4 years in the past, Don’t Nod Montréal opened its doorways to produce its first title exterior the Life Is Strange franchise.
Work instantly started on what would develop into Lost Data: Bloom and Rage, created by the crew that introduced the primary two Life Is Strange video games to life.
GamesIndustry.biz caught up with artistic director Michel Koch, studio government producer Luc Baghadoust, and producer Cathy Vincelli at Gamescom to discuss how Lost Data marks a brand new path for the developer, however continues its custom of manufacturing narrative-driven video games centred round selections and penalties.
Initially set to launch in late 2024, Don’t Nod pushed the discharge of its new IP to early 2025 to keep away from clashing with the following instalment of Life Is Strange, Double Publicity, now developed by Deck 9.
“We talked about it, and thought one of the best resolution was to give [Lost Records] extra space,” studio government producer Luc Baghadoust explains. “We all know {that a} massive a part of the viewers is aware of the Life Is Strange identify, however they won’t know that the unique crew of the primary two video games is creating a brand new recreation, and there wants to be room for 2.”
Baghadoust says that general, it was a “good end result” for them.
“Followers may not know the unique crew of Life Is Strange is creating a brand new recreation, there wants to be room for 2”Luc Baghadoust, Don’t Nod Montréal
“On our finish, it offers us extra time to polish the content material to be certain that it is nice when it is launched,” he continues. “Being too shut to one another, folks may not have the price range to purchase two video games, so giving us extra space was one of the best resolution.”
There may be added stress on Lost Data following Don’t Nod’s newest monetary outcomes, during which the corporate paused two initiatives after Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden “carried out effectively beneath expectations.”
With Lost Data now the agency’s essential subsequent launch, we reached out for added remark from Don’t Nod, however the request was declined.
Manufacturing on Lost Data started in 2020, however the idea got here to artistic director Michel Koch whereas presenting Life Is Strange 2 at Gamescom in 2019.
“We began to speak not solely about [a group of] teenage women, but in addition adults with characters our personal age to have a special standpoint,” Koch says.
Lost Data alternates between two timelines: the current day and the ’90s. Producer Cathy Vincelli notes that the latter was chosen as the event crew’s “youth”.
“We had been across the similar age as the ladies within the recreation, so quite a lot of us felt a way of nostalgia,” Vincelli says. “It is the purpose in our lives the place we had been slightly bit awkward and figuring ourselves out. It allowed us to draw inspiration from our personal experiences whereas additionally doing analysis about stuff from the time. However as a result of so many people lived by it, we had been ready to deliver that into the sport as effectively.”
The crew seemed to media from the period for inspiration, notably Twin Peaks, which Koch says helped steadiness the sport’s overarching supernatural parts. When it comes to visuals and fashion, Lost Data additionally drew inspiration from female-centric movies, together with Foxfire and The Craft, in addition to video games corresponding to Oxenfree and Night time within the Woods.
Regardless of being Don’t Nod Montréal’s first IP exterior the Life Is Strange franchise, the sequence closely influenced Lost Data, adapting and evolving the studio’s penchant for narrative-driven video games.
“We have been engaged on these sorts of video games for over a decade now,” Koch notes. “We love storytelling and making interactive narratives that gamers can inform their very own tales by in a approach.”
The crew realized a major lesson creating Life Is Strange: “Characters are key.”
“That is one thing we noticed in every Life Is Strange episode, that the characters are on the centre of every part,” Koch notes. “Gamers will at all times keep in mind good characters – we actually needed to give attention to that.”
Specializing in the characters helped preserve that steadiness, particularly in guaranteeing they had been relatable sufficient for gamers to join with.
“Characters are crucial factor in our video games,” Koch says. “We like to say if you do not have good characters, irrespective of how good the story could also be, it will not work. You want good characters to make gamers engaged with the story.”
Koch emphasises that by beginning with archetypes, the personalities of every of the characters come quickly after.
“With our 4 women, we have now some very basic archetypes. In the beginning, we have now Swann, who’s an introvert. Nora is the outgoing one who appears like approach an excessive amount of, Cat is extra just like the fierce, small ball of power that could be very direct, and Autumn is chill and laid again however very realizing in what she desires and being the chief of the group.”
They then add a second layer, which Koch explains by utilizing Noah for example.
“Even when she feels very outgoing and sturdy, she has quite a lot of frailty to her, and she could be very insecure. We make and write characters that really feel like actual folks we might have interacted with in our teenage years.
“That additionally influenced how we designed them; as you’ll be able to see with Nora, she has pimples and some marks on her cheeks. We tried to design physique shapes that appear to be actual folks – even with the clothes, nothing is ideal. Wanting again at footage from our yearbooks, it seems actual however bizarre.”
Koch mentioned the crew additionally needed to guarantee they had been adapting to an ever-evolving trade.
“We wish to be certain that we don’t make video games which can be too passive, but in addition not simply interactive motion pictures,” he explains. “In order that’s why we introduced new options into Lost Data, just like the camcorder and the dialogue system, to have interaction with our gamers dynamically to guarantee they are not becoming bored or disconnected.
“If you do not have good characters, irrespective of how good the story could also be, it will not work” Michel Koch, Don’t Nod Montréal
“That is one thing we’re attempting to evolve usually, to make enhancements to a number of the techniques to be certain that the participant is in management and the sport is extra reactive reasonably than simply following what it tells you to do.”
The focus of Life Is Strange was the dialogue choices, during which each alternative impacted the narrative’s end result. This framework returns in Lost Data, but it surely’s been expanded to make social interactions extra life like for the participant.
“We strive to have a really pure dialogue system,” Vincelli says. “That is why whenever you’re going up to somebody to converse to them, it isn’t essentially only a speak interplay. You’ll be able to select the way you need to get into that dialog – possibly being slightly bit extra shy or outgoing.”
Vincelli says they needed to make the conversations really feel extra life like reasonably than simply being introduced with two or extra dialogue choices to push the interactions alongside for the sake of the narrative.
“Conversations can generally be chaotic whenever you’re with a bunch of buddies speaking to one another,” she continues. “However there are additionally moments the place it is slower and paced out. We needed to preserve that steadiness of getting these pure, chaotic moments when everybody’s excited and speaking, then different moments the place you’ll be able to pause or not say something.”
The dialogue system in Lost Data is immensely detailed, which should have been troublesome to script.
“Sure,” Koch laughs. “It is at all times a factor after we’re fine-tuning as a result of we wish to discover the suitable steadiness between ensuring it feels actual, that individuals are actually speaking to one another, that we offer home windows of alternative you could miss in order for you to say one thing then it is too late as a result of they’re speaking to another person.
“However we additionally need the participant not to really feel overwhelmed; we wish them to guess what’s occurring. And as it is a online game, you do not have all of your actual senses to see the folks shifting round you. You are trying by the window of a display screen, so we nonetheless want to make it barely slower generally. Hopefully, we’re reaching the purpose the place we obtain what we wish and nonetheless make it legible sufficient for the gamers.”
Vincelli factors again to that basis of creating distinct characters, which is significant in serving to gamers join with them – particularly by the dialogue selections.
We needed to preserve that steadiness of getting these chaotic moments when everybody’s speaking, then different moments [to] pause or not say something”Cathy Vincelli, Don’t Nod Montréal
“I feel that is what’s fascinating about our recreation: The characters are so effectively developed,” she says. “You actually get to know every of the ladies, despite the fact that you are simply taking part in as Swann. You will know what they might do or what they might assume – that is why whenever you’re introduced with sure choices, hearts will seem within the replies. You will perceive what these women like and dislike and what’s integral to their personalities.”
The general purpose with Lost Data was to make it much more reactive than Don’t Nod’s earlier titles, notably Life Is Strange.
“You are principally at all times in management, and issues are occurring based mostly on what you are taking a look at, what you are interacting with,” Koch says, highlighting the power for gamers to choose up and work together with an array of things from video tapes, books, and trinkets.
“The sport has to work for individuals who need to play straight and to the purpose. However we additionally put quite a lot of particulars in for gamers who [want to interact with everything].”