#298 Tchia with Phil Crifo

Today on the show, Dirk and David are joined by Phil Crifo, game director at Awaceb, most prominently known for his work on Fossil Echo and Tchia. He discusses growing up in New Caledonia, and how it serves as an influence on the creation of Tchia. Topics include the history of New Caledonia and colonization, creating a world based on difficult histories, making an engaging open world, and what soul jumping actually is.

Episode Outline

0:00 Beginning of Show

1:05 End of Intro

1:09 Crifo’s Path into Game Design

4:05 History of New Caledonia 

6:14 Caledonian Influences

9:17 Local Response

11:42 Including Unique Experiences

14:55 Creating an Open World

25:09 Open World Influences

28:07 Designing Aesthetic Mechanics

31:36 Creating a Design Process

34:21 What’s Soul Jumping?

38:03 Sound Design

40:30 What didn’t make the cut?

42:21 Lessons Learned about design

46:08 Funding as a small studio

48:30 Advice for Listeners

50:39 Outro

51:40 End of Show

In this Episode

Phil Crifo - @PhilCrifo, www.awaceb.com
David V. Heron - @davidvheron
Dirk Knemeyer - @DKnemeyer