Until Then Wants to Become a Portal to Filipino Culture For Everyone
AAPI Month coverage continues with an interview with Polychroma Games about their Phillipines-set story game, Until Then, coming out on June 25.
Even in its demo, Until Then rang plenty of bells for me as a Filipino-American. It reminded me of summer breaks when I would visit Manila, but with a fondness that outdid any discomfort I would have from walking under the sweltering heat and dodging cockroaches on the sidewalk. From colored chicks to bits of Tagalog, Filipino culture deepened the immersiveness of the story between the playful characterization and mini games.
This is the setting that Mickole Klein Nulud, founder of Polychroma Games and game director of Until Then, and his team sought to capture. Mark Borja is seemingly just another Filipino high schooler going through shenanigans like cramming for class and keeping up with the local rumor mill. However, magical realism starts to seep into the slice of life setting, hinting at the emotionally compelling story to come.
The Philippines isn’t a glamorous city with robot toilets and vending machines at every corner. Until Then doesn’t tout fantasy gimmicks or child soldiers, yet Polychroma still decided to base its setting on Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Nulud tells IGN that the Philippines was integral to the story they wanted to tell, and it was a non-negotiable from the start. They initially had concerns on whether or not a global audience would find the Philippines relatable. However, the developers quickly abandoned their doubts.
“We wanted to write a story where we could apply the experiences of growing up here,” Nulud says. “Right from the start, the idea behind this game was to represent the Philippines and share the experiences we went through living here growing up here. It's fundamental to the game, so there were no other settings on the table.”
The plan was to create a universally relatable story with the Philippines as a backdrop. That way, it could appeal to global audiences as well as
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