Game Rant recently spoke to Fares and Turn Me Up, developer of the imminently forthcoming Switch port, about rule-breaking in game design and pushing the envelope in terms of content. Fares also had a lot to say about the nature of narrative multiplayer, how making games compares to making movies, and the inherently collaborative nature of telling stories.
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Scratching the Surface of Narrative Multiplayer
While It Takes Two was a groundbreaking experience in terms of story-driven multiplayer, Fares believes video games are merely scratching the surface of what the medium is capable of. Realizing that potential requires much more than adding split screens or extra controller inputs to single-player experiences, however:
While Fares believes that narrative experiences with more than two players are possibilities, each additional player means another layer of multiplicative complexity in terms of design. Pacing, communication, and character motivations are all interlocked, and becoming increasingly hard to balance. Fares stated that past a point, the number of players in a party stop pursuing the game’s story and start making their own narrative, which can derail the all-important emotional beats that make narrative games matter.
Creative Collaboration in Movies vs. Games
Fares often jokes that when he wants to take a vacation, he will return to making movies. He believes the core difference between the mediums, interactivity, requires an even greater degree of collaboration:
Unlike movies, which can be edited or re-shot when necessary, changing a single level or gameplay sequence can have a staggering ripple effect across the title. As a result, every member of the development team has a huge impact on the final product, and an important responsibility. But lock-step collaboration among the development team should not be mistaken for an endorsement of groupthink.
Open-mindedness is key part of achieving ideal collaboration. When people approach Fares with maxims and mandates on how to make games, he immediately loses interest, because he asserts that “we don’t know how to make games,” and those who claim to have all the answers are usually clinging to outdated design principles. A key part of making meaningful contributions to a project is thinking outside the box while still adding onto the core premise in a cohesive way.
It Takes Two as a Relationship Test
It Takes Two has proven itself to be a popular game for couples; and it is easy to see why. The core narrative about a couple rediscovering how to communicate before their impending divorce has romantic overtones, and gamers with significant others have a go-to player two for the co-op-only title. Fares explained that Hazelight did not craft It Takes Two with couples in mind, but the game could serve as a test for all sorts of relationships. Needing to communicate and collaborate with a partner—whether they are a friend, child, or spouse—can serve as a stress test, bonding experience, and personality assessment all at once.
As with the creation of It Takes Two, collaboration is at the heart of enjoying the title to its fullest, and Fares believes that is a natural way to appreciate narratives. Storytelling is an inherently social endeavor, and the interactivity of narrative co-operative games essentially re-introduces the collaborative element that easily falls to the wayside in more passive mediums.
It Takes Two is available now for PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S. It releases tomorrow on Switch.
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