Ember Lab, an independent animation, digital, and gaming studio introduced Kena: Bridge of Spirits, a new gaming platform for the console on June 11, 2020, during Sony showcasing. Mike and Josh Grier are the co-founders of Ember Lab. They recently talked about Kena in an interview with SoulVision. Here’s what they have to say.
The protagonist of the game, Kena is a young spirit guide seeking an abandoned village to discover a sacred mountain shrine. She is aided in her quest by spirits and adorable black creatures known as the Rot. The Rot is with Kena until the end. Kena is depicted as belonging to the Asian continent. “Diversity is natural for us,” Josh proclaims. “We have always planned for a unique lead character that gamers haven’t seen before. We try to be authentic no matter what we do.” Mike says.
“The storytelling themes and the human connection and narrative are universal… It deals with people struggling with loss or struggling with a mistake they made and the desire to reconcile it. I hope people connect with the story and the themes of the game as much as the gameplay.”
– Mike grier
How It All Started
The two brothers traveled a lot during their childhood which eventually landed them in Tokyo, Japan. Back in the 90s, their dad was an executive for Disney’s theme-park operations. By 2000, their father became the vice president of Tokyo Disney.
“Our dad worked for Disney for a long time and worked his way up into management over the years,” Mike tells “We got a sneak peek of how the parks were operated and what was possible when you had the right team”, he added in an interview with SoulVision Magazine.
During their expeditions across Florida, Paris, and Tokyo, the two brothers bonded through video games and Nintendo. “Oftentimes, we didn’t speak the language, so a lot of that bonding involved watching animated films and playing video games, like the old classic Zelda game from Nintendo,” Josh mentions.
SOURCE: SoulVision
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