This indie project developed by E-Line Media and Upper One Games called Never Alone (Kisima Innitchuna) is about a young Iñupiaq girl named Nuna and her arctic fox as the two companions complete puzzles in a story based on Alaskan indigenous folklore told in eight chapters. This whole production is considered by the developers as a new genre called “world games”; meaning, it draws upon the richness of unique cultures to create complex and fascinating game worlds for a global audience. Because younger generations are into the gaming systems, creating a video game is great tool to communicate and preserve the Iñupiaq stories, while providing insights in how Iñupiaq people thinks.
Because Never Alone is centered around their beliefs and history, Nuna will be a direct representative and reflect their ideologies in the way she speaks, acts, and sees things. While the global community may perceive her as an innocent child, her mindset is still quite different.
One Iñupiaq explains how they think quite differently. He begins,”We live in isolation and have the kinds of beliefs of self-sufficiency in dealing with things.” Being independent and thinking outside the box are quite important too. “If it [the video game] could do that, then it has done its job as a video game.”
Starting at the beginning, this plat-former will present one of their biggest struggles. Just like in real life, the blizzard poses as a major threat to Nuna’s community in the virtual world. Like inheriting a real member’s nature, she goes out “independently” to save her people from this endless cold weather.
To further captivate this original experience, the whole cast will speak in Iñupiaq with English subtitles. However, future players will only control and switch around the main character and the Arctic fox. To see a glimpse of their actions and moving atmosphere, checkout the promotional trailer:
This production will arrive this coming fall as digital copies for the PlayStation 4, XBox One, and Steam. For more details, please visit Upper One Games and E-Line Media.
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