Vivid Foundry

Factsheet

Developer:
Vivid Foundry
Based in Toronto, Canada

Release date:
TBA 2022

Platforms:
PC
Xbox

Website:
http://www.solacestategame.com

Regular Price:

TBA

Description

Solace State is a 3D cyberpunk visual novel about a young hacker, Chloe, who comes to her political awakening as she seeks her friends in a biotech surveillance society. Your choices in intimate conversations, the kindling of relationships, and escalating tensions lead to multiple endings. Change the personal, revolutionize the political.

History

Ever since adolescence, Tanya Kan has dared to dream. For stories that bring about a better world. For stories of hope. Solace State first rose out of a desire to converse about personal roots and identities, in a world where immigration, cultural exchanges, and diaspora are commonplace. Where borders are porous and experienced differently by people, depending on their socioeconomic factors. In 2016, Tanya Kan traveled to examine political development in East Asia, comparing to her experiences at home in Canada. Her interview stories inspired and coalesced into the beginnings of a 3D visual novel that highlights character growth, and the formation of strong ties between friends, values, and communities. By world-building a completely original sci-fi society, Tanya presents a tense surveillance state that erodes our freedom of movement and diverse cultural practices. Together with a team of talented specialists and developers, Solace State is gradually flourishing to life. Solace State will be a first commercial product to position Vivid Foundry as a company that encourages an audience brimming with ideas about socially positive movements and advocating for marginalized stories.

Features

An unconventional, immersive story set in a sci-fi city teeming with biotech growth, focusing on the politics of youth resistance and rebuilding a society
Unique aesthetic visual novel presentation where you find narrative built into the 3D urban environment, and "peel back" the walls to reveal the story
Fully-fledged characters with handpainted expressions and fashion, and handcrafted 3D environments
A personable cast of characters from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds, each with unique motivations (and even some slow burn romance!)
Story choices for hacking into people's biotech and social media and influencing behaviors. You influence relationships and society to one of many endings!

Videos

Solace State 2022 update x overview YouTube

Solace State Story x Gameplay Trailer (PAX x EGX x Game Devs of Color 2020) YouTube

Solace State 35-sec extended promo (Kinda Funny E3 Showcase 2019) YouTube

Images

Logo & Icon

download logo files as .zip (114KB)

Awards & Recognition

"Different Games 2016" Official Selection
"Different Games 2017" Official Selection
"Regent Park Film Festival 2017" Official Selection
"Game Devs of Color 2018" Official Selection
"PAX West Indie MEGABOOTH 2018" Official Selection
"Ubisoft Indie Series" Grand Prize Winner, 2020
"LudoNarraCon 2020" Official Selection
"Best Story Award, Indie Arena Booth" Nomination, Gamescom 2020
"PAX x EGX Leftfield 2020" Official Selection
"Game Devs of Color 2020" Official Selection
"LudoNarraCon 2022" Official Selection

Selected Articles

"[T]he themes of privacy, security, economic inequality, and technological empowerment should feel hauntingly familiar, timely, almost urgent to anyone who occasionally browses the news."
- Conrad Armenta, Kill Screen
"Despite its genre, there are no static screens to be found here. These urban spaces are constantly in motion, which aptly reflects the game's narrative and themes of ever-moving perspective and societal change."
- Thomas Faust, Indiegames.com
"What sets the game apart from others of its kind is how players progress through the story: By making several choices which influence the various social groups in the game. These factions may share the same agenda, but have different stances on how to achieve them."
- Chris Aiken, Black Nerd Problems
"It looks like an engaging visual-novel experience, and a unique one, given its overt political themes, including such zeitgeist issues as immigration and surveillance."
- DJ Pangburn, Fast Company
"A cyberpunk game from a marginalized creator that is explicitly trying to tackle some key themes that the best cyberpunk games do[...]; The game is called Solace State. [...]This is a game about power relationships, it's about hegemony. It's worth looking up, it's really cool."
- Austin Walker, EiC of Waypoint, Hidden Gems of PAX West Panel
"It’s the game’s meditation on the nature of rebellion, its psychology and its costs, that really make it… The result rhymes hacking with psychology."
- Katherine Cross, The Verge
"I like the way that the city itself is inescapably the bones of the story, with the words themselves plastered on walls and stairs and concrete floors."
- Jay Castello, Rock Paper Shotgun
"Solace State’s contemporary political message, for instance, builds on a feminist cyberpunk tradition... They focus more on activism, in relation to issues of class disparity, technological exploitation, and ecological preservation."
- Jon Bailes, SyFy Wire
"...Solace State is actively anti-racist in nature. Based in the fictional East Asian city of Abraxa, Solace State prominently features women, LGBTQ, and BIPOC characters taking on roles at the frontlines of a resistance movement."
- Chan Khee Hoon, Input Mag

Additional Links

Tanya Kan's Twitter
General Twitter discussion on art, development, and life https:.

Solace State Twitter
Solace State news and nifty posts https:.

Devlog
Please visit the devlog for Vivid Foundry for more details! http:.

Tanya Kan's Instagram
More visual representation of Vivid Foundry news, development, and daily life https:.

Solace State Discord
Discussion and challenges for the Solace State community https:.

About Vivid Foundry

Boilerplate
Vivid Foundry is a Toronto interactive digital media studio that creates original, artistic stories, founded by Tanya Kan. We use the power of interactivity to humanize social concerns and empower civic stories, and foster socially engaging conversations.

More information
More information on Vivid Foundry, our logo & relevant media are available here.