You know that one game where the prince rescues the princess? Oh wait, there are literally hundreds of games with that trope! From Princess Peach in Super Mario Brothers to Princess Zelda in The Legend of Zelda, it seems like the damsel can never get herself out of distress. However, a new mobile game by Atlanta-based developer Ker-Chunk Games has twisted this trope, and the results are genius.

PrinceNapped is the tale of handsome, muscular, tattooed Prince Edwin who repeatedly needs to be rescued by Clara.

“We literally Googled the word ‘douchebag’ and started pulling pictures,” said Molly Proffitt, co-founder of Ker-Chuck Games, about the character design for Prince Edwin.

The heroine, Clara, is extra badass with her short, chic hairstyle and purple, armor-like outfit. She has the power to vaporize water and the strength to move heavy objects out of the way, which is the objective in this game of strategy. In every level, players must navigate through obstacles within a specified number of moves. Proffitt aimed to revive classic unblock games which require you to remove one piece of a puzzle by sliding others around.

What makes PrinceNapped even more special is that each level was built by Proffitt herself, who is the current CEO of Ker-Chuck Games. The PrinceNapped universe was inspired by Avatar and other Hollywood films, but Proffitt also drew inspiration from board games.

Proffitt says that as a child she was not inspired to pursue a career in STEM, though she was very interested in coding. After she began studying film at the College of Santa Fe, she realized that she was not pursuing her passion. She transferred to the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2009 and earned a degree in Media and Game Design.

Proffitt graduated at a time when Facebook games were rising in popularity; women of all ages were starting to pick up on gaming. Inspired by this promising market, Proffitt and a team of women founded Ker-Chunk Games in 2013.

“I was starting to see the data really, really change,” Proffitt said. By 2017, a study showed that 60 percent of women played games daily compared to 47 percent of men.

Because the game design studio is now composed of a 75 percent female staff, PrinceNapped is the product of an environment powered by fierce women and Clara is a character that emulates these women. Any obstacle that Prince Edwin finds himself in proves to be no match for Clara’s special abilities.

“We want to continue tackling messages that reverse stereotypes and deal with confidence. We want the player to feel like they are in a position of power,” said Proffitt.

We’re looking forward to what else Ker-Chunk Games will come up with! Click here to download and play PrinceNapped for free.

Featured Image by JD Hancock on Flickr

Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)

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