Friendship is magic. Yeah, I’ve been waiting so long for a chance to use that in some article or another. Seriously, though, the power of friendship is, um, powerful. And FriendCannon Studios is using that as the basis for their cooperative game Amirelia. In fact, they’re touting it as a way to strengthen bonds both in game as well as outside the digital experience. Not many titles can make such a claim, especially as a good deal of multiplayer games almost seem to espouse quite the opposite.
In Amirelia, you and a buddy take on avatars in a setting that can best be described as an abstract look at the cellular system of plants. Yeah, there’s not much more to it than that. The two of you have to work together towards a common goal. What that goal is I have no clue but the important thing is that you can’t be at each others’ throats in doing so. Based on the screenshots shown in the pitch, though, it appears that you’re tethering around cells or parts of cells. Beyond that I’m guessing it’s all about teamwork. Or something. I’m not very good at describing abstract thoughts.
Anyway, the main point of Amirelia is to strengthen the bond between you and the person you’re playing with. It encourages players to communicate and work together. And the game plays out in a split screen format. If you travel too far away from your friend you’ll notice it and said split screen will help you find your way back. “If the players are ever lost and want to find each other, all they have to do is move towards the split screen line.” Now that’s a novel use of the technology.
If you want to “try before you buy”, so to speak, you can play the Amirelia demo online or as a Windows download.
Track the progress of the Amirelia Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
