The horror genre has definitely come back in force in recent months, and if the market is already well filled with strong licenses of the genre, newcomers are trying to make a place for themselves like The Songan AA developed by Brass Token and published under the label PrimeMatterof Plaion. A few days before the release of this adventure game mixing supernatural, psychological horror and action, we were able to speak with Mike Skupa, creative director of the titlein order to know a little more about everything that inspired the creation of The Song.
A game inspired by 70s horror cinema
- The atmosphere of the game is often described as a mixture of silent Hill and Lovecraft. Do you agree with this description? What was your main inspiration for The Song ?
I think that’s a pretty good description, but we should definitely cite the films of Stuart Gordon Lovecraft for our use of color. FromBeyond was a pretty obvious inspiration, as are a lot of weird stories, both old and new. Where we live, on the west coast of Canada, there are a lot of spiritual retreats, so it was that real-world inspiration that really set us on this path like no other.
- Can you tell us where your inspiration comes from from a visual point of view? Especially on monsters.
We were heavily inspired by the horror way giallo 1970s [un genre du cinéma italien] for our use of color and lighting. Many creatures come from the spiritual aspect of the game and the concept of sacred geometry. There’s a lot of symmetry in the game, so we have creatures designed around sacred symbols, mandalas, flowers, and insects. Many of these creatures have a bioluminescent component, as they feed on our energy. This serves both the visual and the gameplay. Jess, the main character, is afraid of bugs, so it was important to incorporate that into the creatures and into the story.
- The game refers to a sect from the 70s. The theme of sects is quite special, how did you manage to appropriate it to modulate it around horror?
We have done a lot of research on old and new sects. We really wanted to create something that was ours with the notion of ” Prismic Science“. This belief system is a mixture of spirituality and science; crystals and gore; of beauty and terror. There is a definite duality in all of this.
Several endings to discover
- The game seems to cover a lot of different elements and genres, between action, exploration, puzzles, strong storytelling, horror… How would you describe The Song ?
The Song takes a lot of the gameplay elements you’d find in classic survival horror, while mixing it with a very character-driven story. We try to make it all universal, so the systems and concepts aren’t too hard to grasp.
- There are several characters that are highly developed in the game. Jess can interact with them, but can she save them from corruption? Can we expect important choices with multiple endings?
It was important for us to tell a central story centered on the character that the player plays, but the choices you make have an impact. Due to the horror theme we are dealing with, we didn’t want our player to have too much power over the fate of other characters, as they have their own personal demons to struggle with. We have multiple mind and body endings that are based on how you play the game.
- Can you tell us more about the combat system? The weapons in the game are far from conventional, what can you tell us about that?
We really wanted our weapons to have a weird science rationale when it comes to spiritual themes. For example, sage is used in many cultures to clear negative energy, so we have incorporated it into our universe by making it harmful to the interdimensional parasites that feed on it.
In addition to crafting melee weapons, you’ll use salts and oils, throwables, and traps. There are also special abilities that you can access by releasing negative energy stored in different prisms that you collect.
- Does the balance between body and mind have to be constantly kept in play, or can one specialize more in one area?
The choices you make in action, exploration and dialogue have an impact on the psyche, the body and the spirit. Some upgrades require a combination of all of these, which promotes balance. This gives players the choice to specialize, but you’ll need to use them throughout the game.
A classic lifespan for the genre
- How long does it take to complete The Song ?
Based on our current in-house gaming tests, the playtimes we see range from 7-12 hours. The time usually depends on the selected difficulty and whether to explore or not.
- It’s probably too early to tell, but what are your plans for the future? Do you already have ideas for another game, in the same style or in others?
We can’t say exactly what we’ll be working on just yet, but hopefully we can say more soon… We can say we’re building on what we’ve built with The Song. Our plan is to focus on story driven third person action games.
- Do you have an anecdote to share with us concerning the development of the game?
Since we didn’t have an artist at the start, the game started out as a fixed camera angle game, using HDR photography as the background. We still have a few of these assets in the office, which continue to confuse our art team!
We thank Mike Skupa for his time and for his answers. The Song will be available from November 3 on PC, PS5, and Xbox Series.