Papo & Yo dev's new game is Silent Enemy, coming to Ouya

Papo & Yo developer Minority Media has a new game for Ouya in the works. Called Silent Enemy, it tackles the uncomfortable issues of childhood bullying.

Silent Enemy has players using shapeshifting abilities as part of a quest to bring spring to a world of endless winter. It's expected in late 2013, exclusively for Ouya. The team chose Ouya because they found that their ambitious design was too expensive in an iOS framework - it made full screen effects near impossible, for example.

Studio co-founder Vander Caballero told Kotaku that the project began life as an iOS game about survival hunting, based on the experiences of a Crete member of staff. Creative director Ruben Farrus objected, saying the game needed an emotional angle or it wouldn't be a Minority Media title.

“Ruben came back and said, ‘OK, we can do a game about bullying,’" he said.

"I was bullied before. Ernie, our partner, our Crete partner, he was bullied before because his father is white and his mother is Indian, so he got bullied in the reserve. We said, ‘Wow, this is a topic that lots of people will relate to. Let’s go for it.’ That’s where Silent Enemy is now. There’s still the native American themes in there but it’s totally changed from what it is now. It’s not about survival hunting anymore. It’s more about bullying and dealing with that.”

Papo & Yo is out now on Steam, having made the jump from PlayStation 3 exclusive, and you should probably check it out - maybe keep a box of tissues with you, mind.