Press release:
Melbourne, 01/23/2019 — Australian game developer Insert Disk 22 today announced it will launch the Kickstarter campaign for its cyberpunk-themed point and click adventure, Born Punk, on February 5th, 2019.
Set 130 years in the future on the formerly Danish island of Bornholm, in Born Punk the player controls Eevi Rinasdottir, a former corporate combat hacker whose brain-computer has been infected with a rogue artificial intelligence.
On her quest to find out how she came to be in this situation, she will uncover a plot that will change the future of humanity forever.
With a heavy emphasis on player agency, a thrilling storyline exploring transhumanist themes and lighthearted humour alike, Born Punk tries to recreate the spirit of classic point and click adventures.
In the accompanying gameplay demo, players are able to experience most of the anticipated features of the game.
Eevi has to make a gameplay decision that involves four different ways of approaching the scenario she is faced with, showcasing the game’s commitment to letting the player choose their own path.
Voice acting is already implemented in the demo as well; Eevi is performed by an US army Iraq veteran, giving the virtual character authentic, convincing depth.
Finally, Insert Disk 22 added multiple examples of the extensive library of lore that players of the game will eventually be able to find. This lore will build and expand the history of and life on the island of Bornholm, to entice the player to delve deeper into the meticulously written world of Born Punk.
“We want to tell a story of strife, but also one that shows that there is always hope even in the darkest of times,” said Falko von Falkner, founder of ID22.
“In order to do so, it is vital to give the player as much agency as possible. Choices and consequences in the context of point and click adventures are only very rarely explored.”
“Through the eyes of Eevi, we will look at a world in which multinational corporations and tech giants have been given free reign over our lives, and we will let the player make their own decisions within the story we are trying to tell,” Falko continued.
“Violence vs pacifism, subterfuge vs honesty, thought vs instinct – we will explore all those themes. But we will also stay true to the roots of point and click adventures; things will always have a bit of a humorous undertone.”
Born Punk will also feature hallmarks of the point & click adventure genre. The player will spend a lot of their time trying to solve logic- and perception-based puzzles, in which items have to be combined or used in order to affect the game world and drive the story forward. A lot of emphasis was put on ensuring that the puzzles follow a comprehensive pattern. When there is no puzzle to be solved, it is interaction with the game’s wacky characters that will push the narrative forward, as Eevi will meet personalities like 8-bit rap-obsessed android nerds and bartenders who choose to replace their natural hands with cocktail glasses.
The kickstarter demo can be downloaded from itch.io here.
About Insert Disk 22
ID22 is the brainchild of it’s founder, Falko von Falkner. He’s been a (PC) gamer since 1984, and was heavily influenced by point and click adventures of that era. Falko developed a couple of freeware games in the late 90s. In 2018, Falko decided to found ID22 in order to help re-ignite the point and click genre, and to show gamers some of the joy that he experienced back in the day by making classic games for a modern audience. Together with Indrek, ID22’s graphics artist, he has set out to create a cyberpunk influenced game, titled ‘Born Punk’. For more information, please consult the bottom of the kickstarter campaign page.
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Jonas “O.J” Ek
The Gaming Ground
Twitter: @TheGamingGround
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Tags: Adventure games, Born Punk, Console games, Cyberpunk, Disk 22, Indie games, Kickstarter, PC games