Absolutely, bringing Split Fiction to life has been an immense undertaking. This game seems to cram new mechanics into its narrative every quarter of an hour, while discarding older ones, yet it strives to ensure these fresh ideas don’t feel underdeveloped.
In an intriguing segment of Split Fiction, players find themselves astride dragons. Crafting just one of these majestic creatures took around eight months. Reflecting on the early days of my career, many team members often questioned, “Why dedicate so much effort if players only enjoy it for a mere 10 minutes?”
But here’s the crux of the matter. Think about movies: even if a scene eats up a big chunk of the budget, it’s not used repeatedly just because it was expensive. The uniqueness of those scenes makes them memorable. Transposing this to gaming, there’s a notion that costly elements must be reused. Yet I challenge that – why must we overuse an element and diminish the thrill of that first encounter?
Split Fiction embraces this philosophy wholeheartedly, culminating in vast, entirely optional segments. Sure, It Takes Two offered some side mini-games, but here? The portals you stumble upon lead you into expansive, self-contained worlds. Each holds new mechanics, fresh bosses, and breathtaking visuals, essentially offering what feels like an entire game within the game itself.
