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Never Alone (video game)

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Never Alone
Developer(s)Upper One Games
Publisher(s)E-Line Media
Director(s)Sean Vesce
Producer(s)Matt Swanson
Designer(s)Grant Roberts
Programmer(s)David Koenig
Artist(s)Dima Veryovka
Writer(s)Ishmael Angaluuk Hope
EngineUnity
Platform(s)
ReleaseWindows
November 18, 2014
PlayStation 4
  • NA: November 18, 2014
  • EU: November 26, 2014[1]
  • JP: December 11, 2014
Xbox One
November 19, 2014
OS X
February 26, 2015
Wii U
  • NA: June 25, 2015
  • EU: July 9, 2015
PlayStation 3
  • EU: December 22, 2015
  • NA: December 23, 2015[2]
Linux
December 23, 2015
iOS
June 2, 2016
Android
June 22, 2016
Switch
February 24, 2022
Genre(s)Puzzle-platform
Mode(s)Single-player, co-op

Never Alone, also known as Kisima Inŋitchuŋa ("I am not alone"), is a puzzle-platform adventure video game developed by Upper One Games and published by E-Line Media. It is based on the traditional Iñupiaq tale, "Kunuuksaayuka", which was first recorded by master storyteller Robert Nasruk Cleveland in his collection Stories of the Black River People.[3] Swapping between an Iñupiaq girl named Nuna and her Arctic fox companion, the player completes puzzles in a story that spans eight chapters. The game was made in partnership between the Cook Inlet Tribal Council and E-Line Media[4] and is a video game produced by Indigenous people. A sequel was announced in February 2022.[5]

Gameplay

The player-character plays as the Iñupiaq girl Nuna and her Arctic fox.[6] As an "atmospheric puzzle platformer",[7] Never Alone's puzzles entail swapping control between Nuna and the fox.[6] While the fox is fast, Nuna can pick up things and open new areas using her bola.[7] The story and its structure is based on the intergenerational transference of wisdom. Told in the form of an oral tale, unlike traditional platformer games, which involve overcoming obstacles and defeating enemies, Never Alone rewards players with collectible "cultural insights" - video vignettes of Iñupiaq elders, storytellers, and community members sharing their stories.[8] The central plot revolves around discovering the source of the blizzard that has ravaged Nuna's village and restoring balance to nature.[7] Other stories include that of Blizzard Man, the Little People, Manslayer, the Rolling Heads, and the Sky People. It takes place in a harsh physical environment.[9]

Setting

The Iñupiat are an indigenous Inuit people who live in the territory of Alaska, in the USA near the border of Canada, where the Bering Strait is located. They currently have 34 villages spread across the territory with 20,709 inhabitants.[10][11] Never Alone is a game produced by Upper One Games in 2014, inspired by the Iñupiat culture. Not only was it inspired, it was made in collaboration with them and draws on much of their history and culture. During the game's plot we can identify several traditional elements of the Iñupiat culture, but especially all the content presented in the "Cultural Insights". They are short videos of the game's creation process and the collaboration of the Iñupiat community as they tell their stories.

Folklore and video games, in an educational aspect, have similarities. As the first brings the culture of a people, its memory, its history and its identity, “Never Alone” gives life to a narrative that immerses players in the Inuit culture with its mythical characters and folkloric legends, creating a language and a web of knowledge that is captivating and engaging.[12]

These small videos are unlocked as we progress in the game and are related to each of the next levels. For instance, when we are introduced to clothing made from the skin of hunted animals, the blizzard in the game gets stronger, but it's okay, because Nuna is already protected by the aforementioned coat. When we get to know the drums, the owl-man appears and asks us to find his stolen drum.

In the main story the protagonist was a boy named Knuuksayuka, but this was changed by the game's production team, as they wanted to create a strong, independent female protagonist who could represent and serve as an example to all young women who play Never Alone. It was also a way of thanking Minnie Aliitchak Gray, daughter of Robert Nasruk Cleveland, who told the stories to the production team. She translated her father's story and added details and information so that Nuna became  as faithful a representant to the Iñupiat culture as the boy was. It is also interesting to note that, from the native point of view, stories can maintain their content and undergo changes so that they may better appeal to different auciences - after all, a good story needs to captivate its listeners.

Although Kunuuksaayuka's original story features a young boy rather than a girl, the choice of Nuna has no impact on the tale itself. Inupiaq narratives are full of boys and girls, men and women, and the gender of the characters matters less than the knowledge and learning contained in the story.[13]

The original story has many metaphors about the arrival of colonizers and the contact between them and the Iñupiat, and how the entire colonization process was violent, hurting not only the people but also their culture.[14][15][12]

Guide to Cultural Insights

Material culture

File:Captura de tela de 2023-03-14 18-42-53.png
Photos shown by the “Cultural Insights” of the Scrimshaws of the Iñupiat.
File:Captura de tela de 2023-03-15 08-40-39.png
Nuna using the bola she received from the owl-man.

On the first  video, we are presented the Scrimshaws, drawings used by the Iñupiat people to tell their stories and record special events, such as celebrations and spiritual rituals. Scrimshaws can be painted, engraved or carved. Originally they were made from the teeth or bones of hunted animals, but during a Cultural Insights scene we can see that they are also writing their stories in other materials such as metal plates.[16] In addition to Scrimshaws, we have other elements of Inut culture in Never Alone, for example, the drums used in their celebrations and religious rituals. As a key element of the representation of the Iñupiat culture we have the bola that is one of the tools used for hunting, also known as kilauwitawinmium is an instrument made of braided tendon, tied to some heavy bone that you can spin  and toos to trap the wings or legs of animals [15]

File:Captura de tela de 2023-03-15 08-19-24.png
Nuna talking to the owl-man.

The owl-man is a character that almost personifies the Iñupiat culture. He is wearing his fur coat, his pipe is full of scrimshaw and the only thing missing is his drum. At the end of our mission, the owl-man plays his drum while singing in Inuktitut with great joy. He is connected to the immaterial culture of Never Alone; during the narrative about the drums in the Cultural Insights we learn that the owl-man was the spirit of an owl that took the form of a human in order to help Nuna with theirwisdom.

File:Captura de tela de 2023-02-28 10-48-38.png
Nuna and her friend Fox rely on the help of animal spirits to reach the highest blocks of ice.

Immaterial culture

During the game, we interact with various types of animals and entities in different ways: we have the polar bear and the arctic fox (or simply Fox, Nuna's companion) and the spirits that have animal silhouettes. The Iñupiat have a very serious and ancient relationship with the fauna, flora and environment of the region. Animals are the protectors of nature, and nature is the most important thing there is. Nature is “Sila", from the smallest animals to the most distant layer of the atmosphere, it is the building element of souls. [17] The bola can be interpreted as the symbol that represents the Iñupiat culture in the game, everyone tries to take it away from Nuna because of its importance and connection with the spirits since she is able to touch them and get their help (with Fox’s calling).

Development and release

Never Alone was developed by Upper One Games in conjunction with writer Ishmael Hope, a storyteller and poet of Iñupiaq and Tlingit heritage,[18][19] and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council,[9] a non-profit organization that works with indigenous groups living in Alaska's urban areas.[7] The Council partnered with video game education company E-Line Media and generated the idea for Never Alone as part of a series that "shares, celebrates, and extends [indigenous] culture".[7] The Council's for-profit Upper One Games is the "first indigenous-owned video game developer and publisher in US history".[7] They built the game to explore "what it means to be human" and intergenerational stories.[9] It is intended both to share the stories of native culture as entertainment, and to revitalize interest in Alaskan indigenous folklore.[7] Proceeds from the game will fund the Council's education mission.[7]

E-Line Creative Director Sean Vesce was excited by the opportunity to "go into a community, learn more about a culture and then try to infuse their values and mythologies into a game". Vesce and his team made "a dozen trips to Alaska"[20] to meet with community members and gather stories and imagery and was "blown away at the richness and beauty and depth of that storytelling tradition".[20] He realized that "none of that had really been ever explored in a videogame".[20] Vesce previously held leadership positions at Crystal Dynamics and Activision.[7] Vesce built and led a 12-member development team in Seattle, who worked in deep partnership with "40 Alaska Native elders, storytellers and community members" to craft the game.[21] Never Alone was built in the Unity game engine.[7] A local-cooperative mode is available.

Never Alone: Foxtales

The first expansion for the game, titled Never Alone: Foxtales, was announced on July 16, 2015. Adding new levels and expanding upon the story, the expansion was released worldwide on July 28, 2015, for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The expansion was also included with the base game at no additional cost for the Nintendo Switch on February 24, 2022.

Reception

Never Alone received many accolades including the British Academy Award for Best Debut[43] game and Game of the Year and Most Significant Impact[44] awards from the Games for Change organization. In 2015, Never Alone was also nominated for Outstanding Achievement in Game Direction[45] from D.I.C.E., Best Debut[46] from Game Developers Choice Awards, Matthew Crump Cultural Innovation Award from SXSW Gaming Awards. In 2014, Never Alone was an Official Selection Finalist at Indiecade. "Never Alone" also won an Interactive Narrative and Game + Play Peabody Award in 2021.

Never Alone received "mixed or average" reviews, according to video game review aggregator Metacritic.[22][23][24][25][26]

Critics positively noted the game's art design, which blends a simple, cartoon style with scrimshaw influences. The included documentary videos were also remarked upon as "[leaving the player] feeling educated as well as entertained"[40] and "[doing] an excellent job of giving a cultural context"[31] for the game.

The platforming elements of Never Alone were more divisive. Some reviewers described the game as "frustrating", noting imprecise controls and inconsistent behavior by in-game characters.[31] However, other critics felt the gameplay was diverse and "satisfying".[34]

In 2022 the Museum of Modern Art included the game in their exhibition Never Alone: Video Games and Other Interactive Design .

References

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  4. ^ Parkinson, Hannah Jane (September 29, 2014). "Alaska's indigenous game Never Alone teaches co-operation through stories". The Guardian. Archived from the original on July 26, 2018. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
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  12. ^ a b DE OLIVEIRA, Marcelo Pires; DA MOTA FILHO, Antonio Carlos. Folk-Game: How Popular Culture Can Be Adapted to Electronic Computer Games–The Case of “Never Alone”.International Journal of Folkcommunication, v. 15, n. 35, p. 87-103, 2018.
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