A Cairn Tale

Since the dawn of time, travelers build up cairns to mark their passage in the mountains. These piles of stones sometimes indicate places of remembrance. Some call them "men of stone"...

A Cairn Tale is a 3rd person mountaineering adventure in which you explore monumental and dreamlike environments through the seasons. You play as Kar, a bird burdened by a shell of stones. To get rid of it, they must reach the cairns that mark their way to the top of the Mountain. 

Climb vertiginous and various environments where there are no marked paths, only directions. Brave the Storm and the chaotic weather of the Mountain to regain your freedom. Discover its secrets through this metaphorical tale about resilience and the legacy we leave behind.

The first stone of the game was laid at the beginning of 2019, as part of a Bachelor’s degree project at Gobelins, l'Ecole de l'image. The team was then made up of 4 members: Robinson Lacotte (developer), Louis Lagache (developer), Florine Quach (designer) and Mathieu Grondin (designer). In June, they presented a first prototype at the Press Start festival organized by the Public information library (Bpi) in the Centre Pompidou, and the Cnam-Enjmin school.

In 2021, the team was consolidated and welcomed a provisional member, Rémy Bonté-Duval (developer), and a permanent member, Grégoire Melin (composer). This gave birth to a second, more successful prototype, presented in June 2021 to Gobelins’ end-of-study jury and then to the 3rd edition of the Press Start festival.

In 2022, the team joined the ICC Wizz incubator in Angoulême and placed the game at the heart of its entrepreneurial project. At the same time, the project obtained writing funds from the CNC. It allowed the team to set in stone the script and technical bases as well as the artistic direction of the project.  They reached out to Maëlle Holtzer to refine the game design.

In 2023, the game continues its development...

EXPERIENCE AN UNPRECEDENTED ASCENT!
You play as Kar, a bird burdened by a shell of stones. To get rid of it, you will have to reach the cairns that mark its way to the top of the Mountain. Discover its secrets through this metaphorical tale about resilience and the legacy we leave behind.

OPEN YOUR WAY THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN!
Climb the mountain and open your own path with a permissive climbing system and a wide range of mountaineering-inspired tools: abseil rope, slackline, grappling hook and more.

BRAVE THE STORM!
Confront this chaotic and destructive entity who has deprived you of your wings.
It will come back to haunt you and prevent you from reaching the top of the Mountain.

DIVE INTO A SENSITIVE VISUAL AND SOUND UNIVERSE
Explore monumental and dizzying landscapes, enhanced by a graphic style inspired by traditional drawing techniques. Your journey will be accompanied by an original soundtrack produced in close collaboration with our composer, which oscillates between epicness and melancholy.