n_theodor

As far as the narrative is concerned, I try to be mindful of generalizations and universalisms because they inevitably echo dominant, unexamined assumptions that centre the West. My own background is non-Western (and diverse on a number of other axes), so I think I'm bringing a perspective and cultural point-of-view that goes beyond mainstream Anglophone fantasy. So I think the story you'll find in the game is familiar enough to Western players to be approachable, but at the same time it is aware of and welcoming to people from the margins and from positions that have been historically underrepresented in Western media.

In addition to what Hazel said, each time you play the game, you get to choose a Driver, i.e. what is the main thing that drives you (do you strive for perfection? Is your main motivation caring for others? Are you work-oriented? etc). As people can have multiple Drivers, or be driven by different things at different points in their lives, this adds another layer of replayability to the game.

Hmmm, maybe my cat? He’s bound to ask for treats eventually, and you can’t get those in a dream world.

I'm glad you've enjoyed it!

Balancing act is the right world for it; our team works very closely to weave together narrative (a story that makes sense and can be followed from beginning to end), the self-reflection tools (carefully tailored to fit the game environment), and game mechanics (to make this an engaging and thrilling experience with game-like stakes). For my part, what I find particularly interesting is discovering the ways in which narrative themes echo and magnify the self-reflection and vice versa. I think the changing environments you'll find in the game (without spoiling anything... you start from a frozen world that will have changed drastically by the time you finish) really drive home the points we're trying to make, both on a metaphorical and a sensory level.

I can rarely trace the influences and inspirations behind a particular piece of writing; I think everything I've encountered and absorbed feeds everything I'm working on. If I tried to find the affinities and genealogies behind my writing in Betwixt in particular I'd say... the strange creatures of Jeff Vandermeer and China Miéville, the visuals of Shaun Tan and Studio Ghibli, the understated relationships of Kuzhali Manickavel, the rhythms of Yoon Ha Lee, the subtle darkness of Victor Lavalle and Helen Oyeyemi. There are so many more I could mention.