GoKawiilSony's State of Play, the Summer Game Fest showcase and the Xbox Games Showcase may well be commanding much of the attention this week. However, there are dozens of other showcases taking place that are highlighting all kinds of games, often under a specific theme. One of those is Black Voices in Gaming, which shone the spotlight on projects from Black developers. A bunch of games caught my eye during the showcase and RollerGirl was one that really stood out to me.
This is a narrative-driven, slice-of-life adventure in which you play as Naomi, a 16-year-old who rollerblades around town in search of odd jobs she can do to earn enough cash to fix her car. She'll encounter her first crush and get to the bottom of a local mystery too.
Between chatting to and helping out neighbors, Naomi will listen to her MP3 player as she explores her small town during a summer in the mid-2000s. You'll find music throughout the town to add to your collection. The environment changes depending on the mood of what you're listening to — this affects dialogue options as well. Toronto-based developer Pushing Vertices is working with local indie bands on the soundtrack, which takes inspiration from 2000s pop-punk.
"RollerGirl is inspired by my childhood growing up in a small town, and my hope is that players feel seen and represented by our game," Indigo Doyle, director of Pushing Vertices, said in a press release.
At first glance, RollerGirl looks lovely, and I'll always appreciate a game that sits close to home for its creators. There's no release date for RollerGirl as yet. It'll roll onto Steam in the future.