THE MAKING OF. . . ARISE: A SIMPLE STORY

How a midlife crisis spawned a spellbinding debut game

- CHRIS SCHILLING

Piccolo Studio’s enchanting debut begins with an end. As the flames of a funeral pyre burn brightly against a starry sky, the old man resting in peace on top subsequently awakens – or rather arises – in a pristine, white limbo. Over the next four or five hours, he looks back on his life across a series of fantastical vignettes – some hopeful and happy, others quite the opposite.

In some ways, it mirrors the journey its creators took to get it made. That, too, began with an ending of sorts, and a period of reflection. It was four years ago, and for three fortysomething Spaniards, working in the advertising industry had become just another job. After 20 years in the business, Jordi Ministral, Alexis Corominas and their colleague Oriol Pujadó needed something to reignite their creative passions. “A middle-age crisis, you could call it,” Ministral laughs. “Alex and I had been playing videogames since college, so basically we decided to create one. It was as simple as that.”

Inevitably, what followed wasn’t nearly so straightforward. Sure, the trio had a digital production company, so they knew plenty about running a studio, having long since grown accustomed to deadlines and milestones. And for the next 12 months, they did extensive research, while looking for the right mix of industry professionals for their team. They eventually assembled a core group of 15 staff, including veterans from Tequila Works, and pre-production on the game could begin in earnest.