“The picture that you have of somebody is never accurate.”
“Could I learn to be a better me?
I guess I’ll have to try.”
“I’m really really glad we did it,” says Lobanov.
I’m really glad that we got it in."
Lobanov has become known for developing games that focus on player creativity.
His previous game Wandersong allows for improvisation with its singing mechanic that’s used to solve puzzles.
And while Chicory has been celebrated for its touching story, gameplay was its foundation.
Just trying to make a fun drawing adventure."
So what is it about player creativity in gaming that’s so fascinating?
“It’s really fun to make stuff,” he says.
“I’m really passionate about it.
I make games because I love it a lot.
I don’t know that I set up a life goal to make games about this stuff.
It seems obvious to me it would be a really fun basis for a video game.”
But Lobanov says that game wasnt an inspiration - actually it was the opposite.
I wanted to do a game where the drawing modeisthe game."
“I always thought about how a little kid would feel playing it,” says Lobanov.
“It was tough to manage.
We put effort into trying to make it all in language that was plain and understandable.”
He cites the likes of Steven Universe and Over the Garden Wall as key inspirations.
That was my goal."
The titular Chicory, who suffers a depressive episode, was a tricky character to get right.
In early builds of the game, some playtesters thought she was a villain.
“We wanted her to be a character that people would like,” says Lobanov.
“But it’s actually really hard.
Her experiences with OCD also drew parallels with the character Chicory, Dean-Jones says.
“I realised that I needed to talk to people about it,” she explains.
I think it’s very healthy to talk about it in that kind of environment.”
But what does the game mean for Lobanov and Dean-Jones?
“I relate probably most to the [player] character,” says Lobanov.
“Being somebody who struggles with inadequacy and is surrounded by people who are more talented.
And also trying to learn how to be a good friend to somebody who’s having a hard time.
Those are all things that were important to me with the game.”
Chicory teaches the player that through creativity we can all learn to be better.
We just have to try.
