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KickStarter SWERY's The Good Life - cat lady simulator from Deadly Premonition creator

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ManjuShri

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Kickstarter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/476090608/the-good-life

https://www.whiteowls.co.jp/the-good-life-eng





http://www.giantbomb.com/articles/swery-returning-to-game-development-with-new-indep/1100-5584/

We briefly chat with the D4 and Deadly Premonition designer about his new venture, White Owls Inc.

Following a lengthy, health-related absence, D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die and Deadly Premonition designer Hidetaka "Swery65" Suehiro is returning to game development.

Yesterday, SWERY announced his newest gaming venture, an independent studio called White Owls Inc. Based in SWERY's native city of Osaka, Japan, the new studio is aiming to create games that follow in the strange, fantastical footsteps of the designer's previous works.

This follows more than a year away from game development, as SWERY worked on managing his reactive hypoglycemia. During that period, SWERY officially retired from his previous studio, Access Games. And though he stayed away from development, he spent time working on other pursuits, including work on his forthcoming first novel, and becoming a licensed Buddhist priest.

We had the chance to ask SWERY a few questions about his health and his new studio, and though he wasn't able to give us too many details on what's to come from White Owls, the answers seemed to indicate a renewed excitement and passion for video game development.

Giant Bomb: First off, I know you took an extended leave from development to focus on getting healthy. How are you feeling these days?

SWERY: Thank you so much for your concern.

As of now, I've completely gotten over my condition, and my doctor gave me permission to return to work. I also have no more limitations in terms of drinking beer or eating hamburgers or cakes. My palpitations are long gone, and my hands and legs don't shake anymore.

Incidentally, I intend to keep a low carb diet in order to maintain my health from here on out.

GB: What brought you to the point where you decided you wanted to form your own company?


S: This may sound very rude, but it all started once I tasted freedom for the very first time. During my period of medical treatment, I met a lot of people, went to many different towns and countries, watched a lot of films and TV shows, read books, listened to music, and slept a lot. Strangely enough, these actions filled me with more creativity than ever, and I was able to draw pictures that I hadn't been able to draw before, play musical instruments, and even go out to take pictures. I also made silly games with a game maker and then finally started writing a novel.

In the end, I realized that going to the same office every day at the same time, whether or not I actually had work to do, taking a lunch break at the same time whether or not I was actually hungry, and acting like I was awake even when I was sleepy was not the way to go about creating truly amazing work.

But it's very difficult to put that truth into action within a Japanese company (they're infamous around the world for being very "special", right?) So I decided to make my own ideal company.

Of course, in order to do that, I needed some advice from a lot of creators in the West. What I really needed was true friends!

GB: What is the personal significance of the name White Owls Inc.?

S: Owls watch over the darkness of the night. In Ancient Greece, they deified them as symbols of wisdom. I think that the Greek people looked at the darkness of the night as a metaphor for death. And since owls can see through the darkness, they were seen as sacred beings similar to elderly wisemen.

In that same vein, I've gotten older, and I've gained a bit more wisdom than before. So I decided that the owl was the perfect creature for this new stage of mine.

GB: What's the vision for this studio? What kinds of games are you looking to create?

S: White Owls is a completely independent studio without any capital. Therefore, we can freely create as we wish. We want to make games for all the people who are cheering us on. This means they'll be bizarre, horrific, and filled with laughter, tears, and SWERISMs.

Our slogan is "From Osaka to the World!" I hope you're all excited. Just like the owls that fly through the darkness of the night, the games we make here in Osaka, the city I grew up in, are going to soar out over the entire world.

GB: Can you speak at all on the talent you're bringing together for this studio? Can you talk about where some of the other developers came from, what other games they may have worked on?

S: Since the villains are always trying to figure out the Justice League's secrets, I can't tell you any details. (LOL)

...But the one thing I can say is that there are still a lot of creators in Japan who want to do something on a worldwide level. I'm teaming up with them and creating a secret base.

In order to make this into a reality, I signed a contract with Blake Rochkind from UTA. In other words, I'm seriously working to make the entire world my playing field.

GB: You also have a novel coming this year. Can you talk a little bit about what inspired you to try your hand at novel writing, and what we can expect from this first book?


S: Currently, I'm working with a Japanese publisher and writing a book for commercial publication. I got feedback from my first draft, and just started working on my second draft. It's been a very stimulating experience. A while back, I said on Twitter that it'd be a combination of a rural town + murder + cat + mustache + nuts. It'll have the weirdness that can only happen in a small town, similar to Deadly Premonition, but I also used the same writing method that I employed to write D4: Dark Dreams Don't Die. I can't say any more than this, but if you're interested in hearing more news on it, please check my Twitter. I may tweet some hints every now and then.

GB: Is there anything else you'd like to say about your return to game development?

S: I can't thank my family enough. They supported me with food and other health support during my period of recuperation. Thank you so much. I also want to thank all my fans who've cheered me on through the internet. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Now that I'm back in action, I hope you're all looking forward to more SWERY creations!

That's it.

I Love You All!
 
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ManjuShri

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http://mailchi.mp/fig/1111112?e=17c3f48f1c

Welcome to The Good Life. The game is set in Rainy Woods, the self-proclaimed "happiest town in the world." Here, you'll play as Naomi, a photographer from New York who finds herself stuck in this small town in rural England. She's found a way to pay off the massive debt she's accumulated, but she soon discovers that the town is hiding a very bizarre secret...

At night, all of the town's residents turn into cats. Why does this happen? Is this why everyone in town is so happy? No one seems to remember what they do at night. Naomi is here to find out what's going on in Rainy Woods.

The townspeople aren't the only ones who get to roam around at night as a cat - Naomi does too! Once the sun sets, you'll get to explore Rainy Woods and collect clues and important items connected to the events of the story. The town becomes a very different place at night, as certain secret paths, rooftops, and attics can only be accessed by cats. Take a peek at the campaign page for more gameplay details and be sure to leave your feedback in the comments! Also, we've lowered the minimum investment amount - Fig Game Shares for The Good Life will be $100 per share!


And now, a word from SWERY:

Hello everyone. I'm SWERY, the director of The Good Life.

Last November, I created my new studio, White Owls, and this is our first official announcement. From the bottom of my heart, I feel so proud to be announcing this game with Fig, a next-generation publisher.

This game will inherit the spirit of Deadly Premonition, my most representative work, but it will also feature a brand new style of gameplay. It's a mystery game based on the framework of a 'daily life RPG.' I'm positive that the happiest town in the world and the most bizarre townspeople in the world will capture your heart and pull you deep into their world. Please support The Good Life and help us bring this game to life.

I'm sure this game will make a lot of people happy!

I Love You All!!
 

Xzar

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Only cat gameplay in serious game I remember is in Murdered: Soul suspect. I hated it. This, and Barbie-looking art style doesnt instill confidence in this project.
 

Mynon

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Could it be that this is inspired by the well known Algernon Blackwood story?
Here is its radio adaptation:

Arthur Vezin enters a sleepy, idyllic French town where the locals act in a strangely feline manner
 

Prime Junta

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tl;dr high-concept walking simulator/grind/adventure game/RPG from a star auteur up on Figstarter, be a woman by day, a cat by night and live the good life

SWERY (Hidetaka Suehiro) has a "RPG debt payment life simulator" Figstarter up. It's a high-concept thing where you play an indebted New York photographer sent to an English village where everybody turns into cats at night (including you). And there's a murder mystery.

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/the-good-life

I dig the premise and the idea of exploring a village in two different ways by day and at night. The description of the gameplay sounds grindy AF though, you're basically taking photos of everything, with extra rewards for repeatedly taking photos of the same things, e.g. a dog gets friendlier the more you photograph it (not my experience BTW).

They want a meelion and a half, which sounds like a lot to me for something as offbeat as this, but they're already at nearly 100k so who knows, maybe the market for this kind of thing is bigger than I'd have expected -- I don't really know jack about the jRPG scene.
 

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Yeah, just came here looking for a thread on this. SWERY has such a cult following he's probably going to get this funded, despite (because of?) the unusual setting.

It'd be nice if he could actually make one of his weird, offbeat and undeniably interesting games, actually good to play this time. I tried so hard with Deadly Premonition but in the end the dullness of the gameplay just got to me and I watched most of it on YouTube rather than play it.
 

Wirdschowerdn

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http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...-good-life-launches-its-crowdfunding-campaign


Swery reveals gameplay of his cat-based murder mystery The Good Life
The cat's out of the bag as Fig crowdfunding campaign launches.

By Jeffrey Matulef Published 03/09/2017

Deadly Premonition and D4 director Hidetaka "Swery" Suehiro has launched a Fig crowdfunding page for his previously teased upcoming open-world adventure The Good Life.

jpg


The premise, which must surely be among the most alluring ever committed to code, is that it's set in a small English village in which its denizens transform into cats at night. Weirdly (or perhaps normally, since we're already talking about a weird situation), the quasi-cat people wake up with no memory of what they did during their feline hours.

Imposed on this strangest of settings is a New York photographer named Naomi, who finds herself stranded in this peculiar town until she can work off her debt. Things get increasingly troubling for our financially suffering heroine as she discovers the body of a dead girl in this supposedly "happiest town in the world."

During a PAX West panel attended by Eurogamer, Swery described The Good Life as "Animal Crossing meets Deadly Premonition in an English countryside, plus cats."

While the initial teaser for The Good Life offered 2D art in the style of Professor Layton, the actual game will be a fully-fledged 3D third-person adventure along the lines of Deadly Premonition. The aesthetic is a lot lighter, though, with stylised low-poly art that's more reminiscent of something like Shelter or Necropolis.


The Good Life's scale seems even more ambitious than that of Deadly Premonition's, as its cast will go about their daily activities in real-time, not unlike DP, only this time they'll also alter their behaviour based on weather and season.

As one would expect of the man who made Deadly Premonition, The Good Life's cast will feature some pretty unusual characters, such as "Alcoholic Priest," "Neurosergeon Who Hates Kids", and "Gay Cat."

Described by White Owls as a "debt repayment life simulation RPG," there will be a degree of character customisation with stats that need to be maintained such as stamina amount, virus immunity, and alcohol dependency. Indeed, it wouldn't be a Swery game if it didn't feature copious inebriation. Thankfully, you can use gear to bolster Naomi's resistance to the elements, like giving her a hat that slows down her thirst.

Swery explained at his PAX West panel that his new studio White Owls isn't alone in crafting this endeavor, as the eccentric director has also recruited Panzer Dragoon creator Yukio Futasugi and his studio Grounding, Inc. to work on the game alongside Republiq developer Camoflaj. Swery was adamant that White Owls would have full creative control over the game, while the other two studios would contribute to realising his vision.

The Good Life is aiming for a PS4 and PC release in Q3 2019, though Swery said he'll add a Switch version as a stretch goal. But let's not get ahead of ourselves here, as the game needs to be funded in the first place.

You can currently reserve a copy of The Good Life by donating $29 or more on Fig before the deadline of 12th October. White Owls is looking to acquire $1.5m in the next 40 days, and after a scant few hours it's raised roughly $97k.




Scrooge your dream game is finally being made.
cat.gif
 
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orcinator

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Oh this might be promising... oh god it's using stock indie game graphics.

Where's Deadlier Premonition that rips off the new twin peaks season?
 

Talby

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Looks like trash that's only getting attention because of who is making it, who in turn is only famous because he ripped off better creators.
 

iZerw

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I'll just wait for suoergreatfriend playthrough as I did with Deadly Premonition. And 4D is officially dead than?
 

Shackleton

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So this is failing miserably. Looks like SWERY's appeal isn't quite what he hoped. I love that he tried to grab the cash by saying 'now we have dogs as well as cats!'. As if loads of people didn't back because it was cat-based, not because it's totally bonkers and unappealing.

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/the-good-life

1.5 million was always going to be a real big ask, but 300k with 6 days to go? It's dead Jim.

:dead:
 

Prime Junta

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Bonkers isn't the problem. Gameplay is. It sounds like a giant grind.
 

Tehdagah

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So this is failing miserably. Looks like SWERY's appeal isn't quite what he hoped. I love that he tried to grab the cash by saying 'now we have dogs as well as cats!'. As if loads of people didn't back because it was cat-based, not because it's totally bonkers and unappealing.

https://www.fig.co/campaigns/the-good-life

1.5 million was always going to be a real big ask, but 300k with 6 days to go? It's dead Jim.

:dead:
He should've made a nostalgia-pandering game, these are easily funded.
 

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