The core of A Fisherman’s Tale was the “worlds within worlds” concept, which led to unique puzzles. Can you talk about how the team is expanding upon that with Another Fisherman’s Tale?Alexis:
The common thread between the two games are these model fantasy worlds you inhabit as Bob the puppet, playing with a sense of scale, and around what’s real and what’s not. The main theme of the first Fisherman’s Tale, storywise, was “escaping.” Specifically, the inner journey Bob had to make to get rid of the chains of fear, obsession, or tradition to finally break free from his own mind.
That’s how the story came in sync with the “world within worlds” concept. In this follow up to Bob’s story, the theme we developed in resonance with our new gameplay is “changing.” Now that Bob has left his lighthouse and is searching for freedom, he will have to evolve, bend over backwards, and change… figuratively as well as literally, to become the person he really needs to be.
The previous game took place around the model of a lighthouse. Can you talk about the locations available in this new adventure?
Balthazar: Another Fisherman’s Tale offers much more variety in terms of settings. It’s a real adventure! Each chapter was carefully designed to carry a strong identity, and support both the evolution of the gameplay and the story of Bob going on his journey. We really think players will be surprised at each step of the game.
Alexis: Absolutely. Now that Bob is finally out of his lighthouse, he has a big itch for travel! Though we definitely wanted to retain the cozy and intimate feel of the first game. So each of the new environments is actually based on a new model that the player will get to rebuild as Bob tells his new tall tale. All in all, Bob will go far and wide in his quest for the mysterious island of Libertalia… and even star in a little musical of his own at some point!
Puppet Bob returns in Another Fisherman’s Tale as your primary method of exploring the world, but now he can be taken apart and reconfigured into new forms. Can you talk about how you landed on this new style of gameplay?
Alexis: I generally follow a very “bottom up” approach to design, so my main focus was to surprise and bend the mind of players eager to experience new things with original gameplay. It was also very important for this gameplay to be rich enough to offer many different kinds of puzzles… and a significantly longer playtime than the first game.
So you can mix and match body parts to solve puzzles, throw your hands and head away, while still moving your body around to cooperate with yourself, the same way you could with giant-you and mini-you in the first Fisherman’s Tale. And, in some situations, even become the level itself to progress. It’s all about playing with toys after all!
Source: Unreal Engine Blog