This War of Mine
Storytelling Reinvention:
implements player-choice by allowing players to weave their own understanding of the game world, characters, and the events that take place
Game Information
Release Date: November 14th, 2014
Developer: 11 Bit Studios
Publisher(s): 11 Bit Studios, Deep Silver
Genre(s): Action, Game for Change, Platformer, Role-Playing
Rating: Mature
Price: $19.99
Website: http://www.11bitstudios.com/games/16/this-war-of-mine
This War of Mine was released November 14th, 2014, developed by 11 Bit Studios, a Polish team that was formed in 2010. While developing the game, CEO Grzegorz Miechowski decided that they should focus on the emotional aspects of people in a war time situation and that they should show respect to the topic “without any shallow moralization."
This War of Mine places players in the middle of a war-torn city and gives them control of a base in the form of a battered building with multiple civilians, for which every day is a fight for survival. Although the game takes place in a war zone, the main point of the game is not to engage in combat but rather to survive the conflict by gathering resources through scavenging, fighting, or stealing. Ultimately, the game focuses on the harsh situations in which people are placed. Not only are resources scarce, but players' actions have deep underlying consequences that impact the overall story experience. When asked why civilians were the focus of the game and not front-line combatants, Pawel Miechowski, a senior writer for 11 Bit Studios, had this to say:
"Games are growing up and we as gamers grew up too. There are more and more titles tackling reality from different – sometimes difficult – angles. Games can be fantastic entertainment tools but they also can tell a bit more thought-provoking stories. And This War of Mine is such a game, I believe. I mean, games as a part of culture can tackle war in serious way. Why not? All storytelling forms should be equal in what they are able to cover."
The developers believe that games as a whole are able to represent any sort of genre, even topics that can be hard to discuss. Although This War of Mine is not the typical war video game, it has seen huge commercial success, making back the cost to develop it on its first two days of sales alone. This War of Mine was originally released on Windows and Mac but has since been released for Android and iOS as well as Xbox One and PlayStation 4.
References:
1. This War of Mine.11 bit studios.This War Of Mine.Web.09 Mar.2016.
<http://www.11bitstudios.com/games/16/this-war-of-mine>.
2. Robert Purchese. The People Behind This War of Mine have big plans for their next game. Eurogamer. Web. 09 Mar 2016.
< http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2015-06-02-this-war-of-mine-11-bit-studios-new-game >.
3. Georgina Young. Art and This War of Mine – An Interview with 11 bit studios. TechRaptor. Web. 09 Mar 2016. < http://techraptor.net/content/art-war-mine-interview-11-bit-studios >.
Researcher: Travis Lane
