Kisima Innitchuna - Never Alone

By pairing game developers with Iñupiaq storytellers, Upper One Games hopes to tell a human story via the video game medium. In Never Alone you play the role of a young girl who explores the fantastical worlds of Iñupiaq lore and tries to save her people from an endless blizzard.

Never Alone is set for release in the fall of 2014 on the PC platform and on as yet un-announced consoles.

From the Devs:
Upper One Games paired world class game developers with Alaska Native storytellers and elders to create Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa), a game based on stories that have been handed down for thousands of years. A game which delves deeply into the traditional lore of the Iñupiat people to present an experience like no other. An atmospheric puzzle platformer of wondrous adventure. A game of survival in a place where survival shouldn't be possible. A game that opens a gateway to explore what it means to be human.

Game Trailer:

Insomniac Goes Small with Slow Down, Bull

Insomniac the makers of Ratchet and Clack and Sunset Overdrive are "experimenting" on a new title developed by a group of just 4-5 team members. The game is called Slow Down, Bull and is about a bull that loves to collect delicate things but gets stressed easily. When he's too stressed he becomes a bull in a china shop. It's a mess! The game is being built on the Unity engine and will be released on PC.

If this experiment is successful we could see more companies try to copy the indie model and get smaller games out while their larger IPs take their 2-4 years to bake. We are already seeing this trend at Ubisoft with their release of Child of Light and Valiant Hearts this year. Smaller games allow these companies to take more risk and try out bold innovations.

Best of luck to Insomniac as they work to balance AAA and small game development in their future.

From the Devs:
Slow Down Bull is a small action game about a stressed out, overachiever bull named Axel. He loves collecting beautiful things, but has to overcome his innate bull nature to accomplish his goals. Axel tries very hard to be graceful and cautious while he collects, but it’s very stressful! What if he bumps into someone? What if his bull-like nature erupts and ruins everything he’s trying to collect? What if he messes up???

The trouble is, if our bull *does* get too stressed out, he *will* succumb to his bull instincts, and tantrum and trample all over that which he loves. Can you help him achieve his goals and keep his cool at the same time?

Everyone's Gone to the Rapture at E3

More details about The Chinese Room's astoundingly beautiful game has come to light. Everyone's Gone to the Rapture is an open world story driven game for the PS4 no word yet on a release date.

From the Devs:
Rapture is inspired by the fiction of John Wyndham, J. G. Ballard, John Christopher and other authors who deal with ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances. There’s a very particular English feel that we wanted to capture in the game, a combination of the epic and the intimate. Rapture also came from our obsession with post-apocalyptic gaming, and the simple idea that whilst we normally play as the hero, in reality, most of us would be the piles of ash and bone littering the game world. That’s an interesting place to start telling a story.

Our approach is to create a game that you can utterly immerse yourself in. Yaughton Valley, where Rapture takes place, is a living, breathing world. The world of Rapture is not just a backdrop; it’s a character in its own right. It’s great working with PS4 as its processing power makes a game like this possible for a team our size.

The game is all about discovery. It’s open-world so you have the freedom to explore wherever you like, visiting areas in an order you define, and the story is written to allow this whilst making sure every player has a strong dramatic experience. It’s a type of storytelling that is completely unique to games. The choices you make as a player have a direct impact on how you understand the story – the more you explore and interact, the deeper you are drawn into Rapture’s world.

New Trailer:

After Almost 30 Years Shadowgate Returns

Shadowgate, the beloved first person point and click adventure which was first released on the Mac in 1987 and later made its way to the Nintendo Entertainment System(NES), gets re-imagined in today's touch interface world. The new version will feature a newly illustrated castle, new puzzles, new rooms, dramatic cut-scenes, and orchestrated music.

The game is being developed for the PC, Mac, IOS, and Android platforms.  No word yet on a release date.

I have to say the game is perfect to play on an iPad or other tablet. Lets hope this is the beginning of a resurgence in point and click story driven adventure games, because I want more.

From the Devs:
“The last thing that you remember is standing before the wizard Lakmir as he gestured wildly and chanted in an archaic tongue. Now you find yourself staring at an entryway which lies at the edge of a forest.”

So begins the legend of Shadowgate – the granddaddy of all ‘point and click’ fantasy adventure games and NES FAVORITE! This unique adventure paved the way for a host of adventure games to follow, sold millions of copies and has been ported to nearly 10 different platforms!

Zojoi, the creators of Shadowgate, are proud to announce the RE-IMAGINING of Shadowgate!

Storyline Trailer:

Vane from Friend & Foe

Vane is brought to you from Friend & Foe, a newly created independent game studio who's founders include artist and programers that have worked on some big titles such as The Last Guardian, Battlefield 3, Bionic Commando & Killzone. The studio is based out of Japan with Vane being one of it's first titles. It's being developed for PC first. Then possibly ported to other platforms.

From the Devs:
A child with an odd ability stuck in a strange land. A dangerous natural environment inhabited by a strange civilization. Vane is an open-world adventure game based on mystery and exploration.

Vane is a single-player game being developed by a few ex-members of The Last Guardian team. The game focuses on unraveling the mysteries of an unknown land via exploration, puzzle-solving and other features yet to be revealed, in an atmospheric and powerful setting.