The BAFTA-nominated development team behind Alto’s Adventure and Alto’s Odyssey – namely, Harry Nesbitt and collaborators Joe Grainger and Todd Baker (Monument Valley 2) – have teamed up with Jair McBain (Mini Metro, Mini Motorways) and writer Jenna Jovi, to form Land & Sea.
Founder and creative director, Harry Nesbitt, explains why the team is drawn to the term ‘folk’ games in describing the experiences they are crafting: “We feel like there’s a shared groundedness in the things we make; an earthy, honest quality that evokes a strong sense of time and place. We want our players to feel they’re looking through a small window into a much larger world; a world that exists beyond the edge of the screen and stays with you long after you’ve put the game down.
“It’s also about the kinds of stories we want to tell – stories that are ultimately about ordinary people, often with a humble way of life and a strong connection to the landscape around them. These are threads that began with Alto’s Adventure and will extend well into our future as a studio.
“The Alto Series also showed us the immersive and meditative power that games can have. We were overwhelmed by the feedback we received from players who felt that our games helped them feel grounded by providing a sense of ‘zen’ in their otherwise stressful lives. Moving forward, we want this feeling to be a guiding principle of our studio.”
As well as continuing to support the Alto series in collaboration with the team at Snowman, Land & Sea are also developing their own original IPs that seek to encapsulate these core themes.
“We’re not ready to reveal too much just yet” explains producer, Jair McBain, “but we can say that the first of these will be an accessible, coming-of-age folktale set against an ancient pastoral landscape.”
Why 'Folk' Games?
We believe there are a number of threads running through the things we make – a sense of calm, wonder and reverence for nature – but also something more. At its heart, folk art is about conveying the everyday lives and feelings of ordinary people, often with a strong connection to the landscape around them. While our games may dance around the edge of fantasy, they’re also very much grounded in their own reality – a small window into a much larger world, that serves as the backdrop for what are ultimately deeply human experiences.
At Land & Sea, we have a shared love of nature, history and folklore – all things that have come to inform our name as much as our ethos. This influence weaves its way into every aspect of the worlds we create – a thread that began with Alto’s Adventure, and extends well into our future as a studio.
The Alto Series also showed us the immersive and meditative power that games can have. We were overwhelmed by the feedback we received from players who felt that our games helped them feel calm by providing a sense of ‘zen’ in their otherwise stressful lives. Moving forward, we want this feeling to be as much a part of the games we create as a guiding principle of our studio.
Land & Sea is now hiring and hard at work on their next title.