Indie Video games Plus spoke with the builders of Keylocker to speak about designing music for a recreation the place songs are a type of rise up.
Keylocker is a recreation of rise up in a future the place music is unlawful. Are you able to inform us what impressed this idea?
Nana Moon, Director: The primary inspiration got here from two locations (or possibly I ought to say two books)! The primary one can be Wandering Earth by Cixin Liu, considered one of my favourite sci-fi authors of all time, and Blindness by Saramago! Each books are extremely completely different, however they each labored their manner into my mind as very important inspiration for Keylocker.
From Wandering Earth, I used to be impressed and intrigued by the alien lifeform that the character (who’s a climber) meets in one of many tales. That character exposes the entire historical past of their folks in a brief format all through the guide saying how his civilization got here from the core and now they’re colonizing different planets. I wished to work out a worldbuilding a few civilization that got here from the core of the planet excavating outwards. That sounded just like the wildest idea to me, but it surely ended up working for Keylocker. You get the Satellites excavating from the core of Saturn, constructing a tube round themselves and capturing upwards making an attempt to achieve the ambiance. A herculean process!
From Blindness, I took the idea of music lacking from the world. Blindness is a guide a few world with out imaginative and prescient, and I assumed that idea of lack was actually engaging for me and I wished to discover it, however by way of one thing that’s typically seen as “ineffective,” like a few of the arts, or music on this case! It’s seen societally as ineffective, however it’s certainly very important for our dwelling and pleasure of dwelling.
Two different books that impressed me for the visuals of the world have been Neuromancer and Synners – each actually good cyberpunk books!
How did this illegality within the music have an effect on the way you applied sound results and songs into the sport? How did this theme have an effect on the sport’s whole design?
Moon: This recreation was the primary recreation we truly employed somebody to do sound results for us; we wished the sounds to be actually skilled! We all know how necessary sound is for video games, and it was particularly necessary for this recreation the place we considered utilizing silence as a story instrument as nicely, so the SFX needed to be excellent!
For that, we employed Gustavo Coutinho who has an excellent ardour for this topic and did probably the most unimaginable work for the sport, with my favourite half being the prologue that’s utterly silent till you discover Rocket and “unlock music.” This can be a very iconic second within the recreation since, as much as that time, the entire recreation is “silent,” or, I suppose, as silent as it may be with the chunky however oppressive sound results of chains coming from the jail that B0B0, the primary character, is making an attempt to flee.
Elektrobear, Composer: There was a aware selection early on to attempt to spotlight this theme by taking away music fully from the primary space of the sport till you meet Rocket, the Jukebot, and he brings music again into your world (actually). It would’ve turned gamers off the sport because the ambiance early on might be fairly oppressive, however we expect it’s value it for the second you get to have with Rocket’s introduction.
What sort of music felt proper for Keylocker? What ideas went into making a soundtrack for a recreation the place music is towards the legislation?
Elektrobear: Determining what the music goes to sound like is all the time a little bit of a course of for me, personally. It begins with Nana sending me reference music with the form of tone or feeling she needs to achieve, which on this case was a complete lot of soviet post-punk and goth punk. We tried to go for a extra regular Cyberpunk method as nicely, but it surely wasn’t actually figuring out to start out with.
Ultimately, by way of some trial and error (plus a complete lot of emulations of Synths that outlined the early period of digital music and people traditional ‘80s feeling sounds), I began navigating in the direction of a sound that pulled collectively inspirations from punk, funk, disco, metropolis pop, cyberpunk, Arabic components, classical components, synth-pop, and alt-rock.
In essence, there are 4 styles of musical tracks in Keylocker. There are the band’s songs, which combine synth-pop vibes with that form of early ‘00s alt-rock feeling, and Psamathes pulling all of it collectively together with her heavenly vocals. There are the realm songs which attempt to absorb the sensation of the realm to precise and improve it, passing over the widest space of musicality within the course of. There are the battle songs, that are often my tackle the Cyberpunk music type – darkish driving synths and drums – and eventually, there are the boss combat songs that are strongly influenced by classical music to attempt to differentiate the Satellites from the remainder of the world as classical was traditionally the music of the higher lessons.
Moon: For the reason that starting, we all the time knew we wished to work with a singer for this recreation, however we didn’t fairly understand how but. Elektrobear had by no means labored with a singer as much as that time, and I needed to out of the blue tackle the work of writing lyrics within the recreation’s language (all to make every thing genuine to the world), create that language and discover ways to make lyrics that sound good, in addition to serving to Psamathes and Elektrobear to acclimatize with the imaginative and prescient I had that was nonetheless a bit cloudy at that time. I can say that our final tune collectively is certainly significantly better than the primary, however I like all of them and I belief my life within the palms of those two if I need to with regards to placing their all into bringing a improbable soundtrack collectively.
Psamathes, our singer, truly has a bodily situation that causes her loads of ache, and she or he recorded the final tune for us in excessive ache earlier than going out for her surgical procedure that wouldn’t enable her to file for some time after we had some tight deadlines. Though not advisable, I can actually really feel the eagerness that they’ve for music and for creating such unimaginable songs once they inform me these tales (a lot later after doing the songs so I can’t cease them from doing outlandish issues! [laughs]).
How did you need to work music/rhythm into the fight of the sport? What drew you to carry components of rhythm video games into the battles? What do you’re feeling this added to the fight?
Moon: Some folks come to our recreation anticipating Crypt of the Necrodancer, however our recreation isn’t like that! Our recreation is extra impressed by the Mario RPG video games with their timed hits on turn-based fight. The rhythm is added with a few of the timed hits which are connected to the BPM of the songs. We even have a Guitar Hero-like part that showcases the band’s music (with the highly effective vocals by Psamathes).
Anglerman, Animator and Recreation Designer: For fight, the primary concept was to remove the RNG accuracy of RPGs and switch it right into a timing problem that required gamers to pay some extra consideration. I imagine this helps carry the gamers nearer to the precise issues occurring fairly than being within the backseat. Keylocker could be very deterministic, with few RNG components in its entirety – all of which belong to the whims of the Whale of Time within the setting.
Likewise, are you able to inform us a bit concerning the Electrical energy system and its Offensive/defensive properties? What appealed to you about including this additional technical layer onto the fight?
Anglerman: Me and Nana went over loads of methods to make the traditional MP bar extra than simply spell forex. The aim right here was to offer the gamers loads of management of probably the most significant standing results present in JRPGs: harm and protection buffs (charging EP into LATKs/LDEFs), in addition to having a continuing ‘mana protect’ towards ‘spells’ (EP decreasing electrical harm taken).
In-universe, electrical energy takes many shapes and types, but it surely’s all the time about powering everybody up, as Doppelgangers (B0B0 and Supplier) are similar to Robots (Rocket) in additional methods than they themselves understand. Subsequently, they stay off electrical energy – they feed on it and use it to operate each day. All recreation methods ought to be topic to the world setting and lore and all tales should respect the gameplay. That’s what we imagine in.
Moon: As Anglerman mentioned, we all the time join story to gameplay, and as that’s our motto, for this recreation we determined that to make the primary character actually be this beacon of hope in a society with out music. She ought to have one thing no person has any extra: a robust voice. Which serves as an allegory to combating oppression, doing so together with her personal voice, actually!
Characters even have many doable choices for fight skills. What ideas go into designing character skills so gamers might be inventive with how the character works? How do you steadiness them in order that many various character builds are doable?
Anglerman: Keylocker‘s TUBE world could be very a lot outlined by social hierarchy and sophistication hierarchy. Each single character within the recreation is tied to the definitions of one of many 10 doable lessons – even the Satellites. Because of this every class is chargeable for various things in society similar to ‘juggernaut’ NPCs dealing with trash compacting and oil extraction, ‘hackers’ dealing with scientific analysis, ‘attorneys’ dealing with all banking endeavors, and so forth.
Taking that into consideration, all class skills have been made to help each a selected gameplay type (tied to the 4 base actions) and to help the in-universe function they’d have. The remaining was trial and error and loads of testing! We discover it extra participating to have the ability to customise as many points of characters as doable throughout the framework of the world guidelines (which on this case means the 4 base actions).
Like a lot of your previous work, Keylocker is full of hand-crafted fights meant to problem the participant. How do you create difficult fights with out overwhelming your common participant? What concepts are going into creating a superb combat in Keylocker?
Moon: I feel our common participant is certainly overwhelmed! We had a great deal of folks contacting us about their frustrations with the sport. Nonetheless, those who persist with the sport in the end perceive one factor: with many struggles come many and greater rewards be they by way of a brand new piece of apparatus or a brand new piece of lore to maintain them hooked. The “I need to see what comes subsequent” finally ends up being the catalyst for his or her character arc from frustration to pure bliss! There’s additionally the massive issue that B0B0 is somebody from the bottom caste on this society. If she doesn’t battle with combating the authoritative figures, then it doesn’t make sense story-wise, and fight and story have to be related always!
Anglerman: Quite a bit has to do with the sport’s philosophy of Dualities. Two assaults, two defenses, identical rule for enemies. You’re both within the offensive or within the defensive and the enjoyable factor is to juggle that quite a bit throughout a combat.
We discovered from our earlier video games that recreation components ought to be extra slowly launched and fights ought to get wilder as time goes on fairly than peak halfway. Our encounters system was very a lot improved from our earlier recreation to permit some drastic adjustments to enemies throughout their turns, similar to altering their AI utterly based mostly on shedding an ally or forcing them to solid particular spells based mostly on their present LP/EP, shifting actors round to create new beginning factors, dynamic reinforcements that change relying on which enemy was killed first, floor results added to particular tiles, and variable enemy base stats throughout the combat. All is feasible, however solely to the characters who possess energy to change the battlefield in main methods, which is proscribed to high-hierarchical figures in-world.
Ultimately it’s a juggle between “that is cool” + “that is doable” + “it will make gamers mad.”
What ideas went into the visible type of the world of Keylocker? How did you form this oppressive world and the rebellious forces seeking to take it again?
Moon: I lived in Brazil my complete life and solely lately moved to England, and one infamous change of tempo for me is how a lot calmer issues are right here. I lived in an enormous capital earlier than. I used to be born in Rio de Janeiro and it’s chaotic there, it’s scorching, everybody is good to you as a result of it’s the one technique to undergo the chaos, there’s so many individuals round, it’s nicely lived, and vivid. It’s absolutely the reverse of the small countryside cottage English life I stay now.
The Scrapyard Zone is tremendous impressed by my dwelling city, not as a result of it has trash in every single place, however since you kinda know everybody and once you don’t, they nonetheless are good to you. That aesthetic of makeshift houses are impressed by favela housing the place folks construct their very own houses across the edges of harmful mountains. I all the time discovered that to be a stupendous state of being human, specifically as these on the periphery, dwelling on the literal fringe of a self-contained world. Favelas are like little small self-contained cities – they’ve virtually every thing they could want, they usually have a very robust sense of neighborhood. That’s what I wished to precise with the folks of the Scrapyard Zone, the primary space you go to in Keylocker.
And B0b0 carries that dwelling together with her, taking her mates alongside for the experience. I discover it actually fascinating how one can observe these characters evolve and categorical their character arcs as they’re uncovered increasingly more to the corruption of this world. The Satellites needed to look and be the precise reverse of that. There’s no sense of union between them; there’s solely a way of frigid battle. They aren’t mates amongst themselves and even their relationships are thought of taboo and unacceptable. Their visuals are considerably impressed by the dystopian world staple of those who characterize oppression having outrageous, socially unacceptable vogue. A bit just like the world we stay in ourselves. Have a look at the Met Gala. It brings a little bit of that sense of not who they’re however as an alternative wanting on the pores and skin that covers their identification, their vogue being a shadow that pulls their crude selves into darkness.
Likewise, what concepts went into the character design? How did you discover the hanging look of your characters, and the way did the unlawful music theme assist form them?
Moon: The characters have been positively impressed by loads of visible media from the previous that I like. To say some, I can say Evangelion, Video Woman Ai, Akira, and Ghost within the Shell, positively. I suppose Akira is simply pivotal as inspiration for any fashionable Cyberpunk creation and Telesto is a personality that could possibly be featured in EVA (if I do say so myself). Though, the inspirations are so many who it then turns into one thing of its personal variety.
I additionally actually love the aesthetics of PC Engine pixel artwork and wished to seize from that for the portraits and even world pixel artwork. Every Satellite tv for pc idea artwork revered particular character guidelines – they wanted to have some sort of encircling ring round them to characterize their overbearing energy as Saturnian’s rings. B0b0 and the characters from the Scrapyard Zone are extra off the sting, dwelling in a Zone that’s closely noticed however on the identical time deserted, so that they have extra sensible and distinctive apparel from one another, a factor of peripheral tradition the place folks could have their very own type of dressing that could be very distinctive to every particular person.
Characters from Soundwave Metropolis have been speculated to be extremely oppressed – you barely discuss to them as a result of they’re silenced, in order that informs how they appear a bit extra same-y between one another. Members of the Church use a selected apparel relying on their rank, and it’s all associated to their unusual cult. The Clericopters have cone heads with smiles as a result of they obtain a head transplant upon being settle for as members of the clergy on its first rank, however then afterward you’ll uncover the bloody historical past of this grotesque faith and why they appear the way in which they do.
All of that is related to the world and ultimately related to the roots of Cyberpunk as a style. I principally wished to make the designs extra based mostly on the idea behind what’s cyberpunk, as an alternative of simply making it based mostly on issues that look cyberpunk sufficient. That idea of it being punk, that Vivienne Westwood and the Intercourse Pistols British tradition, that rise up towards the institution – it’s all a nod to that.
What do you hope gamers take away out of your recreation and its story?
Moon: I hope that on the level of ending this recreation, not less than one particular person on this planet has the proper instruments to start out an anti-capitalist revolution of their very own that hopefully can save us all from this mindless insanity we stay in.
Elektrobear: The sport business wants extra video games like Keylocker, and players deserve extra video games prefer it too. The world is much too stagnant and uninteresting for one thing like this recreation to be solid apart for one more rehash or remaster of final decade’s inventive concepts. We ought to be celebrating and upholding the now and the way forward for video games and shifting ahead collectively. Making new and fascinating issues that problem the norm isn’t all the time a clean highway, but it surely’s the required lifeblood of our inventive business and I really hope folks can see this recreation for what it’s and are available to rejoice it. Extra video games ought to dare to be fascinating.
Keylocker is offered now on the Nintendo eShop, PlayStation Retailer, Microsoft Retailer, and Steam.
About The Creator
