From the primary second I performed Sword of the Sea on the Summer time Sport Fest Play Days, I knew that it was like the sport Journey, which led down from that fantastic recreation created years in the past to the second after I was taking part in 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 the sand, kind of like a snowboarder in SSX. Besides you’re not using on a snowboard. You journey on a sword, gliding above the sand as should you had been on a hoverboard.
Oddly sufficient, the expertise of snowboarding was the inspiration for Matt Nava, inventive director on the sport and founding father of Big Squid. He informed me that he was impressed by being each a snowboarder and a surfer and the feeling of shifting quick. Once 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 change a metropolis from grey to greenery, in Journey as you slide by the sand, and in different peaceable video games as properly. There are photos 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 be taught what that was in my brief demo.
The sport has stunning 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, resolve puzzles, and while you achieve this you change 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 business was struggling resulting from 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 fascinating chat in the course of a really chaotic demo day on the Summer time Sport Fest.
Right here is an edited transcript of our interview.
GamesBeat: What are among the inspirations for this? I really feel like I see quite a lot of Journey right here, and your first recreation as properly.
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. Once you’re really 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, religious aspect of these excessive sports activities. Often 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 motive 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 may get. That’s what we’re making an attempt to attain with this recreation. Take the motion and the pace, 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 might be a narrative that performs out as you make your means by this world. There are many completely 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 sort 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 yow will discover and browse to be taught extra in regards to the backstory of the world. You’ll have the ability 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 instantly related to your previous video games in any respect?
Nava: All of our video games are related in a roundabout way. 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 should you performed these video games you’ll acknowledge some issues. You’ll see that connecting area, for positive.
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 you must be taught extra?
Nava: It’s humorous. I believed, “I did a sand recreation. I did a water recreation. This might be straightforward.” 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. It is a very customized piece of expertise that we made so that you could transfer with this wave at excessive pace. It was acquainted, but additionally a completely new problem. It was quite a lot of enjoyable.
GamesBeat: What timing do you take note of? 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 virtually performed.
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 be taught a lot about the principle character, or does he stay mysterious?
Nava: He’s very mysterious. You do be taught extra about him by the lore that you simply learn within the recreation, these little fragments. He’s sort 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 sort of this empty creature. He’s trying to find one thing.
GamesBeat: How would you evaluate the event to previous tasks? Has it moved quicker?
Nava: Each recreation that I make takes about three or 4 years. This one is about 4 years of labor to date. We began it in the course of the pandemic, proper after The Pathless shipped. It was the primary recreation we began remotely as a staff. We needed to determine that every one out. The staff got here collectively. It’s fairly superb what they’ve pulled off.
GamesBeat: How many individuals are on the staff now?
Nava: We’ve 16 or 17 individuals. A medium-sized staff.
GamesBeat: And that’s intentional?
Nava: That’s our identification. We prefer to preserve it small. We’re an in depth 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 you must 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 simply lower. You noticed the little–what I name ocean seeds, the place he interacts and slashes it and the water comes out. In a while there’s going to be a sort 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 think about this one thing that anyone ought to have the ability to work out? Is it a failure if somebody doesn’t know what to do subsequent?
Nava: One in every of our massive challenges after we designed the sport was to make it so that you could actually simply play and uncover methods to play without having to look something up. Simply self-guided. We secretly educate you issues as you go. At first we present a bit textual content that tells you ways 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 simply already know methods to bounce. We don’t have to inform you. We’re making an attempt to get out of your means and allow you to be within the recreation, not remind you that you simply’re taking part in a recreation.
GamesBeat: Is it your personal engine?
Nava: It’s Unreal Engine 5, however our staff is exclusive in that despite the fact that 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 troublesome about getting that performed?
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 sort of pace management for the participant, you simply routinely go on the pace that feels proper in every single place. Simply ensuring that all of it feels completely good while 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 simply’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 simply don’t count on to see in a recreation like this in any respect.
That was one of many largest challenges after I was pitching this recreation. I’d give you a bit 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 all people says, “Okay, I get it.”
GamesBeat: How did you fiscal 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 staff. We’ve had an in depth partnership with them previously. 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 amazing staff at PlayStation Indies.
GamesBeat: Have you ever stated how properly your previous video games have performed to date?
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 massive firms, however each considered one of 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 increase for the staff.
GamesBeat: It looks as if you’re hitting a stride right here, even whereas the remainder of the business has struggled.
Nava: It’s been a tricky time with so many studios closing. We had been on the brink for some time. Final yr was actually tough. We persevered and fought exhausting. 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 a extremely exhausting time.
