«I was conceived in a tent by the Matterhorn»
25.2.2020
Translation: Jessica Johnson-Ferguson
«Over the Alps» is a spy thriller set in Switzerland in 1939. Unlike you would expect, this Apple Arcade game, with its distinctive vintage postcard design, was not created in these parts but in England. I spoke to the head developer, who’s never actually been to Switzerland.
«Switzerland is this magical, unreal place with its mountains and lakes.» This sentence wasn’t formulated by a Swiss tourist office but by Samuel Partridge. The London-based game developer has always been interested in Switzerland and the British obsession with our Alpine country. «Over the Alps» is exclusive to Apple Arcade and a dream turned into reality for the head of Stave Studios .
Initially, it was a launch title for Apple’s game service that started last November. The game is set in Switzerland in 1939. The year Hitler started World War II and a time when everyone spied on everyone. And that’s precisely what «Over the Alps» is about. You take on the role of Agent Smith – a British spy making his way through Switzerland. On the run from the Nazis, enemy spies and the local police, you pass scores of sights. The castles of Bellinzona, the Rhine Falls in Schaffhausen or the Grossmunster church in Zurich. The game is illustrated with quaint postcards, paying tribute to travel catalogues of the time.
These Brits are crazy
Games set in Switzerland are few and far between. What would drive British game developers to choose this tiny country as a setting? «An old school friend of mine and I had wanted to make board games. We tried to design them, but it turns out board games are very hard to make and you can't just test them in your room,» Sam laughs as he looks back on how things started during our Discord interview. But all the illustrations lying around sparked a new idea: to make a game.
The core team at Stave Studios consists of Sam, Joshua Callaghan and Matthew Arneil. All three of them have quite a bit of experience up their sleeves from games such as «Sunless Sea», «Astrologaster» and «80 Days». So it was clear from the start that their first own project would be a narrative game. «The thing that we wanted to do more than anything was to make something that was singular. An art piece that you could sit down and play from start to end without an internet connection.» «80 Days» served as a huge source of inspiration. In this narrative-heavy adventure game, the goal is to travel around the globe in 80 days.
«The original idea was very much drawing parallels between 1939 and 2019. The rise of the far right,» says Sam. And Switzerland provided the perfect setting. «Swiss travel posters of the period are just stunning.» And then there’s the story about the Red Orchestra – a Nazi term used to describe anti-Nazi resistance workers. «It was not just the Red Orchestra but also the British and artists who were involved. Switzerland is a really convenient place for an inter-war drama.»
The story of «Over the Alps» is only roughly based on true events. It was thought up by the authors Jon Ingold («80 Days») and Katharine Nei. «Jon wrote the base story. He made it feel like a Hitchcockian drama. The landscape helped with that, of course. Hitchcock loved the union of classic Europe.» The game also comes with a pinch of James Bond and a sprinkling of Sherlock Holmes. «I'd love to say it came out from a story that my grandfather told me, but really it was a combination of different factors that went well together,» Sam admits.
Despite his fascination for this country, Sam has never been to Switzerland. But his obsession often has people asking him if he’s Swiss. When Sam mentions this to his parents, his mother – a very blunt British lady – reveals a piece of his own history he would rather not have known about. She tells him that she and his father used to go on holiday in Switzerland. «And then she proceeded to tell me about how I was conceived in Switzerland about 30 years ago. In a tent on the side of the Matterhorn. Oh for goodness’ sake! I didn’t want to know this.» In any case, Sam’s mother is convinced that’s what made him obsessed with Switzerland.
«The star of the show is Switzerland»
The Matterhorn made the logo but not the game. The story behind it must have been too traumatic for Sam. In response to how the team selected the locations you can travel to in the game, Sam had an interesting reply: «I love this question. I have a 1939 travel map of Switzerland. It's a cloth map and so delicate. It’s a really well-kept piece of history.» Of course, the map only took them so far. More recent means provided the detailed information. «Google maps was very really useful. We found out that the Gotthard tunnel has got a lot bigger since World War II.» Another great way to find interesting places was using travel guides. «I have loads of them and I have never been to the bloody place,» Sam says with a grin.
«We started the game years ago by trying to generate the world. We said we could use a noise map and it will build us a Switzerland, but it's just not as interesting as actual Switzerland. You have thousands of years of not just history and culture but you've also got geography and geology. Towns that have stories that you couldn't make up.» This doesn’t mean that the original was always followed to a T. Sometimes, their own interpretation better suited the game than reality. But not so for the campaign in Ticino. «The original art for Bellinzona had a lake in it. But then we went back to the one with the three castles that was much more interesting.»
If you’ve played «Over the Alps», you will have noticed that by no means all famous places pop up. «Loads and loads of places didn’t make the cut. I have a spreadsheet where we keep all the locations in and there are still a lot of missing spaces. Almost as iconic as the Matterhorn on the cover is Switzerland’s sixth-largest city. At least that’s what I claim. In spite of this, Winterthur isn’t featured in the game. I want to know if my adopted home at least made the shortlist: «It was more than that. There was a character called Winterthur.» In the end, both my home town and the character with the same name were replaced by Schaffhausen (ouch!) and its iconic Rhine Falls. Mini spoiler alert: the Rhine Falls provide the backdrop for the final scene of the game. It also means that Winterthur was scrapped altogether. «I’m really sorry. But I did build in train rides to Winterthur many times in the board game Ticket to Ride.
A mysterious phone call
«Over the Alps» is currently exclusively available from Apple Arcade. Stave Studio didn’t know about this when they first started working on the game. «We wanted to make a premium mobile game. But over time it kind of became obvious that the premium mobile market was tough to be in.» Many people advised Sam and his team to make a free to play game. But the boys and girls at Stave Studios did not let themselves be dissuaded to continue their quest. With a little help from a well-connected friend, their patience paid off in the end. «They said you want to talk these people. They are going to give you a call tonight. Very spooky.» And behold, along came that phone call. It t was Apple making them an unbeatable offer.
The cooperation was fantastic and Apple supported the small British studio in every way. To begin with, Sam was a little worried that politics might be a problem. «We were a little concerned with the fact that this strange Hitchcockesque spy thriller is not exactly what’s en vogue at the moment.» But their concern did not prove to be justified. Certain aspects of the game even had Apple more excited than the team itself. In Switzerland, «Over the Alps» is also proving to be a hit. «We can't really talk stats for legal reasons but the number of Swiss players is crazy. Percentage-wise, they have the highest number. That really got me very happy.»
So it's unsurprising that Sam is thrilled with Apple Arcade. «It's a triumph. I think it has legs. From a subscriber’s point of view, the service is amazing. There are games coming out every month and there are new things being added to existing games.» In spite of this, Sam does not rule out launching «Over the Alps» on another platform sometime in the future. But he’s not giving anything away just yet. The same goes for future projects coming out of Stave Studios. Instead, he’s got a joke in store for me. «What's the best thing about Switzerland? Well, the flag’s a big plus.» Probably a good thing Sam became a game developer.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.
