We Are OFK preview: this is what I want from episodic video games

A TV producer who wanted to profit from the success of The Beatles in the 1960s came up with an incredibly profitable elevator pitch. They would create a show that starred a fictional group of singers and actors. Real The albums and the tour RealCreate venues Real money. The Monkees were their name and were, at times, unavoidable. Blur’s frontman Jamie Hewlett, an artist and Blur member, took the idea of fake musicians one step further. He created the Gorillaz in the 1990s. They were a virtual animated group that featured in music videos and 3D awards show appearances. Finally, they performed live with holographic projections.

Earlier this month, I met what may become this generation’s real-fictional band: OFK.

OFK is composed of four animated characters who will debut in 2022’s episodic video game, OFK is Our Name. Like The Monkees’ TV show before it, OFK’s video game will double as a launchpad for the band’s music, with each new episode debuting a new single. After five episodes, the game will be complete and have released a complete EP.

Image by Team OFK

If The Monkees were a commercial endeavor of Hollywood elites and the Gorillaz a side project for successful rockstars and pop artists, then OFK is the first indie iteration of human artists “making” a fictional band.

The team of developers that make Team OFK are drawn from AAA and indie spaces. Teddy Dief, the director of Team OFK was previously involved in the neon-soaked action title with a small budget. Hyper Light Drifter, while performance director Khris Brown, for example, has played a crucial role in improving performances across the spectrum of studio sizes, including big-budget series like Assassin’s Creed. The team’s website lists 24 contributors, all of whom, Dief explained to me, exist both in the real world and in the fictional world of OFK.

The band is completely fictional. However, Team OFK members perform the vocals. Some members have two roles, one for themselves and the other for their bandmates.

Image by Team OFK

Dief’s example is great proof of this. Teddy Dief is the game’s director in real-life and a member of OFK’s creative team in the band’s fiction. Teddy is also the voice of Luca, OFK’s lead singer and a character in OFK is Our Name.

Do you get it? It’s OK if it doesn’t, because when you actually play the game all that will matter is this: The music is good and the game is just as promising.

Let’s start with the game. Did you ever play a Persona video game, and wish there weren’t fights? You just wanted to chat with some friends while you listen to chill music? Good news! OFK is Our NameIt is purely a hangout game. You can only talk.

Itsumi is a young lady who has been working as a developer for video games. It looks very much like Irvine’s Blizzard Entertainment campus. She’s recovering from a bad breakup and looking for the next stepping stone toward … whatever comes after this. She’s rudderless, and so it was on me to steer the conversations of her and her friends in ways that resonated with my own experiences. This story always ends at the same point, no matter my selection, but my decisions personalized it – sort of like Kentucky Route Zero.

Image by Team OFK

Like KNutty Route ZeroTeam OFK is aware of the importance and power that a song can have on an individual’s emotions. The music was developed in collaboration with Dief and independent musicians Luna Shadows and Thom Powers, (of The Naked and Famous). I had a chance to hear two of the songs and they had unique feels, one reminding me of Kanye’s “808s and Heartbreak” and the other like a softer Nine Inch Nails.

It’s all very cozy, like meeting up with friends for coffee after work or catching a show on the weekend. This is why I’m so into the release plan. We Are OFK’s first episode The first episode of the series will be released in 2022. Each week thereafter, a new episode will air once per week. Episodic releases aren’t new to video games, but in the past new episodes have been separated by months or even years. It’s a decision that has more to do with pacing the experience than it does with the developer needing more time to create the next chunk of the game.

OFK is Our Name isn’t published by Netflix, but as streamers flirt with the video game space, this sort of experience seems like the perfect fit. This series focuses on story, accessibility and emotional connection. It has the ability to create suspense, just like great TV. It’s funny that online streaming taught us to binge television, but digital distribution may finally give us something TV used to do so well: a fictional group of friends that we can’t wait to hang out with. They were right!

OFK.It is expected to be released on Linux, Mac and PlayStation 4 as well as PlayStation 5 and Windows PC in 2022.