“This is like the Oscars for video games.”
Attentat 1942, a serious video game that shows Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia during World War II from the perspective of civilians, has been nominated in the Excellence in Narrative category at the 2018 Independent Games Festival Awards — one of the world’s most prestigious video game competitions.
“This IGF nomination is like a dream come true for us,” says Jakub Gemrot, Attentat 1942’s lead programmer. “It’s like the Oscars of video games, and I’m so proud that Attentat 1942 originated in Czech academia, where game development programs began only quite recently,”
Based on research conducted by historians, as well as documented testimonies, Attentat 1942 explores WWII through the eyes of its surviving civilians. Combining interactive comics, video interviews, and archival film footage, the game presents a unique depiction of the recent past.
“Meticulous historical research went into every utterance, object, and persona in Attentat 1942,” says Marie Černá, one of Attentat 1942’s historians.
Attentat 1942 shows the profound impact the war and the totalitarian regime behind it had on the lives and minds of ordinary people. It immerses players in living histories of personal tragedy and pain, but also extraordinary hope and courage.
“This is absolutely fantastic,” says Vít Šisler, Attentat 1942’s lead designer. “The nomination shows that video games are a viable medium for telling serious, world-changing stories.”
The awards take place on March 21, 2018, during the Game Developers Conference at the Moscone Center in San Francisco, CA.
Available on Steam, Attentat 1942 is a significantly enhanced, translated version of the game Československo 38-89: Atentát, which was released in the Czech Republic in 2015. Attentat 1942 is developed by Charles University and the Czech Academy of Sciences, and supported by the Czech Ministry of Culture and the Technology Agency of the Czech Republic.
Checkout our review of the game