Despite living in Cambridge, Joseph Humphrey’s hikes to the north of Scotland were his inspiration for the computer game, A Highland Song.
A multi-award winning ‘rhythm-platform’ game for PC, Mac and Nintendo Switch, he revealed the project was his “love letter” to the Highlands.
The game, released in December 2023, promises to put you right into Inkle Studio’s Art and Code director Joe’s childhood – an avid hiker with fondness for the Cairngorms.
However, with Joe being 40 years old with a young family, jaunts to the highest peaks of Scotland have been few and far between recently.
A Highland Song transports you into the shoes of teenage runaway Moira.
Moira is on a quest to traverse perilous hills and mountains to reach her Uncle Hamish.
Along the way the player encounters tidbits from Scotland’s history and myths.
Joe loves the Highland landscape
Speaking to The Press and Journal – Joe admitted the game was a response to his longing to return to the craggy peaks and rolling hills.
He said: “I grew up in Fife, but since moving down to go to university I’ve missed Scotland a lot.
Joseph said the game is a “love letter” to the Highlands.
“I didn’t have a good excuse to return. When I had kids it was even more difficult to go back.
“I was really missing Scotland and the Highlands.
“I used to go walking a lot with a brilliant teacher that I had back home who used to take all the kids up to the Highlands to go camping and walking.
“So I really did fall in love with the Highlands at an early age.
“Because I was missing the Highlands so much that hadn’t been back in about 10 years, I was sort of thinking about it more and more.
“I then decided like ‘why not make a game there’s sort of like a loved letter to the Highlands?’
“We tried to make a game that was culturally Scottish and featured the beautiful landscapes there, while also adding the typical Scottish myths and legends.”
Highlands and West Coast inspired platformer
A Highland Song has been praised since its release
Joe continued: “We’re with delighted if people in Scotland or Scottish people abroad pick up the game and enjoy it.
“I think that we’ve done justice to the landscape and the culture.”
Authenticity at forefront for ‘A Highland Song’
Joseph said authenticity was at the forefront of the team’s priorities when building the game.
MJ Deans who voices main character Moira in the game, was the result of sifting through multiple auditions to land on an authentic Scottish voice actor.
Joe said: “She was a gamer and she could speak Gaelic and could sing in Gaelic – she was absolutely brilliant. We were so happy to have found her in particular.
A Highland Song is available to purchase through Steam, the Nintendo Switch Store and Mac.
Conversation