EGX Rezzed 2015 round-up
Beyond Eyes
For Beyond Eyes, developer tiger & squid have come up with a most unusual choice of protagonist. In this game you take on the role of Rae, a ten-year-old girl who was blinded in a fireworks accident whilst still a toddler. Since that time Rae has feared leaving her home, finding companionship with a big red cat she calls Nani. When her feline friend goes missing, however, Rae must overcome this fear and venture out in search of her. The result is a gentle game, but one that is both beautiful and full of wonder.
When I first started playing, the screen was largely white. The only clear thing on the screen was Rae herself, a young girl in a white dress and purple Wellingtons. The area immediately around Rae was grass, painted in a soft watercolour style. This vagueness artfully conveys the sense that the landscape is based on Rae’s limited memories of the world from before she lost her sight. As I commenced her journey into the wider world, Rae initially walked with her head down and arms crossed. The landscape slowly filled out as I explored, with ambient noise such as bird song and the wind blowing through leaves providing the background to the scenery. Finding a fence, I had to trace my way slowly along its length seeking a way through.
In the brief time I spent playing, I did not encounter any puzzle more challenging than crossing a stile. But this is clearly a game where simple blind exploration is the challenge, and one that proves surprisingly satisfying. The way the landscape revealed itself only where I walked made even the smallest steps display new wonders. A single peal on a bell in a tower brought a brief glimpse of the top of that tower, fading as Rae lost track of where the sound came from. The fact that the visible landscape is only Rae’s interpretation from her other senses was also cleverly handled. Walking towards a beautiful fountain caused it to fade away, revealing that the trickling noise that had created this impression actually came from a drainage pipe.
There is no firm release date for Beyond Eyes just yet, but it’s currently on track for completion sometime this year. You can follow the game’s progress at the official website.
Toren
In Brazil, the games industry is still in its infancy, with tax breaks available for investing in game development. Swordtales, the developer of Toren, are one of the first companies to benefit from this initiative. They have used this support to put together a fantastical adventure steeped in Brazilian mythology. With heavy use of symbolism and death being a vital part of gameplay, the results so far look intriguing.
The protagonist of the adventure is a young girl known only as Moonchild. She grows up over the course of the game, starting as only a small toddler in the opening tutorial part of the demo. Moonchild lives alone in the forbidden tower of Toren. This is a crumbling edifice, a vast stone tower overrun with creepers and other plant life. In her quest to ascend the tower, Moonchild is guided by a spirit mentor, whose tall humanoid desiccated husk sits on a throne at the base of the tower. An early task is to plant a tiny sapling, the tree of life, in the centre of the tower. Over the course of the game this tree grows, with Moonchild’s aid, often providing access to higher levels as it does so. I was told that early playtesters have compared Toren’s gameplay to the non-combat puzzles of the Tomb Raider series, where exploration and manipulation of ruins is required to progress. From the brief bit of dragging and climbing I undertook, along with the overall look of the game, I can see where that comparison comes from.
Whilst Moonchild has no living companion, she does have an adversary. A green-eyed dragon lurks at the top of the tower, and descends on occasion to hamper the child’s progress. This creature can put forth a wave of black shadow which, if it touches her, can transform Moonchild to stone. This transfers Moonchild into a dream world, rife with symbolism, where she can learn more to aid her in the physical realm. Transferring back to the real world reincarnates Moonchild, with the statue from her previous life now a permanent fixture there. These prove vital to progress in some areas. Crossing a wide ledge, you may find it impossible to reach the far side before falling prey to the dragon’s power. On returning to the same area, however, that statue of Moonchild now provides the necessary shelter from the shadow to reach the other side. Another provides a stepping stone to access something previously too high to reach.
It was hard to get a proper feel for the game from a short demonstration, but with the demo showing different sections of the game, there were enough interesting elements presented to catch my attention. The enigma of a young girl living alone apart from her draconic nemesis is one I would be keen to resolve, and the gameplay I did see makes me think it could be an interesting journey.
In keeping with its new life theme, Toren itself should emerge sometime this spring. While you wait, you can find more information at the game’s website.
Aviary Attorney
When something proves successful, it is often the subject of cheap imitation as others rush to cash in on that success. At first glance, Aviary Attorney might appear to be guilty of this, with its look, gameplay and even name clearly inspired by the Ace Attorney series. But even the brief demo on offer made it clear that this is not a game simply riding on the coattails of others. Instead, Sketchy Logic Games’ Jeremy Noghani and Mandy Lennon presented me with an amusing experience that definitely left me wanting to see more.
The graphic style is somewhat unusual. In looking to create a unique aesthetic for their game, the designers have drawn on the illustrations of 19th Century French satirist J.J. Grandville. His most well-known work involved anthropomorphic animals garbed in costumes of the day and engaged in human activities. Selecting illustrations from these, the developers have come up with Monsieur Jayjay Falcon, 19th century aviary defence attorney and his assistant Sparrowson. Other characters come from different parts of the animal kingdom, with the first victim being a frog, Monsieur Grenwee, and the incompetent prosecutor of the tutorial case in the demo being the timid Rupert Rabbington. The characters have been set against background illustrations of the same era, with use of layering to create a 2D effect from the 3D drawings. The developers told me that finding backgrounds to both match the characters and illustrate the desired locations has been difficult at times. But from what I’ve seen, I can only say that the effort has paid off well.
The case presented in the demo appeared to be cut-and-dried, with a feline defendant, Lady Caterline, found standing over the victim with bloody paws. By the end of the demo, I had at least cast doubt on her guilt, using a most peculiar piece of evidence to do so. This had been gathered from an interview with a lion that both the accused and victim had been dining with that evening. The opportunity to present evidence came up in cross-examination of the police inspector assigned to the case. I also paid a visit to a photographer’s studio, my search for evidence there involving some actions of dubious legality. This trip appeared optional, and I was told that evidence can be missed and even cases lost without bringing the game to an abrupt end.
The personalities of the characters came through from the start, especially Sparrowson, who is less of a wit than he seems to think. Apart from Sparrowson’s obvious puns, the humour of the script showed a clever subtlety that bodes well for the completed game. Like the Ace Attorney series, this game is not voiced, but a soundtrack of music contemporary to the pictures formed a suitable background.
The current plan is for Aviary Attorney to be released for PC and Mac in June, with the hope of transferring it to mobile devices later. You can learn more about the game on the official website.
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