Waking up in the woods at the beginning of “Reclaim!” — a video game created by the Minnesota-based nonprofit organization Grassroots Indigenous Multimedia — a young Ojibwe girl must find a way to return home. I realized that I had to talk to animals. Players click to make the cartoon protagonist roam around her 3D environment, solving puzzles while talking to an omniscient cat and other creatures to get hints on how to repair the cigarette case.
Unlike most point-and-click adventure games, this game has a unique objective. It is intended to serve as a tool to assist in the education and preservation of the Ojibwe language, also known as Ojibwemowin. All dialogue in the game includes at least some Ojibwe words in the English text that appears on screen, and the dubbing actors provide dubbed audio that is delivered entirely in Ojibwemowin To do.
The creators said the game aims to teach and highlight the Ojibwe language and its stories without sacrificing the fun of the video game. They said they saw a need for entertainment that used the Ojibwe language outside of the school environment.
“We want a place to use language that is not a classroom or ceremony, so we wanted to create an interesting game that also acts as a scaffold for learning,” said Anangkwe Hermes Roach, the game's lead developer. .
Almost all of Reclaim!'s development team is made up of Native American developers. University of Minnesota professor Mary Hermes, the nonprofit's founder and president, said she hopes to provide a way for children to play when they don't speak Ojibwemowin at school or at home. .
Since work began a year and a half ago, the creators have partnered with St. Paul Public Schools to help fund the game and another Ojibwe language learning platform called Ojibwe 7000.
The game has been in development for a year and a half and is expected to be completed by 2026, Hermes said.
While saying, “Take it back!” is aimed at helping others learn Ojibwe language and culture, and the developer couple said it has helped them accept and understand their identity as Indigenous peoples.
Joshua Herron, a storyboard artist who has worked on popular animated shows such as “Bob's Burgers” and “BoJack Horseman,” said working on the game made him proud of his heritage.
“I've been battling impostor syndrome for a long time, and this was kind of a beautiful entryway into acceptance and what it's like to be resilient and proud of who you are.” said Herron. I recently moved to Minnesota from Los Angeles. “It's about understanding that my culture is not just a thing of the past, but one that is still very much thriving.”
Herron and his fellow designers said they wanted the game to have the look and feel of a Saturday morning cartoon, mixed with a calming environment that enhanced the characters rather than distracting them. Hermes Roach said the game's design was inspired by other adventure games, such as Night in the Woods, and “edutainment'' games for children, such as Freddy Fish. said.
Although both have experience in games and animation, Herron and lead artist Renee Nejo admitted they had to work on accurately representing Indigenous culture without leaning into stereotypes. Nejo said Native Americans are too often stereotyped and only known for their role in American history and colonization. They instead want to create modern games that continue to showcase Native-influenced characters and environments.
“Ojibwe kids need cool games, so we're really trying to make this cool thing,” Nejo said. “It's not a textbook, it's not a game you'd find in a museum.”
