Death, and dealing with it on a “human” level, is a challenging thing to convey in gaming. We’re far more used to our protagonists grabbing 1Up mushrooms and respawning than we are experiencing what it feels like to die, along with the reverberating outcome of our deaths. In order to more accurately convey death, developers need to include it as part of the fundamentals of a game’s design.
Ethereal, developed by Thomas Finch, Dmitry Petyakin and Dmitry Karimov, takes on death as its core focus, and aims to deliver an experience of learning, amid its unique take on puzzle-solving and platforming.
“My father passed away about 7 years ago. Its been a long time, so although I still miss him the mourning period is long-passed,” Finch, the game’s Designer, says of his father Mark, who’s death inspired the game. “It’s been an interesting experience though, I think that what we’re creating is something my dad would really be proud of and that is definitely a little therapeutic.”
His father, who passed away of emphysema and other complications, was profoundly warm-hearted to others. Finch focused on memories of his father to create the basis for the game, in which a recently deceased soul deals with his own death and life. “All of the memories in the game are real memories and most of them are thngs I was already fully aware of. However, for some of them I never fully understood the impact it had on his life until now. It’s also given me a whole new level of respect for how much he didn’t take his troubles out on anyone else.” It’s a way for Finch to make the connections of his father’s life, and how those moments affected others around him.
The game itself is a puzzle-based platformer. “I feel that puzzle solving is a perfect gameplay focus for a game about unlocking and understanding the past,” Finch tells us. The protagonist unlocks seven abilities throughout its travels, based on seven specific memories, allowing it to solve puzzles that involve flipping gravity or frightening the living, all along the way helping other wayward departed souls to reach their destinations.
The game’s art and audio, created by Petyakin and Karimov, follow along, enjoying classic 16-bit visual design amid the mature themes. Going 2D especially enhances the experience. “I would definitely say it gives a huge artistic advantage, because we can create lovely parallax backgrounds and really show off the scene.”
All of this comes together as something that is deeply affecting Finch, and hopes others will feel the same. His sanity has had to stay in check a bit during its development, but it’s not anything he can’t handle. “I wouldn’t say it’s difficult but its definitely interesting. Maybe a little weird for me.”
Ethereal is up on Kickstarter until mid-November, with the development team hoping to raise $17,250 in funding.
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