From its inception, the experimental Superbrothers: Sword & Sworcery EP was meant to “speak cinematic language” according to Toronto-based co-creator Craig D. Adams.

“It’s less of a video game and more like an interactive film,” he tells Playback Daily. “It’s something that non-video game players can jump in, experience and get it.”

In its early stages, the curious adventure-puzzle-exploration game scored an award for achievement in art at the Independent Games Festival Mobile last year, and has managed to build up a cult-like fanbase of players eager for the game’s release.

Initially conceived as an experiment for the handheld iOS devices (iPhone and iPod Touch), the team behind Sworcery released an iPad version last month, and its popularity escalated to the point where Apple featured the title as a Game of the Week in the App Store.

Sworcery has heavy cinematic inspiration, as the creators themselves have a deep appreciation for the medium. Adams cites fellow Canucks Clive Holden (filmmaker, Trains of Winnipeg) and Quebec animator Frederic Back (Tout rien, Crac) as influences, along with Hayao Miyazaki, David Lynch and Stanley Kubrick.

It didn’t hurt that he teamed up with local indie game developer Capybara Games (Critter Crunch, Clash of Heroes HD), where creative director Kris Piotrowski approached the project with his love and previous experience working in film.

“It helps to have a background that’s not just in games,” says Capy’s Piotrowski, whose was involved in designing, producing and creative direction. “There was a big opportunity to pull references as well as what we know about games.”

They add that the game never would have happened without initial funding from the Ontario Media Development Corporation, which really kick-started the project.

“It’s unusual all the way up and down,” admits Adams, who says that it took a while for he and Piotrowski to give the game a complete shape.

Music is another major component to the overall Sworcery experience, with the involvement of local indie musician Jim Guthrie, for whom this was also his first contribution to a game.

The EP portion of the game’s full title is a nod to the soundtrack’s importance, which was also released as an edition LP as well as available for digital download.

The game was released for handhelds on Wednesday night and has been climbing the App Store charts ever since. At press time, it cracked the top 25 iPhone paid apps and was sitting at number 17.