OnlySP:
Othercide is set in a nightmare realm with creatures that feed off of suffering. Does this tie into any particular messaging you’re hoping to achieve? If not, what message are you hoping to achieve (if any)?
Larsson: The world in
Othercide is inspired by ours, where mighty entities live in a parallel dimension feeding off of all kinds of human emotions. So there is a kind of macro-story about the fight for the survival of mankind, and the terrible sacrifices that may be necessary. At the same time, there is another story there about redemption and forgiveness.
Chaudret: I think the best stories have different layers.
Othercide can be seen like an epic war between fearless warriors and horrible monsters, that’s just the tip of the iceberg. The entire lore is flavored with psychological traits of the human psyche, tackling about sickness, pain, loss, hope, and fears. A lot of those subjects are even inspired by our own experiences, that we tried to put honestly in the game. More than a ‘message’,
Othercide is a story. An intimate tale hidden in a larger world. It is up to the player to dig through the layers of our lore and discover more.
OnlySP: The narrative’s design focuses heavily on player choice. The impact of those choices can lead to traumatic experiences happening to the Daughters, making them stronger or weaker. Are there any strategic benefits to deliberately weakening the Daughters?
Larsson: We tried to make a game that could be experienced on multiple levels. For the player that just want to find a new mechanical system to master, we went all out to create a dynamic battle system with completely new challenges. For those players that care about the story, we created a world to unveil, mostly through the discovery of new memories. The story is at least up to 50 percent what the player creates in [their] head based on the experiences of [the] Daughters. Players will not be able to weaken a daughter on purpose but will have to make choices based on how the Daughters develop.
OnlySP: The game’s website warns that death is permanent. However, if individual Daughters die during combat encounters, can they be revived? Can players recruit other Daughters between skirmishes?
Larsson: Yes, the player can create new Daughters in between battles, but it is hard.
OnlySP:
Othercide‘s art design is utterly stunning. The character’s clothing and movement style is reminiscent of a
Devil May Cry title but set in a noir, ethereal monochromatic back-drop. Why did you create the art design in this unique way instead of designing a world popping with rich colour?
Chaudret: Because I am super lazy art director: three colours were way enough! Actually, it was one of the hardest and obvious choices to do. When I started my work on
Othercide, I knew that if we wanted to stand out in this kind of games, we would have to pull all the levers we had at disposal at their maximum. So, while the first attempts of art direction where kind of muddy desaturated, I kicked the lever into full black and white, and a blazing vivid red. It was super hard, and really frightening.
There were a lot of challenges, a lot of doubts, but we still felt it was the right direction. Black and white are the realms of dreams, of interpretation, of the ethereal. Dropping our Daughters, with their vivid red scarves in this ocean of darkness has already a signification. I love creating those art-systems. You will notice that when a Daughter loses health, her scarf greys out.
Larsson: Alex was very serious when he came to me and suggested going all black, white, and red and we sat down and discussed it together. In the end I realized that it fits with the gaming experience we were going for. As important is that it helped us reach an art-style that is immediately recognizable. As indie developers, it is even more important that the game stands out on its own than for larger studios.
OnlySP: The game features a wide array of fascinating enemies. The artistic design behind the tentacled, beast-like aliens and the tall, scythe-wielding creatures offer a range of unique antagonists to battle. How did the creature designs evolve from the game’s concept to what we see in the gameplay trailer?
Chaudret: Creature-design is an iterative process or, should I say, an exploration process. At first, we always try to serve the gameplay. So each of our creatures and bosses germinates for a reason and achieve a function. Then, it’s our jobs as artists to infuse a ‘soul’ in those seeds of horror, until it grows and blossoms in a good balance of monstrosity and beauty. We can use a lot of different inspirations, from abyss fauna to preformists like Olivier De Sagazan, but the one inspiration I prefer is our own nightmares. I was really gifted to work with such a talented team, that could both listen and understand what I was looking for, as well as creating fascinating creatures on my side. We hope you will enjoy our horror-zoo!
OnlySP: The title boasts dynamic, turn-based combat that enables players to anticipate enemy movements and ultimately execute a strategic masterplan using the Dynamic Timeline System. Can you explain what this system is and how it works?
Larsson: Instead of turns,
Othercide has a timeline showing when enemies and allies will act. Attacks have different impacts on the timeline. Some attacks happen immediately, some are delayed, and some happen over time. At all times you have to take the timing of enemies’ attacks into account, but you also have tools to deal with them. You have skills that can delay enemies or speed up your own attacks and also react to, and interrupt enemies. These you can use to stop enemies in their tracks or just do enormous amounts of damage if you use them well.
OnlySP: Can you provide detail about the character skill system? What types of skills will players be able to choose from and can players build their character to suit individual playstyles?
Larsson: At the beginning of the game the player can choose between three different classes, and in each class, there are skills to choose from at each level. The differences are really significant as skills work together with skills in other classes as well as with skills at other levels. On top of this, the Daughters evolve on their own with their own battle experience, which will change how you decide to use them.
OnlySP:
Othercide is due to be published by Focus Home Interactive, which has been behind some of the biggest games of 2019, including
GreedFall,
The Surge 2, and
A Plague Tale: Innocence. What is it like working with such an accomplished publisher? Has Focus Home shaped the game in a way that you did not expect?
Larsson: So far it has been a really good experience, as [Focus] fully understood where we wanted to go with the game and was supportive of that vision. Having [Focus’s], at least partially, external view on the game has helped us identify areas that need to be strengthened much quicker. I guess the best part was how the support has helped refine parts of the game.
Chaudret: From the very beginning of our collaboration, Focus has been very supportive of our creativity and where the art style was heading. Having a publisher ready to take risks and support something different in a codified genre is refreshing and respectful.
OnlySP: Lightbulb Crew consists of a team that is based in France and Sweden. What challenges and benefits does the Franco-Swedish relationship bring to the studio?
Larsson: The main difficulty is that it forces us to work a lot remotely. That also has actually turned out to be a benefit as we have had to live through months of strikes in France which forced many Paris team members to work from home, and we already had that experience.
OnlySP: How has developing your previous online game, Games of Glory, helped you to create Othercide? Did you encounter any specific challenges that affected how you approached designing your upcoming game?
Larsson: For a first game,
Games of Glory was hugely ambitious, and we learned an enormous amount from the experience. The importance of one strong art-style being one, as well as how important good feedback and the pleasure a player should get out of just handling the core combat aspect of the game. From a process standpoint, we also learned a ton.
OnlySP: Lightbulb Crew has established its publishing brand under LBC Games which has been set up “by indies, for indies”; What impact would you like LBC Games to have on the industry? Do you have any projects that you can talk about now?
Larsson: We believe in all aspects of the strategy genre and helping indies that focus in that area will help assure that there are great games coming out. It will also help us build a stronger community around the types of games we love. LBC Games is there to help indie developers get through some of the pains we have experienced ourselves. We are about helping the developer to make the best game they can. We also help with financing as well for the right game.
OnlySP: Can you reveal any detail about how long the campaign will be?
Larsson: Playtime will depend a lot on the player, and his or her approach. Play-through time varies so widely from player to player that I don’t want to give any target times. We think people will feel that they have gotten good value for their money though!
OnlySP: Will the game have multiple endings depending on what choices the player makes?
Larsson: Let’s let the players discover that themselves
OnlySP: Is there anything else you would like to say to our readers?
Larsson: Your readers can still help us influence the game, by following us on social media or email list, and then participate in our upcoming beta!
