Digital Natives? Saami Games Now!

This exhibition sheds light to Saami perspectives through video game design. Saami video games are still a relatively new phenomenon even though games, game making and play is nothing new to Saami people. As Saami communities continue to embrace technology and digital media, Saami game design is growing in popularity and importance.

Outi Laiti has been working with Saami games since 2014. During this decade over a hundred participants have made over 40 games. The games chosen for this exhibition have been created between 2014 and 2024. Some of them have been born in game developing events in Utsjoki, Finland, that brought together game developers all around the world to make games about Saaminess. Some of these games are professional products for the gaming industry. Together these pieces go beyond typical Saami representation and show glimpses of contemporary Saaminess. By imagining Saami futurisms they reach beyond ‘what is’ in Saami games, and ask “What could be?”

This exhibition is supported by the Kone Foundation project Biocultural heritage and non-linear time.