![]() She’s the extrovert Edward’s the introvert, and it’s a miracle they get along. RT: Lissie is the one who gets Edward up in the morning, who pushes him out of his comfort zone – without her, he’d never leave his study – and who engages with the world. Is his grip on reality dependant on his relationship with Lissie? WP: It appears that Edward’s relationship with his young ward Lissie will be central to the game’s story. We explore themes of loneliness and isolation, love and obsession, and how small communities can fester and rot from the inside. RT: It is a game about one man’s psyche an unreliable narrator whose perception of the world has been affected by his decades long isolation. What sort of themes are you exploring in Draugen? WP: Draugen looks like it’s telling a very personal tale. Western Norway is stunningly beautiful, and we felt it was our responsibility to portray it as accurately as possible. The team has done a lot of research to make sure everything feels real: from geometry and geography to flora and weather. It’s even possible to visit the place where our (fictional) town of Graavik is located – though you won’t find the beautiful wooden church or the specific locations from the game, of course. RT: The locations are definitely inspired by, and drawn from, real places. Are any of the game’s locations inspired by real places in Norway? The scenery looks beautiful by the way. WP: Norway seems like an ideal setting given the studio is based in Oslo. The game is about this transition, about a community that’s been left behind, and, playing an American, you explore this alien setting that feels like a relic of the previous century. ![]() We hadn’t been everywhere, and you could really disappear off the map. RT: It’s such a wonderful time period, a transition point between the old world and the modern world much about the 20s is very recognisable to us, and yet it’s quite exotic and romantic – there were still mysteries in the world at that point. WP: What made you choose the 1920s time period? The current version of Draugen only began development in August of last year, so while the game’s been gestating for many years, the actual production phase has been quite short. Over the years, as the concept and story changed and evolved, we decided to move away from outright horror into more psychological suspense, and to add the companion character, Lissie – something that changed the game completely, and for the better. At that time, the game was more horror-focused, and you were completely alone in the world there was no companion character. RT: We actually started working on Draugen all the way back in 2013, while the team was developing Dreamfall Chapters. ![]() WP: When did development of Draugen begin? How did the concept come about? Edward is accompanied by a young woman, Alice, who acts as a sort of Watson to his Sherlock – she’s a big part of the story and the game mechanics. You play an American traveller, Edward Harden, who’s searching for his missing sister. Ragnar Tørnquist: It’s a first-person fjord noir mystery set in a remote coastal village in Norway, in 1923. In your own words, what exactly is Draugen? The new entry in the adventure series comfortably cleared its funding target on Kickstarter last year, netting the team $1.5 million to work with.WellPlayed: Thank you for taking the time to chat with us about Draugen. The original Longest Journey and Dreamfall were designed by Tornquist while he was at Funcom, the Norwegian developer now mostly focused on MMOs like The Secret World. On the game's official site, Draugen is described as "a first-person survival horror adventure amongst the mountains and fjords of the Norwegian west coast in the 1920s." Its story is inspired by Scandinavian folklore, and sees the player exploring a village and discovering clues as to where its population has vanished.ĭevelopment of the game is being funded by a $144,000 grant from the Norwegian film institute, and Red Thread are keen to stress that development on Dreamfall won't be affected by the new project, but that "since both titles are being developed using Unity 3D, tools, technology and knowhow will be shared between the teams, benefitting all." Draugen sounds like a considerably different kind of thing. The studio has thus far been working solely on Dreamfall Chapters: The Longest Journey, the crowdfunded sequel to John's emotional puberty, since September of last year. Red Thread Games, the Norwegian studio founded last year by Ragnar Tørnquist with the specific purpose of reducing John to a puddle of shuddering emotion, is making a first-person survival horror game called Draugen.
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