Figure 2: Creed Valley | Interview – Inside the mind of Bedtime Digital Games

Figure 2

A mind to open and dissect, many secrets to bring to light and much more to understand in order to understand what is really hidden in the maze of the subconscious. Figment 2: Creed Valley, developed by Bedtime Digital Games, is a video game I told you about a few days ago in a long preview that outlined and explored the theme of ideals, fundamental for anyone trying to make a dream come true, hoping to fulfill it , hoping to get to his goal, and then set another, another, and another. Because the brain has always reasoned like this, and it cannot be curbed: while it modernizes, discovers and assimilates, meanwhile it works and updates itself, modifies its behavior and offers the possibility of a new, powerful and essential vision capable of welcome the news, interfacing in an intimate way with the particularities of life in all its facets.

Take Bedtime Digital Games, for example. It is a team born under a star that has surprised and made many players dream, because it has transported them into the depths of the human psyche, letting them know all its peculiarities, between dreams suspended in nightmares and a constant and unbearable half-sleep. I said it a few days ago, in fact: such a condition, which strikes suddenly and brutally, is a symptom of collateral situations that are understood only after a long time, pursuing aspirations that could lead to roads paved with enormous failures, sprinkled with sadness , anxiety and above all panic to no end.

In the first Figment, published in 2017, what happened was inevitable and unpredictable, and very often the emotions could not be controlled, since each of them was focused on transmitting new stimuli and many other sensations to the players. Classic, you will say, but in a story of this kind, which transports you to a fantasy world suspended between dreams, nightmares and terrible realities, everything appears as the sum of sacrifices made in the past in order not to feel pain and suffering anymore. The mind, however, has no mercy: sometimes it gets lost in the maze of memories, with synapses ready to explode at any moment, ready to disintegrate and shatter. Nightmares act in a similar way, because they stick to the remnants of the most fragile and ugly memories, the same ones that no one feels until they reveal themselves in all their arrogance, concentrated only on disarming those who relive them.



Bedtime Digital Games, founded in 2014, began its adventure with a very unknown game but appreciated by players, which came to the fore right after the publication of the first Figment. Furthermore, the theme of the first product of the Danish developers was quite similar to that of their first work, and the literal translation from English into Italian leaves no room for many other interpretations: go back to bed. Back to bed, yes, but to do what? Dream? No, traveling with the imagination, experiencing exhilarating moments, escaping from reality and getting to know sides of yourself to share with a few people. In the last few days, thanks to an unmissable invitation, I had the opportunity to talk in depth with Bedtime Games about Figment 2: Creed Valley, due out on March 9th on all platforms. I admit it, it was a stimulating conversation, long and detailed in every respect, and it gave us the opportunity to better understand what actually lies behind the new production of the Danish team.

Discovering Figment 2: Creed Valley

GameDivision : Hello guys! We are delighted to be able to talk to you about Figment 2: Creed Valley. How were these years of development? How has the legacy of the first Figment, other than its success, improved you?

Bedtime Digital Games : As we enter the latter part of a five year development period, it is safe to say which, as a team, we are incredibly excited about. And we are also a little anxious, because in a couple of weeks the game will be in the hands of the players. Overall, I'd say it's cathartic to see the light at the end of the tunnel now within reach. The first Figment is still there and we now have more people working on the project. It's great to see how the combined years of experience are pushing Figment 2: Creed Valley to new heights.

GameDivision : What is music to you? In the description of Figment 2: Creed Valley this aspect is often emphasized. During its development and your journey through the landscape, which bands influenced you?

Bedtime Digital Games : Music is definitely a big part of the game and its creation. It's a part that we've always been aware of throughout the development process and it's fundamental to the game, a real DNA. For each of his mechanics or crafted items, we wondered how the soundtrack could contribute: we have trumpet sounds to go with it, and even bridges with piano keys to hover over. Many bands and various composers have influenced the soundtrack with as we tried to mix as many genres as possible, without obviously losing the identity of our video game. To name a few: Tom Waits, Phoebe Bridgers, Pig Destroyers, Bob Dylan, Kaizers Orchestra, Tomas Dvorak, Analogik, Gareth Coker and Wormrot.



GameDivision : What are nightmares to you?

Bedtime Digital Games : Figment's nightmares are physical manifestations of the fears and anxieties we face. Instead of being ambiguous concepts and in perpetual evolution, they are entities .

GameDivision : The independent landscape, now in continuous expansion, is increasingly proposing new productions. Figment 2: Creed Valley is definitely one of the most interesting of 2023. What do you intend to achieve?

Bedtime Digital Games : We want to be able to tell a heartwarming story while providing entertainment. The goal is to find the balance between sensitive topics, gameplay and colorful storytelling.

GameDivision : What kind of character is Dusty?

Bedtime Digital Games: Dusty is the Courage of the Mind. For as long as the Mind has existed, Dusty has grown with it in tandem to represent different ways of facing humanity's common fears. Whether it's through acceptance, confrontation or anything in between.

GameDivision : And then there's also Piper, which you can use in co-op mode. Will she be pivotal throughout the experience?

Bedtime Digital Games: Co-op is optional, so there are no achievements or storylines that make playing with someone else mandatory. The function derived from messages from parents who intended to play with their children and from siblings who played together. We wanted to make sure we offer a more interactive experience for people who want to share video games as a combined experience.

GameDivision : How were the puzzles structured in the setting of Figment 2: Creed Valley? And which parts of the Mind will be shown during the experience?

Bedtime Digital Games : The main part of the mind that will be explored is Creed Valley, which is the place where ideals and beliefs are formed. It is a place inhabited by Opinions, which are small creatures with which the player can interact. You can switch between the open and closed state of mind depending on the situation, pressing the switches of perspective, changing the appearance and reactions of the surrounding world. Most of the puzzles in Figment 2: Creed Valley are built around the switch between being in open and closed mode, and how Opinions react when in those circumstances.



GameDivision : This is a very important question. What was it like developing Figment 2: Creed Valley? What topics will it touch? What value will you give to emotions? It's undeniable: the premises are excellent.

Bedtime Digital Games : Figment 2: Creed Valley is a learning experience, as in fact every game is. These are five years of joy and exploration, but also of difficulties and alternatives on the way to overcome the proverbial roadblocks. In this video game, we therefore explore Creed Valley, based on the amygdal part of the brain, where the set of morals and ethics is formed. We explore how emotions and memories form the foundation of who we are and how we interact with the world.

A dream (from which I don't want to wake up) that shines with its own light

Coinciding with interview, I spent some time with Figment 2: Creed Valley, playing the demo available on the Nintendo store for three hours, in order to better understand all the details told by the team. Bedtime Digital Games, in fact, tells its new video game in an engaging and exciting way, transmitting every emotion and sensation with intelligence. Proposing an adventure of this caliber, after having achieved considerable success with an excellent first iteration, is actually a big risk, especially if it rides the same context but offers many new settings to discover. However, what I tried by hand amazed me greatly, above all because what Bedtime Digital Games has told me these days comes out, and which is further strengthened thanks to a healthy approach that the team has chosen to pack a characteristic and rich production of many themes.

When it comes to creativity, saying something wrong is inevitable. I think, however, that Bedtime Digital Games has shown that it knows its video game very well. It's still five years, a time that corresponds for someone to a real geological era, especially for those who expect new and innovative video games with each release. However, as the market underlines, even in a rather evident and specious way, it is complex to obtain something significant in a particularly short period of time. Figment 2: Creed Valley, on the contrary, ranks among those video games which, in addition to telling a story, offer a well-implemented and focused game structure. Although its playful depth is yet to be understood, it must be said that the Danish team is following a path made up of great challenges to update a well-tested and functioning system, which has surprised and entertained a considerable number of players.



My test, performed on Nintendo Switch Oled, was absolutely pleasant. Inside, I had a quick fight against an angry pig who tried to kill me quickly, using particularly brutal methods. I got rid of that by using the setting and the various light bulbs scattered around the level design of the game, which is quite quaint and nice at the moment. I ran away, used quick attacks and defended myself, and then concentrated on activating the various lampposts to erase a strange dark fog that, it seems, branches out in complex moments, solidifying and becoming more and more powerful.

When magic is in the dreams of those who live

After the words of the team and my quick test on the game, it is undeniable that the care placed on Figment 2: Creed Valley by Bedtime Digital Games is commendable and to be followed carefully, especially in the days to follow, perhaps playing the previous iteration to understand the philosophy of a development study that deserves even greater consideration. There are now less than three weeks left, a relatively short time that can allow the team to prepare properly for the occasion, which I'm sure will be unmissable and memorable for anyone who follows independent video games and is still fascinated by them.

Dreams are desires, on the other hand, and the part of the mind dedicated to ideals is occupied by diversified and ethical feelings that are always different but have an impact, which could transport the player to a different reality, capable of surprising and dismaying. It's that kind of irrepressible, necessary and healthy dream, the same one that led Alice to Wonderland. For me, all that remains is to chase the White Rabbit and get lost in that dream, once again.