Variable State, the team behind the critically-acclaimed Virginia, has been working on their next game. They wanted to share some insight behind what inspired Last Stop.[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]
Hi there from Variable State!
In 2016 we released Virginia - a game which tells a story using common techniques found in cinema, such as editing, musical synchronicity, and drama told through actions rather than words. Since then we have been working on our next game, Last Stop, which has taken these ideas and built on them. Whereas Virginia was an entirely first person experience, played through the eyes of a single protagonist without any dialogue; Last Stop tells three interconnected stories, all with fully voice acted performances, and shot in a cinematic style.
Giving ourselves the freedom to play with cinematography has brought new story telling opportunities. Cameras are placed in areas to best support the emotion and tone of the scene, bring out subtext, help get inside the character's headspace, or simply to create a beautiful shot!
Our intention to game design has always been to give an experience where the player feels like they are inside a story – a good story, hopefully! To this end, along with branching dialogue choices, you'll find many different playful interactions and mini games along the way which build character through actions rather than words. Want to dress a character up as a bit of a punk? Play piano with your best mate in a pub? Smash up your neighbour's possessions in anger? We've got you covered.
We're excited for you all to play Last Stop!
Cheers
- Variable State
Last Stop will be coming to PC via Steam later this year.
