The game also features a fully playable Ukulele that Tchia will use at key story moments during rhythm sections. They all offer unique controls and some special abilities that you can use to travel, solve puzzles, uncover secrets… You’re able to take control of any physical object or animal in the world. One important feature is Tchia’s Soul Jumping powers. We also have a tricks system that lets you do cool flips and dives while jumping around! And for longer distances, you can use your boat to sail away! All trees are physically simulated and climbable, and Tchia can catapult herself through the air using the springiness of a coconut tree for example. You can climb any surface and glide across the map with ease. Locomotion is super important for any game offering a lot of exploration, and we wanted to make moving around fun in and of itself. It was my motto from the very start to give it a “Toy Box” feeling, reminiscent of playing with toys as a kid. Tchia is a very analogic and physical game. Making something culturally relevant is incredibly fulfilling in and of itself, but first and foremost we focus on making a game that is fun and plays great. We also record Kanak (indigenous melanesian inhabitants of New Caledonia) choirs and musicians for the game’s soundtrack, giving it a unique energy that I think has rarely been seen in video games. All characters are voiced in traditional languages by local talent. It was also important for us to work with locals as much as possible to make sure that the soul of the experience is deeply rooted in those local cultures. They are fantastical places but definitely “feel” very japanese in many ways, and that makes for some super fascinating worlds.
Bringing people from all over the world to the team also helped a lot in making sure what we are making is enjoyable for anyone who isn’t familiar with the country.Ī fair comparison for our approach is how Studio Ghibli treats Japanese culture in some of their films. We are drawing inspiration from the rich and varied local landscapes, flora and fauna, cultures, music, languages, folklores and traditions and bringing our own sensibilities to everything. This also allows us to include some fantastical elements in the mix and build a very unique world where the cultural inspiration isn’t a constraint, but rather an incredibly rich and solid backbone for the game. Making something too instructional or aimed directly at locals would completely defeat the purpose for us, which is why the world, story and characters we are creating are entirely fictional.
The approach we are taking with Tchia is first and foremost to build something anyone can understand, enjoy, and immerse themselves into. Honoring the culture, and making it accessible. For example, the name “Awaceb” itself is local slang for “It’s all good”, or “No worries”.īecause of that, it felt just right to draw from that heritage and insufflate those sensibilities in our next game, Tchia. Because we grew up there, the incredibly rich and varied cultures of New Cal are deeply rooted in what we do. Weekday mornings, after opening at 10 am, are probably less crowded than weekends and afternoons.Awaceb is a young studio founded by my partner Thierry and myself, two childhood friends from New Caledonia, a small archipelago in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. Also, parking is limited to maybe 6-8 cars, so park closely as you pull in. The mine/shop is close to the road so be on the lookout as you approach it. But before you take a bag of sand along, remember that you’ll probably need a piece of screen and a water source. You can also buy a prospector’s bucket or two to go (they’ll bag it for you) to sift through at home. Allow 20-60 minutes for the mining experience depending on how many buckets you buy and how meticulous a gem picker you are. That said, I am an in-the-rough collector so I don’t facet my finds. If you wish, you can arrange to have your finds facetted. The souvenir and rock shop has both cut, carved, faceted and natural stones. The prospecting muds are mixtures of native sand (from a nearby source) with stones from various localities – hence the variety of finds. The staff is friendly and will answer any questions you have on species identification. The roof-covered, fast water sluice quickly removes the sand and soil from each scoop of mud, and the larger, mostly semi-precious stones can easily be discovered. Overlooking the scenic Cullasaja River gorge, this short but fun ‘mining’ experience teaches kids to identify semi-precious gemstones.