![]() ![]() Three core members of the development team at GoodbyeWorld Games - Lewin, CEO and founder Will Hellwarth, and lead engineer and designer Bela Messex - spoke with Inverse about why they believe accessibility is the future of video games, and revealed how they created one of gaming’s most unforgettable narratives. In the short span since their game was released, the team has been inundated with messages from players sharing their reactions to Before Your Eyes - with many using the game to tell their own life stories. Even on a Zoom call from the other side of the planet, the team’s sense of joy feels palpable. “Because of this last year, people are looking for a cathartic experience right now” adds Lewin, “ A lot of players have been like, “I cried my eyes out. Thank you, I really needed that.” It’s a sentiment that I understand all too well. ![]() Despite finding comfort in many stories during the pandemic, Before Your Eyes’ reflective take on mortality and anxieties about the future was the first story that really allowed me to open the emotional floodgates.Ĭhatting with the team just an hour after finishing my devastating playthrough, it was comforting to hear that even the game’s creators struggled to hold back tears. “I'm probably the most jaded person to this game, and even I started crying,“ reflects Hellwarth. I lost my dad to Covid - and a lot of Before Your Eyes was about my dad, as I’ve always worried about him dying. I knew the script and yet I still cried two-thirds of the way through - and I didn’t stop until the end. I guess even I needed this game.” A new way to playĬo-director Graham Parkes' brilliant writing is a huge reason for the game’s emotional catharsis, yet its story wouldn’t feel so personal without your body calling the shots. Staring intensely into my webcam, with each blink, I instantly leave the memory on-screen behind – sometimes mid-conversation. As the story progresses, I find myself physically straining to keep my eyes open, willing my annoyingly over-sensitive eyes not to blink. For the first time in 30 years, I find myself completely focused on an action I usually perform without a second thought. So there was just this really natural sort of metaphorical partnership between that and a reflective story of looking back at a person’s life.” “Back in 2014, we decided to use the players’ eyes as our controller - and we knew the story had to be about time passing, “ recalls Messex, “When you think about blinking, you have your eyes closed - it's about what you're missing. This strange new focus on your physicality becomes oddly meditative - syncing up your actions with the screen in a way that mashing a button simply can’t match. ![]()
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