GQ South Africa — May 2017

Words byAléz Odendaal

GAMING

An abandoned Free State farmhouse

is the setting for this eerie adventure

TALE S F RO M

A HAUNTED

AFRICAN FARM

GQ: TELL US A BIT MORE ABOUT

AMONG THE INNOCENT?

GEOFF BURROWS: Players take on the

role of struggling writer Peter York, who finds

himself trapped on a remote, deserted farm in

the Free State. But there’s a lot more to this

place than rusty old ploughs and dilapidated

buildings – you’ll have to uncover its dark

history, and use this to help you escape.

GQ: YOU’VE USED CLASSIC POINT-AND-

CLICK ELEMENTS COMBINED WITH

FIRST- PERSON EXPLORATION. WHY?

GB: It’s a combination of practicality and

nostalgia. I love classic adventure games

more than any other genre, but when I set

out to make my own game, I came to the

realisation that a first-person game is

simply more practical to make for a mostly

one-man-show. [Burrows worked alone for

much of the game’s development.] But

what began as a necessity has grown into

something that I’m very proud of: finding

interesting ways to merge the gameplay of

modern first-person exploration games with

classic, point-and-click adventure.

GQ: WHY THE FREE STATE SETTING?

GB: When I first started on Among the

Innocent, I wanted the game to be set in South

Africa, but it took a couple of months before

the idea really came together. I was building

this snow-covered landscape inspired by the

likes of The Shining,

but it never really

made sense

narratively.

It was only once my

girlfriend suggested

that I drop the snow

altogether that

things clicked into

place, both in my

mind and in the

game. It was around

that time that I was

on holiday in the

eastern Free

State, and I was

so inspired by the

environment’s

eclectic mix of

serenity and an

odd sense of an

underlying darkness

that I knew this was

the location for the

game. I’ve added

a little more grit to

it for the game, but

there’s no denying

there’s something

eerie about

abandoned farms.

GQ: I’VE ALWAYS FELT THOSE SPACES

AS UNCOMFORTABLE BECAUSE OF

THEIR CLOSE TIES TO APARTHEID’S

WHITE ELITE. DID YOU HAVE

SOMETHING LIKE THIS IN MIND?

GB:^ Not when I chose the setting (although

the area’s history did its part in creating that

odd atmosphere), but as I worked on the

game I mixed doses of real-world stories with

my own fantastical creations. I chose to set

this game in South Africa because I wanted

to create something both familiar and strange,

depending on who’s playing it. I wanted to

draw from my own experiences, history,

and surroundings, and plunge them all into

an interesting narrative. Doing this hasn’t just

given me a familiar template to work from,

but a chance to interpret, twist, and play with

a combination of ideas in the real world and

in my own mind.

GQ: THE GAME USES THE KÜBLER-

ROSS MODEL – THE FIVE STAGES

OF GRIEF AND LOSS. WHAT ARE

YOU HOPING PLAYERS WILL GET

FROM THIS?

GB: I have a lot of

intentions for the

series that will only

really take shape

around the third

instalment of the

game. But for now,

I want people to

start thinking about

a bigger picture

while enjoying

the juxtaposition

of peaceful

environments and

haunting mysteries.

The prominent

theme in this first

game is denial,

motivated

by contrast and

misdirection.

Expect to be

messed with!

R109 on Steam

A

mong the Innocent: A Stricken Tale (2017) is a locally-

made point-and-click meets irst-person exploration

game released earlier this year, with more chapters

set to follow. To learn more we caught up with Geof

Burrows, formerly of NAG, and founder of the Zero Degree

Games studio which brought us this brooding title.

THE EDIT

42 GQ.CO.ZA MAY 2017