NORCO and capturing the spirit of Louisiana through sci-fi storytelling

gamedeveloper.com:

This interview is part of our Road to the IGF series. The IGF (Independent Games Festival) aims to encourage innovation in game development and to recognize independent game developers advancing the medium. Every year, Game Developer sits down with the finalists for the IGF ahead of GDC to explore the themes, design decisions, and tools behind each entry.

NORCOtakes players to a futuristic vision of Norco, Louisiana, digging deep into the look, sound, and feel of the place as it tells a story of a missing sibling.

Game Developer spoke with Yuts, developer of the Excellence in Narrative-nominated title, to talk about how getting an outside perspective helped them shape their puzzles, what appealed to them about exploring Norco, Louisiana through a fictional sci-fi lens, and the details that went into the art and writing that helped this game really capture the feel of this real-world place.

Who are you, and what was your role in developing NORCO ?

I’m Yuts, the original member of the group. I contributed pixel art, code, and writing.

What's your background in making games?

It started as an informal hobby. I learned pixel art through forums online. I knew some Javascript and started experimenting with the Phaser.js library in late 2015, releasing a couple of small game jam experiments before starting on NORCO.

How did you come up with the concept for NORCO ?

I’m from Norco. I’ve been fascinated by the landscape of the region since I was a kid. I collaborated with friends in making art and small documentaries about the region. The game was an extension of that mixed-media work.

What development tools were used to build your game?

Originally I was using Phaser.js, which is a Javascript library for