“So the machine just kept turning and then eventually we landed on the final game that shipped.”Įmber Lab was founded in 2009 by the Grier brothers as an animation and digital content studio. People saw what we were doing and they got excited about it,” continued Mike. From there, and after getting some ideas on paper, the Ember Lab team thought they had something great in their hands. We wanted to create some of those experiences for others.” “We were doing a lot of great work in the video commercial space and a lot of narrative storytelling with short films, but creatively, many of the team members, and even myself, always found a lot of inspiration coming from the video game space. We could do something special: tell a great story and get people emotionally invested in a world that they connect with,” said Mike Grier in his role as Chief Creative Officer. “We started talking about what it would be like if we made our own game. Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ story began humbly, a conversation over lunch. Accompanied by adorable little creatures known as the Rot, Kena travels the lands surrounding an abandoned village, battling deadly monsters, and guiding lingering spirits to their next life. In Kena: Bridge of Spirits, players step into the role of a young spirit guide named Kena who seeks an ancient sacred mountain shrine that has been taken over by corruption. From there, we started building some conceptual mechanics.” “We wanted to craft a tale of forgiveness and play on the theme of rebirth. We grew up playing and enjoying action-adventure games, but also tried to lean into our strengths as animators and storytellers,” said Josh Grier, Chief Operating Officer and Producer at Ember Lab. “We set out to create a game that we wanted to play as brothers. In its launch month, Kena: Bridge of Spirits was the most downloaded PlayStation 5 game in Europe and third most downloaded game in North America, making it both a commercial and critical success.īut where did this amazing 3D adventure story spring from? We spoke with Ember Lab founders Mike and Josh Grier about how their love of gaming as brothers paired with their film and commercial background inspired their journey from a visual effects and animation studio to a PlayStation game development partner that went on to win at The Game Awards. Players around the globe dove into the game’s world. Alongside trailers for many gaming giants, Kena: Bridge of Spirits was revealed to the world, immediately capturing the attention of gaming media and fans with its gorgeous environment, Pixar-like characters, and exciting fast-paced gameplay.įast-forward to Kena: Bridge of Spirits’ release in September 2021, the title immediately became a breakout hit with overwhelmingly positive reviews from gaming’s biggest outlets. On June 11 of 2020, PlayStation fans were treated to a series of major announcements in the PS5 Future of Gaming showcase.
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