What inspired the minimalist story in Roterra conveyed by story panels and video? – Dig-It! Games

Dig-iT! Games’ Suzi Keehn looked back 500 years ago to the epic Italian poem Orlando Furioso for inspiration. The rest is history.

The central game mechanic evoked the perspective shifts of the 16th century epic poem Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto, in which stereotypes are turned on their heads – and it is truly the journey that matters … not the destination. The strong female characters in the poem, who repeatedly challenge medieval perceptions of women as mere accessories, resonated with the team; this resulted in Angelica – the fearless central character of Roterra who overcomes the betrayal of her beloved brother and numerous environmental challenges to regain her rightful place as Roterra’s Queen. Themes are woven throughout Orlando Furioso that repeatedly force the reader to question what they believe to be true: a story told from one perspective turns out to be remarkably different when seen from another character’s point of view; the line between hero and villain is constantly in flux; and stereotypes are constantly challenged. Our designers internalized these forced shifts of perception as they worked to create the world of Roterra – where orientation changes at the push of a button.