More details and screens on Stardew Valley publisher's magic school RPG
Stardew Valley garnered immense popularity and critical reception with its rich, vibrant, and pixelized world of farming simulation RPG. Chucklefish, its publisher, has teased some weeks ago through CEO Finn Brice's Twitter account their new project which will center around the setting of a magic school. PC Gamer sat down with Finn Brice, lead designer Rosie Ball, and artists Abi Cooke Hunt and Adam Riches to discuss about the yet-to-be titled game's sources of inspiration and more.
According to Rosie Ball, the concept of a magic school was the most popular pitch within the company, which is unsurprising considering the concept's huge presence in a lot of the most popular fictional series of today. Finn Brice notes that there's still a ways until an official announcement can be made for the game, but we can expect small insights from time to time on their development progress.
Although the first series that would easily come to mind when talking about the game's influences would be Harry Potter or Little Witch Academia, Abi Cooke Hunt said that they've taken inspiration mainly from Studio Ghibli's rendition of Kiki’s Delivery Service instead. For this game, they want to be inspired from Ghibli's expertise in bringing vibrant life into its charming and captivating visuals.
A lot of work is being poured into the gameplay's magic and farming systems, with a lot of things to do and progression being continuous regardless of the activity. There's a strong desire to expand upon the genre both thematically and mechanically, says Rosie Ball, and a lot of thought is being put into how they can create the magic school setting in a fresh and new perspective.