Though the game is short, there’s nonetheless a fair amount to unpack in Never Alone. It’s certainly a unique specimen, not the least way being in presentation. I can’t personally say I’ve ever played a game that dealt specifically with Alaskan Native folklore, let alone one narrated in the native language. Hearing that the game was developed in consultation with Native elders only reinforces my initial observation: much love and craft was put into expressing Native tradition through the game. A game so deeply set in its cultural context does, however, have a certain challenge to overcome: how will it catch the attention of players unfamiliar with that context? How will it create both an engaging experience and educate players in an exciting way?
Kaufman and Flanagan bring up two particular methods of “embedding” social narratives or “persuasive content” into games without calling attention to themselves, i.e. without giving themselves away as educational elements and thus scare away players. The first, intermixing—“combining ‘on-topic’ and ‘off-topic’ game content in order to make the focal message or theme less obvious and more accessible”—is not particularly applicable to Never Alone, as the game’s focus on the folklore is such that it is never “off-topic.” The other method, which I feel is more applicable, is obfuscating: “using game genres or framing devices that direct players’ attention or expectations away from the game’s true aims.”
Let us suppose that Never Alone’s true aim, based on the loads and loads of supplemental material the game provides about Native culture, is to educate the player. Yet as a college student, I can personally speak to the intimidation a sudden influx of reading material provokes, and it can dunk on motivation fairly quickly. Consequently, the game takes it upon itself to provide a propelling force for the player in the form of a goal-driven narrative. The story is drawn from folklore as well, but in a way that gives the player explicit goals to reach—they must help Nuna escape the confines of the giant whale, outsmart a pursuing polar bear, outrun an ice giant. These are all more traditional gameplay experiences as delivered by platforming mechanics, but the fact that they’re tied to folkloric acts—notably the ability to control and summon benevolent spirits—keeps the overarching goal of the game present throughout. And because the player just got to experience an engaging and creative game session based off of that lore’s culture, they may just find themselves willing to learn more, and click on those videos.
Bibliography:
Kaufman, Geoff and Mary Flanagan. "A psychologically “embedded” approach to designing games for prosocial causes". 2015.
I totally agree that the game does an exceptional job at captivating the player, even though it is providing information that might otherwise not be included in a typical platformer game. I love how it intertwines the gameplay with the supporting videos that give real background on the Native folklore, which gives a very real context to the game you are playing. Also, I think the fictitious feeling of summoning spirits and landing on platforms that do not necessarily exist in solid matter is backed by the videos and the beliefs that these people have, which creates a stronger sense of reality for the game.