Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Jason Rosa, the president of Studio Daisho LLC, and ask him about the development of The Center, a new sci-fi action-adventure game.
The Center is Studio Daisho’s first original project, although the team has done freelance work on indie games and short films. Primarily composers and sound designers, Studio Daisho has provided music and sound for games like Enola, which was received very positively by the Steam community. Before working on The Center, the studio also worked with indie developer Alex Connowell on Infinite Legacy, providing nine tracks of music including the main theme.
Since Studio Daisho’s creation, Rosa has had big plans to expand.
For Rosa, music is much more than sound. He talks about music in a very visual way.
“When I first picked up music I was thinking of songs like giant comic books or climatic films. So along side my music theory classes, I started to think up plot ideas to help my writing.”
Songs created stories to Rosa, which led to his eventual ideas for The Center. In an effort to continue moving forward, growing the company, and showcasing current musical projects, Rosa and creative director Albert Clanton began work on The Center.
The Center is an “immersive experience.” Art, gameplay, music, and sound have been carefully designed to bring this work to life and engage with the player on a deeper level.
In The Center, an ancient alien race aims to destroy the universe in its entirety, sending “Martyrs” to see this plan through. The last Martyr, ANU is the main protagonist and playable character. On a desolate planet at the center of the universe, ANU prepares to pass judgment over all of existence, though the secrets this planet holds and the inhabitants who survive there begin to complicate ANU’s mission and make him question his own mortality.
“It’s about agonizing choices – and, sometimes, being a slave to routine or monotony. We are trying to sync player awareness emotionally, pushing the player to want resolve in the game. Although the characters are mostly alien and artificial intelligence, I feel each race to piece of machinery reflects human society, human thinking and sometimes-human madness.”
In regards to The Center’s gameplay, Rosa stated that “the core gameplay will involve your trusty A.I. sidekick HEX that can be used as a defensive tool.”
HEX has an E.D. or energy disruptor which is:
“used to effect the environment in which enemies thrive by indirectly fighting oncoming threats. There is a sort of symbiotic relationship between ANU and HEX similar to [the] classic title, Banjo-Kazooie.”
How the game is played is dependent on how the player chooses to upgrade HEX. This allows for unique gameplay experiences from one player to the next, and I imagine heightens The Center’s replayability as well.
Studio Daisho hopes to start a Kickstarter campaign in the near future once a demo of the game is ready for release.
In regards to their Kickstarter, Rosa stated:
“The Center holds a great story and uniqueness amongst other indie games. Our primary goal for our next Kickstarter is to get the proper funding to give this game the perfect outfit, from concept to product. Being a small company and having limited resources the funding will not only help us achieve better tools, but also employ and secure the great individuals behind it thus far.”
The Center has assembled a fantastic team of creative talent, each bringing their own unique abilities and ideas to the project. This group of professionals is experienced with their unique crafts, making The Center not only beautiful, but an achievable goal.
If fully funded, Studio Daisho aims to release The Center around Q4 of 2016.
“Product delivery and meeting our deadlines is extremely important for the team and I. We want to play this game personally! I know if funded we will push hard for a quicker release.”
Be sure to keep up with Studio Daisho and The Center on their website and social media. You can also listen to original heart-pounding music from Studio Daisho on their SoundCloud. I am certain that we can expect news of their Kickstarter campaign in the near furture.
