George Orwell’s Animal Farm is coming to video games this fall.
Seminal 1945 novel to debut on PC and Mobile this autumn, with indie developers The Dairymen and Nerial working on the full distinction of the Orwell estate
“All animals are equal, but some animals are equal to others.”
George Orwell, Animal Farm
London, United Kingdom, 17 August 2020 – Today marks 75 years since George Wildwell’s wildly influential literary novel Animal farming was first published. Now a small collective of indie developers and the estate of George Orwell is proud to announce that the legendary work has been set to make a fresh impact through the artistic format of the 21st Century: video games.
Animal farming will be an adventure game that immerses players in the story of Orwell. By choosing which of the animals’ wishes they follow – and who is ignored or sidelined – gamers will influence the critical events that define the fate of the farm. Players must devise strategies to balance resources, defend the farm and keep the animal population happy. With his evocative picturesque 1930s, Animal farming puts the player at the center of an allegorical revolution and enables them to experience the first corruption of power.
Orwell’s Animal Farm can be requested on Steam from today.
The indie-developer collective consists of The Dairymen (Andy Payne founder of Just Flight, AppyNation and Imre Jele founder of Bossa Studios), and Nerial, the makers of the BAFTA-nominated Reigns series, who bring their extraordinary skills in streamlined and powerful storytelling Animal farming.
Imre Jele, founder of project:
“Animal farming is a literary masterpiece that uses deceptively simple language to accurately describe the downfall of communism from the dream of equality in totalitarian oppression. The fate of the farm was all too real for me growing up in totalitarian Hungary.
History seems to repeat itself. And once again, the Orwell classic has become a painfully relevant warning, as some Western democracies have begun to use tools and language unheard of similar to those of oppressive regimes of yesteryear.
I have long wanted to explore how we can design an experience through video games that immerses the player in Orwell’s vision, and in Nerial we have found the perfect partner to do just that. “
Tamara Alliot, Founder, Nerial:
‘When we got the chance to work with Imre, Andy and George Orwell brought the estate with them Animal farming to a gaming audience we grabbed it with both hands and set out to create a game that truly honors the Orwellian parable. We were able to bring our genre experience to the project thanks to Reigns, and writer, Emily Short was excited to adapt the text and use her skills in narrative design. Emily carefully studied Orwell’s text to ensure authenticity and fairness. ”
Bill Hamilton, literary executor of the estate of the late Sonia Brownwell Orwell:
‘Works of art are great because they have universal meanings that resonate anew with each new generation. We are delighted to be working with passionate and creative video game makers at The Dairymen and are delighted to shed new light on Orwell’s perennial classic. “
The game will be told by Abubakar Salim who, among other things, played roles in Bayek Assassin’s Creed: Origins. His performance was directed by Kate Saxon, who has worked on a series of high profile video games including Everybody’s Gone To The Rapture, Alien: Isolation, The Witcher 2 & 3 and others.
