A non-violent and narrative lead adventure game inspired by Scandinavian folklore is not something you’d expect from a team who used to work on the Killzone franchise.
But for Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou, the co-founder of indie developer Polygon Treehouse and BAFTA Breakthrough 2021 participant, the approach to making their debut game Röki wasn’t much different from developing a AAA title.
“A lot of those skills and techniques are transferable even if the scales are different. The creative thinking and the processes are the same even if from the outside they look world's apart”.
Kanaris-Sotiriou and the studio’s other co-founder Tom Jones met at university in 1998 before joining Sony Cambridge to work in character art and animation, while Jones did environment art.
Nevertheless, as the pair became more seasoned in years, they were keen to make games that were completely different to what they had done before.
“We had been there [at Sony Cambridge] for a while, learnt a great deal and got a lot of great experience.
“So we were really excited to take those learnings and start an indie studio and see if we can make a success of it.
“And one of the cornerstones for Polygon Treehouse is to create art led, non-violent narrative games,” he tells the Mirror.
Inspiration
When it came to inspiration for their first game, Kanaris-Sotiriou says deciding to focus on obscure Scandinavian folklore rather than a pantheon of Norse gods was more about humanity than mythology.
But it was also an episode from a Japanese animated series from the early 90s, Moomins, based on Finnish illustrator Tove Jansson’s comic of the same name, which seemed to have convinced them it was the right direction to take.
“We just stumbled across a list of all these folklore characters and the more we dug into them, the more strange, sad, beguiling and mysterious they were.
“We liked the idea of focusing on the losers, like the creepy creatures from the lakes, the caves and the forests.
“And it reminded us of an episode of the Moomin cartoon that we'd seen growing up, where there was this character called the Groke, who with these really scary eyes slowly moves towards villages and freezes everything and everyone in their path.
“But actually the character just wanted a friend, so there’s this combination of horror and a really emotionally touching story.
“It was that mix of emotions of being sad, scary and sweet that really appealed to us.
“When stories have a texture like that, it feels like they have a lot of depth and that was the reason we wanted to explore some of those lesser-known characters.”
The story and characters
In Röki, the player takes the role of a young girl journeying into the wilderness to find her brother Lars.
The game follows the course of her adventure as she encounters mythical creatures and solves puzzles to unlock paths deeper into the forest.
Kanaris-Sotiriou says Polygon Treehouse wanted a likeable character to help with a strong narrative. That is where Tove came in.
“Tove was the main character almost from inception.
“We didn't overthink it too much, it's just kind of how the game fell out of our minds and onto the computer.
“We’re really stoked with the reception that Tove has had as a character.
“I think children in video games have a reputation of being super annoying”, he laughs.
“So the fact that we’ve managed to make a likeable character that people enjoy and we've managed to bring her to life was a big win.”
Although the story is centred around Tove and her family, Polygon Treehouse has also taken the monsters into account when writing the story and character arcs.
“We knew it was right to focus on family, that was a really key thing, and not just in the Jakobsson's like Tove’s family but also in terms of Röki, the monster, and their family as well.
“And so, we tried to have the contrast between the human family and the monster’s family and what that makes you feel.
“In the world, things aren't black and white, there are shades of grey, and actually to create interesting characters they need depth.
“So we started thinking about ‘what are their motivations? What are the things that they're struggling with?’
“And actually I think that is one of the things people have found quite powerful and emotionally impactful about the game is, on both sides, there's an emotional journey.
“I think that's something we really want to do is not just focus on the heroes of the game, but also the monsters.
“Part of the game is about meeting monsters but with a child's eyes so you're seeing the humanity underneath and helping them with their problems.
“In a world where there’s so much bad stuff going on, having a game that has this undercurrent of kindness running through it was something that was really important to us”.
BAFTA Breakthrough
For his work on Röki, BAFTA has selected Kanaris-Sotiriou to join its Breakthrough program, the British Academy’s annual initiative aimed at supporting emerging talent across film, TV and video games.
The 36 names — 24 from the U.K. and 12 from the U.S. — were selected by a cross-industry global jury that included writer and broadcaster Afua Hirsch and Irish actress (and former Breakthrough) Niamh Algar.
Other game developers selected alongside Kanaris-Sotiriou include Joanna Haslam (Design Director - Family Feud, Ubisoft), Laure De Mey (Programmer - Assemble With Care DLC, ustwo games), Kirsty Elizabeth Gillmore (Production Voice Director - Destruction AllStars, Lucid Games), and presenter Elle Osili-Wood.
Each will be offered individually tailored mentoring and development opportunities aimed at supporting them during this breakout stage of their careers.
On the unveiling of the 2021 cohort, Kanaris-Sotiriou says he’s excited about what the initiative will bring.
“It feels like it's a real endorsement of what we're trying to do, which has not been easy at times. Especially with the games, we're trying to make.
“And it gives us huge confidence that we are on the right path - to have the support of BAFTA will help take Polygon Treehouse to the next level.”
Here is the full list of the UK BAFTA Breakthrough 2021 participants:
● Aaron Reid, Cinematographer - Stephen
● Aisha Bywaters, Casting Director - We Are Lady Parts
● Alex Kanaris-Sotiriou, Creative Director/Lead Developer - Röki
● Ana Naomi De Sousa, Director - Naseem, Fight with Grace
● Ashley Francis-Roy, Director - Damilola: The Boy Next Door
● Chad Orororo, Sound Editor/Mixer - Pele
● David Proud, Director/Writer - Coronation Street
● Elle Osili-Wood, Presenter - Special Characters
● Ellora Torchia, Performer - In the Earth
● Gemma Hurley, Writer - Host
● George Robinson, Performer - Sex Education
● Georgi Banks-Davies, Director - I Hate Suzie
● Heather Basten, Casting Director - The Origin
● Helen Jones, Producer - Censor
● Joanna Haslam, Design Director - Family Feud
● Jo Jackson, Sound Editor/Mixer - Radioactive
● Kirsty Gillmore, Production Voice Director - Destruction AllStars
● Laure De Mey, Programmer - Assemble With Care DLC
● Lydia West, Performer - It’s A Sin
● Lyttanya Shannon, Director - Subnormal: A British Scandal
● Mdhamiri Á Nkemi, Editor - Life in a Day
● PC Williams, Costume Designer - We Are Lady Parts
● Prano Bailey-Bond, Director/Writer - Censor
● Rajita Shah, Producer - Love Sarah
The US list includes:
● Anna Franqueso-Solano, Cinematographer - The Farewell
● Bao Nguyen, Director, Documentary - Be Water
● Cheyenne Ford, Production Designer - Shiva Baby
● Dominique Nieves - Writer/Director - Our Lady Lupe
● Ember Lab: Joshua Grier. Mike Grier, Hunter Schmidt, Games - Kena: Bridge of Spirits
● Hikari, Writer/Director - 37 Seconds
● Orlando Perez Rosso, Composer - Allen V, Farrow
● Sarah Lampert, Writer - Ginny & Georgia
● Siqi Song, Animator - All In A Day's Work
● Stephanie Economou, Composer - Jupiter's Legacy
