''Pollen'' is a first-person

sci-fi Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universe ...

mystery Mystery, The Mystery, Mysteries or The Mysteries may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional characters *Mystery, a cat character in ''Emily the Strange'' Films * ''Mystery'' (2012 film), a 2012 Chinese drama film * ''Mystery'' ( ...

exploration Exploration refers to the historical practice of discovering remote lands. It is studied by geographers and historians. Two major eras of exploration occurred in human history: one of convergence, and one of divergence. The first, covering most ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

developed by Finnish company Mindfield Games for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

. ''Pollen'' is playable on regular monitors and

Oculus Rift Oculus Rift is a discontinued line of virtual reality headsets developed and manufactured by Oculus VR, a division of Meta Platforms, released on March 28, 2016. In 2012 Oculus initiated a Kickstarter campaign to fund the Rift's development, af ...

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

headsets (beta), and will be playable on

HTC Vive VIVE, sometimes referred to as HTC Vive, is a virtual reality brand of HTC Corporation. It consists of hardware like its titular virtual reality headsets and accessories, virtual reality software and services, and initiatives that promote appl ...

. The game takes place in an alternate timeline of humanity's history, on a research base called Station M found on

Saturn Saturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second-largest in the Solar System, after Jupiter. It is a gas giant with an average radius of about nine and a half times that of Earth. It has only one-eighth the average density of Earth; h ...

's largest moon

Titan Titan most often refers to: * Titan (moon), the largest moon of Saturn * Titans, a race of deities in Greek mythology Titan or Titans may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional entities Fictional locations * Titan in fiction, fictiona ...

. The gameplay centers around semi-linear first-person exploration, allowing the player to discover the story through puzzles and interacting with the objects around them.

Gameplay

In ''Pollen'', the player assumes the role of a RAMA Industries employee, who is sent to Titan to replace a missing crew member on Station M. Just before entering the base the player loses all contact with the research team, and must enter the station in search of answers. The player will have to examine everything in their environment, listen to audio tapes, as well as solve puzzles to advance through the story. Station M contains several areas for the player to explore, including the landing pad, crew quarters, cargo bay, laboratory, comm station, and generator room.

Setting

The game is set in an alternate reality where crewed exploration of the

Solar System The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...

is happening at a rapid pace, however computers are between 10 and 20 years behind what they are at the same time in our world. The point of divergence is in 1963, when

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...

survives an assassination attempt, and the

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and

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eventually allying. RAMA Industries is founded by the governments of several nations, becoming the main space company in existence.

Development

''Pollen''s development began in late 2013 with the Unity 4 engine, and was later ported to the Unity 5 engine. The development team consisted initially of 5 team members. The game was announced in Aug 2014 accompanied by an teaser trailer. In Oct 2015, the first gameplay trailer was released. On October 5, 2015, ''Pollen'' was posted on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

, and after getting 86% yes votes within 36 hours, it was Greenlit by the community two days later on 7 Oct, 2015., after receiving a significant amount of press coverage.Blake Peterson
"Pollen Preview"
''Game Revolution'', 31 Aug 2015

References

External links

* {{Official website, pollengame.com/ Video games developed in Finland 2016 video games Windows games PlayStation 4 games PlayStation VR games Oculus Rift games HTC Vive games