LITTLE NIGHTMARES II
We have a far-from-nightmarish chat with Tarsier’s Dave Mervik
The journey of Little Nightmares’ yellow-raincoatclad protagonist Six is far from over, though she no longer travels alone. Last issue we revealed that Six is stepping out of the limelight in Tarsier Studios’ anticipated sequel, accompanying new playable protagonist Mono as an AI character. Mono has different abilities to Six, though the biggest contrast is that he can defend himself using whatever small objects you find lying around.
On top of that, he’s quite partial to an eclectic array of headgear.
“Like most kids, [Mono] very much enjoys putting things on his head,” lead narrative designer Dave Mervik tells us, “and that bag you see him wearing is just the tip of the iceberg!” Mervik continues, “I don’t blame him, to be honest, it’s liberating to hide your face. My favourite item is a bucket, but it’s very much a personal choice.” Six is far from a lowly escortee, though Mervik is tight-lipped about how her time aboard the Maw in the last game affected her. He tells us, “Time is a great healer, maybe Six is absolutely fine in this game. […] You’ll have to wait and see.”
We do know for certain that she will not be directly playable. “We did consider co-op in the beginning, but we instinctively knew that, while fun in one way, it would be a mistake,” Mervik explains. “This is a game that is all about atmosphere and immersion, and the way co-op games are generally played, those things would forever be at risk of falling apart.”
TWO’S COMPANY
“From early on, we knew we wanted to introduce a new main character, because the world of Little Nightmares is so much bigger than Six,” Mervik tells us, “Her story is very important to us and this world she finds herself in, but it felt important to let people know that there is more. A lot more.”
The sequel departs from the Maw, instead exploring a much more expansive setting in the world outside as your twin protagonists attempt to reach the source of a mysterious transmission.
THE WORLD OF LITTLE NIGHTMARES IS SO MUCH BIGGER THAN SIX.
“We don’t want to just retread old ground, we want to create new experiences in this world,” Mervik elaborates, “otherwise it would become just a creepier version of The Famous Five books. ‘Six In The Maw’, ‘Six Goes To The Signal Tower’, ‘Six On Finniston Farm’. I think we can do better than that.”
He clarifies that the team isn’t throwing the little children out with the nightmarish bathwater, saying, “The challenge in this game is to take these new elements and make them feel as much Little Nightmares as the first game was. Can we give the player a familiar companion and still make them feel utterly alone? Can we let the player wander around in outdoor locations and still make them feel trapped and claustrophobic? That’s where our head is.”
While horror is an undeniably popular genre, Mervik thinks it’s far from being wrung of all potential, saying, “When people are interacting with your work, they can’t help but give more of themselves to it and that gives you the chance to affect them in a more profound way; being active in a scenario erases that protective screen that cinema provides, which, in horror, can be an extremely powerful tool.”
Concluding, he says, “Horror games should be leading players into the darkness, and abandoning them at the worst possible moment.”
HUNGRY FOR MAW
Tarsier is thrilled to be building out the world of Little Nightmares.
“We were overwhelmed by the response to the first game – none of us expected that – so to be in this position makes us very proud,” Mervik says. “However, the downside this time is that we’re not coming out of nowhere, there are fans out there now, very passionate fans, so we can’t help but feel even more stressed out about making this game as perfect as we can. The only thing we can do though is continue to follow our instincts.” He adds, “It worked out okay the first time round.”
Get your horror fix plus Mervik’s view on the first game in our feature on p62.