The Sun Stands Still is a game about the times in life when things seem darkest, and the way that simply managing to keep going can be enough to return to the light. It is inspired by my own experiences with grief, loss and sadness, and the experiences of friends.
Once, in a very long and dark winter in my late 20s, when I really felt I couldn’t go on, I heard a piece of music based on the Roman idea of the Sol Invictus – the unconquered sun. I played it over and over again, wanting to believe what it told me: that the sun will and must always return, however dark the winter. There’s a scientific concept like this too: regression to the mean. However terrible the season, probably our lives will revert to just being ordinary, not dramatically dreadful (or wonderful). We are simply not so bad that things can never get better.
In times like this, one can experience something strange – when one is in pain, the pain of others becomes suddenly clear. Our loneliness, shared with so many, is ironically the emotion we are least alone in.
Although The Sun Stands Still is not a piece with a message about any religion, it speaks, I hope, to some thoughts shared by people of many religions and none. We are not alone. When we feel the most isolated, the most desperate, the most full of shame, we share the most with all other people on earth.
Naomi Alderman
| Created by | Naomi Alderman |
| Commissioned by | the Genesis Foundation |
| Developer | Alex Macmillan |
| Illustrator | Marsh Davies |
| Gameplay Designer | Holly Gramazio |
| Composer | Ryan Ike |
| Producer | Seb Emina |
| Sound Design (Chapters 1-8) | Alex Macmillan |
| Sound Design (Chapter 9) | Ryan Ike |
| Birdsong Sound Effects | The British Library |
| Additional Sound Effects | The game includes sounds recorded by the following freesound.org contributors franzzle (Balloon noises) tripglyph (Balloon noises) fabiopx (Dog bark) reg7783 (Breaking glass) |
Colleen Patterson, Matt Wieteska, Jon Stokes
