The Dutch game SCHiM is based on one of the oldest kindergarten games in the world. You play as a small creature that must jump from shadow to shadow to reach a goal. Because you are not allowed to touch the sunny ground, ordinary environments turn into challenging platform levels. The game was made in Friesland and has won several international awards. In this Storyworld Spotlight, we show you how the game was made.  

In our new Spotlight exhibition, discover everything about the game that started as an exam project and grew into an international success story for two Frisian game makers, Ewoud van der Werf and Nils Slijkerman. Their game won several awards (including Best Game Design and the Audience Award Grand Prix at the Tokyo Game Show) and has since been released on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation and Xbox. In the Spotlight, you will see that the makers have carefully considered all aspects of the game. For example, they have paid a lot of attention to the colour palette of each level and the position from which the player looks onto the playing field has been deliberately chosen.

The Frisian makers were inspired by their home base Leeuwarden. The bicycles, bridges, roundabouts and old-fashioned canal houses are typically Dutch and could therefore also come from another Dutch place. For foreign players, this turns out to be a very exotic setting. Objects that have become everyday for us, such as rubbish bins, mailboxes and traffic signs, turn out to be unique in the world!

As a visitor, you can also play the game in the Spotlight and create your own color schemes for decors in the game. The creators have created an extra level of SCHiM especially for this occasion, which takes place in Groningen. The Forum even plays a role in this.

The Spotlight can be visited in Storyworld from May 10 to August 31, 2025.