MIKE JENSEN: I think Moss Book II is the next step.
For Moss Book I, we were really trying
to figure out what would work in VR and what
we thought players would like.
We really had no idea.
The first thing we wanted to do was to take
players places they wanted to be.
And that, in combination with trying to expand the world of Moss,
and going on a larger journey.
DOUG BURTON: Have a light-hearted experience that Moss I was.
We want it to be a world that you can relax in and have fun, and feel
challenged in, without ever feeling like you
need to take the headset off and take a break,
or if things are getting too much for you.
COLIN ARMSTRONG: Our goal with VR wasn't
just to create a thing that replicated
what you could see if you played a game from Steam
on your PC on a flat monitor.
It was to take this technology that really puts you in that world,
and use that in a way that you couldn't get anywhere else.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
SUN KIM: I remember taking the headset off and having
almost like a mini existential crisis of, wow, I can't believe--
are these hands even real?
And I feel like to be able to develop on this platform,
and give that similar experience to other players, is kind of magical.
MIKE JENSEN: The difference with VR is
that, when you put on the headset, you're in a real world
and everything feels normal scale to you.
But also, you're playing with this mouse that's 2 or 3 inches tall,
and it's that back and forth between looking at her,
and seeing her as a full-size character,
and then realizing, no, she's actually
a tiny character in a big world.
SUN KIM: Creating that emotional bond between the player and Quill,
she does have subtleties in her emotions
through these small vocalizations.
Another way that I think is pretty unique
about this game is Quill actually does ASL.
Players might not understand, and they'll just see them as gestures,
but for people who do understand ASL, it's
that extra layer of depth to the character that
really helps build that bond.
DOUG BURTON: You are playing a co-op game with Quill.
And so you're both kind of getting to each other the whole way through,
and all those reactions that you both have.
You look into a new area, and you're kind of in awe and wowing at it.
You look at Quill to be like, what should I be doing next?
And she's always there to be like, I think that that trigger up there
might be our next best solution.
COLIN ARMSTRONG: The climbing system in Moss Book II
adds a new level of traversal and verticality to the game.
This gives you the ability to direct Quill towards the wall,
and climb up and on it and across.
And she can span large gaps, she can use
the walls to explore areas of Moss that previously she
might not have been able to get to.
Unreal state machine has made it possible to control
all of those things in a way that is intuitive, cross-discipline.
Maybe our animators or our artists are
less familiar with that kind of structure,
and being able to visualize it in a way that is intuitive
as Unreal makes it, makes it possible for me
to collaborate with the animators and bring our shared vision to life.
DOUG BURTON: We really wanted a way to decide, what is a Moss II boss
fight?
What does it look like?
How big is it?
What does it feel like?
We're tools are you going to use to overcome it?
It was really experimental.
And we kind of tried a couple of ideas.
And eventually, we just got the perfect set
of mechanics, and size, and space.
And all kind of came together, and you just watch all that play out
in the room Blueprint.
The rooms also have sub-Blueprints, all the objects
have Blueprints, all the characters run on Blueprint.
Everything just kind of comes together
and you can just watch it all play out,
kind of like a little orchestra.
MIKE JENSEN: I mean, Blueprints are key to everything.
They're all throughout the project.
An artist like me can go in and use a Blueprint
and understand what's going on.
I think that really speaks to how well that whole system is
implemented.
SUN KIM: By having things blend between perspectives,
that really adds to the sound of Moss.
But that being said, there are certain areas
in the game where having an abundant sense of life around you just
doesn't fit the tonality, right?
We've really leaned into how can we create a really stark environment--
drastically change, so you have a juxtaposition between really
vibrant soundscapes, as well as really dark and moody soundscapes,
as well.
When a player spawns into a room, the system
will dynamically generate 12 game objects
in the world that statically live in the environment.
And those will stay in the static game world.
Imagine that you're in a space, there's
two speakers in front of you, two speakers behind you.
And then you take those four speakers.
You duplicate that, a level above that, and then a level below that.
And effectively, you have these 12 locations.
That really gives that sense of space directly around you.
MIKE JENSEN: I'm proud of every environment in the game.
I think the team did an amazing job bringing just the amount of variety
that we've gotten from the game.
You're going like from the top of a snowy mountain,
all the way down into the depths of a fiery inferno.
And I think everything in between.
And a lot wider variety than, I think,
the first game, which I hope players can appreciate, too.
DOUG BURTON: Seeing Moss Book II come to a culmination,
and getting to work with all of the incredibly talented people here,
is a really big moment.
And that I helped make this thing that's
going to touch people's lives everywhere,
allow them to form that same kind of connection
with Quill, on an even deeper level than they did the first time around.