Following June’s graduation gala, Reflector unveils a behind-the-scenes documentary diving into the creation of the environmentally-themed video game.
Today, Reflector Entertainment presents a behind-the-scenes look at the production of Lorekheim: Rise of a Fallen World, a video game created by eight students from ISART Digital Montreal’s Class of 2022, as part of their graduation project.
For the third year in a row, Reflector teamed up with ISART Digital—the international graduate school specialising in video game design and development—as part of its annual mentorship program to support the students in delivering their end-of-year graduation projects. In previous years, Reflector staff have acted as a mentors for the games Blossom and Palaka—the latter developed to address the needs of neurodivergent people—an important cause for the students, the studio, and the teaching staff.
This year’s goal was to provide a gaming experience that would raise awareness about the fight to save the environment and prove that video games can be both educational and entertaining. To accomplish this, many Reflectorians from various departments volunteered to assist the group in the production of their game.
“Reflector Entertainment is proud to support the creation of video games through its partnership with ISART Digital School: said Christopher Cimbaro, technical and artistic director at Reflector and mentor to the team. “We are committed to training the next generation of the video game and entertainment industry in developing as well as participating in important societal causes and issues.“
A theme with societal value
Like last year, Reflector decided to challenge the students. The idea of touching on the environmental cause immediately resonated with them as well as the educational team.
“As part of its educational mission, ISART Digital defends ethical values, but also societal values, whether in the choice of themes imposed on certain group projects, or in the context of its daily teaching, said Azad Lusbaronian, director of ISART Digital. We believe that our students will be better professionals if they are enlightened on subjects of collective interest. In this sense, the partnership with Reflector helps fuel our students’ thinking on topics that ultimately affect us all.”
In Lorekheim: Rise of a Fallen World, the player takes on the role of a guardian of nature whose goal is to restore the vital balance of the world of Lorekheim by purifying a corrupted antagonist that is endangering it. As in our reality, the player must responsibly invest the resources he draws from nature or risk corrupting his environment.
“We’re really proud of the work our team has done. It’s a subject that we immediately liked, that affects us every day, and that we don’t fully appreciate” said Joanna Bendaoud, who focused on the art direction aspects in the student group. “We are truly grateful for the guidance and support of Reflector Entertainment in making this important project possible.”
Insights and support from local experts
Reflector enlisted the help of trusted specialists to better equip students with basic environmental knowledge, ensuring that every element included in the game was accurate and true.
To reach this goal, the Montreal-based Association QuĂ©bĂ©coise pour la Promotion de l’Éducation Relative Ă L’Environnement (AQPERE) assisted Reflector in finding the right person to train the team of students. Hugue Asselin, coordinator of the Centre de Recherche en Éducation et Formation Relatives Ă l’Environnement et Ă l’ÉcocitoyennetĂ© (Centr’ERE) and lecturer in environmental education in the didactics department at UQAM, provided training on how to integrate environmental education into the game’s history.
“It is an important signal to see these young people, who are part of this industry, take an interest in environmental issues, explained Hugue Asselin. We were able to set up a customized training program, offering specific guidelines that could be useful in their professional life, which is about to begin.”
The AQPERE team was in charge of the follow-up during the production of the game to ensure that the information presented to the players was sound.
Lorekheim: Rise of a Fallen World is available on the itch platform.
