DONTNOD INTERVIEW
With each episode of Life is Strange 2, being a parent to your younger brother becomes more complicated. “Should I feel like I’m screwing this kid up?” We asked lead writer Jean-luc Cano. He said yes, you should feel that way. That’s the point of Life is Strange 2; parenting is complicated enough when there’s a generation gap, but putting aside your own teenage ambitions to be a dad to your younger brother while on the run from the law? That’s not covered in a parenting book.
In the first Life is Strange, you’re responsible for yourself. As Max, some of your decisions affect others, like Chloe, but it directly influences the trajectory of your story. In Life is Strange 2, all your decisions are focused on Daniel. Everything you decide has positive or negative consequences for him. Teaching him one thing early on in the game may result in a completely opposite outcome than what you intended. Cano and the rest of the team wanted to create a greater emotional impact by having their choices affect someone else’s life. Even the smallest of choices can have varying effects on Daniel.
This made the writing process itself more difficult compared to the first game. “With Max, you can see the consequences of your actions really fast,” said Cano. “In Life is Strange 2, it’s not really visible from the beginning, but it will still shape the behaviour of Daniel, and his behaviour will change a lot from episode one to five.”
Sometimes you think you’ve made a good parenting decision, but you can’t control the choices of others, such as Finn – and when a kid idolises another adult-figure instead of you, you can automatically become the bad guy. “Daniel wants to make his own decisions, and sometimes Sean doesn’t want him to do it, but Daniel wants to do it anyway. There’s a lot of tension and friction between Sean and Daniel.”
Cano’s personal experience as a parent not only influenced some of the story in Life is Strange 2, but also the first game. “Life is Strange is a coming-of-age tale, and I wrote it when I became a father. And maybe that’s why I wrote Life is Strange 2, to come up with this idea of my daughter as she grows up.” Every decision he makes, every word he says, his daughter will look to him as an example. It’s a part of her education, as Cano puts it, as she grows into adulthood.