When I first saw the launch trailer for Mundaun, I was immediately taken with the very interesting art style. In an age where Ampere powered GPU's are capable of making a video game look better than real life, there was something very appealing about the rough hand drawn figures and how they added to the setting for this folklore based horror game. I'm excited to try this game out, and a new bi-weekly behind the scenes campaign is keeping me intrigued as I await the scheduled release on March 16th.
Before I get to that though, some background. Mundaun is being developed by Hidden Fields founder and Switzerland native Michel Ziegler who also happened to draw all of the visuals. Pulling on experiences from his time as a youth visiting the alps, and the folktales of the region, he's turned this passion project into a full length survival horror release. The game follows a young man investigating his grandfathers mysterious death only to find that the town he resided in is being haunted by sinister beings.
So back to the bi-weekly behind the scenes campaign detailing the development of the game. The first behind the scenes, titled "The Creation Process" shows the awesome translation from Ziegler's hand drawn images and textures to the rendered in game models that will be terrifying players on their journey through the alps. The different styles and methods used to get the unique artistic feel are really intriguing to watch.
In addition to these behind the scenes, Discord users will be able to join a special Q&A with Ziegler tomorrow (January 13th) at 1:00PM EST by joining this server.
Folklore-Inspired Horror Adventure Game Mundaun Launches March 16
The Lovingly Hand-Pencilled Survival Horror Tale From One-Man Studio Hidden Fields
and MWM Interactive Will Transport Players to the Ominous Valley of Mundaun on PC and Console
Fans Can Watch the First in a Series about Developer Michel Ziegler’s Process Now on YouTube
and Join Him in a Live Q&A on Discord Tomorrow
Mundaun, a folklore-inspired horror game by Hidden Fields, a one-man studio founded by Swiss programmer and illustrator Michel Ziegler, will launch on March 16, 2021 on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and the Epic Game Store. Mundaun is the first full-length game from Ziegler, and takes players on a journey of a young man who travels to a dark, secluded valley of the Alps to face off with a malevolent entity that resides there and uncovers the mystery of his grandfather’s death. The game will be published by MWM Interactive, a division of leading entertainment company Madison Wells, that is dedicated to bringing players inventive, artful and compelling games from independent developers around the world.
To celebrate Mundaun’s upcoming launch Hidden Fields and MWMi have released the first episode in a bi-weekly series of behind-the-scenes videos showcasing Ziegler’s creative development process and the folklore and real life inspirations behind the game. The first episode, “The Creation Process”, is available now on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/ozRBmz5rQvg
“It's exciting to finally have a release date and share the experience of Mundaun with the passionate community that has been following the game over the past several years,” said Hidden Fields founder and developer Michel Ziegler. “The Alps hold a special importance to me and everything from the game’s story to the hand-pencilled characters and environments celebrate the remarkable culture of the Swiss region of Grisons. I’m glad to have worked with MWMi to bring this project to the finish line and look forward to players uncovering Mundaun’s secrets.”
Mundaun has been a passion project for Ziegler since beginning development on the game in 2014. Having spent summers in the Swiss Alps as a child, Ziegler has an adoration for the region, including the culture and its various folktales passed down for generations. Mundaun is a survival horror game set on the darker side of the Alps, and follows a young man named Curdin who travels to the Swiss town of Mundaun to learn more about the mysterious circumstances behind his grandfather’s death, and soon discovers that something diabolical is haunting the town’s residents. Throughout their journey across Mundaun, players will solve intricate puzzles to uncover the town’s secrets, while avoiding sinister characters that trigger the game’s fear system, a “cause-and-effect” feature which disorients players when facing dangerous situations.
Discord users can join a special Q&A on Wednesday, January 13 beginning at 10:00AM PT / 1:00PM ET to ask questions directly to Michel Ziegler about the game. Interested participants can join the Discord server by visiting https://discord.gg/6dwMQpgv8P.
Mundaun will be available on March 16 on PlayStation®5, PlayStation®4, Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch and PC via Steam and the Epic Game Store. Steam users can now add Mundaun to their wishlist by visiting www.store.steampowered.com/app/720350/Mundaun/.
To learn more about Mundaun, follow @MundaunGame on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook and visit the game’s official website https://www.mundaungame.com. Download assets from the press kit here.
About Hidden Fields
Hidden Fields is a one-person game studio founded by programmer and illustrator Michel Ziegler and located in idyllic Lucerne, Switzerland. The aim of Hidden Fields is to create game worlds that are truly unique in aesthetics and content for players to explore. Founder Michel Ziegler studied computer science at the Hochschule für Technik in Rapperswil and worked some years as a software engineer, before moving on to study Illustration Fiction at the Hochschule Luzern Design & Kunst. He has since honed his craft on numerous, unreleased projects, and Mundaun will be his first full-length game release with interactive entertainment publisher MWMi.
About MWM Interactive
MWMi is an interactive entertainment publisher, dedicated to bringing players inventive, fun, beautiful, artful and compelling games from independent developers around the world. MWMi’s approach is to empower the creators, let their vision lead and to connect them with their audiences. A division of leading media company Madison Wells, the game company is based in Los Angeles.
