I recently had the good fortune of interviewing Feral Cat Den - the Indie developers behind the popular game Genesis Noir and upcoming title Nirvana Noir. The game will be releasing on Windows PC and Xbox.
Nirvna Noir is described as 'A noir
adventure beyond time and space. The city of cosmic beings is under threat in two
parallel realities - one where the Big Bang was never fired, the other
exploding in color and sin. It's up to you to solve the mysteries of the Bigger
Bang in this follow up to the award-winning Genesis Noir.'
First of all I would like to say that based on the trailer 'Nirvana Noir' might be one of the most visually stunning titles I have ever seen. What would you say influenced the art in this game?
We’re still in love with the works that inspired Genesis Noir such as film noir like Alphaville, literature by Calvino, and artwork by William Blake. We've also been diving deep into 60s/70s psychedelic and counter culture artwork like the comics of Phillipe Caza and Paul Kirchner, the cinema and writing of Alejandro Jodorowsky, the sounds of White Noise and the lyrics of Tommy James, and so much more!
How does the art style compliment the game play?
Our art direction balances 2d and 3d elements and lets us smoothly switch between visually complex scenes and simpler layouts. This lets us set up the context for a particular scene and then focus on the particular items the player is interacting with. By embracing abstraction, we’re also able to create playful and surprising interactions.
How many people are in the 'Feral Cat Den' team?
We’re a small team of 6 and collaborate with Skillbard, a team of 3 sound designers / composers.
The music really creates the atmosphere for this game, how long did it take to put together the score for this and what is the process of marrying the music up with the action?
Creating the music and sound is a continual process! We’ve been collaborating with Skillbard since the inception of the project and will be through completion. This enables us a very iterative approach, where we might begin with a very rough animatic or prototype, get some audio from Skillbard, and let the direction the music or sounds are taking direct the visuals, animation, and interaction.
Are there any lessons you learned from 'Genesis Noir' that you have applied to 'Nirvana Noir'?
Too many to list! We really challenged ourselves with Genesis Noir, and learned so much about storytelling, gameplay, UX, development, and more. Our biggest practical lessons were all about the importance of playtesting, QA, and creating excellent tools to debug, and hopefully these lessons will save us headaches down the road! We also learned a lot about ourselves as artists, how to persevere through the challenges, and to embrace the process.
What inspired the noir/cosmic crossover?
The noir/cosmic crossover of Genesis Noir and Nirvana Noir was inspired by Italo Calvino’s Cosmicomics, a wonderful collection of short stories that populates abstract science fiction with heartfelt characters. Calvino writes of characters that transcend space and time yet have all the same emotions as us here on Earth. It makes for tremendously beautiful storytelling.
I wondered about other Cosmicomic stories that could be told. I wanted to make my own. While crossing the Williamsburg Bridge in New York City on my morning commute, I began to imagine a seedier world than the one Calvino wrote about. One where The Big Bang wasn’t so innocent. A genesis that was noir. Noir and the Big Bang felt a natural union that could pay homage to Cosmicomics but also be distinct.
Along the way we’ve picked up many other inspirations (such as Alphaville) that explore the existential oblivion of the cosmos and the lone detective.
What can you tell us about the plot of 'Nirvana Noir'?
It’s got hippies and drugs and arson and shady real estate developers and fire and explosions and suspense and mystery! Where Genesis Noir was all about poetry and tone with a simple love triangle plot, Nirvana Noir instead operates with a duo of intricate conspiracies at its heart.
Each half of the game has its own feel, its own music, its own plot; each revolving around a mysterious Bigger Bang. In one timeline, our detective must uncover the strings pulling a vague real-estate conspiracy that threatens to swallow the city whole. In the alternate, he must chase down the origins of a new drug shredding the fabric of the society at the heart of The Constant City.
Will we see 'Nirvana Noir' on Nintendo Switch?
We think so! We’d love to bring Nirvana Noir to other platforms soon after release. Our goal with release is to not spread ourselves too thin so that we can support each platform properly.
What is something about the game that people might not be expecting?
That they will learn to become one with the universe!
When will we know the release date?
We’re aiming for a release in the second half of 2025. We’re not sure when we’ll have an exact date.
I would like to finish by thanking Feral Cat Den for completing this interview. I am very excited about this game and if you haven't already, you should definitely pick up Genesis Noir, available on Microsoft PC, Mac and Switch.
Watch the trailer here:
Comment below and let Feral Cat Den know how excited you are for this game!
Why not support me financially since I suck at supporting myself! Donate here
Want me to draw something for you? Get in touch on Instagram
The art style of this game is awesome! I’d never heard of it until now but I’ll have to check it out once it’s released!
ReplyDelete