Tsioque Aims for the Feels With Story Inspired By Work-at-Home Parents

Tsioque has only days left and dollars to go in its $35,000 Kickstarter campaign.

One of the hardest things to deal with as a parent that works from home is the knowledge that you’re inevitably going to disappoint your children. You’ll leave your office to get a glass of water just to find them hanging off your leg a moment later, begging you to play. You try to explain that you have to work but they just can’t understand. If you’re there, why can’t they spend time with you?

It’s a struggle that Alek Wasilewski knows all too well. An award-winning writer, director and animator, he’s the principle mind behind the hand-drawn point-and-click adventure game Tsiouque. Following the adventures of a young princess trying to explore her castle while avoiding the wrath of an evil and ambitious wizard, the game, according to Wasilewski, draws much of its basis from his own experiences struggling to balance his work and family life. “The game is told from the eyes and the perspective of a child,” he explained in a video. “It’s about working from home with your child never understanding why you keep being angry at it when all it wants is some attention from you.”

That’s not all it will be, of course. Described as “a gift” to his daughter, Wasilewski also hopes to pay tribute to the great adventure titles of the past by crafting an experienced filled with depth, darkness, humor and Easter eggs that both adults and children will be able to enjoy. The game is currently on Kickstarter and, with about two days left, is just a few hundred dollars shy of its $35,000 goal. If the project can reach that baseline mark, it should have enough money to fund all of the animation, music and voice acting it requires. Further stretch goals have also been laid out if contributors decide to give the game a generous, last-minute push past the finish line.

Speaking personally as a work-at-home Dad myself, I’d love to see Tsioque finished and playable. Check out it out, try its demo and toss it a few dollars if it strikes your fancy.

Source: Kickstarter