Pangnirtung developers raise money to translate video game into Inuktitut

A video game inspired by Inuit legends is giving a boost to a Nunavut software company.

The interactive fiction, Beneath Floes, tells the story of a child who meets a sea monstertheqalupalikone winter night.Software companyPinnguaq, which is based in Pangnirtung, Nunavut, developed the game with Bravemule. It's is available to play for free on PC.

Beneath Floes is currently only available to play in English, but Pinnguaqisworking hard to get it translated into multipleaboriginal languages.

Pinnguaqrecently launched an online fundraiser using the crowd-funding site Kickstarter in order to get the money neededto create an Inuktitut version. Within the first twelve hours, they met that goal.

"A Kickstarter campaign goes out to the whole world," said Ryan Oliver, one of the founders of Pinnguaq, "and we really wanted to see how the world would react to giving us money to fund something most of them will never use, which is the Inuktitut version of this game."

Because Beneath Floes is set on Nunavut's Baffin Island and centreson an Inuit legend, the developers say it was important to them that it was available to play in the region's indigenous language.

Pinnguaqisthe only games company and technology startup that's located in Nunavut. The release of Beneath Floes has brought acclaim to the small developer, and the game recently found itself on gaming magazine PC Gamer's coveted 'Best Free Games of the Week' charts.

"We're using this, not only to see a game we really believe in, to bring attention to it," said Oliver, "but we're also using it as a launching pad for what we're doing next."

If it can get enoughfunding,Pinnguaqnext plans to translate the game into four other aboriginal languages, including Cree and Dene, as well as ramp up production on another upcoming game, called 'Qalupalik.'