The subject of Simogo's latest crunch is Year Walk, a first-person iOS adventure inspired by long dead Swedish folklore.
But in Simogo's case, infatuation with the concept is what drives the process. It's the indie crunch."įlesser is alluding to the development practice of putting in long, consuming hours to finish a game. "It gets to the point where it's all I can see, even when I close my eyes. "I tend to get very obsessive and neurotic about all of our games," says Flesser. For Flesser, this means finding ideas and fashioning concepts that are so quixotic as to grip the team and exhort them to create. Simon Flesser, the art and sound complement to his programming companion, Magnus "Gordon" Gardebäck, portrays the two as "toymakers," who constantly seek to satisfy their desire to create new and different experiences. The two man outfit of Malmö's Simogo Games is just the place for old myths to find new life. But legends of "Skogsrået" and "Kyrkogrimen," among many others, still persist, waiting to take hold of those who find them. The city's vaulting skyline and wealth of international businesses insulate its residents from the parochial customs and supernatural fears of old. Inside the box is a knife.In this ultramodern, high tech municipality, the proximity to Scandinavia's medieval folklore is far removed and forgotten.
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The player can restart the game, this time with the password to unlock to a mysterious box.
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The researcher realizes through a series of spooky events that he has been inextricably tied to Daniel's story and uses a mystical box (which he finds near Daniel's house), to send a message back to Daniel from the future, telling him that he must kill himself in order to save Stina. We learn that Daniel was sentenced to death for the murder of Stina Nilsson. When the player clicks on her body, she begins seeping blood and the credits roll.Īfter Year Walk's first ending, the player gains access to the journals of a modern-day researcher who is looking into the life of Daniel Svensson. The player wanders through the woods and sees the sleeping form of Stina. When Daniel wakes up, the snow has thawed and it is spring. Once Daniel receives the key to the churchyard by solving various puzzles, he makes his way to the Church Grim, who shows him a strange, ethereal world. The Church Grim is the player's final destination. The player must follow it through a dark bunker in order to get the key to the churchyard.Ĭhurch Grim: The spirit of an animal that has been sacrificed at the altar of an ancient church. It has strong associations with death and disease, as well as with greed and hunger. Night Raven: This undead carrion bird is a little harder to pin down. Myling wish to be reunited with their mothers. However, if you hear one crying for help and ignore it, it will probably kill you.
Like the other mythological figures, Myling are not necessarily evil. Myling: The spirit of an infant who was murdered by its mother or caretaker. The player must help the brook horse find the ghosts/spirits of four dead infants ("Myling") so that he can take them to the afterlife.
It is sometimes depicted much like the ferryman of greek mythology, carrying the spirits of the dead into the great beyond. The brook horse is not entirely evil, though. The player must follow her voice and use clues from a creepy wooden doll in order to solve her puzzle.īrook Horse: A water-dwelling horse that lures children onto its back and then drowns them. Once they are lost, she will either marry them or kill them. Like a cloud of will-o-the-wisps, she lures men into the woods with her ethereal voice and beauty.
The challenges the player must face along the way are embodied in five figures of Swedish folklore: Many who attempt the Year Walk die in mysterious ways. If the walker is successful, he will see a glimpse of the future. Daniel decides to go on a "year walk," or a traditional Scandinavian vision quest through the woods, culminating in an encounter with the Church Grim. Because of Daniel's low status, Stina will not leave her fiance to be with him. Stina, the woman he loves, is engaged to another man. Year Walk tells the story of Daniel Svensson, a 19th-century Swedish man who is in an unfortunate situation.
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