Split Fiction: Josef Fares says studios should 'stick to vision'

Published 4 days ago• 2 minute read

, which specialises in "interactive horror movies", made couch co-op a standard mode in its titles after publishing its breakout hit Until Dawn.

They found players were going through the single-player title in groups, passing the pad between them as the narrative - which changes based on choices made in-game - progressed.

Competitive social play is also popular. Some of the best-selling games on Nintendo's Switch system - Mario Kart 8 and the Mario Party series - are frequently played with mates around the TV.

Split Fiction follows the story of authors Zoe and Mio, trapped in simulations of their own fantastical worlds

EA/Hazelight Studios Screenshot shows two characters in medieval questing dress in a wooded clearing. A small dragon sits on each woman's shoulder. In the foreground, the dragon peeks its head around to the front of the woman's face and she responds with a nervous, quizzical look. — Split Fiction follows the story of authors Zoe and Mio, trapped in simulations of their own fantastical worlds

In recent years, developers have tried to replicate the success of games like Fortnite - so-called "live service" titles that constantly update and retain players for months, if not years.

If you get it right, the potential financial rewards are huge, but cutting through in a saturated market is difficult.

And as the video games industry continues to deal with mass layoffs, studio closures and decreased spending on premium games, not many publishers want to take a risk.

Josef believes there may be too much focus on the bottom line.

"Publishers need to step up and really trust the developer," he says.

"But also developers, I think, need to have a clear vision and stick with what they believe in."

He does admit, though, that not everyone has his studio's history, nor his personality.

"I am a - what do you say? - a different breed," says Josef.

When he was directing his first game, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons, feedback from some early playtests was "super bad".

"I'm like, they're wrong, they're wrong, because I know it's great," he says.

He's spoken before about resisting pressure to put micro-transactions - in-game purchases - in his projects, and is uncompromising despite his studio's close relationship with EA, one of the world's biggest publishers.

"I don't expect everybody to be like me, but that's me with my extreme confidence," he says.

"What we do, I love it.

"We're sticking to the vision of what we believe in. Stick with the vision, go with it.

"And I think if you really love what you do people love it as well."