A violent incident forces Tchia to leave her home island for the first time, and the player will get to explore and discover the game world alongside her.Ĭonsidering Tchia has a special ability that allows her to inhabit any animal or object in the game to traverse the world and progress the story, can you share where this unique idea came from?Įarly on, we knew we wanted Tchia to have a special ability, but the mechanic evolved a lot during our prototyping phase, where we figured out what was fun. That said, the story of Tchia remains very human and intimate, dealing with themes such as family, childhood friendships, love, and growing up.

This means we took the liberty to include some magical and fantastical elements in the story.

Can you provide any additional insight into Tchia's story?Įven though the game is inspired by New Caledonia, Tchia takes place in a fictional world. People are curious to know more about the game's narrative premise. Moana is an obvious (though flattering!) comparison because it is pretty much the only mainstream work based on Polynesian/Melanesian culture hopefully, we get a lot more in the future! Zelda definitely shares some of that DNA and Breath of the Wild was a great confirmation for us that the formula could work in an open-world game. In game design terms, that translates to free-flowing traversal, and a very physical approach to every mechanic, giving the game that 'toy-box' feeling where everything moves and reacts to the player. More than any specific game or franchise, the goal is to emulate that feeling of being a child on an adventure. The main inspiration for Tchia is simply childhood. What would you say are some of its biggest influences? Tchia has been compared to Wind Waker, Breath of the Wild, Mario Odyssey, Moana, and more. I'm a big fan of Studio Ghibli's way of infusing their stories with Japanese culture while remaining universal. We want any player to be able to enjoy the game and story whether they are familiar with New Caledonia or not.

If that sparks some interest in players and makes them want to learn more about the country, that would be fantastic, of course, but it’s not what the game itself is about. I think we are very lucky to be able to tap into that incredibly rich well to build our game world and story. The co-founder shares how the team is creating the visual elements behind the game, designing Tchia’s world, and elaborates on what it has been like transitioning to Unreal.Ĭonsidering Tchia's setting is based on New Caledonia and injects the territory's folklore, music, sounds, and voice actors, how important was it for the studio to shed light on the region's culture with the project? To see how the highly-anticipated title is progressing, we interviewed studio creative director Phil Crifo. This is all wrapped up in a vivid and extremely lush art style coupled with a physics-driven sandbox that facilitates numerous locomotion methods including climbing, gliding, swimming, sailing, and more.Įpic Games was so impressed with Awaceb's early efforts that the team was awarded an Unreal Dev Grant. While the game incorporates magical and fictitious elements, Tchia boldly features New Caledonian culture, music, and voice talent that creates an authentic experience. What makes it really unique is that it offers a tropical open-world adventure based on the small island of New Caledonia, where the founders of indie studio Awaceb are from. The game drew comparisons to entertainment juggernauts like Zelda, Mario, and Moana. Tchia became a delightful surprise when it was revealed at The Game Awards 2020.

Tchia release date