The Franz Kafka Videogame

2017 indie adventure game

2017 video game

The Franz Kafka Videogame

Developer(s)| Denis Galanin
Publisher(s)| Daedalic Entertainment
Composer(s)| Jonathan Geer
Engine| Moai
Platform(s)| Microsoft Windows, iOS, Android
Release| Windows

* WW: 6 April 2017

iOS

* WW: 18 July 2017

Android

* WW: 3 July 2018

Genre(s)| Adventure, puzzle
Mode(s)|

* Single-player

The Franz Kafka Videogame is an indie adventure game inspired by the writings of Franz Kafka. It was developed by Denis Galanin.

## Plot

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The protagonist, K., gets a sudden offer of employment. This event changes his life, forcing him to make a distant voyage. To his surprise, the world beyond his homeland appears to be stranger than he thought.

## Gameplay

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The Franz Kafka Videogame features gameplay similar to Denis Galanin's previous game. The player interacts with the world through a simple point and click interface. The goal of The Franz Kafka Videogame is to solve a series of puzzles and brain teasers. The puzzles are sequentially linked, forming an adventure story. The game contains no inventory, and the solving of puzzles mainly consists of clicking onscreen elements in the correct order. Solving a puzzle will immediately transport the player character to the next screen.

## Development

[edit]

The Franz Kafka Videogame was developed over a period of 2.5 years by Denis Galanin.

The game was fully improvised throughout the entire period of development.[1]

## Reception

[edit]

Reception

Aggregate scoresAggregator| Score

|

Metacritic| PC: 64/100[3]
OpenCritic| 66/100[2]
9% Critics Recommend
Review scoresPublication| Score

|

Riot Pixels| 80/100[4]
Adventure Gamers| [5]
Digitally Downloaded| [6]

The announcement of The Franz Kafka Videogame in 2013 attracted the interest of such non-video game media as  Time,[7] NBC News,[8] NY Daily News,[9] etc.

On review aggregate OpenCritic, The Franz Kafka Videogame had an average 66 out of 100 review score with 10% approval rating based on 10 reviews.[2]

On review aggregator Metacritic, the game received a 64 out of 100, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Critics praised the visual style, while criticizing the short length and confusing puzzles. Riot Pixels said the game was "a beautiful nightmare, cozy and purple like A-minor." Renata Ntelia at Adventure Gamers said it was "a pleasant little puzzle game that will evoke a lightweight nostalgia for people that have prior knowledge of its namesake’s work," but argued that "its limited gameplay ultimately doesn’t provide anything more than a couple hours, at most, of surreal diversion." Harvard L. at Digitally Downloaded called it "a game which is often confusing and unintuitive, but it gets away with it under the guise of being true to its source material.

### Accolades

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Year | Award | Category | Result | Ref

|
|
|
|

2015  | Intel Level Up Game Developer Contest  | The Grand Prix (Game of the Year)  | Won  | [10]
Best Adventure/Role Playing Game  | Won
2017  |  The Hollywood Music in Media Awards | Best Song/Score - Mobile Video Game  | Won  | [11]
TOMMI Award  | Best PC Game  | Nominated  | [12]
TapTap Game Awards  | Best Visual Art  | Nominated  | [13]
2018  | The Pedagogical Media Prize  | Best Educational Games for Adolescents  | Won  | [14]
14th International Mobile Gaming Awards |  | Nominated  | [15]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Galanin, Denis (17 April 2017). "Improvisational Game Design". Game Developer. Retrieved 23 November 2023.
2. ^ a b "The Franz Kafka Videogame for PC Reviews". OpenCritic. OpenCritic.com, LLC. 4 April 2017. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
3. ^ "The Franz Kafka Videogame for PC Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
4. ^ "Review: Riot Pixels". Riot Pixels. 2017-04-04.
5. ^ Ntelia, Renata (14 November 2018). "The Franz Kafka Videogame". Adventure Gamers. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
6. ^ L., Harvard. "Review: The Franz Kafka Videogame (PC)". Digitally Downloaded. Archived from the original on 3 September 2019. Retrieved 3 September 2019.
7. ^ Grossman, Samantha (5 December 2013). "A Franz Kafka Video Game Is Coming But Who Cares Since Life Is Pointless and Nothing Matters". Time.
8. ^ "Existential dread achievement unlocked! It's the 'Franz Kafka Videogame'". nbcnews.com. 4 December 2013.
9. ^ "Franz Kafka video game in the works". nydailynews.com.
10. ^ 2015 Intel® Level Up Game Dev Contest — And the Winners Are. intel.com
11. ^ HMMA Winners. hmmawards.com
12. ^ Gewinner und Nominierte kindersoftwarepreis.de
13. ^ TapTap Game Awards 2017 Best Visual Art Nominees. tap.io
14. ^ Preistraeger 2018. pädagogischer-medienpreis.de
15. ^ WINNERS & NOMINEES. imgawards.com

## External links

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* Official page on Blogger

* v
* t
* e

Daedalic Entertainment

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* The Breakout
* Harvey's New Eyes

Deponia|

* Deponia
* Chaos on Deponia
* Goodbye Deponia
* Deponia Doomsday

The Whispered World|

* The Whispered World
* Silence

The Dark Eye|

* Chains of Satinav
* Memoria
* Blackguards
* Blackguards 2

Other games|

* A New Beginning
* The Night of the Rabbit
* Anna's Quest
* Shadow Tactics: Blades of the Shogun
* The Franz Kafka Videogame
* The Long Journey Home
* Ken Follett's The Pillars of the Earth
* AER: Memories of Old
* State of Mind
* Barotrauma
* The Lord of the Rings: Gollum

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