Games Now! Lecture: Indie and Indigenous: Case Skábma – Snowfall

In this lecture, Marjaana Auranen will reflect on the development process of Skábma – Snowfall – an adventure game inspired by the old beliefs and folktales of indigenous Sámi people. Skábma is a narrative 3D platforming game set in northern Sámiland where you play as a young reindeer herder, Áilu. In the game, Áilu finds an old and forgotten Shaman Drum and steps onto the path of becoming the first Noaidi, a Sámi shaman, in centuries. The game has an interesting tie to the Covid-era as well: When the Human World is threatened by a strange disease bleeding from the Under, infecting everything on its path, the powers of the Noaidi are more needed than ever. Skábma – Snowfall has been in development for several years, and the design process has been filled with typical indie struggles – but on top of that it has carried the extra weight (and the joy of) making indigenous game development.