An ancient folktale through a timeless digital experience

This intriguing, mythical game and website were created by Dutch independent cross media arts platform Truth.io - led by their artistic director Ruben van Leer. Their main goal was to reintroduce an ancient folktale - The Bird of a Thousand Voices - to a modern, global audience in a meaningful and emotionally resonant way. To preserve the cultural and symbolic richness of a tale while making it accessible through a digital experience that feels both timeless and relevant.

The Bird of a Thousand Voices: the story & the game

The story - originally passed down through spoken storytelling and later written by Armenian poet Serine in the early 20th century - has always resonated with themes of renewal, resilience and transformation.

Inspired by this cultural legacy, Armenian composer Tigran Hamasyan released a music album based on the folktale. Together with Tigran, Truth.io created a larger trans-media artwork rooted in the story and its music. 

As a visual artist, Ruben did not want to produce just another music video. Instead, he envisioned an interactive video game playable on all devices, where the hero’s journey would be directly linked to the timeline of the music. Allowing to merge narrative, art and sound into a seamless, immersive experience.

The game follows Prince Areg on a mystical quest to find the mythical Bird of a Thousand Voices, whose enchanted song can heal his grief-stricken father and restore balance to the kingdom. The Kingdom itself becomes a symbol for our modern world, where material desires often overshadow humanity’s spiritual essence—symbolised by the elusive Bird.

By guiding Areg on this symbolic journey, players engage with the story and music on a personal level. The interactive format allows the audience to become active participants in the quest for the eternal bird, immersing themselves in a journey of self-discovery and inner transformation - just like Areg. 

I believe that creating engagement with the folktale’s cultural and spiritual legacy helps preserve its timeless message while making it accessible to a global audience.
Ruben van Leer

Insights from the design process

Visual artist Khoren Matevosyan played a crucial role from the very beginning. When Khoren delivered the album artwork he created for Tigran Hamasyan’s music, Ruben saw the potential for these illustrations to become the foundation of the game's world.

The challenge was translating Khoren’s richly detailed, symbolic art into a fully interactive environment that would work seamlessly within the game’s technical constraints - going back and forth whilst optimising the illustrations to fit the evolving game mechanics.

The voice-over text by Areni Agbabian narrates Prince Areg’s drive - his need to find the mythical bird that can restore his father’s spirit and heal the kingdom. This process resulted in three narrative-driven cutscenes* where interactivity pauses and the story takes over, immersing the player in the folktale’s deeper meaning.

*Cutscene: a non-interactive video sequence that occurs between segments of a video game and depicts part of the game's background or storyline.

On the technical side, Ruben collaborated with game developer Ilija Trbogazov, whose PixiJS rendering expertise together with a custom platform designer app allowed the creation of sophisticated Spine-animated environments optimised for smooth performance on mobile devices. 

Together with Tigran and the talented sound designer Alexander Nezhinskiy, Truth.io aligned the music, voice-over and sound effects into a harmonious whole.

Matching the music with the game visuals

Tigran Hamasyan’s music was the emotional core of The Bird of a Thousand Voices – The Kingdom. 

From the start, Ruben wanted the game’s entire experience to flow seamlessly with Tigran's compositions. That’s why he chose a side-scrolling game format: the player’s journey through the environment mirrors the progression of the music itself - creating a visually dynamic timeline that feels like running through a living soundscape. 

Tigran’s music already carries a powerful sense of narrative. He juxtaposes traditional Armenian instruments and cultural motifs with modern improvisations and electronic synth textures. This fusion of ancient and contemporary inspired Truth.io's entire creative approach. Similarly, Khoren Matevosyan’s illustrations reflect this duality - rooted in historical symbolism but with a futuristic, mysterious edge.

Every scene and interaction was designed to respond directly to the music’s shifts in energy, rhythm and emotion. Intense, rhythm-driven tracks underscore moments of conflict - such as Areg’s encounter with the demon’s eye or the menacing thousand-eyed tentacle monster. In contrast, serene, atmospheric compositions accompany reflective or transformative moments, like when Areg sinks into the water to find inner strength.

The User Experience

Truth.io designed The Kingdom to serve as a gateway into the broader Bird of a Thousand Voices trans-media project. Envisioning players starting with the game, then discovering the live theater performance, watching the film and exploring all artistic collaborations online. 

The various media formats work well together. Creating an interconnected world where players can choose how deeply they wish to immerse into and interpret the story.

While keeping the game design relatively simple, they ensured it remained immersive, intense and emotionally impactful. 

The music itself feels urgent, and players don’t just hear it, they feel it - as every moment in the game resonates with the dep

th embedded in Tigran Hamasyan’s compositions. The game evolves as an artistic symphony, where sound and imagery guide the player’s mythic journey.

They also built in competitive elements like a scoreboard - encouraging players to return and improve their scores.

Results

Overall, Truth.io's accessibility-first design approach is paying off. With over 30,000 visitors on the game’s website each month. 

As the live performance continues to tour globally, as well as the completion of their new science-fiction film adaptation as part of this evolving trans-media artwork, Truth.io genuinely hopes that the game will keep attracting more players and fostering deeper engagement with The Bird of a Thousand Voices.

The Bird of a Thousand Voices – The Kingdom has also sparked important conversations about the preservation and evolution of cultural stories in the digital age. 

It’s been rewarding to see how this ancient Armenian myth has found new life through modern technology, music and art.
Ruben van Leer

The project’s reach continues to grow as more people discover the game and its interconnected sub-projects. The positive response has reinforced Truth.io's belief in the power of trans-media storytelling to bridge cultures, generations and artistic disciplines.