Electronic Arts was not part of E3 this year and instead is hosting five of its own events over July, the EA Play. The second event was called “EA <3s Independent Studios" and was dedicated to the independent studios that have published their games under the EA Originals label in the past.
What kind of event was that?
The event was hosted by Todd Martens, a gaming journalist for the LA Times. Josef Fares from Studio Hazlelight (It Takes Two, A Way Out), Guha Bala from Velan Studios (Knockout City), Olov Redmalm from Zoink (Lost in Random) and Abubakar Salim and Mel Phillips from the newly founded Studio Silver Rain were invited as guests Games.
At the beginning of the discussion, the guests should introduce themselves and mention which game sparked their enthusiasm for gaming. Then they talked about storytelling in games and the differences to other media. After all, as a player you are actively involved in games, while you can only passively watch a film.
It Takes Two / A Way Out
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It Takes Two trailer shows why we’re stronger together
According to Josef Fares, It Takes Two and A Way Out relied primarily on the personal relationship between the two protagonists to arouse emotions in the players and get the message across. According to Fares, a special bonus when you play It Takes Two as a couple: You can also see how things are in communication in the real world.
Unsurprisingly, there is no news about Hazlelight’s next project yet. After all, It Takes Two was only released a few months ago. At the end of the day there was an interesting sentence: Your next game will be “absolutely crazy and crazy”.
Lost in Random
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With Lost in Random, the developers at Fe take us into a new fairy tale world
Olov Redmalm described Zoink’s current project as a “dark fairy tale”. A sinister queen rules the population with the help of a die. The future of every person is determined by the throw of the dice. The girl Even faces this fate and embarks on an adventurous journey.
A companion is also used at Lost in Random to create a personal bond. There were no further details about the game. However, the focus on the gloomy world was emphasized several times.
Knockout City
Link to YouTube content
At Knockout City there is no big story, no emotional connection. According to Guha Bala, there was a whole different, but equally important question in the room: How does the game feel? The fast-paced ball throwing had an invigorating effect on the players, and there was one goal above all in the foreground: happy competition that should be inclusive and inviting.
The game gradually emerged around this central intention. And Knockout City cannot do without an emotional component either: the interaction with friends was of course an important core aspect here.
The importance of indie titles
The rest of the conversation turned to the importance of indie games to the entire industry. It takes a lot of courage not to follow the established business models from the industry, but to come up with something completely new. The decision to work as an indie developer goes hand in hand with creative flexibility, but also with great economic risk.
New information about EA Play on July 22nd
New information on upcoming indie titles may be available at EA Play on July 22nd. Before that, there will be two more live streams from EA. On July 20, there will be the next spotlights with “Madden NFL 22 All-Access: Scouting” and “EA Sports”. You can find all other dates and information in our schedule for EA Play.
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