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A new TV show about one of Sweden’s most famous ice hockey players, Borje Salming, is in the works. The new biopic series is coming from NENT Group, which is a streaming company in the Nordics; the show will be made in English, however.

The show has big-name talent behind it, as Amir Chamdin created it and is lined up to direct; his show Partisan won acclaim and the top prize at Canneseries in 2020. Swedish actor Valter Skarsgard, the brother of Alexander Skarsgard (Godzilla vs. Kong) and Bill Skarsgard (It) and the son of Stellan Skarsgard (Chernobyl), is lined up to play Salming.

Martin Bengtsson (Agent Hamilton) is writing the series, which will follow Salming’s life from his early days to his stardom in the NHL. Filming is expected to begin in 2022.

The show is being produced by Warner Bros. International Television Production and it is slated to premiere on the Nordic streaming service Viaplay. It’s not immediately clear how people in other markets may be able to watch the untitled show.

Salming is involved in the production of the show, and he said to Variety that it’s “flattering and exciting that my story will become a series.” Skarsgard spent some time with Salming to get ready to hit the ice. “His attitude was always to do things his way and enjoy it, and I’ll try to bring the same approach to the task of playing him,” he said.

In the ’70s, the NHL was dominated by players from North America instead of Europe, and Salming was a pioneer in this respect. You can check out a great profile on Salming in the video above from the NHL.

Salming played in more than 1,000 NHL games from 1973-1990, scoring 150 goals. He played every season except for his last with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Salming was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1996.

Your first impression of Astria Ascending will probably be that it’s a fantastical side-scrolling turn-based RPG that borrows several cues from the likes of Final Fantasy. The character designs, the music, and even the game’s logo all lead you to believe that the seminal RPG series is a core influence. You’d be right, and there’s a reason for that.

Kazushige Nojima, who has been with the franchise as a scenario writer since the original Final Fantasy 7, is currently working on the wave of new stories in that universe with Remake, Ever Crisis, and First Soldier. He’s also the scenario writer for Astria Ascending. Hitoshi Sakimoto, who helped compose the music for Final Fantasy XII and Tactics, is lead composer on this new game as well, lending his talents to building a whimsical world through music. (And you also may recognize the distinct character designs of Akihiko Yoshida, who’s done artwork for much of Final Fantasy and Nier).

But what is Astria Ascending? It’s important to note that its core development is in the hands of Artisan Studios, a French-Canadian team that focuses on 2D RPGs. Artisan’s first game was Super Neptunia RPG, and you can definitely see where Astria Ascending’s presentation style comes from. But this new game’s story is said to be a mature one, where adult heroes take on the responsibility of protecting an illustrious world called Orcanon. Director Julien Bourgeois says that the goal was “to explore how people cope in extraordinary times,” and that “each hero has their own perspective, but it’s the relationships they form with one another that truly bring the story to life.” With this collaboration between Artisan and a few big names in the JRPG space, you can imagine there’s more prestige expected in Astria Ascending.

I was able to correspond with both Nojima-san and Sakimoto-san about Astria Ascending to dig into what it is about this new game in particular that’s going to carve out a unique place among the big-name RPGs they’ve worked on. And I get the feeling that this is a sort of clean slate, without the pressures of a major franchise, where they can try something new.

Storytelling From The Perspective Of Kazushige Nojima

When asked about what makes Astria Ascending stand out, Nojima told me, “I would say it’s the age of our heroes. They may be older than the typical party of heroes.” That can be a tricky thing to reflect in a story, so I asked him about how he designed characters well into adulthood. “Regardless of the in-game world’s design, if a character’s age is close to your own, you must be careful so that they don’t reflect your personal habits and behaviors; it will diminish the feeling of stepping into a fantasy world and your players will notice that,” Nojima stated. He continued, “So, this time I paid special attention to creating a fantasy world with a strong consciousness [of that].”

Characters are, of course, always key to telling a meaningful story, and their backgrounds seem to be important to understanding the stakes of Astria Ascending. “We establish the elements required for each character and the game world–their individual techniques, how to obtain them, where they are needed, then [their place in the world] itself). Then we mixed them into the settings and scenarios to make that world real,” Nojima explained. Although we’ve yet to see how these ideas manifest in the actual game, the expectation is that we’ll see cohesion between narrative and gameplay.

Nojima explained that this story–said to be a grand tale of sorts–is contained within a few weeks’ time in that world, but several complementary and heavy plot threads could lead your imagination in filling out the world. “Players will have some room to interpret and think about those details and elements. Allowing players to contemplate and consider these details is part of the game’s spirit,” Nojima said.

Although quite vague in specifics, he attributes this as “part of the reason why Astria Ascending can be thought of as a mature experience.”

Saving the world can be more complicated than beating the big bad evildoer or attacking and dethroning god, and it seems Astria Ascending is taking note of that. When discussing themes and motifs found within its story, Nojima responded by throwing some questions back. “What is the true nature of a world living in harmony? What does a status of global harmony mean and require? Is achieving something like that our ultimate goal? Do we really even need such a thing? These are some of the questions posed by the game; I think there is always value in thinking about open-ended questions like this.”

Despite its influences and connections to them, Astria Ascending flexes a unique style, too. And from the side-scrolling perspective with hand-drawn art, I wondered if these features impacted the way Nojima created its story. “I like to take a different approach each time,” he said. “The mechanics, gameplay systems, and method of expression ultimately decide whether one of my scenarios fits the game I’m writing for. However, I don’t focus on being eccentric or consciously try to choose a different style to approach new projects with.”

After so many years being involved in crafting RPG stories, he’s seen how the genre has evolved and has directly influenced it in many ways. “There are many definitions of RPG; it is a complicated genre to define,” he told me before coming in with a little self-plug, saying, “But with that said, Final Fantasy 7 Remake is great.”

But from his perspective, Bloodborne has been an influence and stand-out in narrative design. “I’ve recently replayed Bloodborne after a long time. I love its storytelling style; you know, players need to feel like they’re really inside the game’s world rather than just reading or hearing about it, and Bloodborne is excellent at achieving that,” Nojima stated.

Looking at Astria Ascending in particular, Nojima feels as though he has something special, saying, “I’m proud that I was able to create a world without having an existing concept and story to build on top of. I designed this universe from a foundational, ground level as I studied Astria Ascending’s gameplay systems and mechanics.” With that approach, we should expect a synergy between what happens in the world of Orcanon and what you’re asked to do in order to save it.

How Hitoshi Sakimoto Composes A Fitting Soundtrack

“Listening to music is partially studying and partly a hobby. My favorite songs make me feel refreshed, so I channel that energy into my works and aim to provide the same experience to my audience,” Sakimoto said after telling me about his favorite genres of jazz and fusion. While those feelings have informed his approach to the Astria Ascending soundtrack, which sounds closer to a grand orchestra. And he’s indicated as much, saying, “I added many classical layers and sounds, and supplement the overall worldview through sound.”

But how does he know what he wants to create for a video game in particular? “For me, the interaction during the production process is the real thrill of creating music for video games, so I try to stay involved during that stage,” Sakimoto said. “My general approach to a soundtrack is also dependent on the individual project itself, and from there I can focus on musical devices and each piece’s performance. When it comes to stories and game systems, it’s best to collaborate starting from the game’s initial conception phase, and the team behind Astria Ascending has worked hard to achieve this.”

In the same way I asked Nojima about what he’s seen in the RPG genre over the years working within it, I wanted to know Sakimoto about how he’s seen music and game soundtracks evolve. “I don’t think there are any major technical changes other than the dynamic changes in the songs,” he said. “But from the perspective of composition, the multiplicity of compositional direction has really improved my skills. However, it seems that a tidy, flawless sound has become more commonplace overall. Personally, I need more character, that rougher or irregular musical measures in my work.”

With his name attached to so many renowned games, from Radiant Silvergun to Valkyria Chronicles to the aforementioned Final Fantasy games, I wanted to know what keeps him creative over a long career. “After reflecting on the drastic changes in video games over the past 30 to 40 years, I would have never been able to use the same processes I used during the start of my career as a routine approach,” he said. I’m always facing unknown scenarios and learning through trial and error.”

“I started my career back during my time as a student. At that point in time, I thought that when I grew up (even though I wasn’t a child then), the job of composing music would be standardized and I’d be able to breeze through it,” Sakimoto recalled. “I was surprised to find that the more experience I gained, the more things I realized I still didn’t know. But as I got used to this situation, I’ve found comfort in it and have steadily proceeded.”

He concluded his thoughts with a bit of a knowledge dart, saying, “There is no grand secret for my creative process and drive, but learning to willingly face the unknown is important.”

Sakimoto also shares a sort of kinship with Nobuo Uematsu, the legendary composer who’s best known for creating most Final Fantasy’s greatest songs. As a friend and mentee of Uematsu, Sakimoto revealed, “I actually have rarely talked about composition with Mr. Uematsu, we usually just talk about our favorite music and small household affairs. It is a pity, but I still learned many things from him about how to live as a composer. Since I know very few senior composers, chatting with Mr. Uematsu is still a treasured opportunity to me. I view him as my loving teacher and we are definitely not on a similar level.”

What’s apparent from both Nojima and Sakimoto’s answers is that the DNA of Final Fantasy is closely woven into prominent parts of Astria Ascending by virtue of its creators. Sakimoto said the best way to understand how music will influence and impact the experience of Astria Ascending is to see it in the game, and that’s also true of the way the work and influence of Sakimoto and Nojima will affect how the game’s pieces will fall into place. You’ll be able to do that sometime this year when Astria Ascending launches on PlayStation 4 and 5, Xbox One and Series X|S (and Game Pass), PC, and Nintendo Switch.

For some competitive first-person shooter players, there’s a hill you can never seem to surmount. You might excel at planning and have an excellent sense of the game; you know how your opponents think and where they’ll be, and you know how to outsmart them. You carefully plan your ambush, lying in wait with a superior plan–but when you get your opponent in your sights, they overpower you with superior aim and twitch shooting skills. You might have superior planning, but in many FPS scenarios, fast reactions can and often do win the day.

In Lemnis Gate, though, your tactics are often much more important than your twitch skills. The competitive FPS combines the planning and execution of real-time strategy games with the on-the-ground play of a character-based shooter, creating a sort of turn-based FPS that values out-of-the-box planning and preparation.

Winning is all about timing in Lemnis Gate, which we quickly learned in our recent hour-long hands-on session with the game. The idea is that Lemnis Gate’s matches take place as a series of time loops, each spanning 25 seconds. When you take your turn, you dispatch a character onto the map to complete an objective–say, to grab an item and return it to a teleporter on your side of the map. You have 25 seconds to do that, and your turn ends. Your opponent then takes their turn, dropping a character into the same 25 seconds you just played; they see your character run out and do whatever it is you did on your turn, but they have the opportunity to grab the resource first or shoot your character, stopping them from accomplishing their goal. The 25-second time loop changes thanks to their actions, and then it’s your turn again. You might kill their character so that your character survives and grabs the objective, for example, changing the loop again.

In a one-on-one game, that process continues until each player has dispatched five characters into the loop, and the winner is whoever nabs the most objectives when the 25-second time loop finally is completed. (When your opponent is taking their turn, you can fly around in a drone to survey the map and see everything that’s happening during the time loop.) So Lemnis Gate isn’t about playing against another player like in Call of Duty or Apex Legends–it’s about playing against the recording of another player. Since you’re not fighting an active player but instead reacting to what they already did, you don’t usually need those super-tight aiming skills that might define high-level play in other FPS games.

“We specifically designed the game to be strategic and skillful at the same time,” game director James Anderson explained in an interview with GameSpot. “We wanted players to be able to win by outsmarting or out-thinking their opponents. We reward creative thinking and outlandish setups and stuff like that.”

Those potential setups come from another aspect of Lemnis Gate: its characters. Each time you run through the time loop on one of your turns, you send in a different character from your squad of five. Each one has a different set of weapons and special abilities–one character can engage a brief speed boost, another can drop turrets every few seconds, another sprays toxic waste that damages enemies that walk over it. There’s a sniper, a character sporting a rocket launcher, and a gunner with your standard assault rifle-and-grenade loadout.

“Because the whole game’s set in a time loop, you can actually use causality as a gameplay mechanic and defeat your opponent just by setting things up in a way that they didn’t expect or positioning your operatives and your abilities, placing mines and turrets and stuff like that,” Anderson said. “If you can find a great strategy, then the mental aspect of the game can actually support and, in some cases, outweigh your twitch aim skills, right? Obviously, the best players in the world are going to have both of those things, a cunning mind and great twitch skills, but we wanted to kind of even the playing field and provide a shooter where you don’t need to be 100% accurate with every pixel-perfect headshot to win. You can actually rely on your mental skills a little more than perhaps a regular shooter.”

Our hands-on session included two game types: a one-on-one competition in which your goal is to grab four floating resource orbs and return them to the aforementioned teleporter, and a two-on-two mode, where players shoot at several free-standing generators scattered around the map to capture them and score points. In both cases, things got hectic in a hurry, highlighting how much you need to have battlefield awareness and solid planning in order to be victorious. By the end of a one-on-one match, 10 characters are running around the relatively tight maps. You not only need to have a plan in place for what you want to do with each turn, but you have to be aware of what you’ve already done–fire a rocket in the wrong place or step through another character’s line of fire, and you could be taking out your own team thanks to friendly fire, damaging your ideal time loop.

“…We wanted to kind of even the playing field and provide a shooter where you don’t need to be 100% accurate with every pixel-perfect headshot to win.”

In the two-on-two mode, things get even more complex. There, players have teammates backing them up, bringing the total number of characters who appear in the 25-second time loop up to 20. It’s easy for the match to become a confusion of turrets, mines, rockets, and characters scuttling around, but your goal is to shoot at several stationary towers to capture them. The team with the most captured stations at the end of the loop wins, and like in King of the Hill modes in other games, a captured tower won’t stay captured if the other team shoots it, allowing for things to swing drastically.

The map we played had several tight lanes characters could move down, and the possibility of having two characters on each team dropping mines and turrets meant that map control became much more important–and difficult to manage. There’s also the matter of when you bring out certain characters; you don’t want to lead with your sniper, for example, because they won’t have any targets to hit. And since you only have 25 seconds to make your moves, you still need to be quick, careful, and on-point; if you miss your shots and the timer runs out, you’ll essentially waste a turn.

“The thing that gives us the most freedom is the fact that in our game, you don’t play one character, you play all characters,” Anderson said. “So whatever the player does on the other end, you have the equivalent to throw back at them, right? If, for example, take the guy with the rocket launcher, Death Blow. If your opponent takes him and blows up all your guys with Death Blow, it’s like, ‘Oh, man, that devastated me.’ Well, then on your round, you can actually just do the same back to them. We’ve found that because you can play multiple characters, it kind of stabilizes and equalizes the playing field quite well.”

While we only got a short look at Lemnis Gate, taking on a few matches of each game type, expect there to be even more strategy at play over time. The preview build we played gave a glimpse of how meta progression will work–you earn experience points over time when you play, and that progression will unlock new items over time. Most of them will be cosmetic, Anderson said, but you’ll also earn some new equipment as you develop expertise and gain XP with specific weapons and characters.

That equipment, like new weapons or different kinds of secondary gear, will allow you to further customize your team, Anderson said. You might get a different version of the sniper rifle with slightly different stats, maybe increasing the size of its magazine at the cost of its accuracy. The idea is that these customizations will be tradeoffs, so it won’t be that players who put in more time have more dominant weapons. Instead, over time, you’ll create a team that’s tuned more to how you play and your needs on the battlefield.

And ultimately, that’s the kind of thinking developer Ratloop Games Canada wants you to be doing–considering your FPS battles in a different way. Anderson said the studio is looking back to the early days of the FPS genre, when its ideas were first solidifying.

“I grew up on stuff like Wolfenstein, Duke Nukem 3D, Doom, Descent, these kind of early first person shooters where they were really just being invented, right?” Anderson said. “And every new game that came out back then, there weren’t really rules about what was supposed to be in them and what wasn’t. The concept of the modern genre didn’t really exist back then, so every time you played a new game was, ‘Okay, what’s this game about?’ And it was kind of a lot less strict in terms of thinking or design. So we wanted to kind of do a throwback to those kind of days. where really the rules about what a shooter is and what a PvP online game is. They didn’t exist back then, and I think there’s a lot of areas which are still unexplored.”

Lemnis Gate is slated to release sometime this year on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. Thanks to backward compatibility, it’ll also be available on PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.

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