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    Neva’s lead producer on crafting a Ghibli-inspired world that feels “more alive” than Grease

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    By on THENEXUS
    Neva’s lead producer on crafting a Ghibli-inspired world that feels “more alive” than Grease

    Neva is a gorgeous new adventure game that tells the tale of Alba and her titular pet wolf as they embark on a journey through a cursed, rapidly decaying world. The title comes from Nomada Studios, who previously released the critically acclaimed Gris In 2018, and indie pet publisher Devolver Digital. Instead of focusing on grief like his predecessor, Neva is all about the parental relationship between the duo and the meaningful bond they share.

    This time, instead of Alba gaining more abilities over time than the protagonist of Gris, Neva is the character that evolves during the game as they grow older. The title also incorporates combat, pitting the pair against mysterious dark entities that lurk in the desert. Although players do not control Neva directly, they have many ways to interact with the wolf, such as calling her, petting her and incorporating her more and more into fights as the game progresses through its roughly four-hour story.

    Screen Rant Interviewed the game’s lead producer Roger Mendoza to discuss the game’s unique art style, lessons learned from GrisAnd what players can expect from Neva.

    Developers knew they were going to “do something different” with Neva

    The title’s design inspirations and gameplay evolution

    Screen Rant: First, I’d like to talk more about the art style of NevaBecause it’s really interesting how it’s both similar in a few ways to the style of GrisBut it also carves its own identity with a more painterly style. Can you talk about the aesthetic vision for the game?

    Roger Mendoza: We knew we wanted to do something different; We don’t want to be the watercolor guys. We knew we wanted the art style to be different, but still recognizable. I think the biggest change for this game is that we don’t have a line, like a contour, for everything. Greece, everything has a black edge, and here everything is more colorful.

    Although the fact that, of course, Conrad [Roset] Is still the director and the animation team is still the same, it still has that recognizable Gris vibe. When he talked to Conrad about inspirations, he always mentioned Monet, the impressionist painter, and a Japanese painter named Masayoshi, who also works a lot with flake colors and things like that. This is where most of the ideas came from the game – and Ghibli, of course.

    What would you say are the biggest differences between Gris And Neva When it comes to gameplay? How has your approach to platforming changed since Gris?

    Roger Mendoza: This game has more depth in terms of gameplay. Not only added combat, which is already a big change from Greece, but also the skills of the character has more variety and more options. We wanted to expand a little on the idea of ​​grease. I would say it’s a more complex game, but we still have the story mode, which you can switch to at any time. Which has gameplay help, and you can not die, and makes the combat easier. We know that many of our players who come from Greece are maybe not someone who plays a lot of games.And we also want them to enjoy the game.

    I would like to hear a little more about how the main character’s gameplay and skills evolve in this game. Is it similar to Gris Where she’s getting more abilities with time?

    Roger Mendoza: No, something we put a lot of focus on is that it’s not the character that evolves, it’s actually Neva, the wolf. All the new gameplay opportunities come from Neva and not from the character, because We want the idea that the wolf grows with you when you start to protect you, and she ends up protecting you. That’s why all the gameplay opportunities come from the wolf, the character pretty much stays the same during the whole game.

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    Was a conservative effort to put Neva Apart from Gris In no major way, or were you not really focusing on the comparisons and just focusing on what your vision for the new game was?

    Roger Mendoza: We didn’t have that much in mind, at least in the beginning. I know I felt a bit of pressure when thinking about the next game after Gris, because it was really good. But no, at the end of the day, We decided we wanted to make a game that we like to playAnd we just went along with that.

    I know a lot of people are going to compare it. As I said, the animation style is very unique, the music is also from the same team. We do a lot of things from Greece, but we still try to make it stand out.

    Are there any particularly big ways that the game has changed from the original idea you had to now, which is the final product?

    Roger Mendoza: Yes, the initial thought when Conrad told us that he wanted to go again with two characters, and more on the programming and production side, and I remember saying, “Conrad, it’s good, but no animals, no Nothing.. please don’t. [Laughs] I’ve worked with these types of characters before, and they’re a pain in terms of animations and slopes and things like that, but He made a really good case about what it takes to be an animal, a wolf, and that we can do it. The fact that she is also a bit magical, also played in our favor, and we all agreed in the end, I think it was good. I’m glad we actually took the risk to go for it.

    Are there things you’ve been wanting to try? Gris That didn’t work for whatever reason, which you were able to incorporate into Neva Instead?

    Roger Mendoza: In terms of art, I would say production for sure. We learned a lot of grit in terms of how to build scenarios and backgrounds and stuff like that, and Now the whole world feels more alive and dense. Grease, for technical reasons, was a point that we had to stop, and now we decided to first divide the game into chapters, which allowed to have more art and more assets in each chapter.

    Grease was pretty much a linear experience. There were no loading zones, which was cool, but it was also quite painful on the technical side. Since we have Neva growing up, the fact that we have capitals played in our favor, both [on the] Technical side and also on the narrative side, to allow us to do all the jobs and make our growth.

    Gris set high expectations for Nomada Studios’ next venture

    Lessons learned from Greece and compare the title to Neva


    Neva and Alba run through a very pink field of flowers in the forest with very tall trees around them.

    Go even further back to the prison of GrisCan you talk a little bit about when that first started and where the initial idea came from?

    Roger Mendoza: Conrad had the idea a long time ago to do a game that starts in pencil, no colors; The more you play, the more colors you have there. One day at a party, we didn’t know each other anymore and we met next to each other. I was a programmer, he was an artist; He didn’t know how to program, I don’t know how to draw. We just started talking, and we thought it would be a cool idea.

    In the beginning, it was supposed to be like an infinite runner for mobile, but the more we started working on it, the more we realized that it needed to be seen on a bigger screen. We just evolved the design ourselves and ended up with what Gris was.

    There are many reasons why Gris is beloved, but part of it is his Depiction of mental health and grief. Can you talk a little about the process of bringing this difficult and intimate subject into the game?

    Roger Mendoza: Yes, that was one of the ideas we had in the beginning, to tie it in with the color. The fact that you can go through the process and the more color you have or when you lose the color, there was a way to connect it. We talked to a psychologist who is actually also a designerAnd he gave us advice on how to deal with this. He worked with us for, I think it was three months, and he did a little bit of consulting to make sure we tackled the subject properly.

    Do you incorporate any of the similar themes from Gris in Neva On this way?

    Roger Mendoza: It’s more focused on parents, I would say, is the core thing of the game. It has a bit more of a direct narrative, It is a little less open to interpretation. Although there is some stuff, especially in the world itself and the enemies and what happens around it, but I would not say it goes in the same direction as Greece. It’s a little different. This one talks more about, as said, parents, caring about someone.

    Especially if you have had a child, I think you will make a very different connection than the one you made with Gris. I think people will enjoy it. – Roger Mendoza

    What were the biggest difficulties Gris When it came to making Neva? Were there any particular things the team struggled with?

    Roger Mendoza: I guess the first struggle was thinking about how grease is really good, and people’s expectations. We took a little time; After Gris, we were really burnt out and needed a break. During the break we started thinking about what would be next, and this was the first struggle we found was: Can we live up to people’s expectations? At the end of the day, the conclusion is not to worry about it. Hopefully people will enjoy the game, of course, but let’s make a game we’re proud of.

    The second was an introduction to combat, because we never worked on that before. We hired a combat designer to help us with this in the beginning, in the early conception. It was especially difficult to find the balance between combat, but forming narrative sequences to make sure the pacing was good and it wasn’t super oppressive with combat all the time. That was something we learned a little bit from Gris as well, the timings and pacing of things. Since combat was a big, important part of the game, maybe in the beginning we put too much focus on it, so we have to keep removing, removing, removing until I hope we struck the right balance.

    What would you say would probably surprise fans of Gris The most about NevaWhen they come in?

    Roger Mendoza: The fact that there are two characters. I think that Gris felt lonely at times, and it was intended, and now, from the beginning, she already has two characters. I think you are making a connection, but a different one. With Gris, you kind of projected yourself into the character.

    You connect with the animal; Especially if you have had a child, I think you will make a very different connection than the one you made with Gris. I think people will enjoy it.


    Neva and Alba running through a dark cave with gray and blue tones, a crescent moon is seen in the sky behind them.

    You’ve talked a little bit about art style inspirations, but do you find yourself, in terms of other games, taking inspiration from any other media like that?

    Roger Mendoza: For sure. Last Guardian, ICO, two games from GenDesign. We love Last Guardian and ICO, both in a way are great inspiration for us. We took a lot of ideas from Gris, obviously, and from Ori and the Blind Forest, how they play with combat.

    In terms of the overall size and scale of the game and the undertaking of the project, as has Gris And Neva So compare one to the other?

    Roger Mendoza: Well, Neva I would say is about twice the size of Greece. I think It takes about four and a half, five hours to complete. The big difference, especially with grease, I think it was 18 months of production. There were three factors. One of us ran out of money and we had a lot of turnover, the programmers. Also, we were younger, and I didn’t have a child, so I couldn’t do transition anymore. Most of our programmers are also older now, so we don’t ask them because we know they can’t do it.

    I think that was one of the biggest differences, that we took a little more time, which was in many ways thanks to the Devolver. We had to delay the game several times to be more polished, and they never gave us any problem. They just said, “Be happy, don’t stress too much and just finish the game,” And we must be grateful for what with them, for sure.

    In terms of the new things you’ve tried Neva That players will gain experience, is there anything in particular you’re excited to see players react to or that you’re just particularly proud of this game?

    Roger Mendoza: I think the whole story of the game is interesting. It’s very cool. I won’t spoil the ending of course, but it’s something I’m looking forward to when the game releases, Start opening Twitch and YouTube and see how people react to the whole story and how they feel about the ending.

    The whole Neva story, it’s something I’m really looking forward to. We will see. I’m sure there will be people who connect more and people who connect less; This also happened with Greece. A lot of people don’t like it and that’s perfectly fine, but I’m curious to see how people take it.

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