IBear: Frozen Compass It’s adorable look third person adventure game with a dog who comes to assume the role of teenager Sam and tries to figure out how to get out of being stuck in the Arctic Circle. Tobias Graph from Mooney Studios was kind enough to chat with us to provide details about upcoming games.
What affected the settings I?
Read Also:
The main inspiration was the famous Franklin expedition in 1845. After the long-lost ships were discovered in 2014 and 2016, I came across reports of it and quickly became fascinated by their unforgettable mystical stories, and since then I have had this idea of that game at the back of my head.
Aside from gameplay, how does Sam and Ellie’s bond unfold in the game’s story?
Sam’s story is very important about him agreeing who he is and finding his worth after life on the streets of London. Ellie helps him realize that he is important, that others are dependent on him, and that he is not destined to live alone forever. She is the first character who truly believes that Sam loves him unconditionally, and forming a bond is what keeps Sam moving.
“The main inspiration was the famous Franklin expedition in 1845.”
What can you expect from the game structure? I? Will it be more level-based or should we expect more puzzle solving, like in the classic Zelda game?
The main part of the game is open world gameplay with environmental puzzles and challenges. However, these puzzles are not classic trigger puzzles or battle bosses, but instead are driven by the stories and mysteries of what happened on this island, requiring Sam to overcome obstacles, gather enough resources for dangerous paths, and read the environment correctly to find hidden treasures.
What was your biggest inspiration when it comes to other media (books, movies, etc.)? Ikuma: Frozen Compass
Aside from documentaries and books on Arctic expeditions and Inuit mythology, I don’t have much of a direct inspiration like special authors or film series. At least it doesn’t come to mind actively. The story has been developing for a long time, with many inspiration, including certain aspects and character traits, such as the young Royals Netflix series and the tarot sequence fantasy novels. I happened to see and read it while writing a story. It’s always a very small thing, but I don’t say the story is inspired by a particular medium.
The idea of switching between Sam and Ellie during the exploration is great, but how does playing in a cooperative affect the challenges players may face? Is it easier to co-op than to play single player?
Playing with a cooperative certainly can speed things up a bit in certain situations where you had to go back and forth between Sam and Ellie. Sometimes that may be easy, but in general I It’s not designed to be a really difficult game. For those of us who enjoy challenges and tough survival mechanics, we have different levels of difficulty, but the default gaming experience is about exploration and narrative, and works just as well with co-ops and single-player.
The game’s settings are primarily in the Arctic, so how do you avoid the general environment getting too old over time?
That’s a problem we’ve faced from the start. Clearly, the Arctic environment is not known for its diversity and vibrant colours. One element that you use to add a little variety to your landscape is the memory sequence. Sam finds certain objects and places that remind him of his old life in London and his journey to the Arctic. These reminders unlock playable memory sequences that dig deeper into Sam’s character and what we brought him here. Another element is the old curse that remains on the island. Sam follows in the footsteps of an old and lost expedition, just like the actual Franklin expedition, with the trail leading him to the shadows that hid him under the ice.
“It might be easy sometimes, but generally I It’s not designed to be a really difficult game. ”
How much emphasis is placed on the survival aspects of gameplay (food, water)?
It’s always a mechanic that exists, and there are situations where you have to bring food to survive the journey, but with most – with caution you will find some kind of resource nearby. It’s either a motivation to explore, or a reminder that this environment is less of a walk in the park than a mechanic that is actually difficult to survive. Of course, unless you choose to make it.
How long does it take for an average player to finish? I?
It’s always hard to know if the game isn’t really played yet, as the only people who have played everything, including still very rough territory, are us who know it on the inside out. If you are focused primarily on the main storyline, the average playtime is around 6-7 hours. That way, the closer we get to release, the more clearer it becomes and we have more playtesters.
Given the heavy story focus, are there a lot of replay incentives?
As I mentioned, there are various difficulty settings, so you might think you need to exit the game in Survivalist mode to say you’ve finished the game. But in general, as you said, the main motivation is the story. So I don’t think there are too many players who play it over and over again.
As a developer, what do you think about the PS5 Pro? How does Boost on GPU help in developing games compared to the base PS5?
Of course, it’s always nice to have a little more room and be able to push some numbers a little higher for a cooler effect! It mainly creates effects, designs areas, and first sets the visuals with the look and feel in mind, then makes them run on the target hardware. So it’s always great to be able to maintain at least some fancy elements for a particular console!
“If you’re focused primarily on the main storyline, you’re hoping that your average playtime will be around 6-7 hours.”
What do you think about PSSR? What opportunities does this open up for the game?
Honestly, we haven’t really played it yet. At the end of the day, you need to check if the PSSR and native resolution is lower, or if the higher native resolution and the quality of the effects and lighting is lower. Ideally, you just need to add both modes so that players can decide their preferences. Generally, of course, it’s great to see the game render at a lower resolution and look the same as a higher resolution, but at the end of the day, it’s always a compromise between resolution and something else, and you probably need to decide on a case-by-case basis.
What resolutions and frame rates do Xbox Series X/S, PS5, and PS5 Pro games target?
We’re still a bit off of most optimization work so it’s hard to tell, but ideally we’ll be offering performance and quality modes at 1440p/60fps or 4K/30fps (there’s an additional mode of potentially upscaled PSSR).
Are you planning to launch the game on Switch 2?
Unfortunately, I haven’t yet managed to test anything because I haven’t yet gotten the development kit, a special console version needed for development. But we are certainly enthusiastic and hope to be able to bring I You can also switch between 2!