by Catherine Eaton

I first watched Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner in 2002. It was unlike any movie I had ever seen before, and the truth was, it was the first movie of its kind. The Fast Runner was the first film written, directed, and acted in Inukitut. Set in the Canadian Arctic expanse, The Fast Runner tells the Inuit legend of a brave warrior who frees a tormented community from an evil spirit. Despite being set a thousand years ago, the story that felt immediate- like it had happened just yesterday. I had never seen a film set so far North before and between the language, the actors and the setting, I was given an unusual glimpse into a beautiful slower paced world I had never known before. I have never forgotten that beautiful movie; it is timeless.

And now another glimpse of that haunting Northern world is being shown again, this time in a new video game. The Cook Inlet Tribal Council in Anchorage (along with Upper One Games) has announced their first video game release, Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa). It’s set in the Alaskan Arctic and based on a traditional Iñupiat story, KanuukSaayuka. The story follows a young Iñupiat girl and her Arctic Fox companion as they go on a journey to save her village from an endless blizzard. It’s a puzzle based game with the two companions working together to figure each dilemma out. They must find the endless blizzard’s source and restore balance to win.

The game’s inception began two years ago when the Cook Inlet Tribal Council was looking to invest their money in a way that benefited native culture and also shared their traditional stories.

“We started thinking about the future because our board also said to us ‘never forget who we are and where we come from, but think about how we can connect with our young people in the future,'” said Elaine O’Neill, president and CEO of the Tribal Council. The idea of a video game came up and O’Neill started reaching out to game developers to see what they thought.

Sean Vesce, a game developer veteran with 20 years of experience, came onboard and fell in love with the stories and experiences that were shared with him by Alaskan native storytellers.

“We were just blown away at the richness and the beauty and the depth of that storytelling tradition and we realized that none of that had really been ever explored in a videogame,” Vesce says.

The protagonist of Never Alone is a girl rather than a boy and this was intentional choice for the development team.

“The team really wanted to create a strong, resourceful, smart, brave character who could be a great role model for girls. Great female characters have historically been woefully under-represented in video games and the team wanted to help change that – particularly since many have young daughters themselves.”

With so much misogyny and animosity aimed towards women and girls in the gaming world, their deliberate decision comes as a breath of fresh air.

But the original telling of KanuukSaayuka, the story the game is based on, features a boy rather than a girl. When considering the gender switch, the team consulted Minnie Gray, the daughter of Robert Nasruk Cleveland who was the first recorded teller of KanuukSaayuka. In Inuit culture, the storyteller who tells a story the longest “owns” that story. Future tellers refer back to this teller whenever they recount that story. Minnie Gray gave her blessing on the gender switch and was consulted on all further story changes for the game.

Never Alone’s trailer reveals gorgeous art swirling in timeless haunting beauty. It reveals a native people and their culture from their point of view and is a sorely needed addition to the gaming world. Never Alone releases in November of this year and will be available on Microsoft Windows, Playstation 4 and Xbox One. If you want to get a feel for the unique world the game’s setting, check out The Fast Runner and get ready. I, for one, can’t wait.

Catherine Eaton is a contributor to The Stake. Catherine is a writer living in a western suburb of Chicago. She blogs over at sparrowpost.com and enjoys foraging around the neighborhood in her spare time.

Follow The Stake on Twitter and Facebook