David 
28/04/2014Last week VAF Gamefonds published its annual results. Last month 5 more entertainment game projects received funding from VAF Gamefonds. Time to take a closer look at some of those projects. Today we focus on Eskimo from FLEGA founding member, Sakari Games.
Eskimo is a game that teaches you about all sorts of things while enjoying a nice game on the side. The game kicks off with one Inuit who is assigned to deliver a message from his village shaman to a nearby village. The message reads: “travel east before the spirits notice”. What it means eludes you, because shamans are mysterious like that after all… Upon arriving at the village you find out that it has been deserted, except one inhabitant. Together you travel back and must survive in the harsh winter wasteland, fighting off the cold, herding your Huskies, hunting and fishing for food, etc.
The game will enlighten you about the ways of fascinating Inuit people and their culture. How they thrive in a land which seems so barren to others.
Eskimo is a roleplaying game played with 2 players who have to work together to survive the harsh polar environment. To keep warm you can use the skins of the animals you hunt as clothing. That way the players can stay out in the cold longer. You can also use the skins to isolate your tent so you both recover more quickly from the cold. Meat from hunted animals can be used to feed the players and their huskies. The leftovers can be preserved as rations when you are making longer trips. The better you take care of your Huskies the farther they can take you on your sled without resting. On your journey you will meet lots of characters and hear the real stories of the Inuit. They will tell you to respect the animals you kill and explain that nature will respond with snow, storms and ice blizzards if you don’t show respect.
Each player will develop skills in the field he/she likes, e.g. hunting, fishing, herding, preparing hides, making clothes, drying fish. These combined skills and the players’ choices make the game experience unique for each team!
Eskimo promises to become a unique game where strategic dialogue between the two players is a must. But it is not only a game, you are learning about the Inuit culture and also about ecological problems such as the melting icecaps.
- Developer: Sakari Games
- Funding: preproduction: 30,000 €
- Type: entertainment game
