Drive a puppet through a sinister fairytale world in A Juggler’s Tale

The tale of a juggler is a cinematic puzzle platformer that takes players into the world of a puppet theater play in which both see and act. A world that is both beautiful and sinister, inspired by the tone and mood of traditional fairy tales.

You play as Abby, the puppet, who tries to find her way to free herself from all ties. Abby, a small captive juggler of the circus, entertains the crowds during the day and spends her nights dreaming of freedom. At last, Abby manages to escape, but soon discovers that the world in general has its own dangers.

Abby’s story is narrated lyrically by the puppeteer Jack, who might have his own agenda… The puppet strings visually represent the strong connection between the narrator and the puppet, while also offering unique puzzle mechanics.

The tale of a juggler is developed by kaleidoscube, a German student startup: Dominik Schön, Enzio Probst and Steffen Oberle, the founding members of kaleidoscube, met while studying Animation and Interactive Media at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, and were later joined by Elias Kremer , another fellow student. They quickly discovered that they shared a passion for video games, especially those that focus on storytelling and creating a dense atmosphere, and they teamed up to start working on The tale of a juggler while still studying.

The idea behind the game was to link modern digital game culture with traditional theater and poetry. The long tradition of German poetry and drama, as well as the darker side of its fairy tales and legends, were important inspirations for the setting and the story.

The team finished production in 2021 as their graduation project during their final year of college and now The tale of a juggler it’s finally available on the Xbox Store!