#upper one games

[miloscat]

[Review] Never Alone (PS4)

A platformer with a purpose.

I thought I’d follow up Below Zero with some cold-themed games from my backlog. This one is very icy indeed as it’s a retelling of a fable from the indigenous Alaskan Iñupiat culture about a supernatural blizzard. As a product of a native culture advocacy group, Never Alone <Kisima Inŋitchuŋa> is not just a cute puzzle-platformer but a celebration—and education—of Inuit identity and community, from the content of the story to the prominent documentary snippets that tie into the themes.

In its short runtime, Nuna and her fox friend are chased by a polar bear, avoid the Aurora Borealis (made of the mischievous and dangerous spirits of children), swim through a the belly of a whale, contend with a murderous miscreant, befriend various spirits, and ultimately confront an ice giant. Each story beat has a lesson or some cultural background that is elaborated on in the interview segments, such as the Iñupiat’s respect for nature or community-mindedness.

Each character has their own skills: the girl Nuna can push boxes, climb, and throw a magical bola, while the fox jumps higher and can convince spirit creatures to move around and act as platforms. The game is built around this cooperative dynamic, so local co-op multiplayer is a main feature but it’s still perfectly playable solo, as I did, by swapping between the two. These mechanics can be a little clumsy at times; with its basic Unity platforming I’m reminded of the game Little Bug which I played earlier this year.

Luckily Never Alone is never too demanding and checkpoints frequently. It’s more concerned with telling its story than it is presenting a tough challenge. This cultural focus and the metastory of the game as an educational tool echoing the personal stories of the contributors enriches the experience beyond what it would be as an average platformer.

Also available is Fox Tales, a DLC expansion that tells a new story with the same characters, reframing a fable about two brothers fighting a giant mouse as an opportunity for the girl and fox to solve more puzzles involving water currents, projectiles, and a canoe. It’s a nice extra with new gameplay states and some newly shot interview segments, and well worth checking out in addition to the base game. After playing both, I find myself longing for every culture on Earth to have a video game just like this, that makes playable adventures from their art and stories while presenting insights into real peoples’ way of life. It’s fascinating and valuable, a real treat!

[enviplaysgames]

Never Alone Review

Pros: Cultural storytelling that includes cultural storytellers, adorable female hero, atmospheric and beautiful Cons: Repetitive puzzles, some cultural insight videos were glitched, pacing felt a little slow Overall: 4/5

I will always hold this game up as a wonderful example of how to effectively innovate cultural storytelling. Not only did the artwork and story of Never Alone respectfully draw inspiration from Inupiat cultural arts, living and existing Inupiat community members were involved and consulted at every stage of development. This game is the result of a partnership and collaboration that centers the cultural identities this game draws inspiration and knowledge from.

The game itself looks really good. The backgrounds are magical, and the characters all look so fluffy and adorable. The animations look natural and realistic for a child and a magical fox, and the controls feel good as we platform through the different levels. I personally found that the pacing of the story and the progression of difficulty was a bit slow. The puzzles and levels eventually felt a bit repetitive, even though new mechanics were slowly being introduced.

However, I also recognize that I may not be the main targeted audience for this game, and that’s more than okay. In an interview on the game’s website, Ron Brower, an Inupiat elder, mentions that a big part of their community’s interest in working on this game is that video game storytelling could be “a great way of transferring our historic knowledge to the younger generation…. I think this would give them an insight as to the way Inuit think.”

This game is wonderful, and I can’t wait to see what other projects come out of this studio. From aesthetics to storytelling to engaging puzzles, this game (as I’ve said so many times) gets so many things right. And that feels good.

[enviplaysgames]

I Would Like to Hear a Story ♥ Envi Plays Never Alone

Part documentary, part atmospheric platformer, part cultural storytelling. This game does it right. Upper One Games LLC is “the first indigenous- owned commercial game company in the United States.” Their mission and this project sounds and feels amazing, and it’s such a relief to see Native people’s stories (in this case, Alaskan Native’s stories) and faces portrayed in a space where their voices belong to and are controlled by real, living people in the community today. When I was first looking into this game, I wanted to play it so bad, but my skeptical little nose was honestly just waiting to find some defeating fact about the game or the developers. This is what I found: the community gave not only its blessing but also deep involvement in the creation of this game. The product itself is a partnership between the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and E-Line Media. Interviews of Iñupiat elders, storytellers and community members are included in the gameplay. Proceeds from the game fund the Council’s education mission. The development team’s writer was an Alaskan Native. The art style is inspired by rich art and imagery of Alaska Native cultures (rather than stereotypical ideas of Native art). I mean, I’m always slow to deem any project perfect, but this team, this game, is doing a lot of things right. “Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) is the first game developed in collaboration with the Iñupiat, an Alaska Native people. Nearly 40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members contributed to the development of the game. Play as a young Iñupiat girl and an arctic fox as they set out to find the source of the eternal blizzard which threatens the survival of everything they have ever known.” Total Playtime: 2.5 hours

[hiswordza]

Tribe makes video game to pass on folk tales The Cook Inlet Tribal Council of Alaska worried local kids weren't learning enough folklore. They teamed up with Upper One Games to create "Never Alone", a video game based on Inupiat history and mythology.

[vo-kopen]

:(

My phone is finally obsolete. Darn it I really wanted to download that game. :(

[vo-kopen]

Hold everything!

Never Alone is an app now? For those of you unaware, Never Alone was a video game made by by Alaskan Natives with the permission and input of Alaskan Native elders, and which was based on a traditional story of Alaskan Natives. It also had videos explaining aspects of native life in the North, wildlife videos, and videos on customs. From what I understand it is a beautiful and touching game. (I watched three separate let's plays) but the controls could be difficult. ...you know I'm gonna write this purchase off as a business expense. I am writing about an Inuit hero in my novel, and this might be good research. The character isn't an Alaskan Native, but at the least it might help me learn about aspects of the Arctic in the modern day. And buying this is supporting native developers. And it's super cute.

[pushtosmart]

The Forest Song is your new “world game.” After working with Upper One Games to produce Never Alone, Sean Vesce and Dima Veryovka will explore Ukranian folklore with Colabee Studios. Colabee Studios is already sharing its inspiration through a “cultural expedition.” (h/t Kill Screen) - Stacey

[everygameiveplayed]

Never Alone (PC)

-Experience level: Single Playthrough -First Played: 2015 -Last Played:2015

When the Xbox first came onto the scene, having games with a more “American” flavour was actually enjoyable, but like the butter near the end of a bag of movie popcorn I have had more than enough. Similar to the Hollywood-focused movie industry, we lose out on so much by not having the stories, experience, history, and perspective of multiple cultures expressing themselves. Imagine if games enjoyed the benefit of cultural diversity and freedom that music has? Never Alone is a glimpse of what we are missing out on in a culturally narrow minded industry.

The “first indigenous-owned video game developer and publisher in US history”, Upper One Games created a puzzle platformer inspired by traditional Iñupiaq stories. It is narrated by a native speaker, and features cutscenes in scrimshaw style. Short interviews with Iñupiaq peoples can also be unlocked, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong, Never Alone is not a shining blueprint to be followed (the controls and character movements were unreliable and I encountered several glitches), but it is a wonderful proof of concept for the expansion of the industry. Though Never Alone plays it fairly safe with its platforming gameplay, I cannot dream of the kinds of experiences we could have if more cultures were given free reign in the industry. Here’s to hoping.