Retelling traditional lore through the modern storytelling of a game
Never Alone
2018
How does Alaska's Native Community tell a traditional Iñupiaq story though a game that could
reach millions of people?
As younger generations spend more time on devices, the Iñupiat people keep their youth engaged with traditional lore through a video game.In Never Alone,
Experimental pairs world-class game makers and Alaska Native storytellers to draw upon the richness of unique cultures, creating a complex and fascinating game world for a global audience.
Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s mission is to connect Alaska Native people to their endless potential. Investing in gaming allows Cook Inlet Tribal Council to connect with youth through an interactive experience that is educational and enriching. Cook Inlet Tribal Council sees an opportunity to add diverse voices to this space and reveal a world not yet seen before in video games — a culturally-informed game, rooted in Alaska Native culture, folklore, and storytelling.
Never Alone is a video game honoring Alaska Native storytelling and based on a traditional Inupiaq story (Kunuuksaayuka) about a young person who fights a great blizzard that threatens the community’s survival.
...’It takes the traditions of a people not celebrated in the global spotlight and holds them aloft, confident in their intrinsic value. I’ve never enjoyed another title that seems to carry the dignity and hopes of a community upon its shoulders’... Christopher Byrd, Washington Post 2014
...’When was the last time a video game told you about a whole other culture? Took you somewhere remote you'd only heard about in passing, and let the people who've lived there speak to you in a generations-old voice? Never Alone does that all-too-rare thing and does it very well. A small, independently-produced video game created in partnership between an Alaskan Native community and industry veterans, Never Alone takes a beloved piece of folklore and uses it as the basis of a playable fable. Players control a young native girl named Nuna and her arctic lupine friend named Fox as she goes in search of the endless blizzards that are destroying her homeland’... Evan Narcisse, Kotaku 2014
...’One word sticks with me after finishing Never Alone: respect. This game is full of it. Respect for the Iñupiat, respect for nature and animals, respect for the things we can't control, and respect for those who try to change their community for the better. Never Alone respects not only these ideas, but it holds video games in the same regard, as demonstrated by the care clearly put into the mechanics, story and flow of the game. Never Alone is a glimpse into the real lives of Alaska Natives, and it's a peek at a different kind of fairy tale’... Joystiq, March 2015
