responsible for your choices, and you will carry the consequences.

This week Broken Age was released in full. It’s point-and-click adventure video game, where you progress by interacting with characters and use lateral thinking to solve story puzzles. It’s a favourite genre of mine because you get to feel clever as you enjoy a good story that unfolds at your own pace, and for the humour and depth of interaction it allows for. It was made by the people who did gems like Monkey Island, Psychonauts, Grim Fandango, Day of the Tentacle and many more, so it’s no wonder that the Kickstarter to fund the project broke records. Double Fine’s long, hard journey to make and ship this game can be followed in the fascinating documentary series about it.

In the game you get to switch freely between two likable young teenage protagonists. There’s Vella,  a black girl who lives in a town of bakers in a world terrorised by monsters, except that over the years it’s become tradition to see it as an honour to be visited by the monster and have the chance to appease it, despite the terrible sacrifices, but Vella decides to fight back instead.

There’s a powerful feminist reading one can make here, and also generally of how systems of injustice can hold sway over people, trapping them into a perspective of “well, that’s how it’s always been done”, and how it can be internalised to the extent that the harm that comes from them can be ignored or rationalised, and the need to break that cycle.

Fulfilling the other side of the coin is the other protagonist, Shay, a white boy that has grown up on his own on a spaceship programmed to serve his every need and to coddle him. When the game begins, he’s grown tired of this and looks for a way to escape the system and make a real difference.

The narrative continues to explore the themes of personal fulfilment and unmasking systems of power with its protagonists and the NPCs. The protagonists reside in different worlds, but as  the player advances their storylines they can begin to see the connections between them and use that to get them to help each other out.

Broken Age has great twists, hilarious dialogue with brilliant voice-acting, funny and clever puzzles, so much charm, lovely characters, and looks and sounds absolutely beautiful with its painted imagery and orchestral score. And through it all, an excellent philosophy of what can be learnt from walking in another’s shoes.

Broken Age is available on GOG, Steam, Ouya, PS4 and Vita, IOS an Android.

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