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Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure
The unique art and design behind Arranger: A Role-Puzzling Adventure - Interview
One of the fresher and more interesting gameplay concepts we got to try out and learn about at the Summer Game Fest in LA was the one that means the soul of Arranger. At Netflix's booth we arranged this fascinating chat with art director David Hellman and game designer Nico Recabarren.
Audio transcription
"We're in L.A. for the Summer Game Fest. I'm at the Netflix booth and I'm looking at, you know, three out of three games I saw here really struck me. Really interesting, really fresh, unique games and the last one is going to be Arranger."
"So we've arranged this interview with both David and Nico to learn a little bit more about this mechanic-based sort of adventure RPG which is extremely original. So how would you... what is the elevator pitch and how did the main mechanic come up? The main mechanic actually came up from trying to make a 2D Rubik's Cube, which is funny, but yeah then the main goal was to try to make like a game that you can... like a puzzle game, first of all, right? That's the thing that I like to design, but also I wanted to make it like more broadly attractive, so that's why when I started working with Nick Suttner and David Hellman, we started to make it like an adventure game. So in a way it's like the adventure game hides inside several puzzles and everything in the world is built with the same... I mean, it's explored with the same mechanic. So yeah, I think that's basically it. I love how you guys present the mechanic because one thing is like, you know, coming up with the idea and another thing is developing it and, you know, presenting it to the player in a way..."
"it looked like a very Nintendo-ish way to present the mechanic. It's the very first thing you do upon starting the game is you learn how to move around, in my case it was with an iPad, and then every single step you take is based on that mechanic and you keep adding things. So how do you guys work on the game design for it to work like this from the very beginning?
I think it's basically... we know, as developers of the game, that we know that we develop, as you play the game, you develop certain techniques and I feel like we try to find the most atomic ways to show specifically those techniques. So once you find out how to do that, it's like the world opens to your eyes, in front of your eyes, and it's like you start to do more complex things. So I think that was mainly the elements. I try to isolate those things. And of course it wouldn't make that much sense if it wasn't conveyed visually, in a visually appropriate manner, right? So it's not just that the graphics are beautiful, they are, they are cute, it's not just that. It's the language you guys use with the visuals. What can you tell me about that? Yeah, well the first job of the art is to support the functionality. In this game, you know, it's all on the grid. So we have actually an unusual split between the gameplay relevant objects, which are all on the grid, and then the the scenery, which is behind the grid and departs quite far from like a conventional world representation. So the grid stuff is very clear, very, very iconic, and just adheres to like grid logic. But then when we get off the grid, we get really loose and actually depart from consistent like viewpoints even."
"You've seen that there's scenery close to the grid, but then back in the parallax space, we have comic panels that can show horizon views, close-ups, all kinds of different things, give a more like subjective storytelling feel to the whole thing. So it's a really cool format, I guess. All while keeping a very clear readability for the whole thing, right? Yes, that's the goal, yeah."
"What's with you that you have to work with, you know, visually appealing, clearly conveying, but at the same time mechanically fresh in different games?
Oh, it's just a little piccadillo of mine. I don't know. This is just a very lucky pairing, and yeah, it's great. I mean, it was a great format for me. I don't know what to say to that specifically. It's a good observation."
"What can I say about the story of the game? The sense of humor it has from the get-go is very, very interesting. So what can you share about what's going on with this Jemma? I think, first of all, the credit for that is definitely Nick Suttner, which is the writer of the game. And yeah, I feel like, just for context, the game was started during the pandemic, so I think there are a lot of topics related to that. There are like several, throughout the story of the game, there are several communities that are separated, but for different reasons and by different means. And Jemma has this personality, and her nature is to disorder things in different ways. And that leads her to get into trouble, but also to open, in a way, those communities and connect them in a kind of sweet way. So yeah, I think the story we tell is a story of self-discovery for Jemma, but I feel like it's a very personal thing as well. I think many of us had a kind of weird experience with the pandemic, of course, and I think that's very subtly represented in the game as well. Yes, exactly. And you know, when you're working on a puzzle, you might find that you make a big mess before you put things in the correct shape. And so that was also that kind of observation about how the puzzles work, and how it feels to play the puzzles, was part of the inspiration for this story about a character, Jemma, who is very disruptive, makes a mess, but then ultimately, hopefully, with her, you'll put the world in a better shape."
"She's the Arranger, after all, so it looks like she's... she doesn't... it looks like she is, right? She moves differently. She explains that at the beginning of the game, like, you know, for those who don't understand yet, you're seeing gameplay as we speak, right? But the way she moves is that she rearranges the whole row or column of tiles as she moves, and then the elements move, and the enemies move with her. I still feel bad for this lady in the ladder, so I guess she doesn't fit in this world, but at the same time, she's the key for the world to click, and to fit, and to solve the puzzle. That's exactly the idea."
"You said it very well. And she can loop off the edge. Yes, in a very retro, like, end of the screen. Yeah, I thought of Pac-Man, that's all. Yeah, so I've only experienced, like, a couple of, you know, the tutorial, and a couple of very simple puzzles at first, but then on the video, I'm seeing much more complex stuff. So what can you tell us about the craziest things that you can do with this mechanic? I think that we found with the basic mechanic, like, a basic, like, set of rules that allow us to add a lot of things on top of it."
"Like, for instance, at some point, you are going to fish, and fishing is basically just moving around, but finding ways to, I mean, you have to find, like, an optimal way to do it, to actually be able to fish. So I think, like, stuff like that is, like, an example of how the mechanic was so, like, open, in a way, that allows us to add a lot of different things on top. And it's, like, the interesting wave thing for us is that you never, I mean, the game is not supposed to get harder throughout the development of the different, like, areas. It's supposed to be, like, new each time."
"Like, you get to do, with the same set of rules, you start to find new things that you have to learn again. So it's, like, for us as developers, it's, like, a honeymoon phase of each mechanic. Like, we never get tired of it. We just go to the next one.
Yeah, it's called a Role Puzzling Adventure. Does it have any, like, true, pure RPG elements to it? As in, do you have any sort of progression for the character? Do you level up? Or is it just a matter of, you know, roleplay their stories and just, you know, face some enemies? I think the role-playing part is more about the character and having the character and progressing. We avoided things like an inventory. In fact, you might say the world is your inventory. It's all out there on the grid, so. You would have to arrange it, right?
Like, all the time. Like, in a Resident Evil game, like, fine. Yeah, yeah. We keep it very simple. You can play much of it with just your, well, one hand or with the swiping on the, in the case of the touchscreen version. So we keep it mechanically very simple and accessible, but the cleverness really is in, like, the puzzle design and the novelty of what you can do with it each time. And I have to say, when it releases on the, not just on Netflix and then smart devices, but also on PC and on the Nintendo Switch as well. So on the PlayStation 5, can you use a touchpad in the controller? No, not really. So it's just stick? Yeah, stick."
"Stick and the D-pad, of course. But on the Nintendo Switch, you can use the touchscreen just as I did on the iPad. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. Okay, I mentioned bosses as well. Do you have bosses here? Then you have to design creatures that perhaps occupy different columns and rows, or? Yes, yeah, they're creatures that are larger than a single tile, I can confirm today. What can we expect in terms of bosses, both mechanically and artistically? I'm sorry, what? What can we expect in terms of bosses?
Bosses? They're very nasty, they will challenge you, they will look at you fiercely, but, you know, like, find the weak point and you'll be on your way."
"Alright, no spoilers. Okay, okay, I can get that. You guys are pretty much done. When is this releasing? Yeah, the game is going to be released July 25th, and it's going, like you said, it's going to come out in different platforms. Fantastic.
Anything you would like to add that we didn't touch upon that you would like to rearrange from this interview? I don't think so. Did we mention everyone?
We talked about Nick, did we talk about Tommy, Tomas Batista, our audio designer and composer? Our music is beautiful. The music is really beautiful, and as the artist, I took a lot of inspiration from the music, and yeah, I think that gives, will give players, like, a really rich feeling as they go through, and we had an art team. I had worked with artists and I art directed, and so we had a number of artists helping me complete the painting, and so it was a team effort in the end, and this was just a labor of love, and I think we're all very grateful to have done it together. It looks like that. Really, really looking forward to arranging things in this game come July. Thank you so much for your time."
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