Sam Butin
Video Game Developer, Writer
June-July 2025
- Videogames
“By retracing my ancestors’ transatlantic journey, I will bring authenticity and emotional depth to Normandie: A Documentary Video Game, allowing players to step into history and capture the fragile space between refuge and uncertainty.”
I am a storyteller who works at the intersection of interactive media and documentaries, using video games to explore historical narratives in ways that deepen empathy and engagement. My work focuses on moments of upheaval, migration, and struggle. I draw from personal and archival histories to bring underrepresented stories to new audiences. My great-grandfather’s diary from his journey aboard the SS Normandie in 1939 was the spark of inspiration for creating this video game. As I read his words, I saw the tense five day crossing of the SS Normandie as it left Europe carrying expats, quota visa immigrants, and Jewish refugees. I saw a ship that was a fishbowl for a continent of conflict. I saw a way to tell the story of these passengers, their lives, hopes, and fears, through the very card games they played in limbo. I saw a way to reflect my anthropological approach to storytelling inward, I examine the fact and fiction of my own family’s immigration story.
I am particularly interested in how game mechanics can transform passive historical observation into active learning. My projects have been showcased at major film festivals and gaming events, where they challenge conventional narratives and invite audiences to engage with history in deeply personal ways. Through my residency, I hope to build upon this approach, integrating lived maritime experience into the fabric of Normandie: A Documentary Video Game, and reinforcing its role as both a historical record and an emotional journey.
Sam Butin is a storyteller working in games and XR. His past work includes the historical video game 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (BAFTA, SXSW, The Game Awards Nominee, Facebook Game of the Year), HERO (Sundance Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival Storyscapes Winner) and Fire Escape: An Interactive Narrative Series (NYFF, Tribeca, VIFF). He has developed original stories for partners including Google, Verizon, & The Brown Institute. He is the founder of On The March, an independent game studio that opens windows for players to peer into untold history.
Normandie: A Documentary Video Game reimagines the SS Normandie’s final transatlantic journey in August 1939, when Jewish refugees, including my ancestors, fled Europe as war loomed. The game blends archival research with interactive storytelling to explore themes of displacement, resilience, and historical memory.
During the residency, I will immerse myself in the maritime world to enhance the realism of Normandie’s setting, blending the past and present moments of oceanic travel. I will document the ship’s physical structure, the rhythms of life at sea, building the psychological landscape of passengers in transit. This experiential research will inform the game’s narrative design, soundscapes, and environmental storytelling, deepening the authenticity of its world.
By the end of the residency, I aim to translate this experience into a more textured, emotionally resonant game world. The residency offers a rare opportunity to retrace my ancestors’ journey and create an interactive experience that brings players into the heart of a historical moment, fostering historical empathy and new ways of engaging with refugee/migrant stories.
The maritime journey itself is the core of my research, offering a direct link to the world of Normandie. The act of traversing the Atlantic—where I will recreate the route of the SS Normandie, from Le Havre to New York (aboard the Marius) – will allow me deeper insight into the journey my ancestors made 86 years ago. In the process, I will traverse countries; continents – as I cut through history, time, & space.
Beyond the ship, I am interested in exploring the cultural and historical archives of the port cities of Le Havre and New York. In Le Havre, I hope to engage with historians and maritime scholars who can provide deeper insight into the port’s history, the French Line, and the refugee experience at the time. In New York, I aim to engage with museum curators and educators exploring new approaches to Holocaust education, seeking ways to integrate Normandie into broader conversations on memory and storytelling.
The residency will allow me access to contemporary maritime communities, learning from sailors, historians, and archivists whose knowledge will help shape the game’s authenticity. Through these encounters, I hope to further expand Normandie’s impact—ensuring it serves not only as a historical record but also as a catalyst for new conversations.
In partnership with
MARFRET
MARFRET: AT THE HEART OF GLOBAL TRADE
Founded in 1951, the maritime company MARFRET specializes in international freight transport. Operating nine regular shipping lines along the north/south axis, it serves five major geographical areas: the Mediterranean, North Atlantic, Caribbean, Amazon, and South Pacific, with a significant presence in the French overseas territories.
MARFRET also has subsidiaries in river transport, handling, and warehousing, providing an integrated and multimodal door-to-door service.
The company has established a long tradition of hosting artists in residence, both aboard its ships and in its onshore offices. MARFRET, which owns seven vessels, likes to define itself as an “Ar(t)mateur.”
Musée national de la Marine
The Musée national de la Marine houses one of the most beautiful and oldest collections in the world, tracing over 250 years of maritime and naval adventures. A public administrative institution under the supervision of the Ministry of the Armed Forces, it is located in five cities across the national territory: in Paris at the Palais de Chaillot-Trocadéro, and in the ports of Brest (at the Château), Port-Louis (in the Citadel), Rochefort, and Toulon. It also has a conservation and resource center. Its networked presence allows it to maintain strong connections with local maritime cultures and to promote an active policy of exhibitions and events, making this institution a vibrant place for raising awareness about today’s and tomorrow’s maritime challenges.
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