After the launch of Gris, a fantastic sport exploring grief, the staff at Nomada Studio in Barcelona wanted a protracted break. They spent round half a 12 months not even desirous about what was subsequent, avoiding phrases like “Unity” or “sequel.” Ultimately, director Conrad Roset, who turned a mother or father throughout that point, got here up with the thought of an analogous expertise that will introduce a brand new companion, permitting gamers to attach with and care for an additional character.
“I advised him, no drawback, so long as it’s not a four-legged animal, you are able to do no matter you need,” says lead producer Roger Mendoza, noting that animating critters with numerous legs might be “fairly painful.” However the director was in a position to make the case for a sport known as Neva a few younger lady who goes on an emotional journey with a magical fox creature. “I believe it was price it,” Mendoza admits.
Neva launches on October fifteenth (it’s coming to PC, Swap, Xbox, and PS5), and like Gris, it’s a stunningly animated 2D journey. Gamers tackle the function of a younger lady caring for a younger fox pup named Neva, making an attempt to usher it to security in a world full of darkish forces that look ripped out of Spirited Away. It solely takes round 5 hours to complete, however the sport spans a protracted time period; every chapter is a unique season, and also you see the fox develop over time. At first, it’s a comparatively helpless pup, however by the tip, it turns into your protector.
Neva and Gris share loads in frequent: the brief size, approachable gameplay, unbelievable artwork and animation, and narrative that’s advised nearly totally with out phrases. (Neva does have some voice performing, nevertheless it’s a number of variations of the heroine calling out Neva’s identify. “I believe we recorded 500 other ways of claiming Neva,” jokes Mendoza.) However the brand new sport additionally introduces two main options: not solely a second character but in addition fight.
“When she’s not with you, you actually really feel it.”
Based on Mendoza, the latter was impressed by the previous. “[The addition of Neva] was in a manner the place the fight got here from — we thought it might be a superb mechanic to deliver collectively the truth that there’s a companion now,” he explains. Early on, it’s important to struggle to guard the fox, however as she grows up and modifications, so, too, does that dynamic. “Now she’s the one who’s caring for you,” Mendoza says. “When she’s not with you, you actually really feel it. Fight felt like a great way to tie every part collectively.”
This introduced various design challenges, most notably when it comes to accessibility. One in every of Gris’ largest strengths was how simple it was to choose up and play; it even labored nicely on a smartphone touchscreen. However the added layer of complexity that comes from fight and a companion meant that Neva “isn’t as approachable as Gris,” in response to Mendoza. “That’s one thing that we knew early on; the second you add extra controls, it turns into tougher.” To account for this, the builders designed the sport from the start with a narrative mode, the place you may’t die in battle. “That was a technique to attempt to discover the correct stability,” he says.
The success of Gris — the sport bought greater than 3 million copies up to now — gave the studio the boldness to each push in these extra bold instructions but in addition proceed to pursue its strengths. One of many main learnings from that sport, in response to Mendoza, was that “you are able to do a powerful narrative with out the necessity for phrases. It’s one thing that we had no thought if it might work on Gris.” Neva takes issues a step additional, with a extra direct storyline that covers various matters concurrently — not solely the evolving nature of a parental relationship but in addition overt themes about environmental destruction. Once more, this story is conveyed nearly totally by means of artwork, sound, and animation.
The opposite main studying from Gris was extra sensible. One of many primary causes that sport’s improvement was so traumatic and required such a protracted post-launch trip was that the staff was comparatively small. Actually, solely two programmers labored on Gris in any respect, forcing numerous late nights and lengthy hours. Now that many members of Nomada are a little bit older, with households of their very own, work-life stability is a a lot greater precedence. And so some of the necessary modifications between Gris and Neva was a seemingly easy one: “we employed extra programmers.”
