Rundown:
- Deck Nine Games could possibly be working on another Life is Strange instalment, according to a few recent job listings.
- Currently, the company is hiring for an “unannounced AAA single-player adventure game.”
- This unannounced project will be based on Unreal Engine 4 and will feature “non-linear narrative systems” and “puzzle design.”
- This unannounced project will likely also feature ray tracing and will be released on PC and console platforms.
When it comes to episodic graphic adventure video games, Life is Strange is one of the first names to come to mind. Released in January 2015 by DON’T NOD Entertainment and SQUARE ENIX, it’s one of the most critically and commercially well-received video games in the entire video game industry, receiving many awards from the likes of Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards. Since the release of the first instalment, SQUARE ENIX has released three more instalments to the franchise, with the most recent one being Life is Strange Remastered Collection, which was released in February.
While Life is Strange was developed by DON’T NOD Entertainment, all the instalments released in the franchise after that were developed primarily by Deck Nine Games, a video game developer based in the United States. In December 2021, the company, in collaboration with Telltale Games, unveiled The Expanse: A Telltale Series, a story-driven interactive game that’s set prior to the events of the science-fiction television series on Amazon Prime Video, The Expanse. While the video game is scheduled to be released sometime in 2023, it seems that Deck Nine Games has another unannounced project currently in development and this one may just be another instalment to the Life is Strange franchise.
Earlier today, we came across a few recent job listings on the Deck Nine Games website, one of which is for the Lead Programmer position, the description for which reads, “Deck Nine Games is looking to hire a Lead Programmer to lead a team as we develop an unannounced AAA single-player adventure game.” From this, it’s clear that there is an unannounced AAA single-player adventure project currently in development by Deck Nine Games.
Furthermore, one of the required experiences from the candidate mentions, “Unreal Engine experience,” suggesting that this unannounced project will be based on Unreal Engine, the same as Life Is Strange: True Colors. In addition to this, this unannounced project will also be released on all current-generation consoles as another one of the required experiences from the candidate mentions, “Experience on at least one current gen console.”
While these details aren’t sufficient to conclude whether this unannounced project is another Life is Strange instalment or not, another recent job listing for the Lead Game Designer position gives out another important detail about this unannounced project, as the description for it reads, “Deck Nine Games is currently hiring a remote Lead Game Designer for our next narrative adventure game.” It continues, “Could this be you? Well, do you love single player games? Do you enjoy crafting narrow but deep experiences? Can you love a game equally for its gameplay and its characters, its themes and its story arcs?” Hence, it seems like this unannounced project will also focus primarily on the narrative experience, which is the essence of the Life is Strange franchise.
Furthermore, one of the responsibilities of the candidate mentions, “Get your hands dirty in the prototypes, game levels, and game systems,” which means that there will be certain levels to this unannounced project, possibly in the form of chapters, as is the case with the Life is Strange franchise. Additionally, this unannounced project will also likely be released on PC besides consoles as well, as one of the requirements from the candidate mentions, “Significant experience developing games for console or PC platforms.”
In addition to this, one of the pluses that the candidate could also have mentions, “An excellent understanding of non-linear narrative systems and structures.” This could possibly be the primary indication of this unannounced project being another Life is Strange instalment, as non-linear narrative systems include portraying events of a narrative out of chronological order, such as going back and forth between past and future events, which is one of the foremost attributes of the Life is Strange franchise. Furthermore, another one of the pluses that the candidate could also have mentions, “Puzzle design experience, especially in the context of narrative adventures,” which is also an important element of all Life is Strange instalments.
In addition to all this, it seems like this unannounced project will also feature combat, as the description for another recent job listing concerning the Senior Animator position reads, “Deck Nine Games is looking for a creative and talented Senior Animator for an unannounced AAA adventure game. You will focus on gameplay animation (i.e., locomotion, combat, etc.) as well as adding nuance, intent, and emotion with facial motion capture data.” Combat is also another recognised feature in the Life is Strange franchise, which doesn’t seem to be the case with The Expanse: A Telltale Series, further indicating that this may, in fact, be another Life is Strange instalment currently under development by Deck Nine Games.
Lastly, another recent job listing on the Deck Nine Games website is for the Graphics Programmer position, the description for which reads, “Deck Nine Games is looking to hire a Graphics Programmers to help define and deliver the look of a AAA single-player adventure game.” Based on one of the pluses that the candidate could have, which mentions, “Raytracing experience,” it seems like this unannounced project may also feature ray-tracing, as was also the case with Life is Strange: True Colors. Unfortunately, this unannounced project won’t be based on Unreal Engine 5, but rather still Unreal Engine 4, as another one of the pluses that the candidate could have mentions, “Unreal 4 experience.”
In an interview with Rock Paper Shotgun in August, Phillip Lawrence, the Senior Narrative Designer at SQUARE ENIX, admitted that the development team would likely not return to the episodic model of the Life is Strange franchise after the release of Life is Strange: True Colors. “I can’t imagine we’d go back to the episodic model,” he said. While it’s unclear what the future has for the Life is Strange franchise, the episodic model will probably not be a part of it all, and that is reflected in the details of this unannounced project.
At the moment, it’s uncertain whether this unannounced project is, in fact, another Life is Strange instalment or not. It’s worth mentioning that a similar job listing for an “unannounced AAA single-player adventure game” appeared on the Deck Nine Games website back in February 2021. However, the rumours were soon dismissed with the announcement of Life is Strange: True Colors in March 2021. While not many details about this unannounced project were mentioned back then, they are now, and they all possibly indicate another Life is Strange instalment.
What do you think about this? Do tell us your opinions in the comments below!
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