ORI And The Will Of The Wisps

Moon Studios goes into all the Ori details of making a potential classic.

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Moon Studios makes a point of sweating the small stuff. Its debut, Ori And The Blind Forest, proved this admirably: every hand-drawn mushroom and tree unique, every button press delivering total control over the titular guardian spirit. Alongside a heart-wrenching story, the Metroidvania platformer’s detail-oriented approach made it a critical and commercial hit. But a perfectionist’s work is never done.

So when, at a hotel during The Game Awards 2015, producer Mark Coates bemoaned the lack of a sequel to play with his young children, the idea niggled at game director Thomas Mahler. “He brought up the whole idea that it would be so great to finish the story, and look at it from a perspective of what Miyamoto did with Super Mario Bros 3, where you take what you have and try to perfect it,” he says. “And I think that struck a chord with us, because we are always very perfectionistic at Moon.” What fuelled Mahler was the chance to include some of the things that there weren’t enough resources for in Blind Forest. With a higher budget allocation from Microsoft – and a wealth of feedback from fans – Will Of The Wisps could be everything Moon always wanted Ori to be.

First, the basic structure had to be reconsidered. “If you look at last year with Breath Of The Wild and Super Mario Odyssey, I think the way Nintendo designs is very much like we design at Moon,” Mahler says. “I studied traditional sculpture, and the way I learned to work is to block in at first, and keep things rough until it really works. And only then do you start filling in details.” While