{"id":9357,"date":"2018-01-02T18:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-01-02T18:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch"},"modified":"2018-01-02T18:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-01-02T18:00:00","slug":"feature-exploring-the-dual-worlds-of-innerspace-on-nintendo-switch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2018\/01\/02\/feature-exploring-the-dual-worlds-of-innerspace-on-nintendo-switch\/","title":{"rendered":"Feature: Exploring The Dual Worlds of InnerSpace On Nintendo Switch"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/0\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/0\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"InnerSpace\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The latest offering from Dallas-based developer PolyKnight might not feature Dennis Quaid or an &#8217;80s journey into Martin Short&#8217;s body, but it will take you on an interstellar trip into a universe where reality is collapsing in on itself. This galactic odyssey is none other than\u00a0<strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/switch-eshop\/innerspace\">InnerSpace<\/a><\/strong>, and it&#8217;s set to be one of the most exciting &#8211; and the most visually striking &#8211; titles coming to Switch in 2018. In the shoes of the Cartographer &#8211; a space-hopping archaeologist, no less &#8211; you&#8217;ll fly your ship through empty oceans and abandoned skies as you document civilisations seemingly lost to time.<\/p>\n<p>With a release date pencilled in for 16th January, we sat down with PolyKnight co-founder and producer Eric Brodie to talk building a flying game set amid inside-out planets, building a mysterious new lore for its Inverse setting and what it&#8217;s like to develop a game for Nintendo Switch.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/1\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/1\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"InnerSpace\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><span class=\"bumpedFont15\"><strong>The announcement trailer is gorgeous and\u00a0pretty mysterious<\/strong><\/span><\/span><span class=\"s2\"><strong>. Is there a lore, narrative or specific characters in the game?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s4\">Yeah, definitely! Because it\u2019s a game about exploration and<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0finding\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">artifacts, we spent a great deal of time writing the history of the world. We\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">wanted<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0to make sure that everything you saw had a reason for existing, but\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">also<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0keep it at arm\u2019s length so it would take some\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">thought<span class=\"bumpedFont15\">\u00a0to discover its meaning.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">As far as characters, it\u2019s a story about you and the Archaeologist in your journey to eventually leave the Inverse. The entirety the Inverse is dying<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><span class=\"bumpedFont15\">,\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">and discovering the reasons why makes up the bulk of the story.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong><span class=\"s2\">Tell us a little more about the concept of\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s2\">InnerSpace and what players will experience once they venture into the Inverse<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s2\"><strong>?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s5\">We<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0like to think of\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">InnerSpace<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0as a mix of &#8216;<\/span><span class=\"s5\">lean\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">in&#8217;\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">and &#8216;<\/span><span class=\"s5\">lean back&#8217;<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0moments of gameplay. \u00a0During the lean in<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0times<\/span><span class=\"s5\">, you\u2019re solving puzzles in encountering each world\u2019s demigod, flying through tight<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">corridors and other challenges the test your flying skills. Then, juxtaposed with that are moments where you lean back<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0in your chair<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0and relax. During these moments you\u2019ll collect relics, which not only give you some insight into the world and help to color your interpretation of the events that take place during the story<\/span><span class=\"s5\">, but also provide upgrades and unlocks<\/span><span class=\"s5\">. It\u2019s\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">t<\/span><span class=\"s5\">his back and forth between these two modes that\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\"><span class=\"bumpedFont20\">I think makes\u00a0<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s5\">InnerSpace<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0fun\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">&#8211;<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">moments of chill<\/span><span class=\"s5\">,<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0book<\/span><span class=\"s5\">&#8211;<\/span><span class=\"s5\">ended by epic story moments.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/2\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/2\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"InnerSpace\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><strong><span class=\"s2\">Switching between oceans and skies plays\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s2\">a big role<\/span><\/strong><span class=\"s2\"><strong>\u00a0in the game. Is there an emphasis on one or the other and how does each affect the game in terms of the story or objectives?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s4\">Making the underwater sections feel right was\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">definitely really<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0important for us. We didn\u2019t\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">want for<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0players to completely ignore the water, especially if they found flying more fun than swimming. So<\/span><span class=\"s4\">,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0the airframe controls a little differently\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">in the\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">water, and I think is\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">really fun<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0to control\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">in\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">its own right. Various worlds will provide reasons to go underwater, but other than that, it&#8217;s<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><span class=\"bumpedFont15\">\u00a0wholly of your own accord, depending on how<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0much of the world you want to explore and how many of<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0the relics you wa<\/span><span class=\"s4\">nt to<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0find.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>To us, the game tonally and aesthetically reminds us of titles such as Rime or Abzu.\u00a0<\/strong><\/span><strong>How important is the art style to the feel of the game?<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s5\">Very important! \u00a0As a game about exploration, it was\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">really important<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0that we made a place that people wanted to spend time in. For example, even though we\u2019re telling a story about a dying world, we opted to choose a\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">depiction<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0of decay that was still beautiful. That not only presented a unique challenge for us both aesthetically and narratively, but<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0I\u2019d<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0also<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0like to think\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">provides a refreshing take on that type of setting.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>Did it develop organically or was it decided early on?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s5\">A little bit of both. \u00a0Some\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">early\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">decisions were out of technical constraints, such as deciding to\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">forego<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0textures and rely entirely on\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">shaders<\/span><span class=\"s5\">, while others<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0were to achieve the look and feel that we wanted. \u00a0An example of this is how we looked to impressionist paintings\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">to inspire\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">how we handled\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">our<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0level of detail\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">&#8211; a<\/span><span class=\"s5\">s you play, you\u2019ll notice that objects in a distance slowly fade into flat colors.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/3\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/3\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"InnerSpace\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><span class=\"s6\"><strong>What are your influences from games or other media?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s5\">I think ideas for games can come from anywhere.<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0For example, Super Mario Galaxy kind of<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">spurred our<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0thinking about\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">designing games that utilized\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">gravity in unique ways<\/span><span class=\"s5\">.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">Over time<\/span><span class=\"s5\">,<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0we thought about what it would be like to fly in<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0a<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0space where gravity\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">behaved\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">different<\/span><span class=\"s5\">ly. A<\/span><span class=\"s5\">s we thought about\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">where a\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">game like that would take place<\/span><span class=\"s5\">, we initially put the setting<\/span> <span class=\"s5\"><span class=\"bumpedFont20\">underground<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s5\">,<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0taking inspiration from the anime\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">Gurren<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">Lagann<\/span><span class=\"s5\">.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">Of course, that setting changed\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s5\">pretty significantly<\/span><span class=\"s5\">\u00a0as the idea matured.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>What was your knowledge and interest regarding the rumors surrounding the console that would eventually become Nintendo Switch?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s4\">I was really interested to see what they were going to do next. From the moment I heard\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">it\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">was<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0possibly a\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">portable<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0device,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0I was stoked because<\/span><span class=\"s4\">, honestly,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0the DS might be my favorite system.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>While you were working on your game, when did the Switch become a platform of interest?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s4\">From the moment it was announced.<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0From the very first days of working on\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">InnerSpace<\/span><span class=\"s4\">, I think every single one of us at some point mention<\/span><span class=\"s4\">ed\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">how cool it would be to have on a portable system. The\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">S<\/span><span class=\"s4\">witch really offers the best of both worlds.<\/span><\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/4\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2018\/01\/feature_exploring_the_dual_worlds_of_innerspace_on_nintendo_switch\/attachment\/4\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"InnerSpace\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>What was the Switch like to develop for?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s4\">Really great! Without getting into the weeds, the code team has told me that<\/span><span class=\"s4\">,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0as far as ports go<\/span><span class=\"s4\">,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0it was relatively painless. The biggest challenge was optimising for it so that it ran as smoothly as possible, but there<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><span class=\"bumpedFont15\">\u00a0was<\/span><\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0plenty of that to do,\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">anyway<\/span><span class=\"s4\">,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0at the end of development that<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0it<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0fit\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">pretty neatly<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0into the pipeline.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s2\"><strong>What was your exposure to Nintendo growing up and do you have any favorite games\/ franchises?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"s4\">Oh man, how much time you have? I think that question differs depending on who in the studio you ask. Steve, our art director, is probably the biggest\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><strong><a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nes\/metroid\">Metroid<\/a><\/strong><\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">fan<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">I know.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\"><strong><a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/gamecube\/metroid_prime\">Metroid Prime<\/a><\/strong> had a particularly significant impact on him.<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0Tyler,\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">our\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">creative director, is a huge fan of\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">R<\/span><span class=\"s4\">are<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u2019s<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">N64 games from the\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">late\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">90\u2019s,<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0like<\/span> <strong><a class=\"external\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/n64\/banjo_kazooie\">Banjo-Kazooie<\/a><\/strong><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0(he also has a yarn Yoshi\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">amiibo<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0on his desk<\/span><span class=\"s4\">, for what it<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u2019<\/span><span class=\"s4\">s worth<\/span><span class=\"s4\">).<\/span><span class=\"s4\">\u00a0I think both of those games, along with plenty of others from that\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s4\">time period<\/span><span class=\"s4\">, can be seen in the games we make.<\/span><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p><em>We would like to thank Eric for his time. InnerSpace lands on the Switch eShop on 16th January 2018.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest offering from Dallas-based developer PolyKnight might not feature Dennis Quaid or an &#8217;80s journey into Martin Short&#8217;s body, but it will take you on an interstellar trip into a universe where reality is collapsing in on itself. This galactic odyssey is none other than\u00a0InnerSpace, and it&#8217;s set to be one of the most [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9357","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=9357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9357\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}