Tribeca Festival 2021 features a first for film fests: Indie games will be present as “Official Selections.” Attendees can go hands-on with eight games, including Twelve Minutes and Kena: Bridge of Spirits.
The developers behind each game shared their influences, including films that inspired their unique visual styles.
Harold Halibut
Developer: Slow Brows
“Harold Halibut had so many influences, from the classical Czech animation films, Aardman Animations’ Wallace & Gromit, Wes Anderson, ‘90s sci-fi-fantasy films like E.T. or The Abyss, Pixar, Wong Kar-wai, Japanese cinema and animation.”
- Ole Tillmann, Art Director at Slow Brows
Kena: Bridge of Spirits
Developer: Ember Lab
“Our time living in Japan exposed us to the works of Miyazaki and other cultural influences that have shaped the themes of many of our independent projects.”
- Josh Grier, Co-Founder and COO at Ember Lab
Lost In Random
Developer: Zoink
“The macabre, beautiful, and highly visual Kingdom of Random was inspired by the works of those such as Shaun Tan, Tim Burton, and Alice in Wonderland.”
- Klaus Lyngeled, CEO and Creative Director at Zoink
NORCO
Developer: Geography of Robots
“NORCO draws from a wide range of sources: Southern Gothic authors such as William Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, or Cormac McCarthy, and many urban theorists and environmental justice scholars including Robert Bullard, Eyal Weizman, and Mike Davis.”
- Geography of Robots
Sable
Developer: Shedworks
“French and Belgian artists using the ligne claire style from the ‘80s and ’90s — and movies created by Studio Ghibli like Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind.”
- Gregorios Kythereotis, Creative Director at Shedworks
Signalis
Developer: rose-engine
“For Signalis, the works of Tsutomu Nihei, David Lynch, Stanley Kubrick, and Mamoru Oshii have been a strong influence.”
- rose-engine
The Big Con
Developer: Mighty Yell
“We were heavily inspired by the '90s including Nickelodeon, Ghost World, Monkey Island, Toejam & Earl, and movies like The Wizard, Blank Cheque, Matchstick Men.”
- Dave Proctor, Game Director at Mighty Yell
Twelve Minutes
Developer: Luis Antonio
“Twelve Minutes pulls inspirations from films including Memento, Rear Window, and The Shining.”