After
the
launch
of
Gris,
a
beautiful
game
exploring
grief,
the
team
at
Nomada
Studio
in
Barcelona
needed
a
long
break.
They
spent
around
half
a
year
not
even
thinking
about
what
was
next,
avoiding
words
like
“Unity”
or
“sequel.”
Eventually,
director
Conrad
Roset,
who
became
a
parent
during
that
time,
came
up
with
the
idea
of
a
similar
experience
that
would
introduce
a
new
companion,
allowing
players
to
connect
with
and
care
for
another
character.
“I
told
him,
no
problem,
as
long
as
it’s
not
a
four-legged
animal,
you
can
do
whatever
you
want,”
says
lead
producer
Roger
Mendoza,
noting
that
animating
critters
with
lots
of
legs
can
be
“quite
painful.”
But
the
director
was
able
to
make
the
case
for
a
game
called
Neva
about
a
young
woman
who
goes
on
an
emotional
journey
with
a
magical
fox
creature.
“I
think
it
was
worth
it,”
Mendoza
admits.
Neva
launches
on
October
15th
(it’s
coming
to
PC,
Switch,
Xbox,
and
PS5),
and
like
Gris,
it’s
a
stunningly
animated
2D
adventure.
Players
take
on
the
role
of
a
young
woman
caring
for
a
young
fox
pup
named
Neva,
trying
to
usher
it
to
safety
in
a
world
filled
with
dark
forces
that
look
ripped
out
of
Spirited
Away.
It
only
takes
around
five
hours
to
finish,
but
the
game
spans
a
long
period
of
time;
each
chapter
is
a
different
season,
and
you
see
the
fox
grow
over
time.
At
first,
it’s
a
relatively
helpless
pup,
but
by
the
end,
it
becomes
your
protector.
Neva
and
Gris
share
a
lot
in
common:
the
short
length,
approachable
gameplay,
incredible
art
and
animation,
and
narrative
that’s
told
almost
entirely
without
words.
(Neva
does
have
some
voice
acting,
but
it’s
multiple
variations
of
the
heroine
calling
out
Neva’s
name.
“I
think
we
recorded
500
different
ways
of
saying
Neva,”
jokes
Mendoza.)
But
the
new
game
also
introduces
two
major
features:
not
only
a
second
character
but
also
combat.
“When
she’s
not
with
you,
you
really
feel
it.”
According
to
Mendoza,
the
latter
was
inspired
by
the
former.
“[The
addition
of
Neva]
was
in
a
way
where
the
combat
came
from
—
we
thought
it
would
be
a
good
mechanic
to
bring
together
the
fact
that
there’s
a
companion
now,”
he
explains.
Early
on,
you
have
to
fight
to
protect
the
fox,
but
as
she
grows
up
and
changes,
so,
too,
does
that
dynamic.
“Now
she’s
the
one
who
is
taking
care
of
you,”
Mendoza
says.
“When
she’s
not
with
you,
you
really
feel
it.
Combat
felt
like
a
good
way
to
tie
everything
together.”
This
presented
a
number
of
design
challenges,
most
notably
in
terms
of
accessibility.
One
of
Gris’
biggest
strengths
was
how
easy
it
was
to
pick
up
and
play;
it
even
worked
well
on
a
smartphone
touchscreen.
But
the
added
layer
of
complexity
that
comes
from
combat
and
a
companion
meant
that
Neva
“isn’t
as
approachable
as
Gris,”
according
to
Mendoza.
“That’s
something
that
we
knew
early
on;
the
moment
you
add
more
controls,
it
becomes
more
difficult.”
To
account
for
this,
the
developers
designed
the
game
from
the
beginning
with
a
story
mode,
where
you
can’t
die
in
battle.
“That
was
a
way
to
try
to
find
the
right
balance,”
he
says.
The
success
of
Gris
—
the
game
sold
more
than
3
million
copies
to
date
—
gave
the
studio
the
confidence
to
both
push
in
these
more
ambitious
directions
but
also
continue
to
pursue
its
strengths.
One
of
the
major
learnings
from
that
game,
according
to
Mendoza,
was
that
“you
can
do
a
strong
narrative
without
the
need
for
words.
It’s
something
that
we
had
no
idea
if
it
would
work
on
Gris.”
Neva
takes
things
a
step
further,
with
a
more
direct
storyline
that
covers
a
number
of
topics
simultaneously
—
not
only
the
evolving
nature
of
a
parental
relationship
but
also
overt
themes
about
environmental
destruction.
Again,
this
story
is
conveyed
almost
entirely
through
art,
sound,
and
animation.
The
other
major
learning
from
Gris
was
more
practical.
One
of
the
main
reasons
that
game’s
development
was
so
stressful
and
required
such
a
long
post-launch
vacation
was
that
the
team
was
relatively
small.
In
fact,
only
two
programmers
worked
on
Gris
at
all,
forcing
lots
of
late
nights
and
long
hours.
Now
that
many
members
of
Nomada
are
a
little
older,
with
families
of
their
own,
work-life
balance
is
a
much
bigger
priority.
And
so
one
of
the
most
important
changes
between
Gris
and
Neva
was
a
seemingly
simple
one:
“we
hired
more
programmers.”
(Originally posted by Andrew Webster)
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