20 minute read
The Art Of
Over the Alps
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actually look at you. And even with that little bit of Seth Barton looks at the inspirations, work, with the help of the animation and really smart designers and engineers, with everybody working together, you could tell from the very beginning that work, with the help of the animation and really smart designers and engineers, with everybody working together, you could tell from the very beginning that evolution and production of the art of Over the Alps, led by Joshua Callaghan. she was a character that people would really gravitate she was a character that people would really gravitate A branching narrative game set against toward.” toward.” the turbulent backdrop of 1930s Quill really becomes a fully eshed out character with Quill really becomes a fully eshed out character with Switzerland by Stave Studios the help of the game’s strong world-building. As an the help of the game’s strong world-building. As an interloper in Quill’s world, the player experiences it not interloper in Quill’s world, the player experiences it not through her eyes, but as an observer watching as she through her eyes, but as an observer watching as she lives her life in her familiar setting. It’s a strangely intimate lives her life in her familiar setting. It’s a strangely intimate feeling, and one which gives way to joint apprehension feeling, and one which gives way to joint apprehension as both the player and Quill enter new, unfamiliar areas. as both the player and Quill enter new, unfamiliar areas. “When you go through Mousetown and you see Quill “When you go through Mousetown and you see Quill run through there and you see that she has a hometown, the feeling of her leaving it, of that town maybe being in danger, gives you more of a bond,” Alderson says. “If run through there and you see that she has a hometown, the feeling of her leaving it, of that town maybe being in danger, gives you more of a bond,” Alderson says. “If Over the Alps was the debut title from Londonbased indie studio Stave Studios. Initially released in 2019, it built an adoring fanbase that part was left out, you wouldn’t feel like there was that part was left out, you wouldn’t feel like there was over 2020 on Steam and Apple Arcade, with the title much to ght for. Everything that we’ve done, the mood much to ght for. Everything that we’ve done, the mood coming to Switch soon too. settings, taking Quill from one area to the next and letting settings, taking Quill from one area to the next and letting It’s a branching narrative title set between the wars you rest and take in this environment… It’s all supposed you rest and take in this environment… It’s all supposed with the developer stating that players should “expect to exaggerate and accentuate that mood that you’re to exaggerate and accentuate that mood that you’re action, drama, suspense and yodelling.” Samuel feeling. It all ties back into how you are connecting with feeling. It all ties back into how you are connecting with Partridge of Stave answered our questions. Quill and her world.” Quill and her world.”
WAS THE APPEARANCE OF THE GAME CORE TO ITS INITIAL CONCEPT?
Entirely so! Our original pitch didn’t go much beyond ‘interwar narrative game’ until we started to obsess about the objects our research was digging up. This started with old photographs, watches and other physical things, but soon coalesced around the travel posters of the era. From there, we decided postcards were a pleasing visual method of relaying text, which in turn triggered the idea that the main character was a spy writing postcards in invisible ink; the rest is history.
SAME QUESTION EIGHT WAYS SAME QUESTION EIGHT WAYS
Collaboration was key during the development of Moss, Collaboration was key during the development of not just within the team itself, but with the help of external not just within the team itself, but with the help of external playtesters. People were often brought in to feedback on playtesters. People were often brought in to feedback on
WHAT INFLUENCES DID YOU DRAW FROM?
Those travel posters were critical to the project, so the game and asked questions about their experience – the game and asked questions about their experience – even if most of these questions were actually very similar. even if most of these questions were actually very similar.
“External playtests were mostly about ‘Okay, how do “External playtests were mostly about ‘Okay, how do people feel when they play? Do they like it or not like it?’,” people feel when they play? Do they like it or not like it?’,” Alderson explains. “At the end of playtest we would ask Alderson explains. “At the end of playtest we would ask the same question eight different ways. The question the same question eight different ways. The question is really ‘What didn’t you like?’, but we would ask it is really ‘What didn’t you like?’, but we would ask it differently: ‘What pulled you out of the experience? What differently: ‘What pulled you out of the experience? What took you out of the headset? If there’s one thing you took you out of the headset? If there’s one thing you could change what would it be? If you had two weeks to could change what would it be? If you had two weeks to nish the game, what would be the thing that you’d x?’ nish the game, what would be the thing that you’d x?’
“Those help bring a playtester into their comfort zone, “Those help bring a playtester into their comfort zone, because no one wants to play something that people put because no one wants to play something that people put a lot of care and love into and then turn around and say a lot of care and love into and then turn around and say ‘This is what I didn’t like about it’. So it takes a little while ‘This is what I didn’t like about it’. So it takes a little while much so that some of our locations are taken directly to get the playtester comfortable, and we found that to get the playtester comfortable, and we found that from them. Writers Jon Ingold, Katharine Neil and nding different ways to ask the same question means nding different ways to ask the same question means later Harry Tuffs were hugely inspired by Le Carré you eventually get the really good stuff after the fourth or you eventually get the really good stuff after the fourth or and Fleming. Finally, our obsession with the works of fth time you ask it. fth time you ask it. Wes Anderson shone through everything we did. For “I don’t think anyone in our studio has ever made a “I don’t think anyone in our studio has ever made a example, Andy Huckvale, our composer, and Matt game like this, so I think it’s important that you trust the game like this, so I think it’s important that you trust the Arneil both did a sterling job making our soundscape as process. You trust playtesting and you make sure that you process. You trust playtesting and you make sure that you Andersonian as possible. allow yourself some time and freedom to try something allow yourself some time and freedom to try something and then keep going. Try something new and branch out, and then keep going. Try something new and branch out, HOW WAS THE ART CREATED AND BY WHO? but also use your experience from games that you’ve but also use your experience from games that you’ve The art was very much led by Joshua Callaghan. Josh’s made before and you’ll be ne. As long as you’re having made before and you’ll be ne. As long as you’re having background in print media combined with a love of the fun too! We enjoyed playing Moss throughout the entire fun too! We enjoyed playing era’s artstyle forms the backbone of what makes Over process and I think that really helps.” process and I think that really helps.” the Alps’ art look so good. Claire Brooks, Angus Dick and Martin Bin eld came in as freelancers to add to this with illustration and animation, but right now it’s Josh ying solo.
CAN YOU PUT ANY NUMBERS ON THE SCALE OF THE PROJECT?
We squash just over 1GB of super high quality image les into a game that’s just over 0.5GB, with little or no compression, which took some doing. We also have 35 characters, each of which have anywhere between 2 to
20 different facial expressions, requiring unique images. Outside of that, we’ve got over a million lines of text translated across 15 languages. Big game in a little box!
WHAT TOOLS/TECHNIQUES WERE USED TO CREATE THE GAME’S LOOK?
Josh is very secretive about what brushes he uses. He’s declined several times to share what they are! What we can say is that the majority of the background environments are done in Illustrator, while the character sketches are mostly drawn in Procreate.
HOW DID THE ART EVOLVE WITH THE PROJECT?
Hugely so. The original design was more realistic and textured, with the locations being much more painterly. This took a huge amount of time to create and didn’t t the style of the game, so we shifted to a vector approach for the nal version. A last minute change of perspective away from a side-on view to top down sealed the deal. We were creating the game over ve years in our spare time around day jobs, so it had plenty of time to evolve. I had to dig this out from an email chain from 2015. This was the fi rst ever sketch of the game, based on a conversation Josh and I had about manipulating objects to tell a story. The game’s name didn’t even exist at this point! The perspective and very mobile centric design was phased out, but you can see the rough idea of what we are going for here.
An example of the vintage swiss travel posters we took inspiration from.
A great example of the painterly, side-on style that we started with. This cabin, heavily redesigned, makes an experience in our second story, King of the Mountain. The fi rst attempts at making Swiss landscapes. We had the mad idea we’d procedurally generate buildings and landscapes, until we realised it just looked awful.
Smith – Our hapless hero, as he originally started out. Of all the characters Smith has changed the least. This was made in 2016...
Annie, the heroine of our second story, King of the Mountain. All interactions in the game are done through Stamps, and Annie has her own unique set (below) different to the other main characters. ...and Smith as he appears today in our fi rst story: Case of the Chateau Vercoli.
A fi rst attempt at the postcard proper. Lots of ugly boxes and not much character! A 1939 cloth map of Switzerland, printed just before the war broke out. Many of these were destroyed by the Swiss government when the war broke out in an attempt to hamper potential invasions. I managed to snag this one and it’s one of my most prized possessions. We used it (very, very carefully) to plan our character’s journeys across Switzerland; I’ve actually never been!
An early postcard design. It’s barely a postcard! We had the idea we’d do these clean fl oating boxes. Once we got attached to the idea of using actual postcards instead, the rest of the game fell into place.
Our current version of the Postcard, rendered in Arabic. Realising that the stamps belonged on the left, out of the way of the text and where mobile player’s thumbs are, was a revelation.
Sketch versus fi nished – Josh still doodles out every location before blocking it out into vectors.
actually look at you. And even with that little bit of work, with the help of the animation and really smart work, with the help of the animation and really smart designers and engineers, with everybody working designers and engineers, with everybody working together, you could tell from the very beginning that together, you could tell from the very beginning that she was a character that people would really gravitate she was a character that people would really gravitate toward.” toward.” Quill really becomes a fully eshed out character with Quill really becomes a fully eshed out character with the help of the game’s strong world-building. As an the help of the game’s strong world-building. As an interloper in Quill’s world, the player experiences it not interloper in Quill’s world, the player experiences it not through her eyes, but as an observer watching as she through her eyes, but as an observer watching as she lives her life in her familiar setting. It’s a strangely intimate lives her life in her familiar setting. It’s a strangely intimate feeling, and one which gives way to joint apprehension feeling, and one which gives way to joint apprehension as both the player and Quill enter new, unfamiliar areas. as both the player and Quill enter new, unfamiliar areas. How we rendered our locations “When you go through Mousetown and you see Quill “When you go through Mousetown and you see Quill run through there and you see that she has a hometown, run through there and you see that she has a hometown, around early 2018. We thought we were happy with them until.... the feeling of her leaving it, of that town maybe being in the feeling of her leaving it, of that town maybe being in danger, gives you more of a bond,” Alderson says. “If danger, gives you more of a bond,” Alderson says. “If that part was left out, you wouldn’t feel like there was that part was left out, you wouldn’t feel like there was much to ght for. Everything that we’ve done, the mood much to ght for. Everything that we’ve done, the mood settings, taking Quill from one area to the next and letting settings, taking Quill from one area to the next and letting you rest and take in this environment… It’s all supposed you rest and take in this environment… It’s all supposed to exaggerate and accentuate that mood that you’re to exaggerate and accentuate that mood that you’re feeling. It all ties back into how you are connecting with feeling. It all ties back into how you are connecting with Quill and her world.” Quill and her world.”
SAME QUESTION EIGHT WAYS SAME QUESTION EIGHT WAYS
Collaboration was key during the development of Moss, Collaboration was key during the development of not just within the team itself, but with the help of external not just within the team itself, but with the help of external playtesters. People were often brought in to feedback on playtesters. People were often brought in to feedback on the game and asked questions about their experience – the game and asked questions about their experience – even if most of these questions were actually very similar. even if most of these questions were actually very similar.
“External playtests were mostly about ‘Okay, how do “External playtests were mostly about ‘Okay, how do ... The current style of locations. people feel when they play? Do they like it or not like it?’,” people feel when they play? Do they like it or not like it?’,” More depth, more vectors, more Alderson explains. “At the end of playtest we would ask Alderson explains. “At the end of playtest we would ask space for items to parallax around. the same question eight different ways. The question the same question eight different ways. The question is really ‘What didn’t you like?’, but we would ask it is really ‘What didn’t you like?’, but we would ask it differently: ‘What pulled you out of the experience? What differently: ‘What pulled you out of the experience? What took you out of the headset? If there’s one thing you took you out of the headset? If there’s one thing you could change what would it be? If you had two weeks to could change what would it be? If you had two weeks to nish the game, what would be the thing that you’d x?’ nish the game, what would be the thing that you’d x?’
“Those help bring a playtester into their comfort zone, “Those help bring a playtester into their comfort zone, because no one wants to play something that people put because no one wants to play something that people put a lot of care and love into and then turn around and say a lot of care and love into and then turn around and say ‘This is what I didn’t like about it’. So it takes a little while ‘This is what I didn’t like about it’. So it takes a little while to get the playtester comfortable, and we found that to get the playtester comfortable, and we found that nding different ways to ask the same question means nding different ways to ask the same question means you eventually get the really good stuff after the fourth or you eventually get the really good stuff after the fourth or fth time you ask it. fth time you ask it.
“I don’t think anyone in our studio has ever made a “I don’t think anyone in our studio has ever made a game like this, so I think it’s important that you trust the game like this, so I think it’s important that you trust the process. You trust playtesting and you make sure that you process. You trust playtesting and you make sure that you allow yourself some time and freedom to try something allow yourself some time and freedom to try something and then keep going. Try something new and branch out, and then keep going. Try something new and branch out, but also use your experience from games that you’ve but also use your experience from games that you’ve made before and you’ll be ne. As long as you’re having made before and you’ll be ne. As long as you’re having fun too! We enjoyed playing Moss throughout the entire fun too! We enjoyed playing process and I think that really helps.” process and I think that really helps.”
Animation storyboard – what we handed to the very talented Ross Plaskow, who made our opening animation. The last panel wasn’t fi nal, sadly. For our most recent update we totally redesigned large parts of the game we felt were weak. This is a new screen that reports on how close the Police are to catching you.
The Grimsel Pass, my favourite bit of art from the game. Josh outdid himself with his use of colour here.
Finally, two locations from our upcoming, third and fi nal story, The Devil’s Quill. Super top secret and you’re all the fi rst people to see them outside of the team!
