It’s been nearly a month since the full game release ofLong Gone Days,and many gamers seem to raving about the graphics, music, and, most of all, the storyline. Players take on the role of Rourke, a sniper born into a private military called The Core, who is quickly faced with an unsettling truth after being sent on his first mission. With a group of varying characters, he eventually turns around and looks to take down the army he once fought for.
Long Gone Dayswas originally written, developed, and illustrated by Camila Gormaz, who started it at just 12 years old. It was originally created in 2003 as anRPG Maker 2000 project, but it wasn’t until 2015 that the development for the demo began. The game was released in Early Access program in March 2018 before being released fully on October 10. Over time, Gormaz’s developer team has grown into three, including co-writer and game designer Pablo Videla, as well as programmer Camilo Valderrama. They told Game Rant in a recent interview thatLong Gone Daysis meant to show the bad side of warthrough an immersive lens and how nobody wins.
The Impact of Pixel Art, Illustrations, And Music
Military gamesare expected to be violent—thinkCall of DutyorBattlefield—but inLong Gone Days, that’s not the case; or at least, that’s not the focus. While players will go into first-person sniper mode, equip weapons throughout the game, and use a turn-based combat mode in battles, the four-to-five-hour game strategically blends pixel art with anime traits and JRPG inspiration, which made Gormaz feel that this was the type of style “we had to use.” Throughout the gameplay, there are flashes of full-screen illustrations, all drawn by Gormaz, and it typically gives off a somber tone, but in more hopeful moments, Gormaz said the palette will change to match the mood.
Sometimes, I’ve seen comments from people saying that because of the art style, they didn’t expect the story to tackle the issues that it’s taking on, and they are a bit surprised about it. I don’t think we had a special intention to have this sort of dissonance with the art style versus the story, but we felt that it helped a bit in trying to take on this topic for the players so they aren’t seen so raw…You still feel like the connection, you still feel empathy, you still feel immersion in the story, but it’s not something that seems a bit grotesque or maybe exploitative like how it may happen when you see them portrayed in a more realistic style. I think that the art style helped a lot to approach the story in a more sensitive way for the players.
For the music, it was hard to get it to where it is now, Gormaz added, because they didn’t have any budget for it and just stuck with royalty-free music. But, last year, they were able to have an original soundtrack made by Sebastian Marin, a fellow Chilean. Typically with pixel art video games, they’re associated with 8-bit musiclikePokemon’s iconic battle music, but Gormaz said she didn’t want that and it “didn’t have to be that way.” Instead, she wanted progressive rock music, and she got it. Players have praised the soundtrack for its eerie, yet satisfying sounds. Before the tracks and sound effects were put in, Gormaz said “nothing had weight,” but that all changed soon after.
Once we started adding sound effects and stuff, it began to look a bit more like a movie, and you feel like you’re part of it.
…We also try to do different things when we are dealing with The Core, the main antagonist, and when we are trying to show scenes taking place in Kaliningrad, when you are talking to NPCs with, or when you’re talking to your party members. We try to generate a contrast between the type of instrument and the type of sound that we are using in the game. We hope that that contrast is noticed by the players and appreciated because we really liked the way it came out.
Civilians Are More Than A Number
WhileLong Gone Daysisn’t afirst-person shooter game, it still utilizes RPG combat where users choose where to shoot on their target’s body, but there’s not too much blood, gore, or gruesome sound effects. Instead, the game focuses on one more unique feature, which is the use of a Morale system, and it is meant to give characters motivation during battle. By choosing dialogue, players can either boost or decrease a character’s will to fight; everyone has different personality traits and motivations. If a character’s Morale depletes to zero, they lose the will to fight.
It’s different from a movie when you’re seeing an actor, and you are only a spectator. Here, you are basically making the choice to help someone, making the choice to shoot someone, and we try to make the game into a story that helps bring that empathy to the player, and to help them understand that there’s a heavy cost to war in general… And that’s what we try to show with our main cast of characters. Like, there are people who aren’t soldiers, people who are civilians, who try to help to bring peace.
Long Gone Daysis more about emotions, friendships, and personal stories. Some folks might not be too fond of how sentimentalLong Gone Dayscan get, but those interested in seeing a different perspective of a volatile landscape might be pleasantly surprised. It’ll be interesting to see how the video game can build on top of its foundation.
Long Gone Daysis out now on PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
