All Articles: Life Is Strange: Before the Storm

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm goes back in time on August 31

Posted on June 11, 2017 by John Scalzo

Square Enix has partnered with Deck Nine Games to return to Arcadia Bay this Summer in Life Is Strange: Before the Storm. Announced today during Microsoft’s E3 Press Conference, Before the Storm won’t have any time travel, but you’ll get to spend more time with Chloe Price three years before the events of the original Life Is Strange:

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is set in Arcadia Bay, three years before the events of the first game in the series. Players will take on the role of a rebellious 16 year-old Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with Rachel Amber; a beautiful and popular girl destined for success. When Rachel’s world is turned upside down by a family secret, it takes this new-found alliance to give each other the strength to overcome their demons.

“The original Life Is Strange brought a new level of depth and real-world emotion to the narrative adventure game genre and holds a strong place in many people’s hearts, including our own,” said Jeff Litchford, the Vice President at Deck Nine Games. “It’s an absolute privilege to work on the next game in the series and it’s our chance to do justice to the series and prove the quality of our unique StoryForge toolset from our very talented team.”

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm is a different game from Dontnod’s recently-confirmed continuation of the franchise, but Ashly Burch, the voice of Chloe, will join Deck Nine to work as a writing consultant on the prequel.

Life Is Strange: Before the Storm will be released as a three-part episodic series, and the first episode will be available for the PC, PS4, and Xbox One on August 31. A Cinematic Trailer for the game has been embedded above, and a second video that introduces the developers from Deck Nine can be found after the break. (more…)

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Deck Nine (formerly Idol Minds) is working on a sequel to a “critically acclaimed franchise”

Posted on May 31, 2017 by John Scalzo

Idol Minds has been operating on the edges of the game industry for over 20 years, and it’s possible that you’ve played one of their games without even realizing it.

In the late 90s, the team produced the final three entries in the Cool Boarders franchise. They also made a splash in 2007 with the release of Pain, a Jackass-like game for the PS3 that was very popular during the early days of the PlayStation Store. But Idol Minds is probably best known as the developer behind the Ratchet & Clank Collection (and Ratchet: Deadlocked HD) on the PS3.

Today, Idol Minds announced that they’re shifting their focus to “narrative-driven” adventure games, and that they’ll be known as Deck Nine Games going forward. This rebrand also coincides with the launch of StoryForge, their new development engine that helps writers, directors, and cinematic artists “focus on telling great stories.”

“With the creation of our new, proprietary toolset StoryForge and the shift in studio focus, we are removing the shackles from our creative team and bringing together our two passions; meaningful storytelling and rich gameplay,” said Jeff Litchford, Deck Nine’s Vice President.

Deck Nine plans to introduce their new identity to public at this year’s E3 Expo, and they’ve partnered with a “AAA” game publisher to unveil a “brand new addition to a critically acclaimed franchise” at the big show.

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