Sunset is a first-person exploration of a single penthouse apartment in a fictional tropical republic suffering under an oppressive regime. Set in the early 1970’s, the player, a housekeeper, visits week- by- week and slowly discovers the role of the apartment’s eccentric occupant in the civil war — and her own role in his life — as the city erupts around them.
The former philanthropist has been living a secluded life after a military coup had stifled the arts and culture that once aroused his passions. The thoughtful attention of his housekeeper awakens a new love for his country and his people in him. But the ruthless government will not be defeated with a velvet glove. Maybe she can convince him to join the violent resistance movement that terrorizes the capital.
Against the sunset-lit backdrop of a war-torn metropolis, two hearts meet in a fast-paced thriller. Your investigation of a person’s belongings creates a level of intimacy never far away from romance. It is up to you, however, to decide how the relationship evolves. Will you be a lover? A fighter? A friend or a traitor?
“It’s like a shooter game where you are not the hero but one of the people in the background,” according to Tale of Tales founders and directors Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn. “And also that is how it feels to live in the world today, surrounded by the evidence of war but most of us not feeling a part of it. The game contains both empathy and apathy. But also a feeling of being caught up in a struggle bigger than your day to day life.”
Sunset is the second biggest project Tale of Tales has been involved in (after The Path) but is still being produced with a very small team:
Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn design, model and program; Kris Force is in charge of sound design; Agency, Leigh Alexander and Ste Curran’s new game development consultancy, are advising on the project direction; and an anonymous author is helping with the story. Last but not least, Austin Wintory is composing the music for Sunset.
Partial production funding has been acquired from the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, that has supported most of Tale of Tales games in the past.
Next to Sunset, Tale of Tales is preparing two other productions: The Book of 8, a re-imagination of their very first design based on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale and An empty World, a collaboration with Jessica Curry and Vicki Wong.
Tale of Tales will be available, for the curious, at the Game Developers Conference in San Francisco where Auriea Harvey and Michael Samyn are presenting their Nuovo Award nominated Luxuria Superbia in the Independent Games Festival pavilion and an early prototype for that game in the Experimental Gameplay Workshop.
More details on http://Tale-of-Tales.com/Sunset