Moss: Book 2, interview with Polyarc developers

Moss

The VR market is still seen today with a certain distrust by the public accustomed to the traditional video game, despite the offer full of superfine games. Among all the technical demos of roller coasters and walks on the catwalk, excellent experiences stand out in the shops of the VR platforms, perhaps a little dry in terms of longevity, but not inferior in quality compared to classic productions. Among these there is certainly Moss, a 2018 game developed by Polyarc that landed first on PlayStation VR and later on Oculus (Rift and Quest) and HTC Vive. In Moss, a tale in the style of The Neverending Story, the player participates in the mission of Quill, a swordswoman who sets out in search of her kidnapped uncle. Moss: Book 2, arriving in spring 2022 on PlayStation VR, will continue the story of Quill and will raise the bar of expectations and performances even more: the word of Lincoln Davies and Mike Felice, respectively Publishing Director and Engineering Director at Polyarc studios , which we had the pleasure of interviewing.

We tell you what the developers of Moss: Book 2 have revealed to us in our interview.

The bond with Quill

Quill during a fight in Moss: Book 2 For those who have never played Moss, its peculiarity consists in the lack of overlap between protagonist and player: we are not the protagonists, the protagonist is Quill, but we are part of a binomial, in the form of an entity that Quill recognizes. Even if we guide her, the little mouse is in fact aware of our presence and her goal is to collaborate, solving environmental puzzles and small action phases, so as to bring her one step closer and closer to the goal. The Polyarc guys immediately understood that the bond with Quill was the winning card to bring the public closer to their game and for this reason they wanted to work even more intensely on this aspect. We confessed to them that the biggest disappointment in the first chapter was the inability to interact more with Quill.

Seriously: Which gamer can resist stroking an animal in a video game? "So many have asked us to be able to caress and interact more strongly with Quill. What we can answer now is: when you get the chance in Moss 2, give it a try!" Felice replied. The relationship with Quill is the basis of the gaming experience and the bond between us and the mouse will be even more important in the second chapter which, Davies anticipated, which in any case will be a little darker than the first.

Bringing the protagonist to life

The protagonist of Moss: Book II, Quill Thanks to her adorable appearance, Quill makes herself loved immediately, but the relationship with her becomes real and therefore more intense, thanks to a infinite series of precautions, chiseled to perfection by the developers.

First of all the animations of Quill. The protagonist of Moss: Book II, in fact, does not speak and communicate with us only through the language of the body (and signs): the posture, the way in which the ears and tail move are all very important elements to understand the state of soul of the protagonist. Sometimes she may be wary of the environment, looking for danger, other times she will be more relaxed and attentive to exploration.

To achieve this, the developers worked on two different aspects of the animations. The first was fragmentary: "Instead of creating many different animations we made Quill's head and body independent, in order to create different movements for each single part of the body, which could then be joined at a later time to create further combinations. In this sense, we treasured what we had at our disposal: the Polyarc family has grown over time, but we are still a small development team. We have really talented professionals among our ranks, so we made a virtue of necessity. "

The second aspect was working on the timing of the animations. "Interaction is an essential element of communication, but to be real it must respond to a certain timing. Trivially, there must be a visual connection between the player and the protagonist. Quill, therefore, will understand that you are trying to communicate something to her only if you will look directly, or will warn only after sighting an enemy and so on. "

Working on the timing of the animations, Felice tells us, was not at all easy, especially if there is an element of interaction that is difficult to predict, yet the developer seemed enormously satisfied with the result achieved, defining this is one of the aspects that makes him most proud.

The realism of the scenarios

A rabbit observes little Quill The immersiveness sought by Polyarc therefore does not pass exclusively through the natural identification given by virtual reality, but it is conveyed by different aspects. The relationship with Quill and the realism that distinguishes her are certainly important, but the mouse is only one element of a much richer world. For this the developers have pushed the accelerator on an element already present in the first Moss, or the "Boopables". "It's funny, I know, it's a term we coined" says Felice. "We are talking about all those objects that react to a direct interaction of the player, whether they are elements with which the user must necessarily interact (such as a block or a handle) or contour objects. For example, if we have to take a block of stone that it is in the middle of a bush or ferns, the leaves will move; we will not be able to grab and manipulate the plants, but they will still react in a realistic way to the passage of the player's hand. Another example are the destructible objects within the levels, like a column that can shatter if hit by an enemy bullet. "

As the levels have been described to us, based on the images visible in the trailer, it is as if each scenario of Moss: Book 2 were a small orchestra: each element works in concert with the others, from the supporting superstructure of level design to small details, to create a living world and above all recognizable in the eyes of the player.

The opportunity of the sequel

Quill in a level of Moss: Book 2 Moss is not the only VR game that has seen the arrival of a sequel: Lone Echo and I Expect You To Die for example boast a recent second chapter. A very encouraging sign according to Felice, who told us about the opportunity to develop a following for Moss. "Making a sequel is already a victory in itself, but it is also a precious opportunity not only to improve the aspects present in the first chapter but to put in place all those ideas that have never materialized. For us it was extremely important to create a certain continuity in the sequel. , not just in terms of storytelling. We wanted Moss fans to recognize the world in which Quill's adventures take place, as well as to remain faithful to the formula already experienced in 2018. We have worked long and hard to perfect the gaming experience and I am sure that the result is tangible. "

Yet, despite the very high quality of Polyarc production, the public's distrust of VR is still great, still seen as a B series product. and limited when compared to blockbusters for PC and consoles. We asked Davies to give us his personal insight into the matter. "It's not so strange, virtual reality is a technology that is still young and that has just seen the light, despite being on the market for several years. We are talking about a revolution, in the gaming field, which brought and still carries enormous expectations. Gamers idealize VR as the Star Trek holodeck and what came at the beginning was little more than a handful of tech demos! Everyone thinks that the race to VR is a sprint (used to the rhythms of the console war, ed), but in reality that of reality is a long and evolving marathon ".

Quill intent on fleeing an enemy Davies also took the opportunity to have his say on the opportunity to develop a sequel. "As mentioned, having been able to develop Moss: Book 2 is certainly an encouraging sign for the VR market, as are the sequels you mentioned earlier. The exciting aspect in my opinion is seeing how each of us will accomplish the task, not only. because taking a look at the other development teams is always stimulating, but because we are all contributing to the VR market. This generates a virtuous circle where more and more players trust the platform and, consequently, with the expansion of the market , the attractiveness also increases for the development teams ... who in turn will give their contribution and so on. We are fortunate to have incredibly talented developers on board, who do their best to maximize the quality value of our production; we are aware that to play Moss: Book 2 you not only need to buy the game but you also need an investment to access the VR platform. we want players to feel that their money has been well spent, every single second of the game. "

A realistic and sincere statement, which we greatly appreciated, and which genuinely convinced us of the goodness of the team. Polyarc, to whom we can only send our best wishes. Before we left Lincoln and Mike, we told them that we can't wait to try Moss: Book 2 and that we're curious to see what other Easter eggs they've put into the game, such as the dev team names engraved under the table. reading in the game menu. "That was the last thing we added in 2018, it just lacked a personal touch ... and if you visit a public bookshop what do you find under a table if not a couple of chewing gums and a few names engraved in the wood?". We can't blame you Lincoln!

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