At World VR Forum we were also able to talk to the developers of the upcoming game Arafinn. The team from Sycoforge comes from Switzerland; more precisely from Zurich. The idea to develop the game was born about eight years ago - you could say it was a kind of childhood dream. Two game enthusiasts, Ismael Wittwer and Michela Rimensberger, found each other and soon decided to spend all their free time making their dream come true: they wanted to develop a unique game where players could really immerse themselves in the action. What could have been better than the developments in the last few years with virtual reality? After being joined by a few more people, such as a maths magician and a design virtuoso, the team, as it stands today, is perfectly equipped to conquer VR. In 2017, the two then founded their company Sycoforge.
An amazingly mature world
Over the years, the team has created an entire world with 25 provinces and 2600 towns and their inhabitants, who are divided into around 600 families. In addition, there are four main languages (Tirdish, Hilduir, Valdyrish, Omturu), each with its own grammar and vocabulary. There are also different units of measurement for time, distance and weight.
The first game
The game Return to Nangrim is the prelude to the Arafinn universe. Players are introduced to the story and learn more about the fate of the various clans such as the Stonebeards, Grinheims or the people of Eshgard Valdril and of course the dreaded Uturi. The trailer gives a brief insight into the action:
Game awakens the desire to discover
When we spoke to the developers early on Saturday afternoon, they said that although some visitors to the VR Forum had played for about an hour, the puzzle had not yet been solved by anyone. A tough one that probably promises hours of gaming fun or then sheer desperation. They want to challenge the gamers. They leave simple games for beginners to others. The game is more about solving the puzzles than about fighting. However, the players have to arm themselves against various dangers.
In the clip you can see a first glimpse of the game itself:
With the Oculus and an X-Box controller, the whole thing will then come in VR, so that future players can really immerse themselves in the world. It is not yet clear which hardware partners they will be working with. The hardware providers are likely to fight over the game licence. But first you will soon find the project on Kickstarter.
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