Frum Girl Adventures

ABOUT THE GAME

"Frum (Yiddish: פֿרום, lit. 'religious', 'pious') is a word that describes Jewish religious devotion. The appellation is generally, but not only, applied to certain movements within Ashkenazic Orthodox Judaism, and used by some members of these groups as a self-reference."

—Rabbi Wikipedia

FRUM GIRL ADVENTURES is a story-driven game utilizing dialogue- and puzzle-based elements to highlight the unique and somewhat insular life of frum Jews—in particular, frum girls and women. Help Frum Girl navigate her crazy world of temptations and challenges, keep her protective bubble intact, always grow in her virtue, and eventually make it to Olam Haba ("the World to Come"--Jewish heaven)!

The story is largely shaped by the creators' personal experiences, and our artist Meira Goodfriend in particular, whose frustrations balancing her religious, social, and individual identities growing up frum inspired the game’s original designs. While the framework for Frum Girl Adventures is comical and lighthearted, it addresses the limits and challenges of this religious lifestyle while also highlighting the unique quirks and intrinsic beauty of this often overlooked cultural group.

The development team was one of just ten worldwide selected for the inaugural cohort of the IGDA Foundation's Diverse Game Developers Fund Prototype Program, which supported development of a prototype of the game over a three-month period. A prototype of the game is currently in development thanks in large part to this support from the IGDA Foundation, Code Coven, and Grant For The Web.

Frum Girl Adventures features:

• Both dialogue/story-centric and puzzle/arcade-style gameplay with adventure, RPG, and puzzle game elements
• Colorful, vibrant hand-drawn illustrations from artist Meira Batya Goodfriend
• Full voice acting for both player character (Frum Girl) and NPCs
• In-game reference dictionary of Jewish cultural and linguistic terms and concepts
• Plenty of surprises along the way ;)

See  some footage from our prototype here:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1jmtnwykbdggpgn/Frum%20Girl%20Adventures%2006-01-2022....

ABOUT THE TEAM

MELANIE EHRLICH (Development lead/game design/narrative direction/story and dialogue writer/audio lead/team everythingist) is an on-camera and voice actor, producer, and multidisciplinary artist whose video game credits include Adult Swim Games’ Battle Chef Brigade, Activision’s Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Ackk Studios’ YIIK, in which she voices both lead female protagonists. Her on-screen credits include Netflix’s The OA and The Miseducation of Cameron Post, winner of the 2018 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Award. An educator at heart, Melanie has shared her passion for working in games in panels and talks at PAX East, IndieCade East, New York Media Festival, and GameSoundCon. Melanie’s production company, Melodity Productions, centers creative interdisciplinary approaches to works that are "Often musical, always odd" and gives life to stories and perspectives that would not otherwise be heard—so as a woman whose experiences navigating Jewish life have ALWAYS been odd, Frum Girl Adventures was an easy sell for her.

Originally from New York, Melanie now resides in Los Angeles with her cat, Wendal.

MEIRA BATYA GOODFRIEND (Artist/designer/concept) is a multidisciplinary artist and designer, born and raised as an Orthodox Jew in Los Angeles. She has a B.F.A. from Otis College of Art and Design in product design and painting. Meira started off her career in one of the leading furniture and interior design companies, Herman Miller, after which she moved to Israel and focused on painting. Her first solo exhibition called "My Eyes are Illuminated in the Desert" featured an art style that blends realism and the psychedelic use of color. Her latest project was co-designing a Bakery called Samoosa Village Bakery, where she designed and built an immersive light environment from the ground up. Meira is passionate about light, color, and women's empowerment, and wants to use her artwork as a vehicle to uplift herself and others.

MELISSA LEWIS-GENTRY, or MLG (Programmer/development) is an analog game industry professional who specializes in project management, marketing, and logistics. She is currently the retail coordinator for the Indie Game Developer Network. She has been an avid video game player for over 30 years & started programming just in the last year. You can find them at mlewisgentry.com or otherwise On The Internet.

Links

Facebook ∙ Twitter ∙ Instagram ∙ Melodity Productions website

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Thanks for reading about Frum Girl Adventures!

You know, supporting our game is a real mitzvah. Your mother would be proud. When was the last time you called her, anyway? Nu, have you forgotten how phones work?