The Franz Kafka Video Game (!) Now Available

Yes. Our eyes boggled a little at this idea too. How do you turn Kafka's bizarre stories into a video game that keeps his intent and spirit intact? But the premise isn't unrelated to the way fairy tales get used today, so we thought it was worth a closer look.

Here's the trailer:

How does this relate to fairy tales and 'now'?  Kafka, who incidentally was a great fan of fairy tales, wrote stories using absurd 'wonder' elements - elements which can be more difficult for us to recognize when they emerge out of an industrialized or modern (eg corporate) setting, perhaps because they are considered more mundane than sparkly transformations as they use the elements of everyday life, but are nonetheless 'wondrous' in the true sense of the term (surprise at the unexpected, be that either horrifying or delightful). His stories are, if anything, less extreme than fairy tales but possibly more disturbing because of it. His stories are reality with a step or two sideways. That small removal however, can be enlightening.

"...by fine tuning our attention to the absurd, Kafka also reflects our shortcomings back at ourselves. In doing so he reminds us that the world we live in is one we create, and have the power to change for the better." (from TED Talk "What is Kafkaesque?")

What better message about the present do we need? Although Kafka's tales tend to be thought of as dark, they're often humorous too, and this humor reminds us that hope is not lost. We like this underlying emphasis on hope and the power of wonder to encourage change! Not unlike fairy tales.

About the game:

The Franz Kafka Videogame is an original puzzle/adventure game inspired by the writings of Franz Kafka. 

The protagonist named K. gets a sudden offer of employment. And this event changes his life, forcing him to make a distant voyage. To his surprise, the world beyond his homeland appears to be not as normal as he would think.
Together with K. you will experience an atmosphere of absurdity, surrealism, and total uncertainty. 

Key Features:

• From the Creator of an Award-Winning Hamlet

• Original Logic Puzzles

• High-Definition Graphics

• No inventory. No Boss battles. No RPG features

• Only Absurdity and Surrealism

The Franz Kafka Videogame is available to purchase and play for $9.99, on Steam.

“The subtle hints, witty puzzles and peculiar visual style grant full authority to say The Franz Kafka Videogame is a worthy way to honor the memory of the brilliant writer”
80 – Riot Pixels