WIP Fe is an open-world platform-adventure video game set in a Nordic fantasy forest, in which players control a fox-like creature. The objective is to connect to the environment and the other beings in it in order to protect the forest from the Silent Ones – mechanical beings that degrade the natural environment.
Fe characterizes the environment not as a resource to be managed, but as a living network that the player must learn to communicate with. The most significant ‘ecological’ design feature of Fe is its core mechanic, singing, which is used to represent interspecies communication. Instead of combat, the player interacts with the world through pitch-matching vocalizations. For example, to progress in the game, players must approach a creature (like a giant deer or a small bird) and gently tilt the controller to match their ‘frequency’.
This shifts the player’s role from ‘dominator’ to ‘participant’. Players cannot force the forest to help them but must listen, harmonize, and earn the cooperation of other species, which speaks to the biological concept of mutualism. Fe thus emphasizes shared perception and symbiosis; every creature sees the world differently, and to survive, the protagonist must adopt these various perspectives. For example, after befriending a specific plant or animal, Players gain a ‘voice’ that allows them to interact with new parts of the in-game flora. For example, singing to a specific flower might cause it to launch the player into the air, or befriending a bird might allow them to see through its eyes; while well intentioned, these interactions still appear overtly utilitarian and could have been complemented by more ‘ambient’, less goal-specific interactions.
Finally, the ‘Silent Ones’ function as the game’s antagonist and represent alienation from nature through industrial expansion. When the Silent Ones appear, the music fades, and the vibrant colors of the forest turn to colder, artificial shades of purple and grey. Unlike the player, they do not sing but characteristically remain silent (possibly evoking the metaphor of the ‘Silent Spring’ popularized by Rachel Carson). The silence also signifies a lack of mutual communication with the ecosystem as Silent ones only take from it.
Similar to other ecogames using similar genre patterns like Plasticity, Fe uses its world-building to explain its environmental themes without dialogue. Exploring the world reveals ancient stone murals and ‘memory’ shards, which show the history of the forest’s balance and how the arrival of the Silent Ones disrupted the natural cycle. This positions the player as a restorer of an ancient, balanced system that has been thrown into disequilibrium by external extractive forces.
One thought on “Fe”
Contribute to this article below
You must be logged in to post a comment.
While introducing interesting mechanics and potentially fostering interspecies thinking, Fe’s worldbuilding, graphical style, soundtrack etc. appear somewhat Disney-esque and do not facilitate connecting the game’s themes to real-world issues. It may be particularly useful for younger players, particularly if experiences from the game were reflected upon (e.g. playing it in class) to avoid getting desensitized by the game’s focus on immersion.