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How the 38 Studios scandal shaped 'Life is Strange: Before the Storm'
Passion doesn't equate success. It's a hard lesson to learn in any industry -- no matter how dedicated your team is, regardless of how invested they are financially or emotionally, the entire business could burst into flames at any moment. Factors beyond anyone's control can shift the course of a project in an instant, or kill it on the spot. Few people know this reality better than the developers at 38 Studios. Founded in 2006 by former professional baseball player Curt Schilling, 38 Studios recruited top talent including fantasy author RA Salvatore and Spawn creator Todd McFarlane, with the goal of building MMORPGs -- huge, online games with dense ever-evolving worlds.
How 'Life is Strange' landed in Deck Nine's hands
Idol Minds had been making video games for 20 years when it rebranded as Deck Nine in May. It's not just the studio's name that changed -- its entire mission refocused. Instead of working on titles like Cool Boarders 2001 and Pain, developers built a suite of storytelling tools ideal for crafting narrative-driven games. Deck Nine hired experienced writers and shopped itself around to major publishers, offering to take on emotionally complex projects with branching dialogue paths. Game director Chris Floyd didn't expect much to come of these early meetings. "And it was Square [Enix] that came back to us and said, 'What do you think about making the next game in the Life is Strange franchise?'" Floyd said. As fans of the series, developers were floored. And they were in.
Setting fire to teenage souls in 'Life Is Strange: Before the Storm'
There are plenty of reasons to be wary of Life Is Strange: Before the Storm -- it's the prequel to a highly successful, influential series, but it isn't being handled by the same development team. This time around, Deck Nine is in charge of a three-episode arc featuring two of the most mysterious characters from the full series. Even the voice actor for Chloe, the game's main foil, has been swapped out for someone new. The circumstances are ripe for Before the Storm to become a flimsy parody of Life Is Strange, full of shallow awkwardness and referential quasi-humor. Luckily, that's not what happened. Before the Storm slides into the Life Is Strange library like butter, opening up storylines that were only hinted at in the full game. Part of this insight surely comes from Chloe's original voice actor, (the Emmy-winning) Ashly Burch, who stayed on as a writing consultant for the prequel. But just because Before the Storm isn't an embarrassment to the Life Is Strange brand doesn't mean it's perfect. Engadget associate writer Timothy J. Seppala and senior reporter Jessica Conditt found different delights and drags in the first episode of Before the Storm, largely influenced by their own experiences as teenagers. Spoilers for the entire Life is Strange series, including Before the Storm, reside below; you've been warned.
'Life is Strange: Before the Storm' is all about being a wiseass teen
Before she was the absurdly cool burnout who stole our hearts in Life is Strange, Chloe Price was just a normal, melodramatic teenage loner trying to cope without her best friend. Chloe doesn't have the ability to rewind time, like the original game's lead Max Caulfield. But, in the prequel Life is Strange: Before the Storm, she does have an impeccable wit and the courage to tell anyone off. As you'd expect, those are traits that can both help her and get her into more trouble.
'Life is Strange: Before the Storm' arrives August 31st
Life is Strange was an episodic hit across multiple platforms, and today during Microsoft's E3 2017 press conference we got a first look at its follow-up: Life is Strange: Before the Storm. This prequel is set three years before the original game and deals with the period when Max left Chloe and, (spoiler alert?) Rachel is there. The first of three episodes will debut August 31st, and since it wasn't announced as a console exclusive, we're guessing it will be available on more than just Xbox. Also, this game is not the sequel currently under development by Dontnod (along with Vampyr, and it's not here at E3), and is being handled by another team, Deck Nine.
