Page - 201 - in JRFM - Journal Religion Film Media, Volume 03/01

Review: SAMOROST 3 | 201www.jrfm.eu 2017, 3/1, 199–205 GAMe DetAiLs the game developer, Amanita Design, is based in the Czech republic. the com- pany was founded in 2003 by Jakub Dvorsky, and now consists of nine mem- bers, about the size of a regular family business. Amanita Design is well known for its fancy graphics and creative illustrations, but also does music videos and websites. it uses Adobe Air for the development and distribution of Samorost 3, and thereby ensures that it runs on a great variety of platforms. the hardware prerequisites are mid-level. On my i5 6200u / 2.3 Ghz with intel hD520 graphics chip, the game runs smoothly even on the 4K display, with nei- ther flickering nor clicking disturbing the game experience. The user interface is simple: a point-and-click system controls the white dwarf and the tokens/per- sons he interacts with. the menu provides the usual options: save, load, game preferences, and a hint book, which is a piece of art by itself, a small game with- in the game. the graphics are really impressive. i have hardly ever seen such an accumula- tion of colorful Neverlands that are so enchanting. Colors, proportions, scales, sounds … everything blends together seamlessly. Also, the music is more than just an accessory: both score and “instrumentation” are essential – I use quota- tion marks as only a part of the sounds is obviously related to known natural instruments – and it really helps if one recognizes a theme heard before in an- other place. Fig. 3: Hospitality for the hero: a teahouse of a different kind