Welcome!
Nordic Tales Interactive is a game studio founded in 2024 by me, Erik Lindholm. As a member of the East Sweden Game cluster, the studio is closely connected to the booming game development communities of Linköping and Norrköping.
Nordic Tales Interactive was founded for the specific purpose of developing the Gamecrime concept, an all-new formula for true crime- and crime fiction-themed games. Beyond that, the studio aims to explore other narrative- and system-driven designs. Our commitment is to deliver gaming experiences that merge today's technology with the finest design practices of the golden age of video gaming!
Background
In short, I'm a former professional-level adventurer turned Unity Developer and game studio owner.
My past work life has mainly been within the social sector, working in different roles with teenagers and children. In may 2017 I quit my job at the youth center to go solo-cycling around the world, and it was after my homecoming in september 2018 that I felt that I wanted to make a change in my life and explore a whole new career path. At the time I also considered becoming a leadership coach, but ultimately my passion for games had a stronger pull on me, and I decided to start studying towards a degree in computer science.
I came up with the Gamecrime concept when I was simultaneously studying game design and criminology, and then kept working on it throughout the pandemic. After finishing my Bachelor's degree project in June 2023, I participated in East Sweden Game's Accelerator program in the fall, and have since been working full-time on the development of Startle Response.
While programming is my main focus today, I have a long and diverse academic background with a total of eight and a half years of university studies. I was really just following my interests in the moment when I studied art, music, communications, film theory, psychology and literature - but as it turns out, all of these subjects are highly useful when doing game development!
Team
Erik Lindholm
CEO/Founder & Lead Unity Developer
Johan Dahlskog
Narrative Designer & Concept Artist
Jim Magnusson
Unity Developer
Jonas Nilsson
Unity Developer
Connie Åberg
3D Artist & Level Designer
Linus Pettersson
2D Artist
Mariann Lindholm
CFO
Gamecrime
Crime fiction and true crime are enormously popular genres in film, literature, TV, podcasts and streaming services. However - despite the booming growth of the games industry and a steadily increasing market of players, crime fiction and true crime-inspired video games are strangely absent. Occasionally, a criminal investigation is used to provide setting and narrative to a game, but successful attempts to actually capture the thrill of investigative work in game mechanics are very rare.
With the GAMECRIME formula, Nordic Tales Interactive aims to finally give video game crime fiction its well-earned breakthrough, and establish a new, massively popular game genre! Gamecrime utilizes multisystem design to do justice to all aspects of investigative work, blending elements from the strategy and puzzle genres with an ambitious storytelling style inspired by the highly acclaimed Telltale Games. In the role of lead investigator, the player has to both manage the investigation by making high-level strategic decisions, as well as do hands-on detective work.
Like with pocket books, detective TV-shows and true crime documentaries on Netflix, the Gamecrime formula is designed for reusability. It allows and encourages a great freedom and variety in storytelling and puzzle design, while minimizing the costs and production times for a new title by reusing game engine and assets. Beyond the commercial values in this production model, it also aims to put writing, aesthetics and game design in focus, and cater to a growing audience of adult players seeking more mature themes in videogaming.
The core Gamecrime concept is a midcore design - the game systems have a fairly high level of complexity, but are casual in the sense that they are easy to learn and designed to be relaxing rather than mentally demanding. Similar to the slow-paced experience of reading a well-written mystery novel, a Gamecrime title aims to captivate with rich narrative content and clever puzzles, while avoiding the pitfall of overwhelming the player with stressful choices.
To support the technical needs of the Gamecrime design, the Unity framework GC3D has been purpose-built alongside the development of the concept. Touchscreen controls have been a priority from the get-go, allowing Gamecrime titles to be released both on PC, the mobile market, and gaming consoles with touchscreen peripherals.
Startle Response
NOTE: Some of the graphic elements shown in the clip only serve as placeholders, as art style and graphics is still a work in progress.
In 2009, the city of New Cranesridge, Minnesota, was shaken by an unusually disturbing missing child case, which would come to be known as "the McCann case of the Midwest".
11-year old Elliot Worthington left his middle school in the suburbs to walk the short distance back to his house, but never made it home. The search efforts and investigation that followed received nation-wide media attention, and quickly escalated to an embarrasment and a public relations disaster for the New Cranesridge Police Department.
In the months preceding Elliot's disappearance, the Worthington family had been harassed with anonymous threat letters. A decade later, the Worthingtons' mysterious stalker - named "The Harpy" by the tabloids - still remain unidentified, and has more or less become a local bogeyman and urban legend.
With the ten-year day of the disappearance coming up, the unsolved case is receiving renewed interest from the press. Anticipating a storm of negative publicity, the top-level management of the N.C.P.D. realizes that the media attention could actually be leveraged to the department's advantage.
By reopening the case and displaying all the competence that the original investigation lacked, the situation could be turned into a much-needed win. With civil unrest being on the rise in the area, restoring the public's confidence in the police could be crucial to prevent an outbreak of riots.
Homicide investigator Sara Simsek is assigned to assemble a team and lead the new investigation along with her former mentor Ken Devinson. The pressure is on - but what are the chances of actually finding something after ten years? Is The Harpy still alive and out there, and are there any clues to her whereabouts to be found among the dusty old files?
* * *
Consulting services
I'm available for hire as a consultant - get in touch if you believe my skillset matches your needs!
Aside from game development, I also do both frontend- and backend web development. My main programming languages are C#, Java and JavaScript, but I'm always happy to learn new languages and technologies.
Check out my LinkedIn page or my resume if you want to know more about my background, or take a look at my GitHub portfolio.
Company culture
• Our long-term goal is to build an empathic company culture by implementing the guidelines in organizational psychologist Adam Grant's Give and Take study.
• We aim to maintain a politically neutral company culture and work environment.