Find your way to the mythical Fairyland of South Asian folkore

Gordon Lee + Mostafa Haque

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Rayha’s Poem is a third person narrative platformer about a young girl running away to the mythical Fairyland to escape a child marriage.  Drawing on themes of South Asian folklore and contemporary social issues, Rayha’s Poem seeks to tell a tale that’s both out of, as well as a product of, its time – a narrative that melds the always-relevant curse of forced marriage with the eternal dream of a land free from woe.

One of the mechanics we were most proud of was the torch and what it symbolized. Flames can mean widely different things even within the context of the same culture. In the culture I come from, fire is seen as a uniting force among certain religious groups – acting as a sacred seal upon a couple’s union. At the same time, it is also seen as a guiding light – pushing back against the darkness of the night and leading people to a brighter tomorrow.  The duality of fire as both a symbol of freedom and constraint was something we wanted to play up mechanically with our torch – letting players burn down impediments but also restricting how much they could see in the darkness.  Fireflies, as living creatures that embody this duality, also feature prominently as a recurring theme seen in everything from dialogue triggers to “death” animations.

Credits:

Primary Programming and 3D art by Gordon Lee

Design, Writing and Secondary Programming by Mostafa Haque

Music by Jared Mills

Starring Kate Smith as Rayha