Florence was one of the winners of the 2018 Apple Design Award, and it’s not just any game.
Annapurna Interactive is an independent video game distribution company that has so far brought us the wonderful Flower by Jenova Chen and Nicholas Clark, previously available only on PlayStation, and the enigmatic and addictive puzzle game Gorogoa by Jason Roberts, one of the sensations of 2018 released on all platforms, also available on macOS.
Florence is the new project of Ken Wong, designer of Monument Valley, and his studio Mountains, founded after leaving Ustwo Games.
Florence could be defined as an interactive love story. The main character, Florence Yeoh, is a graphic designer in her mid-twenties immersed in the routine of an office job, framed between public transport trips and the calls of her worried mother. The story changes rhythm as soon as she meets Krish, a street cellist she falls in love with. From that moment on, everything evolved in the purest Hollywood romantic style, with a predictable but well-counted ending.
Our mission in the game is to help the story move forward by interacting with small, easy-to-solve puzzles related to the action the protagonists are taking. Thus, we will move Florence’s toothbrush, choose the routine answers with which she dodges the insistent questions of her worried mother about her future, or simply show the way to Florence through the music that floats in the air the day she meets Krish.
Another thing is our relationship with the game. I’m sure I couldn’t leave it until I could finish it. It’s a clean, simple, unpretentious story. But told with such delicacy and emotion that it makes you want to see how the authors will resolve the intricacies of the story.
The developers of the game have been inspired by love stories from the cinema of recent years such as 500 Days of Summer or Titanic. To me, personally, it has reminded me of the dynamics and aesthetics of stories like Barefoot in the Park, Breakfast at Tiffanys or the more recent Begin Again, stories that are much longer or more complex but with that subtle point of naivety and optimism that makes them special.
Florence is a highly recommended game. Although short, the gaming experience is extremely enjoyable and placid, qualities that are not easy to find. And, given the success it is achieving, it will surely not be the last of its kind.