Spiritfarer artbook how to#

In short, you’re a “spiritfarer ” - but it’s much less an occupation and much more, a journey. Acclaimed developer Thunder Lotus masterfully plops the player into the shoes (and floppy hat) of Stella, a plucky, newly ordained ferrymaster for the deceased. You're not going to be penalized for not logging on for a week.Spiritfarer is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that dares to explore themes and relationships rarely contemplated in video games. 'You can just boot it up and start from wherever you left off. 'The way I personally see it is, it's meant to be a game where you've had a long day at work, you have half an hour to kill or you just want to unwind,' Gauthier says. In a world of 'forever games,' Spiritfarer doesn't want to be that. Spiritfarer is about relaxation as much as anything else, and it doesn't seem to ever want to throw too many chores at you or chide you for not playing enough. It's an intentional choice, as Gauthier tells me. It's important that, when travelling from point A to point B in the world of Spiritfarer, you experience it in real time. You can also go mining with your magical pickaxe. Minigames, like catching lightning or jellyfish, offer distractions along the way, as well as fishing off the side of the boat. (There is a hug command.) But as you travel the world, other quests or tasks may pop up. This can be done through fulfilling their wants and needs, carrying out tasks for them, or simply sharing a nice hug. Your ultimate goal is to bring them to ease with themselves, so they can move on. The more animalistic they act, the more they resemble the animal bodies they inhabit, so some protest by acting human. Gauthier says these spirits were once humans themselves, but are now in animal bodies. The other-ness in the spirits is their animal-like tendencies, including those who try to fight their appearance.

'A lot of that management was important to us, in order to catch that 'other-ness' feeling and her being so enthusiastic about taking care of people.' 'Most of all, the one that didn't belong was Chihiro herself, who was a human,' Gauthier tells USgamer. In fact, Ghibli's film seems to have played a large part in setting the tone of Spiritfarer, especially in that Stella, like Chihiro, is a normal human out of place in the realm of spirits. The protagonist of Spiritfarer, Stella, is equal parts Spirited Away protagonist Chihiro and Charon on the River Styx. | Thunder Lotus Gamesīut how can caretaking feel like a vacation, or relaxing? Gauthier likens it to a particularly well-known Studio Ghibli film, Spirited Away. It's nice to be able to take in the scenery.

Spiritfarer artbook how to#

'A lot of it came from that, and how to make people want to be on a boat, in order to go to different places in a world that they had never seen,' Gauthier says. Their goal was to simply make places people dream of going to, through paintings and printings like these blocks. But when it comes to the world, she pulls out an artbook of Yoshida Hiroshi's work, painting wood blocks of different areas around the globe. When I asked Gauthier about the team's influences for the look and design, she references Disney, Studio Ghibli, and the works of Don Bluth for the animals. What helps keep Spiritfarer's somber tone from ever feeling oppressive is the vibe set by its art and design. We weathered storms of velvet jellyfish, and after an arduous process, we remedied the maladies of an ancient dragon.

One of us as Stella and the other as trusty feline companion Daffodil, we set sail for new horizons. It's both relaxing and extremely somber.Īt PAX West 2019, I got a chance to chat with Jo-Annie Gauthier, the art director behind Spiritfarer, as we played it in co-op. It is a self-described 'cozy management game about dying,' and as Stella, your job is to satisfy all outstanding woes and anxieties of spirits who aren't ready to drift into the great beyond just yet. When I stumbled upon Spiritfarer at E3 2019, I was taken aback by just how serene a game about death could be.

But your crew is not alive you're ferrying them not just from one port to another, but from death into the afterlife. You are Stella, the captain of a boat sailing on the rivers and oceans of the world. Is there something you think we should be reporting on? Email world of Spiritfarer is colorful and lively.