Hello all. Regular viewers of this site will know me as Ben Taylor, scathing hermit of the video game world. However, this post is something altogether different. Rather than praising or criticising the efforts of other developers, I’m here to talk about a project I am producing with a rather talented team known as ‘Try.Win.Repeat’. I’m here to talk about Norah, a 2D Flash game with an absurdly twisted sense of humour.
Norah is a 2D platformer that will attempt to pluck as many heart strings as it possibly can. The tale of a 170 year old Marionette puppet named Norah, an heirloom of the Waddington family cast aside in recent years thanks to the development of more ‘interesting’ gadgets. Left forgotten and gathering dust at the bottom of a toy chest, she decides to cut her own strings in a bid to slip out of consciousness and leave her old life in a void of darkness. However, a cruel miracle occurs, and it turns out she can operate freely without her constraints. Filled with hope, she now has a new objective; Escape and finally live a life of purpose.
As producer of the game, my time working on Norah will mostly consist of polishing and refining the experience as a whole. Fortunately I have a rather inspiring and talented team to work with in both creative and technical aspects, and everyone has high standards for the project. As more and more ideas are added, it’ll be my job to make some rather difficult cuts to the ‘weakest’ concepts of creative design and offer input on refining them technically.
Now, a producer would usually be skewered fatally for noting his references for a project, but when we looked to the market of 2D platformers in recent years, we noticed two very distinctive aesthetic tones. On one hand, there were ones that were loveable collectable based bundles of cute that followed on from mascot launching hits from the 90’s. On the other, dark and twisted tales of depression that, despite their dank aesthetics, provide riveting narrative experiences. Our objective with Norah is to combine these two subtlety and create a darkly humorous tale of abandonment, combined with addictive platforming mechanics that will keep players hooked until the very end…and then give the game a replay for the fun of it.
Norah isn’t just a plot driven game with platforming fundamentals chucked in for the sake of it. Although it’s tough for a newly unstrung puppet to get used to the concept of walking by herself, the strings attached to her will aid her throughout the game. Hookshot like abilities stem from the reminders of her imprisonment, and can aid her in attacking enemies and snagging hard to reach places. Puzzles will also be made to take advantage of this principle, and we’ll be looking further into just how inventive we can be with this nifty trick, in regards to both platforming and brain taxing.
We’ve discussed core concepts, character design and narrative a lot in the first week of production, and will be building on each element of the game every week. The game will be ready to play mid- December, and before then we’ll have plenty of creating, imagining and polishing to do. What I like when it comes to brain-storming ideas and concepts for Norah is the fact that the idea is grounded nicely around our everyday surroundings, but requires you to almost jump into the mind of a child to really get the most out of yourself in terms of imaginative ideas. A fresh perspective on the world around you is required to work on a game like this, and I’m excited to see how that new frame of mind evolves in time in each one of us.
Interested in the game? If so, come back here next week for more details on how we’re polishing the plot, developing the character of Norah and pondering just how many tales we can subtlety fit into this engrossing narrative (I might even have some concept art for you if you’re lucky).
(…you will be lucky).