Creator Nonhara in Japan is working on a work called Calm ** on the Cliff. This is an adventure game set in a small cliff town Kalm. The town is on a steep cliff, and the sea of clouds spreads under the cliff. However, the sea of clouds is harmful, and when humans enter, they lose their mind without having 10 minutes. In this work, it is said that the story of such a mysterious sea of clouds, the truth hidden in the town, and the story of people living in a cliff town are drawn. Somewhere warm graphics and somewhat hard world settings are interesting, but what kind of game is this work? What kind of system is it made? At the Bitsummit X-Roads held for two days on August 6 and 7, 2022, we’ve asked what you care about, so let’s deliver the contents in this article.
── Please introduce yourself.
Mr. Nonhara:
This is Nonohara of DOUKUTSU PENGUIN CLUB (formerly Nonohara Works). His career has been working in the game industry for about eight years as a concept artist. He has become freelance independently last year and has been developing this work since then. My pseudonym was Nonohara, so I was claiming the team name Nonohara Works.
The game is developed by three people. The members are me, his wife and a programmer, and I am also a producer, director and art director. The story and the game design are made while saying that I and my wife are not like this, and the character modeling is almost my wife, and all the backgrounds are made. The other programmer is in charge of the program, and we are making games with three people.
──What’s the start of the development of Cliff Calm?
Mr. Nonhara:
I was a concept artist in the game industry, but I wasn’t the type I wanted to write all the time, but wanted to express stories and worldviews in pictures since I was an artist. As a method of expression, the game contains all sounds, stories and movements, and I thought that the world and the story could be delivered in the best form, so I wanted to make a game all the time. I’ve always liked games since I was young.
However, when I was working normally in the game industry, I had no time to make a game. There was no technology to make games on my own, so I couldn’t develop games myself. However, time has passed, and I became freelancer independently last year. The know-how of game development has been accumulated, and in the eight years when I was in the game industry, I got acquainted with friends who could make games together, so I started developing this work. As for the beginning of the project, I first thought about an exciting world that I would like to adventure, and later thought about play that would suit the world view.
── Please introduce Calm on the Cliff.
Mr. Nonhara:
Calm on the Cliff is a cliff town search adventure game. The stage is a cliff town called Calm. The cliff is covered with the sea of clouds that are harmful to the human body, which will lose your mind in about 10 minutes if you enter without a mask. However, cliff towns do not have a lot of food, so the clouds hunt can manage to live in the sea of clouds. In this work, I am trying to draw such a town and the world. The elements can be communicated with residents in a cliff town, solve gimmicks in the town, and expand their range of activities as the story progresses. The adventure element is particularly strong.
The protagonist enters the sea of clouds. Monsters live in the sea of clouds, but killing monsters will result in a mysterious disease that leads to death, so there is a rule that do not kill in the sea of clouds. So, the protagonist confronts the enemy in a form like a stealth action, such as hiding in the grass and overtaking the enemy, throwing feeding and lure the enemy, sliding through the gap, connecting the wire to the bait to flow electricity. To do. In addition, in this work, the creature wants to be alive, and the enemy has different sensors: hearing, vision and smell. For example, this enemy has a very good ear or a sense of sensation for each enemy, which makes the capture method different.
──The electricity came out in the explanation, but is the world of this work developed?
Mr. Nonhara:
Technology is not developing. In the sea of clouds, there is a heritage of past advanced civilization and a lost technology. In the case of an electric shock, someone would have found something like a storage device and found how to use it.
──PS1 The scenery of the town with a wind is impressive. What was the taste of the graphic of this work decided?
Mr. Nonhara:
Before starting the game, the illustration series of watercolor touch, Moe-Kenchiku, which I originally drew, is the starting point. I wanted to express the taste of Moe Architecture in 3D graphics as much as possible, and the graphics that seemed just right with handwriting were as low as PS1. If it is a physical base rendering of Bali Bali, there is a place where a 3D feeling comes out and it becomes a raw picture. There are some parts that are influenced by my favorite titles such as FF9.
──Please tell us the points that are particularly particular about Calm on the Cliff.
Mr. Nonhara:
It’s a world where you can feel close, but it’s a solid fantasy world, or that balance. It seems that the characters are actually living in the cliff town, a sense of life, a fantasy, but it feels like it is familiar or somewhere in this world. In particular, we are producing with emphasis on enjoying the world view. Also, in this work, there are also unique characters. The protagonist looks like a human being, but the beasts who stand with two feet and such people who have grown feet also appear as characters. I plan to draw a world where races that are not tied up live. I’m also focusing on the story, so I’m glad if you can look forward to the story of the unique characters.
──Please give a message to the reader.
Mr. Nonhara:
The progress of the development is still about 5 %, but we value the world view and story, and the visuals, and we are trying to include actions to enhance them. At the moment, the platform wants to be used for PC (Steam) and Nintendo Switch, and although there is a great possibility of shifting, we are developing with the goal around the end of 2024. The tip is long, but please look forward to the future.
Thank you.
Calm of Cliffs is being developed by DOUKUTSU PENGUINCLUB. The official website and Steam store pages are being released.