Revealed for the primary time as we speak throughout Xbox Video games Showcase 2023, South of Midnight is a brand new third-person action-adventure set in a magic realist model of the American South. Developed by Compulsion Video games (Distinction, We Comfortable Few) – and coming to Xbox Sequence X|S (with Xbox Recreation Cross), Home windows PC (with PC Recreation Cross), and Steam – the reveal trailer gave us a way of the place, the tone, the heroine, Hazel, and her mission to subdue supernatural creatures which have spilled into the world – however you continue to wish to know extra, proper?
Concern not! I used to be fortunate sufficient to take a seat down with inventive director David Sears and narrative producer and inventive specialist James Lewis to speak by, a lot, way more about this mysterious, beguiling new recreation. From the story and inspirations, to its magic and monsters, right here’s our unique South of Midnight interview:
The Beginnings
South of Midnight’s trailer provides a way of its world and story, however there’s extra to be taught. The sport world will stretch throughout a fictionalized swathe of the U.S. – as Sears places it, it’s impressed by “the extra fascinating geological, topographical, cultural, societal, historic areas of the South.”
Whereas the sport’s set in a model of the trendy world, the settings you journey by might be virtually completely rural, reflecting the locations in between main city areas, and the sense of marvel and hazard they’ll maintain. “It springs from the idea that monsters are actual – you simply want to leap over the yard fence,” says Sears. “The farther you get away from the influences of civilization, the extra magical the world turns into.”
That world will absorb influences from two key genres of literature and flicks which can be much less seen in video games: “Magic Realism is, is among the calling playing cards of Southern Gothic,” says Sears. “It’s a licence to truly put magic within the trendy world, and to have creatures there which can be simply accepted. We’re not going to provide you an data dump within the recreation, and that’s within the spirit of Magic Realism, proper? We’re explaining sufficient that you’ll simply settle for it.”
“I felt just like the South was underrepresented, and it deserves an trustworthy love letter – it deserves its time within the highlight.”
From the work of William Faulkner to “Night time of the Hunter”, the crew is crafting a recreation world that goals to really feel new to gamers, and an trustworthy reflection of the real-life area by a Gothic lens. “South of Midnight’s world is certainly a magically actual place, very like the precise South,” Sears continues. “The South is a sultry, attractive, mysterious place that has not been in loads of video games. Any quantity of wandering within the nation goes to steer you to take a position that there may be greater than what you’ve been led to consider. I felt just like the South was underrepresented, and it deserves an trustworthy love letter – it deserves its time within the highlight.”
Hazel is ready off on a quest to restore a damaged world, most significantly by taking over legendary creatures – all based mostly on real-life folklore from the area the sport takes its inspirations from. And it’s going to get bizarre.
“The sport is loosely impressed by me tramping round forgotten farms and deserted locations in Mississippi,” explains Sears. “I discovered artefacts from the Civil Struggle, by the Melancholy, and extra trendy weirdness. Like a tree with doll heads nailed throughout it. Why was that there in the course of nowhere? Somebody went to loads of hassle to cart all these doll heads out into the center of the woods, after which nail them to this tree. That’s the sort of stuff that you could anticipate from our world in South of Midnight. It’s based mostly on the true world – however generally I believe the true world is definitely weirder than we’d prefer to assume.”
All of this combines to make for a setting and tone that video games haven’t represented all too usually – and it’s seen by the eyes of a equally singular character.
The Heroine
Hazel’s trailer look makes clear that she’s our lead – outwardly assured, wisecracking, and actively on the hunt. Setting off from the fictional city of Prospero – a city left behind by wider society – she’s taken up the mantle of protector.
However key to Compulsion’s work wasn’t in simply making a clean canvas to imprint on – Hazel has been designed to really feel like an actual one that we occur to be accompanying on her journey. After we meet her, Hazel’s grown up by a posh relationship along with her mom, a number of failures, and societal injustice. She’s sarcastic and disillusioned, and the humor we see within the trailer may be as a lot a defence mechanism as it’s real. And in placing a Black lady in a central function, Compulsion additionally knew it had a accountability to signify her appropriately.
“I believe seeing a Black lady as a protagonist, sadly, continues to be fairly distinctive for video video games, particularly of this scope,” says Lewis. “I believe a part of the difficulty of getting restricted illustration is that it might probably put loads of strain on anyone character to signify each side of a tradition.
“To inform the story of a Black lady on this setting creates one other stage of complexity that the crew needed to meet with curiosity and empathy. The strategy to this needed to begin by having simply correct illustration on the crew, making certain that we had Black ladies and girls of color on our narrative crew is essential for understanding and writing Hazel’s voice.”
“I believe the explanation Hazel stands out for me is she has most of the similar points as actual folks have, which is refreshing as she’s attempting to be taught to be a hero,” provides Sears. “However she’s unstoppable. And it’s about her discovering her footing and going out into the world to make it a greater place.”
The result’s a personality Compulsion feels is fully-formed – not an avatar, however a human being we’ll find out about and love over the course of the sport. However, after all, Hazel isn’t solely acquainted to us, for one key purpose…
“Weavers restore tears within the grand tapestry that makes up each individual, place and factor in existence.”
The Magic
On the finish of the trailer, we see Hazel wielding magic – a really particular kind of magic referred to as Weaving. Used each for fight and traversal, Weaving would be the bedrock of your interactions in South of Midnight – and it sounds very totally different out of your normal online game “fireball within the hand” strategy.
“It’s stuffed with fractal geometry expressed as knitting and doilies – the whole lot is themed after textiles,” explains Sears. “Primarily, you are taking the strands that make up the universe and weave or spin them into helpful kinds for the participant to make use of.
“Weavers are born with the flexibility to see deeper and see the way in which the universe is absolutely constructed by these energized, semi-autonomous strands. The universe has intention, however generally it breaks down. And that’s why we now have Weavers – to restore tears within the grand tapestry that makes up each individual, place and factor in existence.” Successfully Hazel’s energy isn’t to easily destroy the monsters which have appeared on the earth, however to restore the tears on the earth itself which have allow them to spill by. And talking of these creatures…
“It was very liberating to work with present tales about creatures, however have zero eyewitness accounts and photographic proof.”
The Creatures
We by no means get a real glimpse at Hazel’s quarry within the trailer, however we see from her personal drawing that it’s the Altamaha-ha, which – like all of South of Midnight’s supernatural threats – relies on real-life folklore from the Deep South. The wealthy cultural mixture of the world, together with European, Caribbean and African storytelling has led to a singular oral custom that the sport attracts on for its uncommon menagerie. Once more, that is based mostly on Sears’ personal childhood within the space.
“It was very liberating to work with present tales about creatures, however have zero eyewitness accounts and photographic proof. My grandmother used to inform actually brief tales about a few of these creatures, largely lowered to the extent of superstition. Like, ‘We paint our porch ceilings blue, so the Haints [evil spirits from Southern folktales] can’t are available in.’ And that is basically about as a lot as we find out about Haints.”
That openness to interpretation let Compulsion run wild with concepts for the sport’s enemies. “So, for Haints, I’m extrapolating from that, ‘OK, to allow them to’t are available in as a result of they see blue and so they don’t wish to drown as a result of they assume it’s a river. So that they have very poor eyesight, and that explains a few of their habits. So it’s simply this bizarre cultural archaeology and reverse engineering to create tales and biologies for creatures.”
However true monsters aren’t the one factor we’ll discover in South of Midnight’s world. Lewis even suggests they may not even be the most important downside for Hazel: “I believe as we discover these totally different creatures, and the way our protagonist views these creatures, we are able to juxtapose that with among the different characters within the recreation. ‘The place do the threats actually lie?’ is simply one thing for our protagonist to determine.”
The trailer might need given us a clue there, too.
The Mysterious Shakin’ Bones
Earlier than we even see Hazel, we meet Shakin’ Bones. Not like the unseen monster of the trailer, this appears to be a personality with autonomy and significance to Hazel’s journey. And he doesn’t essentially appear to be on her facet.
“He’s an Archon, or an icon of the leisure archetype,” explains Sears. “He’s impressed by the legend of Robert Johnson, the person who presumably made a take care of the Satan on the crossroads – which we went and visited as a part of the analysis for this challenge. He’s an immortal determine, roughly analogous to the ferry boatman in Greek mythology, Charon, as he escorts you from the true world right into a extra fabulistic place.”
The concept of Archons – a Gnostic time period used for the builders of the universe – implies that we’ll meet extra of those immortal figures on our journey, every with their very own explicit space of affect. As a part of that place as an leisure Archon, Shakin’ Bones provides us a rendition of blues normal ‘Loss of life Don’t Have No Mercy’ – initially written and carried out by the legendary Rev. Gary Davis – and, fairly other than setting an ominous tone, it additionally exhibits slightly of how essential music might be in South of Midnight.
“That is the primary recreation I’ve gotten to work on the place we’re treating the music design as significantly as the sport design and the artwork path.”
The Music
“Music is large for us,” enthuses Sears. “Our composer, very like an artwork director, has a unifying idea artwork for key areas within the recreation. We’ve written and carried out idea songs that signify every of the totally different creature kingdoms within the recreation. I’ve really been very busy writing homicide ballads and actually unhappy lullabies and all types of issues to assist that effort. Music is a driving pressure for us. And it’s an echo of what we’re doing with the magic system – the musicality that’s concerned in traversal and fight is fairly obvious.”
Diegetic music will even cement the a part of the world we’re in. “There are specific sounds that we instantly affiliate with the American South; blues, or gospel, or folks music. It’s laborious to have a recreation set on this area of the world with out, you understand, appreciating sort of that wealthy legacy of music.”
Sears provides: “The complete map is a compilation of all essentially the most fascinating or distinctive locations within the south. We’re additionally representing the music that approach. That is the primary recreation I’ve gotten to work on the place we’re treating the music design as significantly as the sport design and the artwork path.”
That have to be fairly critical, as a result of the artwork path is hardly easy, both.
The Look
South of Midnight’s trailer has an arresting look – all elongated character silhouettes, painterly textures, and wealthy, soupy lighting. Referencing the likes of “Coraline” and the work of Rankin/Bass, Sears says, “the entire artwork model could be very handcrafted, very like the units and the maquettes which can be constructed for stop-motion.
“If you happen to look carefully you may discover that the fibers of a personality’s garments are a bit coarser and looser than regular. It’s as if a the clothes was plucked out of a miniature world and worn by a a lot bigger individual. That’s only one instance, after all. Total, we’re going for a sense of handcrafted the whole lot relatively than recreating photorealistic objects, which helps create the sensation of being in a folktale.”
It’s all a part of Compulsion’s personal studio DNA: “We’re at all times on the lookout for artwork path that builds or reinforces the id of the sport,” continues Sears. “Whereas this may be fascinating to avid gamers who play the sport, it’s equally fascinating to us as we work on the sport. The method is extra in regards to the interpretation of objects, characters, textures, and many others. into a method relatively than attempting to duplicate actual world variations of these issues.”
As a lot as the rest, that capability to experiment with the anticipated speaks to the liberty Compulsion has needed to make the sport it got down to – a private, generally narratively difficult, deeply uncommon expertise.
The Creation
“Working with Microsoft has been wonderful,” says Sears, after I ask him what it’s been like on Compulsion’s first full journey as an Xbox Recreation Studio. “It’s one of many uncommon occasions I’ve made a recreation with out worry. For me, this recreation was very private, so I didn’t wish to construct it with somebody who doesn’t perceive what we’re attempting to do or wouldn’t be supportive. Xbox was very reassuring and really supportive. It’s fairly uncommon to get that in recreation growth.”
The collaboration with Xbox has run deep – to be able to current the world of the South and its folks with the precise stage of authenticity, Compulsion leveraged Xbox’s Consumer Analysis Group and the Black Worker Useful resource Group. Even Lewis’ function on the sport is a collaboration – his day job entails operating Xbox’s Developer Acceleration Program, which was introduced earlier this 12 months. The crew additionally pulled from outdoors Xbox, using consulting group Candy Child to assist craft the variety of voices wanted for a recreation like this.
“It’s essential that we simply empower the various views that we now have on the broader crew,” says Lewis of that effort for trustworthy illustration. “To be trustworthy, does this make for some uncomfortable conversations? Sure. And that’s a part of what we signed up for after we selected to share Hazel’s story, however the work of authenticity additionally goes past the crew and our personal analysis and due diligence. You don’t really need to be from that space to attest that the American south has a historical past that makes it troublesome to make use of as a setting with out its troublesome previous, which we are able to nonetheless really feel the affect of as we speak.”
“There are individuals who could have loved the whole lot else within the Xbox portfolio, however they haven’t met a personality like Hazel in something that we put out.”
However there’s a high quality stability between representing a spot and its folks, and taking over the broader cultural milieu that surrounds them. “On the finish of the day, we would like Hazel’s story to shine by. Hazel’s job is to not repair racism or the South’s troubled historical past,” says Lewis of the sport’s intent. “These challenges are usually not honest to her. Her job is to be seen as an individual coming of age in a scary and exquisite world. Making her an genuine individual that individuals like my spouse, my daughter, my mom – who all appear to be Hazel – will hopefully recognise and relate to.”
In essence, Compulsion’s originality, and its due diligence on bringing in different views and voices is what’s going to assist South of Midnight stand alone.
“I really feel like that is the kind of recreation that we’d like in our portfolio,” says Lewis. I really feel like followers of Xbox need to see this recreation – there are individuals who could have loved the whole lot else within the portfolio, however they haven’t met a personality like Hazel in something that we put out. For Compulsion to be keen to deliver that kind of expertise, I believe it’s a much-needed a part of what we ship to Xbox followers. I’m tremendous excited.”