New video game set to take place in Nova Scotia

A new video game in development is set to capture the interests of Maritime gamers and history buffs alike.

Developed by Sytrax Studios, Button Man is set in a fictional prohibition-era Halifax. The game follows Bruce McKenzie, who is the Button Man of the most powerful man in the city. After his boss is murdered, Bruce McKenzie must find out who did it, as well as protect the city from dangerous factions.

CEO of Styrax Studios, Ron Ismach, says the game is an ode to the games he grew up playing.

“Button man is kind of like a call to the past, it’s based on games that I played when I was a kid like adventure games, beat ‘em ups, and I’ve always wanted to make one of those games, those are the games that I remember very fondly,” said Ismach in an interview with CTV’s Crystal Garrett on Monday.

While the game is a beat ‘em up, Ismach says violence is rather low, and the game focuses much more on storytelling.

“I didn’t want to create something violent, something really unappealing for people who want to experience the story of a place, and I think Nova Scotia is that place to have it.”

Ismach said there was also a focus on keeping the game accessible to as many people as possible.

“The experience should be familiar for people who’ve played games of the past, you move left to right, you fight some people, you talk to people, you make choices. That part of the game was very comfortable for people, we don’t want it to be too unique where people need too much adjustment,” he said.

Button Man is meant to look like a retro comic book. Ismach said there was a lot of work put into creating a unique look for the game.

“Our artist took inspiration from comics like Tintin, and Smiling Jack, and all these comics to really create this style that we’re very proud of, animation that’s very crisp, very smooth, and very unique even for the gaming scene.”

The game is meant to be a love letter to Halifax, a place Ismach fell in love with since he first moved to the city.

“Moving here and settling in Halifax, opening my company, I thought of no better place to set up this game than Nova Scotia itself,” Ismach said.

“I’m a person that’s always trying to find his place in the world, a home. I’m a person that moved with the family about seven times in my home country and then to Toronto, a few times in Toronto then Halifax, a few times in Halifax, then we finally settled on a home, and since coming here I’ve felt at home,” he added.

Ismach said Halifax’s rich history and landscape was what made him decide on the city as the setting for Button Man.

“Especially the views, my office is located right in front of the Waterfront and seeing that Waterfront every single day and thinking of this game that I wanted to play that’s obviously set in the past, and the more I looked into it the more I saw the connection between the Mafia in the United States and our own province, especially during those periods, and the story just came in naturally,” he said.

Button man is set to release around September of next year, but those who are eager enough can play the demo right now, which is available now on the Steam platform.

With files from CTV's Crystal Garrett.

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