Chapter 143: "It Takes Two"
After explaining the details of It Takes Two, everyone returned to their work.
The winter holidays were approaching, so, during this time, Alex mainly explained the basics of It Takes Two's gameplay to Eric and the others. He also assigned Jane's art team to the production of resources. The game's core development would be delayed until after the holidays.
This game was chosen primarily to offer players a change of pace. After all, Dark Souls had just accumulated a considerable amount of resentment points.
Creating a harmonious and loving game that would allow them to experience the warmth of the sun was necessary, and it would also enrich the game genres on the Nebula platform. Additionally, launching a cooperative game for couples a year after Overcooked was a hot topic.
As she got down to work, Jane, in charge of the art department, clearly perceived the difference in It Takes Two.
"This game feels like an animated film!" Jane marveled at the storyboards in front of her.
"To a certain extent," Alex nodded with a smile.
The previous game, Overcooked, had a cartoon art style, but that is different from It Takes Two. In It Takes Two, the contrast between the different scenes, as well as between characters and themes, creates an exaggerated interpretive style. The composition and coloring also emphasize the feeling of camera work.
This style is often used in animated films.
During the development of It Takes Two, the impact of the recently concluded annual video game event was still in development.
Thanks to this event, the sales of many Nebula Games titles experienced a significant increase. Dark Souls, in particular, winner of the Best Role-Playing Game award, has welcomed a large number of new players.
Of course, upon entering the game, these new players immediately felt the world of Souls and Alex's innate passion and love for players.
"Dark Souls", "Nebula Games", and "Alex" were keywords during this period.
While these topics generated an intense debate, the country was also celebrating the annual winter holiday travel rush. However, for the gaming community, this rush seemingly had little impact.
After the resounding success of Dark Souls, more players, designers, and media eagerly awaited Nebula Games' next release.
On the eighth day of the winter holidays, employees showed up for work. Alex summoned Eric and the others to the conference room.
During the winter holidays, Alex had already completed the conceptual design of It Takes Two. Compared to his previous life, he did make some changes to the game's content.
For example, the original It Takes Two included an Easter Egg called A Way Out. This was also the work of this game designer. Alex did not modify this aspect, so the impact was minimal.
The game also included numerous cinematic references, such as Cody's line after being captured by the space apes: "In space, no one can hear your screams."
This is a classic line from the movie Alien. It also includes a recording of the game designer slapping Oscar at the Game Awards. This part needs to be edited.
There are also darker scenes in the game. Although It Takes Two features a cartoon art style, very similar to the fairy tales of the Brothers Grimm, which were originally a collection of European folk tales from the 17th and 18th centuries, Europe was recovering from the Napoleonic Wars. While they are fairy tales, they were written for adults and, naturally, have a dark, deep core.
These stories are more like strange stories from a local studio: seemingly fairy tales, but rich in metaphors.
The same is true in It Takes Two. Although it is a cartoon, it is not for children. Many of the images, in particular, are quite cult-like. The vacuum cleaner in the first level and the pink elephant later on. While the content is not a major problem, the presentation, in the previous game, was criticized by many.
Therefore, Alex has made some improvements in this aspect, at least in terms of visual presentation, to avoid the same cult-like feel as in the previous game.
The art style, the cinematic camera features, the unique use of split-screen cameras for two players, the story and core concept, the pacing of the levels, the unique features of the different scenes, and the corresponding special abilities and gameplay. Alex had basically explained the essential elements of It Takes Two.
Compared to that simple memory from a year ago, Jane, Lisa, Eric, and the others understood the essence of the game. They also understood why Alex had previously said that it was perhaps too late. This game sounded like an indie title, but in reality it contained a lot of content.
It could even be said that it is the second largest game currently developed by Nebula Games, second only to Dark Souls in scale. Even the previous Outlast was slightly behind.
After Alex's explanation, the Q&A session began.
"Alex, are the levels in this game a bit complex?" Eric asked.
The levels and special abilities of each character were simply amazing. However, he also had a concern: some levels, especially the platforming ones, seemed to require a lot of coordination.
With good coordination, it worked well, but with bad coordination, Eric suddenly remembered the game Overcooked, the video scene, and the live streaming platform discussing it.
'How did "Breakup Kitchen" earn its reputation? That's how it happened!'.
"When facing a boss, if one player survives, the other can be resurrected infinitely. And the game is saved in real time, so you won't have to go back after a failure after completing the game."
"The game's difficulty is quite reasonable, and we will also add a dynamic difficulty level later. If players get stuck in a certain area for a certain amount of time, a message will appear in the game," Alex explained. This was also a change from the previous game.
After hearing Alex's words, Eric nodded, understanding.
John, responsible for game operations and promotion, took the lead. "Alex, what's the plan to promote It Takes Two?"
"We will follow the model we used for last year's Overcooked. I will edit a promotional video for you before Valentine's Day. The game's slogan will be 'A game for couples' and the themes will be 'Passion', 'Cooperation', and 'Friendship'."
"As for the game's operational strategy, it won't be the same buy-one-get-one-free offer as last year. As long as a player who buys the game on the Nebula platform has it, he can invite another player to play, which will further promote the platform." Alex thought for a moment and told John.
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