The wonders of nature, the nature of existence, the existence of nature. All of these things and more – or less – are the focus of a new interactive experience released by RamenSoft, a team of second year students from Abertay University.
Zentorii was created in conjunction with industry veteran, official SGN chum and occasional contributor Phil Harris, with audio from the supremely wonderful composer and Edinburgh Game Symposium co-creator Luci Holland.
The game invites the player to guide a tiny fragile leaf down an endless river. By merely tilting your shiny talk machine in one direction or another, players can guide their leafy charge onwards towards some idealised sea or ocean, whereupon it may circle in a widening gyre of currents and tides. Or be eaten by an underwater squirrel.
Calm, relaxation and an opportunity to disengage and contemplate the natural world, do trees miss the leaves they shed? Do those leaves indeed feel individual, or merely one part or ‘aspect’ of the larger tree? Nothing gets blown up. Lives are not needlessly lost in a hail of rocket fire or incandescent fusilades of merciless laser bolts.
You’re a leaf. Floating.
ZenTorii is OUT NOW for your favoured Android device. It’s free to download, though any donations would be very gratefully received and would be split between the Ramensoft Team and Luci Holland.
We met the RamenSoft team at last year’s Game In Scotland and the Moray Game Jam. They’re an incredibly focused, creative and organised bunch and the fact they’ve released a complete game and worked with a couple of experience industry folks, speaks volumes about their dedication.
So say congratulations to RamenSoft:
- Sam Cumming (Game Programmer),
- Lukasz Gomula (Team Leader, Art and Design),
- Natalia Sionek (Art and Animation),
- Alberto Taiuti (Game Programmer/Software Engineer)
- Jamie Wood (Game Programmer/Designer)
Website: www.Ramensoft.uk
Zentorii (Android) – FREE (but donations very welcome)