From the primary second I performed Sword of the Sea on the Summer season Sport Fest Play Days, I knew that it was like the sport Journey, which led down from that great recreation created years in the past to the second once I was enjoying the newest recreation from Matt Nava’s recreation studio, Big Squid.
I performed the start of the sport. You begin out as a anonymous character within the sand. You begin browsing by means of the sand, form of like a snowboarder in SSX. Besides you’re not using on a snowboard. You experience on a sword, gliding above the sand as in case you have been on a hoverboard.
Oddly sufficient, the expertise of snowboarding was the inspiration for Matt Nava, artistic director on the sport and founding father of Big Squid. He instructed me that he was impressed by being each a snowboarder and a surfer and the feeling of shifting quick. If you’re in that second, he stated that these excessive sports activities turn out to be meditative. It’s about being again in nature and connecting with it.
We’ve seen these sorts of video games in Flower, the place you exchange a metropolis from grey to greenery, in Journey as you slide by means of the sand, and in different peaceable video games as nicely. There are pictures from The Pathless and Abzu, the corporate’s earlier video games, in Sword of the Sea. When you wield a sword as a mysterious character in Sword of the Sea, you don’t use it in violence. As that character, you might be trying to find one thing, however I didn’t study what that was in my quick demo.
The sport has lovely music, however you play the sport in silence. There’s no dialogue. No spoken narrative. It’s just like the online game model of a poem, or a silent movie. Within the recreation, you progress round, clear up puzzles, and once you achieve this you exchange the sand to sea water. It’s a really satisfying expertise.
I famous it was odd how Big Squid was hitting its stride with this recreation, whereas the remainder of the trade was struggling as a result of lack of funding, excessive prices and altering gamer tastes. However Nava revealed in our dialog that Big Squid was on the brink for some time till PlayStation backed the corporate. It was an attention-grabbing chat in the midst of a really chaotic demo day on the Summer season Sport Fest.
Right here is an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: What are a few of the inspirations for this? I really feel like I see loads of Journey right here, and your first recreation as nicely.
Matt Nava: And even The Pathless, which was our recreation after that. It was all about shifting actually quick and momentum. It’s all of these concepts. However actually, the inspiration is simply from being a snowboarder and going browsing myself. If you’re truly doing that stuff, you’re shifting quick, and it’s excessive, however it’s actually this sort of meditation. I’m actually within the meditative, non secular facet of these excessive sports activities. Normally when video video games painting excessive sports activities, it’s very a lot about simply the floor degree of it. It’s not about the true cause that folks return to surf. You wish to be in nature. You wish to join with nature. You wish to discover.
There’s this sort of magical sensation you will get. That’s what we’re attempting to realize with this recreation. Take the motion and the velocity, however allow you to get into that move state and begin to join with the scene.
GamesBeat: Is all of it silent? No one talking, no narrative?
Nava: Yeah, there’s no dialogue within the recreation. There are undoubtedly characters. You’ll meet one other mysterious character alongside the way in which. There shall be a narrative that performs out as you make your manner by means of this world. There are many totally different biomes to discover past the sand. You’ll see within the trailer that we simply put out on the showcase. There are snowy areas and different issues. We’re telling the story with a type of atmospheric narrative.
GamesBeat: Do you continue to want a story designer for that?
Nava: Oh, yeah. We’ve had a author on this recreation. It’s hilarious. We’re like, “Okay, don’t write any phrases, however please assist us.” It’s nice. Within the later model, there are little lore fragments you’ll find and skim to study extra in regards to the backstory of the world. You’ll be capable to learn some little poems in regards to the historical past. It’s very delicate, the way in which we do it.
GamesBeat: Is that straight related to your previous video games in any respect?
Nava: All of our video games are related ultimately. What we love to do is let the gamers give you these connections. We’ll undoubtedly give them some clues and issues to go on. However we by no means spell out precisely how they join. We’ve imagery from The Pathless and from Abzu, so in case you performed these video games you’ll acknowledge some issues. You’ll see that connecting area, for certain.
GamesBeat: The animation and the atmosphere, it looks as if these are each areas the place you already know what you’re doing. The sand and the ocean. Was there one thing that was very acquainted about doing this, or did it’s important to study extra?
Nava: It’s humorous. I assumed, “I did a sand recreation. I did a water recreation. This shall be simple.” However then we added this new factor, which is that the terrain is animating. It’s continually shifting in each body. That meant we needed to invent this new tech. This can be a very customized piece of know-how that we made to be able to transfer with this wave at excessive velocity. It was acquainted, but in addition a very new problem. It was loads of enjoyable.
GamesBeat: What timing do you take into consideration? Is that this scheduled for launch but?
Nava: Yeah, it’s going to be out on August 19, fairly quickly. We’ve to complete this factor. We’re nearly accomplished.
GamesBeat: What platforms is it going to?
Nava: It’s going to be on PS5 and PC, Steam and Epic Video games Retailer. Day one on PS5 it’s going to be on the PlayStation Plus service.
GamesBeat: Do you study a lot about the principle character, or does he stay mysterious?
Nava: He’s very mysterious. You do study extra about him by means of the lore that you just learn within the recreation, these little fragments. He’s type of this empty go well with of armor to start with. You see that droplet hit him and make him come to life. He’s type of this empty creature. He’s trying to find one thing.
GamesBeat: How would you examine the event to previous initiatives? Has it moved quicker?
Nava: Each recreation that I make takes about three or 4 years. This one is about 4 years of labor up to now. We began it throughout the pandemic, proper after The Pathless shipped. It was the primary recreation we began remotely as a crew. We needed to determine that every one out. The crew got here collectively. It’s fairly superb what they’ve pulled off.
GamesBeat: How many individuals are on the crew now?
Nava: We’ve 16 or 17 individuals. A medium-sized crew.
GamesBeat: And that’s intentional?
Nava: That’s our identification. We wish to maintain it small. We’re a detailed group of mates, principally, making bizarre, out-there video games.
GamesBeat: There’s a sword, however usually your video games have been non-violent. Do it’s important to use the sword?
Nava: It’s humorous. The primary recreation I made with a sword, we’re not doing fight or something. There are issues that you just lower. You noticed the little–what I name ocean seeds, the place he interacts and slashes it and the water comes out. Afterward there’s going to be a type of antagonist you meet. There are scripted moments. However yeah, there’s no second to second fight within the recreation. It’s actually in regards to the motion. The sword is a part of the lore.
GamesBeat: Do you take into account this one thing that anyone ought to be capable to determine? Is it a failure if somebody doesn’t know what to do subsequent?
Nava: One in every of our large challenges after we designed the sport was to make it to be able to actually simply play and uncover how one can play without having to look something up. Simply self-guided. We secretly train you issues as you go. At first we present slightly textual content that tells you the way you bounce and so forth. However we do secret stuff like–if a participant already jumps earlier than we present them that textual content, we simply don’t present the textual content. We perceive that you just already know how one can bounce. We don’t have to let you know. We’re attempting to get out of your manner and allow you to be within the recreation, not remind you that you just’re enjoying a recreation.
GamesBeat: Is it your individual engine?
Nava: It’s Unreal Engine 5, however our crew is exclusive in that although we’re fairly small, we do numerous customized rendering. It doesn’t appear to be all the opposite Unreal Engine video games. It has a really distinctive visible fashion, and that’s actually due to the customized tech that we placed on high of Unreal.
GamesBeat: What’s tough about getting that accomplished?
Nava: The most important problem is getting that character motion to really feel excellent. We’ve been engaged on the way it feels to go off the jumps and work together with the motion of the waves. We do some issues like–you go quicker on the sand. You go even quicker on the water. You go slower on tile. With out having any type of velocity management for the participant, you simply robotically go on the velocity that feels proper all over the place. Simply ensuring that all of it feels completely good once you’re shifting is the factor we’ve saved engaged on for 4 years.
Later within the recreation you’re going to find environments which have snow and lava. Some very surreal environments. We’re taking these landscapes that you just’ve seen earlier than. You’ve seen a desert panorama. You’ve seen the water. However not like this. You’ve by no means seen a mountain of water. You’ve by no means seen the terrain shifting like that. There’s going to be locations that you just don’t count on to see in a recreation like this in any respect.
That was one of many largest challenges once I was pitching this recreation. I’d give you a chunk of idea artwork. “Think about this animated. Think about these waves shifting.” “You’re simply exhibiting me an image of the desert.” It’s a must to see it in movement to know it. However when you do, as soon as you’re feeling it, then everyone says, “Okay, I get it.”
GamesBeat: How did you financial this recreation?
Nava: We’re partnered with Sony. Sony’s been our monetary backer. They’ve been nice companions. They understood the sport early and believed in us, believed within the crew. We’ve had a detailed partnership with them up to now. We labored with them to ship Abzu as a console unique again within the day on the PS4. They’ve at all times been shut mates of the studio. They’ve an awesome crew at PlayStation Indies.
GamesBeat: Have you ever stated how nicely your previous video games have accomplished up to now?
Nava: I don’t have these numbers available, however the good factor is that it’s sufficient for us to maintain going. They’ve been profitable. We nonetheless have to get funding from large corporations, however each one in all our video games has discovered its fanbase. We put out our trailer and we have now our Discord. Everybody was going loopy. It’s actually enjoyable to see. They’re doing new fan artwork already, which is a giant morale enhance for the crew.
GamesBeat: It looks as if you’re hitting a stride right here, even whereas the remainder of the trade has struggled.
Nava: It’s been a tricky time with so many studios closing. We have been on the brink for some time. Final yr was actually tough. We persevered and fought arduous. Sony actually got here in and helped us. They made it so we might proceed and end the sport. We’re grateful to them for serving to us make it by means of a extremely arduous time.
