Reshape reality with your perspective in Viewfinder, out today
It is finally here! We welcome everyone to explore the wonderful world of Viewfinder. I am Gwen Foster, one of the directors at SOS. I am here to talk about how we made a game about a camera, how you can reshape reality with the photographs that you take, and what world we have built. We have a special mechanic that is very hard to explain in words. It is very easy to understand when you see and experience it.
We knew we had to design things around the camera during the early development. Expanding on this reality-reshaping experience, there were eventually photocopiers, perspective, and rewind. How much more can we push this strange mechanic? The more fun we had with the mechanic, the more questions we had on how do we actually make this into a game.
Who would make something like this? Why was this technology created in the first place? What stories can we tell using this mechanic? Is the story we want to tell a call to adventure? Is it memories of a lost love? Is it a hero’s journey? Is it subversive? Do we want to make a strong point on something? Do we actually have something to say? Who will say these things? How do we say it?
It always felt like it could fit any story. We wanted to show and don’t tell. The first concrete decision was choosing Brutalism. The game explored the concept of “to create is to destroy,” and it grounded the design. Concrete buildings are also very expensive to make in the real world and difficult to destroy, which is a fun contrast to play with. The second decision was planting, and very early on, we were open to exploring solar punk culture. Knowing the absurdity of the game, the plants should be colorful.
We knew we wanted concrete and plants.
So we changed the questions. We shifted our
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