Tell Surreal Stories in Where the Water Tastes Like Wine, Coming to Xbox One November 29
It’s been a long journey, but I’m happy to announce that Where the Water Tastes Like Wine is coming to Xbox One! This game began on a train in Siberia – a fitting start to a story about traveling, riding the rails, and telling stories.
I had spent several months at that point traveling the world. I rode on a camel in the Sahara, saw the sun rise over the Annapurna range in Nepal, visited temples in Kyoto, and danced on the beach in Goa. I had ridden a lot of trains – 30 hours on one ride in India, four days in Siberia, overnight through Romania, a few hours from Paris to Barcelona. But when I decided to make a game about traveling, I came back to the United States, both in person and for the game. Inspired by traditional American roots music – blues, folk, jazz, and bluegrass – I made it a story about wandering the country, collecting tales and spreading them around.
You’ll notice the influence of traveling through the game, whether you’re hitchhiking through the Bayou, taking a train through the Rockies, or just walking over the expanse of the Great Plains. And you’ll meet other travelers as you go – one of the best parts of my trips was meeting people who were also on the road, hearing their stories of the places they’d been and telling them mine. To make that feel more like talking to people with their own voices, stories, and views, each character was written by a different person, so you’ll get a wide range of tales about America.
You’ll also notice the music and stories of America – you’ll help spread tales of bootleggers, strange lights, three-headed birds, Johnny Appleseed, Bigfoot, Paul Bunyan, and La Llorona. And while you do that, you’ll hear folk music, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and other amazing pieces of music composed for the game. We’re proud of the unique and powerful soundtrack the game has – it’s amazing. Unfortunately, I never encountered three-headed birds or Bigfoot on my travels, but I’m sure it would have made quite the story.
Even if the tales grow a bit far-fetched in the telling, I hope you enjoy traveling our weird, mysterious version of America and meeting the full cast of characters, gathering stories, and spreading them onwards. I hope you find what you’re looking for.