Games

Telmahre, an interactive character drama in the tradition of Myst, is the thesis project of MFA gradute Michael Steffen. The player is free to explore Telmahre, a late medieval castle haunted by the memory of Tobias Rosseau. Tobias, a man trapped by his own fear of losing control, will play out his story in the different areas of the castle. By travelling through the space, the player experiences the defining moments that led to his downfall.

This project focuses on the exploration of a tragic character through interactive cinematics. Steffen's story structure was inspired by Janet Murray's theories on interactive tragedy, as well as ritual storytelling methods developed by the early Christian Church. The presentation style, which features live-action video and 360-degree node-based navigation, is based on the first-person adventure game genre. Telmahre runs on Windows PCs via the Tantallon Engine, and is suitable for a general audience.