After seeing the announcement trailer for Moss at E3 from Polyarc Games, I was already interested in the game. Then I saw a video where their main character Quill used sign language and I just had to know more about this PSVR title!
I reached out to Polyarc Games and was able to speak with both Rick and Chris from the development team. These guys are pretty great to talk to and showed serious pride in the work they were doing with their title! Check out what they had to say about Moss:
Interviewing Rick & Chris from Polyarc Games
What type of game is it going to be and what challenges will players be facing?
Rick - "It will be an Action, Adventure game where you play the role of the reader. Your objective is to help the small hero Quill on her adventure. You go with her through puzzles and fighting enemies to follow objects to help Quill's family members and uncover secrets in the world. We utilize interaction with the VR world by having objects in the world interactive with the player. It will also have platforming aspects in the game."
When did you decide to have your main character do sign language?
Rick – "The other week, on a Monday, I was on a play test which is when we watch someone play. When we were watching the player interacting with Quill, it got me thinking that it would be cool if we had the main character could do sign language to communicate with the players. So I went back to my desk to do some brainstorming and then posted the clip online to get some feedback. I wanted to find out if the performance would go well with our general audience. I was surprised at how much positive feedback we received!"
Will the sign language be significant to the gameplay or challenges?
Rick – "It's going to be used to just help communicate with the player. So if you are struggling with the puzzle she may have figured it out and try to help you to get it solved. She doesn't speak so she uses pantomime's and jesters, but now she also has sign language.
There are different ways she will interact with you and that is in the way we are using the sign language. It's just another form of communication and not something the player will need to know for the game and be successful."
Are there going to be other characters that are also using sign language?
Chris - "We are still toying with that idea of having some deaf characters in the game, but Quill is not deaf herself. We want to make sure the player understands what she is saying."
How long has it been in development?
Chris - "We are about a year into development and we plan on releasing the game this winter, so more than half way there."
If you haven't heard about Moss until this interview, check out the announcement trailer:
I think it is awesome that they are bringing their game to a bigger community by including the sign language and not leaving it all up to pantomime's to give hints and interaction with players! It opens the doors to a group of players that is otherwise not brought to light. Plus, who wouldn't want to help the cute little hero make their way home?
