Season: A Letter to the Futureoffers players a journey through breathtaking landscapes, a calming soundtrack, and a unique, player-driven story as the main character seeks to document the lives of those left behind as the current season comes to a close. This newindie gameby Scavengers Studio is a well-polished experience, but the path to this final vision was not always a straight line. The developers often found themselves in a similar position as the player, discovering in real-time whatSeason: A Letter to the Futurereally is, all while the game was still in development.
Game Rant spoke with creative director Kevin Sullivan on the nature of emergent meaning andhowSeason: A Letter to the Future’snarrativetruly found itself only after the team began production on the game.
RELATED:Tunic Interview: Andrew Shouldice Discusses Iterative Development, Inspirations, Zelda Comparisons, and More
The Development of Season: A Letter to the FutureDid Not Follow a Linear Path
The process of developing a story orcharacter inSeason: A Letter to the Futureand beyond is not as linear as one may think. It would be easy if one could just sit down with an idea, whip up an organizational chart, and get to work, but the truth is it’s not that simple. It would be an understatement to say things are constantly changing; one slight change to a character means reorganizing everything and everyone else so that, when that character interacts with them, there is a sense of continuity in design. There is a huge, outward ripple effect as everything in a game is interdependent on everything else. Sullivan describes this feeling as a “complicated dance,” and the end goal is never as concrete as it was set out to be.
“Well, I think the thing you learn is the way that the interdependency of everything is just a very complicated dance.”
This notion was one the team over at Scavengers Studio became very familiar with. As Sullivan recounts, there were many instances where the team had designed something but didn’t know its significance until further down the pipeline. He gives the example of Easel, the last monk of the valley the player character finds herself exploring shortly after she leaves home. The team created this now-pivotal moment fortheSeason: A Letter to the Futuredemo, but at the time, they didn’t know the weight this story beat would carry. It wasn’t until later in development when the team had fleshed out more of the story and retooled some dialogue that they were able to tie it to several other threads to create the meaning that it has today.
“And it had none of, or very little of, the context or the meaning that it had when we did it in the demo. But we were able to rewrite and rewrite the dialogue to recontextualize the scene and add all this into it that made it pull all these story threads together.”
Sullivan makes a point to emphasize that meaning is emergent, and there’s rarely ever a straight shot to the finish line—especially when the context one is working in is highly intuitive and personal. The silent work of one’s instincts quietly ties all the threads together, and it’s not until one steps back that the web becomes visible to those who crafted it.
To those who have played it,it may be clear that the game is an experience that takes advantage of the sense. However, as Sullivan remembers, it wasn’t until later inSeason: A Letter to the Future’s developmentthat he realized the way that all five senses unite to bolster one’s experience in the game. It was just a happenstance that developed naturally over the course of its design.
“…it is really interesting because everything is waiting for everything else, and things are also progressing, so you do a tremendous amount of retro-engineering and reusing and retooling and shifting around. Sometimes that can be super beautiful.”
Season: A Letter to the Future’sunique sensory experienceand compelling storytelling make it one of the most engaging indie experiences this year thus far. The team may have had a loose plan for development at the start, but the intuitive and iterative nature of the game’s design that came as a result of following one’s instincts is what is felt most clearly throughout the player’s experience. In the end, it makes for a truly heartfelt, one-of-a-kind story that players are sure to connect with in an instant.
Season: A Letter to the Futureis available to play now on Epic Games Store, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Steam. It is currently 20% off on Steam, PS4, and PS5.
