Everything about Next Life is Strange game feels important. There’s Alex Chen, an American Asian protagonist, who takes center stage at the same time as the United States reckons with its violent (and ongoing) mischief against Asian Americans. However, the performance goes beyond the leading lady. Lead writer Felice Kuan writes the story at Deck Nine Games, and voice actor Erika Mori – along with Alex’s singing voice, portrayed by singer and writer mxmtoon – will help bring the vision to life.
The Asian American visibility at this particular time is not lost on Kuan. In a brief interview with Polygon, the developer notes that the timing is random, but that she knows what the game will mean for people in 2021.
“I’m very glad you know for an Asian American protagonist that empathy is a big theme and the power,” she said. ‘I was therefore very moved by the reaction of the fans, some of whom talked about recent events. I’m very happy about what Alex and this game could possibly mean for the community. ‘
Another great thing for the franchise? It eventually proceeds from the episodic model. When the game is released in September, the whole story will be available from the beginning. Players will still be able to break between major story layers, the story is divided into chapters, but they do not have to wait months between episodes.
“For the development process, it was also a great advantage that we would be able to go back and adapt and make sure that the whole thing felt united, and that we really told the story we wanted from the beginning. told, “Kuan said.
But the biggest shift in general is, paradoxically, also the most subtle. While previous Life is strange games were extremely charming, much of the appeal rested on the writing. The animations and models, meanwhile, can sometimes look stiff, almost pop-like. Now this True colors jump on the current hardware for video games, the technology has also made a leap. There is motion recording for the whole body to work with the voice acting, and it makes a big difference.
In a short gameplay clip shared with Polygon, the camera zoomed in on Alex’s face – and it’s as if you can read every thought that goes through her head, even if she says nothing.
The expressions are few, whether it be a small adjustment of the shoulders, a light forehead or uncertain eyes. The upgraded facial animations are not just for show, as empathy is one of the main themes in the game. Alex can sense and absorb other people’s strong emotions, so it’s important to capture the humanity of each character. But beyond enabling Deck Nine to tell an “emotionally nuanced story,” as Kuan put it to Polygon, the technology also highlights how far we’ve come from the cartoon-like “realistic” expressions found in games like LA Noire.
When we talk to Erika Mori, the voice behind Alex, it is clear that these seemingly humble representations were at the forefront of the creative process.
‘We need an authentic and very real execution, nothing like super-cheese [or] redo, we are not looking for musical theater here, ”said Mori. ‘It’s much closer to what you see in film and television. And you can be more organic and natural, because we now have the technology to capture it. And specifically with … the facelift of voice and body performance happening at the same time, it allowed for a very natural depiction of some of these deep emotions that Alex and the other characters go through during the game. ‘
“It actually asked me to be human,” she continued. “What do you know, thank God. It was not that difficult. ”