Wine in video games: “Hundred Days”, the vineyard and winery simulator

For some people it is simply a form of entertainment, while for others it is a business, which in Italy, grew + 20% in 2020 and is worth almost 2 billion euros, engaging 17 million video players. For other people still, it is an art form and an advanced narrative. The fact is, however, that video games, since 1952, when “Oxo” was created at the University of Cambridge, which was a transposition of the computer game of tic-tac-toe, and believed to be the very first ever in history, to date, video games have definitely come a long way. And now, there are those who see them as a tool to narrate the excellence of wine territories to users, who are primarily (but not only) the youngest. The project implemented by IIDEA, the Association that represents the video game industry in Italy, and a historical name in the sector such as Nintendo, had together decided to give a voice to the 100% Italian independent development houses, in a cross-section that also regards wine. Among the case histories, which include genres such as football and crime, there is also wine production. It is titled, “Hundred Days”, and is a game that simulates the wine production process, signed by Broken Arms Games, which will arrive on the Steam platform, one of the most important in the distribution of video games, on May 13th, for PC, and later on for the Nintendo Switch console.
“The project stems from our personal background”, explained Elisa Farinetti, CEO and CoFounder of the studio, in a videoconference that you find here in full. “We are in Alessandria, Piedmont, but we all grew up in the countryside between Langhe and Monferrato, where we were surrounded by vineyards and viticulture, and we got the idea to narrate our territory from our surroundings. There are many management games available, but there was nothing related particularly to wine, and we got the idea starting from our personal stories and experiences. The goal is to tell about the wine production process in a faithful, but accessible way. The player will inherit this small winery in the Langhe, and will have to clash with the newspapers, on how the company is run. There will be characters and a story to guide him through the process. Depending on the seasons and what he will do from time to time, he will receive mission cards to carry out. We wanted to give players a sense of the fact that nature follows its course, and that man must follow and support it. Vines, production methods, yeasts, pumping over are chosen, there is a detailed but accessible simulation aspect. We create labels, bottles, logos, and so on. We will start from our Region, but we have already planned regional updates on Italy and abroad, i.e., from Napa valley, Bordeaux, and of course other Italian areas, to tell about different territories and vines. The primary purpose is play and fun, of course, but if someone were passionate about wine while playing, wanted to understand more about what they drink and maybe even come to visit the territory, then we would have really created a perfect center”. There are many aspects concentrated in “Hundred Days”, such as the analysis of the soil, the choice of the grape variety, pruning, treatment of vine diseases, the harvest, vinification, aging, creating bottles, building a sales network and also marketing activities. In summary, it is a real simulator of everything that happens in the daily life at a winery. Perhaps it will help an audience that is not reached by the classic and official channels of wine communication, to understand a little bit more about it.