Written by Lilli Donohue, Illustrations by Canaan Games
Nikki Ferguson and Canaan, both fourth-year digital media students, co-run Canaan Games, a gaming business for which they are writing a visual novel. “Einsamkeit: Halwende” is a supernatural horror drama that follows 12 characters, all of whom are invited to play a game in a motel. Readers make choices for the characters. The novel challenges the readers’ thinking. “We want to play on the ‘Are you sure?’ feeling,” Ferguson said, “There is never a cut and dry answer.” The choices are not always easy, one answer is mixed with aspects of good and bad.
This is a long project the two have been working on. There are over 300 pages of code so far. “We’re doing it because we can, because it’s fun and we are unapologetic,” Ferguson said.
She applies this to other aspects of her life as well. “I was raised with encouragement, respect, and dignity. I was taught to think for myself and to fight for what I believe in, but don’t let it distract from life,” Ferguson said.
She carries these ideas with her today, being aware of diversity but not letting it be her driving force. The characters in “Einsamkeit: Halwende” are diverse in many aspects, but it is not the focus of the novel. There is an effort to have a wide array of representation. Ferguson and Canaan want the emphasis to be on the narrative and horror of the visual novel, rather than on the details of the characters.
In the future they are hoping to expand Canaan Games to open Resurrection Studios and continue to produce content. Ferguson is inspired by interactive elements of digital artwork, leading to her passion for digital media. Through many layers of collaboration, Ferguson and Canaan have a good system down for producing work. They each created six characters for “Einsamkeit: Halwende.” For Ferguson’s, she wrote their actions and personalities while Canaans wrote the dialogue for all of them. Then Ferguson went back through everything when she wrote the code for the visual novel. The visual art is made by Canaan, who created the illustrations on his phone.
“Einsamkeit: Halwende” is a representation of what can happen when artists come together with a goal and a strong will to collaborate and achieve it.
