What is oku?oku is the first game in the planned
Idina Trilogy. oku is about a young woman who lives in a small community populated by
the Oku, strange and ethereal beings who wander the land.
Gameplayoku is a 3D
point & click with no dialogue and no overarching goal. You'll be able to explore Gnana's community and piece together the varying elements of her life.
The Philosophy of oku: On Being PresentIn Bertrand Russell’s
In Praise of Idleness, Russell talks about the joy and necessity of doing nothing — how
idleness fuels creativity, who is allowed to be idle versus who is not, and how this is part of a larger discussion of how certain societies function. In an age where many of us are required to be online or on-call 24/7,
In Praise of Idleness remains just as relevant as it was then.
Of course, in theory, it would be wonderful to be able to actually shut off all distractions and let the wave of idleness take hold — even if just for a little while. With the invention and popularization of video games, even our entertainment is determined to keep our brain’s activity at its maximum. And beneath this scramble for our attention, there are
those who just want to wander. As a player, I often find I enjoy the “idle” parts of my favorite film, TV shows, books, and games. Those moments when I’m getting
a lifetime’s worth of story/context in a glance, a reflection, or a concrete wall — those are my absolute favorite moments.
After I was inspired by the Mystic Western game jam, I decided to cram Gnana’s world with as much lore, history, and style as I could dredge up. And although oku is a narrative game, I don’t want to spoon feed the story to the player.
I want the story to emerge from Gnana’s life, like a bloom.
Sure, I can’t necessarily create idleness in an interactive experience, such as a game, but I can create a narrative presence,
a place for you to live and explore, just for a bit.
Whooku is a 100% solo project! I'm making all the art (pixel & voxel), animation, programming, music, and doing all the promotion, advertising, marketing, philosophizing, etc. I publish early versions of my games (in whatever state they're in) every quarter. My goal is to have you playing the first tiny scene in oku at the end of Q3 2016 (around September 30), with the final version likely coming out in 2018.
Tools- Photoshop for the pixel art, animation, and promotional materials.
- Qubicle for the voxel art
- Unity
- Licecap for gifs
Proof-of-ConceptThis was the proof I made over a year ago. I was originally intending the game to be a side-scroller, but I recently decided to go with an orthographic 3D perspective. Unsurprisingly, so much has changed.
For More!If you'd like more real-time updates of my progress, I'm very active on
Patreon,
Twitter, and
Cartrdge.
Community
