Melos Han-Tani and Marina Kittaka, the dev duo that make up Analgesic Productions , seem to make games about scientists. Young, the hero of their Link’s Awakening-influenced debut Anodyne, may not technically be one, but he bears the coke-bottle glasses and white coat that may make you think he is. Aliph, the put-upon protagonist of the haunting, grief-stricken 2D side-scroller Even The Ocean, works as power plant technician. Nova, hero of Analgesic’s tour de force Anodyne 2: Return To Dust, labours as a Nano Cleaner, one with the ability to shrink inside the psyches of those plagued by Nano Dust, corrupting their thoughts. Even the word analgesic itself has a scientific background; the term means a pain-relieving drug.
When the player begins Analgesic’s newest game Sephonie - part 3D platformer, part deep emotional story - three Taiwanese biologists make their way onto the titular island to explore. As the Steam page puts it: “Amy Lim, Taiwanese-American and bold leader, hails from the midwestern USA town of Bloomington. Riyou Hayashi, an analytically-minded Japanese-Taiwanese researcher, calls the bustling Tokyo his home. And Ing-wen Lin, a kind and considerate Taiwanese scientist, lives in Taipei.”