Josef Fares was an award winning film director before he started making video games, but in the space of a few years he's gone from starting his first game to heading up his own studio.
Released in 2013, Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons managed the complicated task of marrying theme and mechanics, having the player control one brother with each analog stick, one helping the other traverse through the world. It was as novel as it was effective, especially once Fares and his team at Starbreeze wove the mechanic into their narrative.
The newly-formed Hazelight comes off the back of Brothers' critical and commercial success. Fares has the backing of EA, and the team is working on an unannounced project that aims to take the same emotional resonance that made Brothers so compelling and apply it in a completely different way.
I spoke to Fares about how the Hazelight deal came about, as well as how hard it was to get anyone to let him make Brothers in the first place, and where the state of interactive storytelling is in 2015.
Can you explain how the formation of Hazelight came about after leaving Starbeeze, as well as the deal with EA?
I was a contractor at Starbreeze. My normal job is as a film director, but I was there from morning to evening working on Brothers. However the idea wasn't for me to stay at Starbeeze. So after I did Brothers I really just felt like I would love to make a new game. And after Brothers a lot of opportunities came in, and publishers were asking me if I wanted to do another game, but my plan was to make a movie first, and then do another game. But because of the success of Brothers I pretty much told all the publishers I talked to "this is how it's going to be if we make another game." One thing that was very important for me was having 100 percent creative control, which is what I actually have with EA right now. They can't interfere at all; it's 100 percent in Hazelight's control.
After Brothers, pretty much the whole team had left Starbreeze, and were at different places. Some were at Machine Games, some were at DICE -- they were all spread out. But we had been talking the whole time, so when I said I had a deal they jumped on it immediately, because we really liked to work together. That was the number one thing that I cared about. And we had some other publishers we were talking to, and I said, "This is how it's going to be, and if you're not interested then I'm not interested." The reason I can do that is because I'm not dependent on this. I really have a passion for making games, but if it's not done a certain way I have no interest in doing it.
Brothers came out of the left field from Starbreeze, a studio known for its big triple-A releases, and it almost feels like an indie game.
It is an indie game, actually. There was a small team at Starbreeze, but I think only two were from Starbreeze itself, and I came from outside with a different vision from what Starbreeze does. It was almost like an experiment in some way. If you're a really big Starbreeze fan you should play Wolfenstein: New Order, because Machine Games is Starbreeze, pretty much -- they're the Starbreeze guys.
Was there ever an option to stay with Starbreeze for your next game?
No, no. They're going in a different direction, focusing on Payday and those games. They've said they're very proud of Brothers, but it's not really the type of thing they want to do. At Hazelight, we want to focus on doing other things.
Would you say that from Starbreeze's perspective Brothers wasn't a successful experiment?
I can't talk for them, but I just know from the media they're not making these types of emotionally-driven games that we at Hazelight want to make.
So how is the experience now that you've got full creative control rather than working under a studio?
Actually it's the same. I had full creative control over there too. I'm the kind of guy that has a very strong vision about how the game should be and I can be quite persuasive. I'm not the guy who gives up on my vision, I'm very clear on what we're going to do and where we're heading. I don't feel any difference at all. I'm just really happyto be back with the team and creating a new experience. I'm super excited.
"I know it sounds cocky, but it's really something that hasn't been tried before."
People ask me sometimes "Do you feel any pressure because of the success of Brothers?" And I'm like "No, this is going to be even better." I'm extremely confident. Whenever I talk about the new game's idea and vision people go "Wow, this is amazing." I know it sounds cocky, but it's really something that hasn't been tried before. I guarantee there's nothing similar to it. Of course you'll recognize it from other games, but at the end of the day when you play through the whole thing there's nothing like it.
You mentioned you don't feel pressure from the success of Brothers, but do you feel pressure to recreate the same novel theme and control scheme? Do you feel a pressure to keep coming up with novel ideas?
Let me say this: I remember when that idea came. I couldn't sleep that night. I couldn't wait to come in and tell the team about how cool it was.That was a big "a-ha" moment for me -- I was so excited for it. But the new game is something different; it's exploring other stuff, other emotions. I can't talk about it -- I wish I could -- but no, I don't feel a pressure. It's going to be a very different game, both in setting and style, and playstyle. It's a very hard game to do, but the support has been really great, EA has been really really nice to me.
We've only got a teaser to go on for the new game, but it's obviously more adult in theme to Brothers. What was behind the decision to shift away from the more childlike themes of your previous game?
I think the only part you could compare to Brothers is that, again, it's focused on creating emotions in the player. That teaser was put together in three weeks, and it really doesn't represent anything, it was just something to have for the announcement. We've been working on the new game since mid-November, so we're really very early. But the resemblance will be about emotions.
Again, though, there are so many things to discover in video games. When people ask me what I'm excited about regarding the future and technology, I say that the biggest thing I'm excited about is creative storytelling. That's the biggest thing I think will change.
"The biggest thing I'm excited about is creative storytelling. That's the biggest thing I think will change."
Because right now, and I'm exaggerating here, we're playing pretty much the same kinds of games. Even the next-gen games, they look very pretty, but under the hood it's the same mechanics and the same games with a few fresh ideas. That's the thing I think is going to change most, and that's the thing I'm looking forward to in the future -- how to tell stories in ne
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