Unbiased sport studio Different Tales Interactive has a deal with creating experimental story pushed video games, reaching essential acclaim with its first launch Tick Tock: A Story for Two. The small group is exploring new methods to inform tales with its subsequent sport, Miniatures, coming to cellular and Steam in 2024.
We spoke with Different Tales Interactive’s founder, Tanja Tankred to mirror on the studio’s journey up to now, working as a feminine led studio and their plans for the longer term.
Pocketgamer.biz: Inform us about how the studio obtained began?
Tanja Tankred: Myself and Mira Dorthé based Different Tales Interactive in 2016 whereas engaged on our first title, Tick Tock: A Story for Two. We have been each writers and designers and needed to make a studio targeted on experimental storytelling.
Tick Tock was an investigation of how two individuals may share a narrative collectively, whereas our subsequent title, Miniatures, explores the format of brief tales. Initially, Mira and I have been the one ones engaged on Tick Tock: A Story for Two. Mira discovered the way to program, and I discovered how to attract. Because the mission obtained extra severe and we acquired funds, we expanded into a little bit group and launched Tick Tock in 2019.
Tick Tock: A Story for Two was very effectively acquired. How do you are feeling in regards to the success of that sport?
It has been a journey with lots of laborious work, lots of enjoyable and lots of trial and error.
Tanja Tankred
We’re very pleased with the reward we acquired from Tick Tock. It was our first title, and it was fairly surreal to see our little brainchild win a Google Play Award and to be nominated for a BAFTA!
How has Different Tales modified and developed because you began out?
It has been a journey with lots of laborious work, lots of enjoyable and lots of trial and error. Every thing initially revolved round making Tick Tock and discovering funds to maintain the group. We simply dived in and tried to do all the things we may to succeed regardless of many individuals pondering the sport wouldn’t succeed. After the discharge – which was profitable! – we began pondering extra in regards to the studio past only one sport. We had to determine the way to manage ourselves, what video games we might make sooner or later, how many individuals we must be and so forth. We’ve grown as individuals and are excited to now have a sustainable studio, a small group, and lots of inventive freedom. Miniatures, for instance, began as a “play mission” within the studio and later grew to become our subsequent essential title.
You’re additionally a female-led studio, how massive is the group now?
Proper now, we’re eight individuals who work on Miniatures; some are full-time, whereas others are part-time or task-specific. Mira and I run the day-to-day actions of the studio and are in control of deciding what tasks will likely be developed within the studio. Nonetheless, every mission might be led otherwise relying on the group.
In Miniatures, everybody has numerous inventive freedom and duty inside their position. For instance, Gianfranco Dbeis decides how his music and SFX ought to sound, and I’ve the identical management in relation to writing. In fact inside limits as Mira and I’ll have agreed on a timeline and price range.
It was essential to construct a tradition with open and type communication the place individuals can deliver ahead points and really feel heard and linked.
Tanja Tankred
What recommendation would you supply different studios to make sure the office is as inclusive as attainable?
We’ve thought lots about communication and studio tradition, particularly after going absolutely distant. For us, it was essential to construct a tradition with open and type communication the place individuals can deliver ahead points and really feel heard and linked. We be sure that to have group conferences every day to maintain everybody updated; now we have a digital workplace on discord and often share work in progress with one another. We uphold tone and speak about points.
What are you able to inform us about your new sport, Miniatures? What’s particular about engaged on cellular?
Miniatures is a sport anthology of 4 interactive tales with distinctive gameplay and artwork model. All tales happen in childhood and have darker undercurrents of loneliness, thriller and magic.
It began as an experimental mission pushed by our love of image books, graphic novels and brief story collections. It was born throughout a interval when the artist Balázs Rónyai, audio designer Gianfranco Dbeis and I have been dwelling collectively in a small city in Denmark. It was alleged to be a short lived keep. Nonetheless, the lockdown occurred halfway, and all of a sudden, we discovered ourselves dwelling collectively for nearly a yr!
We predict cellular will likely be a really perfect platform for Miniatures as it’s fairly an atmospheric and brief expertise.
Tanja Tankred
Among the challenges of creating the sport have been discovering completely different artwork kinds which might be nonetheless linked to one another and making a balanced, delicate type of storytelling the place there’s nonetheless room for the participant’s personal interpretation.
We predict cellular will likely be a really perfect platform for Miniatures as it’s fairly an atmospheric and brief expertise. Individuals can play it in a single sitting or play one story at a time. We additionally assume it’s going to look beautiful on the display, and the “one faucet to work together” controls will really feel intuitive and satisfying.
Does the group develop with cross-platform in thoughts? Is that this one thing we are able to anticipate to see from future releases, too?
Sure, undoubtedly. We like the thought of reaching as many gamers as attainable and that folks can play on their most popular gadgets.
What can we anticipate to see from Different Tales sooner or later? Is there something we must be looking out for?
Extra tales! We’ve just a few video games within the drawer proper now; some are simply concepts, and a few are developed prototypes. Most certainly the following title will likely be one other two-player.
For Miniatures, we’re fairly excited to point out the following two video games within the assortment – in all probability early 2024. To date, now we have solely shared footage of the tales known as “Acquainted” and “The Paludarium”. The 2 different tales within the assortment can even have their very own particular person story, artstyle and sport play.
