A Story About My Uncle

Another UDK indie project, this time from Sweden's Södertörn University. A Story About My Uncle is a first person platformer (Wait!! Don't run away just yet!) that centers around dear old uncle Fred, his amazing inventions and his fantastic journeys as told through a bedtime story by a narrating father to his daughter. Consisting of eleven programmers and artists, it has been nominated in the Swedish Game Awards which would dole out 10,000 kr for a first prize win.

The crux of the gameplay is a glove which allows not only super jumping, but grappling hook lasers to propel yourself around the floating rocks of a cave. There is a story present, complete with characters and non-interactive dialogue, told in a setting that is reminiscent of a Longest Journey or Myst otherworld. The graphics are decently realized and the level design is well thought out, with some more polish it could be quite breathtaking.

The game is treading familiar ground in gameplay for the indie market, but it does control well. When you fail it's because you messed up, not because of clipping or shoddy map design. The storybook aesthetic is pleasing enough and it would be interesting to see this expanded into a multi-world, Myst-like full-featured game. So here's to hoping they get the chance.