The future life sim Walk of Life is the second game from Icelandic developer Porcelain Fortress. first to No time to relaxit has sold over 300,000 copies to date and has proven to be very popular with streamers. The game challenges players to compete against each other as they go through all the major life events like getting a job or owning a house. With lots of witty humor and a unique art style, Walk of Life he seeks to duplicate all that he has done No time to relax so popular.
Game Rant sat down with Porcelain Fortress CEO Ingólfur Ævarsson and lead designer Diðrik Steinsson to talk about walk of life, but they were also keen to highlight the emerging strength of Iceland's video game industry over the past few years. Referring to other Icelandic companies like CCP Games as well as Nordic countries like Finland and Sweden as inspiration, the Porcelain Fortress team is optimistic about the road ahead.
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Walk of Life – Announcement Trailer
No Time to Relax creator Porcelain Fortress has announced their next game, Walk of Life. Take a look at the announcement trailer here.
The developers of Walk of Life are proud of their Icelandic roots
In recent years, the Nordic countries have become a major force in video game development. Sweden's Mojang Studios (Minecraftt) and Remedy Entertainment from Finland (Alan Wake, Control) are just two examples of this, and the Porcelain Fortress team is aware of the success of neighboring countries. Ævarsson explained how proud he is that his own country, Iceland, is now also playing a part in this success:
“Iceland is in the middle of nowhere, on a frozen cliff, and it feels like we live in a different world where we have to be creative in more ways than one. There's a very strong heritage and history in Iceland of storytelling, being creative, and that's just something that's very strong in the Icelandic community, so we're kind of taking that into the gaming world.''
Iceland's funding for video game development still lags behind other European countries
One of the biggest developers in Iceland is CCP Games, the studio behind it EVE Online. Despite not having any official affiliation with Porcelain Fortress, Ævarsson explained that the developers in Iceland see themselves very much as one big family and all enjoy each other's successes. Having a company like CCP Games to aspire to is a big motivation for Ævarsson and his team, especially as Steinsson explained that Iceland doesn't have the same benefits for video game developers as other countries:
“In the case of Iceland, although we are slowly gaining more support from the government, there are no specific gambling subsidies, specific gambling tax reductions or anything like that. Other countries are way ahead of us in that, and we're behind when it comes to government funding, things like that. We've been fortunate enough to access technology development funding, but we're competing with countries that have their own specific gambling funding and tax breaks for gambling specifically.
Even after its release Walk of LifePorcelain Fortress will continue to strive to create fun games that resonate with players around the world. “Our vision for the company is that we look at the games of yesteryear and create them with the technology of tomorrow,” explained Ævarsson. Fans of the Icelandic studio will no doubt want to keep an eye out for whatever comes next.
Walk of Life will launch on Steam Early Access in 2025.
