{"id":115549,"date":"2020-07-17T14:55:56","date_gmt":"2020-07-17T14:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/developer.apple.com\/news\/?id=zm47it7t"},"modified":"2020-07-17T14:55:56","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T14:55:56","slug":"behind-the-design-sky-children-of-the-light","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/07\/17\/behind-the-design-sky-children-of-the-light\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Design: Sky: Children of the Light"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The greatest pieces of art resonate within your mind and capture your heart. They pull you into lush, beautiful narratives, and keep you dreaming about their stories long after you walk away. And they can take many forms. \u201cMany people cry for a movie or novel,\u201d Jenova Chen tells us. \u201cThe first entertainment that made me cry was a game.\u201d<\/p>\n

A former film student, Chen never planned on a career in game development \u2014 he wanted to tell captivating stories and touch people\u2019s lives. But while in school, he soon found himself gravitating toward interactive media. Together with co-founder Kellee Santiago, Chen created thatgamecompany to enhance human connection by expanding the range of emotional experiences possible in video games.<\/p>\n

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The world of Sky: Children of the Light.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cFor the first 30 to 40 years, games were more designed for the core audience, the enthusiasts who embrace the new things,\u201d Chen says. “But we are really now entering a new era\u2026 Everybody plays games.\u201d<\/p>\n

The studio\u2019s first six years in operation resulted in Flow, Flower, and Journey, three award-winning games for Sony\u2019s Playstation console. Their fourth game, Sky: Children of the Light<\/em>, is the first created exclusively for iPhone and iPad. Though the artwork, controls, and story are new, the game\u2019s spirit remains aligned with its predecessors: Make interactive art, designed for everyone.<\/p>\n

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We want to be the ultimate advocate for the human who plays our games.<\/p>\n

Jenova Chen, creative director of Sky: Children of the Light<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cAt its core, Sky<\/em> is a game about compassion and generosity,\u201d Chen, the game\u2019s creative director, says. \u201cIt\u2019s about connecting people and nudging them to do good for each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Sky<\/em>, players begin as a child of light, seeking fallen stars \u2014 the ancestral spirits of the realms. Players fly across cloudy dreamlike spaces, solving puzzles cooperatively and socializing within an enchanting world. While solo play is possible, Sky<\/em> shines when fellow players work together. \u201cIt tries to evoke the bright side of humanity over the dark or the gray in an online game,\u201d Chen says.<\/p>\n

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The multiplayer game celebrates collaboration and connection over competition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Early on, it was clear that Sky<\/em> would be an ambitious title for Chen and the creative team. This would be their first game for a mobile device, the first that relied on touch instead of console controllers, and their first attempt at an online multiplayer experience \u2014 one that celebrated connection over conflict. The team ultimately worked for seven years before bringing Sky<\/em> to life, with more than 70 people contributing to the game over its creative development.<\/p>\n

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Chen was drawn to mobile gaming for Sky<\/em> in part because of the approachability of iPhone and iPad. \u201cWhen we design games, we should really think about accessibility and inclusion, to allow the game to be enjoyed by everyone,\u201d he says. Consoles are expensive, and families generally only have a single piece of hardware and a few controllers within their household. In contrast, almost everyone owns a mobile device \u2014 it was the perfect platform for a multiplayer game that was open to all.<\/p>\n

The transition from console to iPhone and iPad was a challenge for the entire studio. When the team began working on Sky<\/em> in 2012, they were limited by the mobile hardware and screen sizes of that era \u2014 a far cry from the powerful Playstation infrastructure supporting their previous titles.<\/p>\n

\u201cToday, the iPhone is actually more powerful than the PlayStation that we developed for in the past,\u201d Chen says, and Sky<\/em> runs beautifully on both it and iPad. But to get there, the team had to iterate over multiple years of hardware and software updates. They were constantly refining the game\u2019s look and feel, including developing a custom Metal engine to render Sky<\/em>\u2019s ethereal scenes, all while making sure the game would perform well and preserve battery life on device.<\/p>\n

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While engineers worked on the technical challenges, the game\u2019s designers got to work creating the right control mechanisms and interface. \u201cThere are many, many barriers and design principles [on mobile] that are quite alien to console developers,\u201d Chen says. <\/p>\n

Chief of these was the touch screen: Players needed to traverse a three-dimensional space without physical buttons, triggers, or joysticks, and without on-screen controls blocking the game\u2019s graphics or interface. \u201cYou’re trying to find the right combination of design and feedback that is actually better than a real controller,\u201d Chen explains.<\/p>\n

A player\u2019s past gaming history was also an important factor in designing the controls. While console gaming often requires players to interact with a physical controller using both hands, that wasn\u2019t the case for casual gamers. \u201cPlayers without a console controller experience would never put two hands on the screen at the same time,\u201d Chen says.<\/p>\n

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After several years of experimentation \u2014 including, at one point, a fully-functional flight simulator \u2014 the team landed on a simple set of familiar controls designed to appeal to everyone. For extra guidance, Chen and team even provided subtle interface rings in each corner, which expand and contract to indicate range and speed control.<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t the last of the controller changes, however. After Sky\u2019s initial release and feedback from players, the team also added a two-hand mode to the game for those who wanted more of a console-like feel. \u201cThis is the first time I\u2019ve made a game where the control scheme was not finite,\u201d Chen says. But he also acknowledges the beauty in creating a game on a living platform. \u201cWe are actually making changes because the habit of how people use their phone is changing.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s this relationship between player and creator that Chen finds fascinating about games. As with any artistic medium, the creator has the power to help amplify feelings and guide people through a story \u2014 its rises and falls, surges and sudden stops. \u201cFor design and for entertainment, it is all about that change of acceleration,\u201d Chen says. \u201cThat pulse is what touches us emotionally.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The interactivity of a game, however, creates a unique challenge for designers not to weigh too heavily upon the frame \u2014 to guide, but not to restrict. \u201cThe best design is a nudge, rather than a leash,\u201d he says. \u201cWe want to make whomever is experiencing the [game] feel they are in control… We are not here to distract you. We are not here to force and bully you to do anything. We want to let you to make that [step]… and 100 percent own that experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The designer is a powerful influence of what happens between the player who touches your interface and interacts with your game. With very small changes in the design, you can change how this person behaves, how they treat each other in your game. It’s your responsibility… how are these players going to interact with your app, with your game, on a daily basis?<\/p>\n

Jenova Chen, creative director of Sky: Children of the Light<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It\u2019s this balance and fervent commitment to storytelling and inclusivity that makes Sky<\/em> a joy for all to play \u2014 and a 2020 Apple Design Award winner. \u201cHearing from people that they appreciate the work that we’ve done is the best reward, really,\u201d says Chen. \u201cUltimately, we are serving others.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Learn more about thatgamecompany<\/a><\/p>\n

Learn more about Sky: Children of the Light<\/a><\/p>\n

Download Sky: Children of the Light<\/a><\/p>\n

Read more about Sky: Children of the Light on the App Store<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The greatest pieces of art resonate within your mind and capture your heart. They pull you into lush, beautiful narratives, and keep you dreaming about their stories long after you walk away. And they can take many forms. \u201cMany people cry for a movie or novel,\u201d Jenova Chen tells us. \u201cThe first entertainment that made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115550,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[55],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115549","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-apple-developer-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115549","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115549"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115549\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115550"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115549"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115549"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115549"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}