When We Made... Sable
Chris Wallace talks to Gregorios Kythreotis, to get an inside view on how Shedworks brought their open world masterpiece Sable to life..
actually look at you. And even with that little bit of work, with the help of the animation and really smart designers and engineers, with everybody working together, you could tell from the very beginning that she was a character that people would really gravitate toward.” Quill really becomes a fully fleshed out character with the help of the game’s strong world-building. As an interloper in Quill’s world, the player experiences it not through her eyes, but as an observer watching as she lives her life in her familiar setting. It’s a strangely intimate feeling, and one which gives way to joint apprehension as both the player and Quill enter new, unfamiliar areas. “When you go through Mousetown and you see Quill
run through there and you see that she has a hometown, the feeling of her leaving it, of that town maybe being in danger, gives you more of a bond,” Alderson says. “If that part was left out, you wouldn’t feel like there was much to fight for. Everything that we’ve done, the mood settings, taking Quill from one area to the next and letting you rest and take in this environment… It’s all supposed to exaggerate and accentuate that mood that you’re feeling. It all ties back into how you are connecting with Quill and her world.”
SAME QUESTION EIGHT WAYS Collaboration was key during the development of
Now that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. As much as the ‘500 hour video game’ might be maligned in certain Twitter circles, these titles have their place and there’s clearly a market that’s hungry to get the most bang for their buck – a game that will keep them going until the next year’s instalment. With that said, it’s always refreshing to find titles that take a different approach. Games that present you with beautiful open worlds, with maps unblemished by a sea of minigames and side activities, and instead invite you to explore at your own pace – and to end your journey whenever you please.
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Gregorios Kythreotis, Shedworks
One such game is the gorgeous Sable, from developer Shedworks. While the player does work within a specific narrative framework – stepping into the shoes of the eponymous protagonist as she sets out on a journey to find her place in the world – their adventures are their own to direct. Once Sable climbs onto her hoverbike, the world is
he open world genre, particularly the triple-A titles that dominate the space, often feel like celebrations of excess.
Moss, not just within the team itself, but with the help of external playtesters. People were often brought in to feedback on the game and asked questions about their experience – even if most of these questions were actually very similar. “External playtests were mostly about ‘Okay, how do people feel when they play? Do they like it or not like it?’,” Alderson explains. “At the end of playtest we would ask the same question eight different ways. The question is really ‘What didn’t you like?’, but we would ask it differently: ‘What pulled you out of the experience? What took you out of the headset? If there’s one thing you could change what would it be? If you had two weeks to finish the game, what would be the thing that you’d fix?’ “Those help bring a playtester into their comfort zone, because no one wants to play something that people put
hers to explore she pleases. And when the player feels their journey is complete, whenever that might be, they simply need to return back to their home camp and let the end credits roll. The result is a game centred around a genuine thrill of exploration. Not visiting far-flung corners of the map because a waypoint pushed you towards it, but out of a genuine desire to discover more of this world. Sable’s world is a lonely, sparse one – and yet often feels more welcoming and alive than many of its triple-A counterparts.
PASSION PROJECT It’s a remarkable achievement for any studio, no less than for a small team who, as their name might suggest, first began in a garden shed in North London. Founded by Daniel Fineberg and Gregorios Kythreotis, Shedworks initially began life working on mobile titles and on contract work, but the pair soon found a passion project that was too tempting to resist.
“Our first inspiration was The Force Awakens,” notes Kythreotis. “We were looking at that and
66 | MCV/DEVELOP February 2022
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