Velvet 89: educational new game presents events of 1989 to new generation
In October, the team at Charles Games, the creators of such games as Playing Kafka and Attentat 1942, released Velvet 89, an immersive and educational experience that invites players to turn investigator in five cities across Czechoslovakia. Ahead of the thirty-fifth anniversary of the Velvet Revolution on November 17th, Danny Bate spoke to designer, animator and university lecturer Ondřej Javora, who was behind the graphics of the new game.
“So the game is called Velvet 89, and it’s based on historical events. It's a so-called ‘hidden object’ game, so it's very similar to the Where’s Waldo? books. You basically have a map where you have to find some characters based on the hints you get.
“It's a cooperation with Člověk v tísni (People in Need) organisation and their programme Jeden svět na školách (One World in Schools). It's supposed to be for elementary-school and high-school students, but since it's available publically, it's also on all the other platforms where you can download it for free. You can download it on Steam, Google Play or the App Store. We're hoping that it's something for everyone.”
And what is something distinct about this game for players?
“I think one of the distinct features might be that we were actually cooperating with people who were there, and with historians. It's not 100% as it was, for sure, because there's some like artistic licence to it, but it's a real historical event. So you can also learn something about the history from the game, and to get to know how it all happened.”
One thing that I really like about the game is that it's not just based in Prague, right? You get to see the events of 1989 in other cities too.
“Yes, this was one of the important things for us at the outset. Usually when you're talking about Velvet Revolution, people know about Prague events, but it started in the regions, and it continued in the regions. It ended up in Ostrava with a general strike. It was important for a broader audience to know this, that it wasn't just Prague, but it was also happening in the other regions, which were very important at that time.”
I know that you have worked on this game, but if I can get you to think about the experience of playing the game: what is one thing that you particularly like and would recommend to potential players?
“For me, it would be hopefully the atmosphere, since I worked on the art of the game. It's up to the players and people who are going to use it, but it's just generally about being there. A lot of the game involves looking for the characters, and they tell you something about what's happening. So it’s as if you were actually there, and you have a chance to do something, to talk with the people who were there at that time. That’s the feeling that we're hoping the players will experience.”
And is this game only available in Czech?
“It's for sure available in Czech, but you can also switch to English. So far we have just these two languages. We'll see in the future, but you can switch to English right now, no problem.”
