What lies beyond Vincent van Gogh’s spellbinding art? And what lives did the van Gogh family lead? In Sky: Children of the Light’s Dear Van Gogh update, game designer and producer Jenova Chen set out with his team to reimagine classic masterpieces as interactive art, giving players a unique and deeply personal way to experience them.

Here, App Store Editors sat down with Chen for an exclusive conversation about the stories and inspirations behind this iteration of the game.

App Store Editors: The narrative perspective in Dear Van Gogh is quite unique, focusing on Vincent, Theo and Johanna. Could you tell us the story behind this choice?

Chen: In researching Vincent van Gogh’s life, I discovered two figures who played an irreplaceable role. The first is his younger brother Theo, who devoted his life to supporting Vincent both financially and emotionally.

Yet Vincent died in obscurity, and Theo also died only six months later. So how did the world come to know about Vincent van Gogh’s paintings and his story? Much of the credit belongs to Theo’s wife, Johanna. While raising their young son, she organised exhibitions of Vincent’s work and compiled and translated the brothers’ letters, ensuring Vincent and his art were finally recognised.

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