“It was very humbling to see that Sony had so much faith in the game, to be honest“, says Phil Crifo – co-founder and game director over at Awaceb, developer of Tchia. “The whole process is pretty stressful, but the people at Sony are amazing folks, like, super supportive.”
Crifo describes his upcoming PlayStation console exclusive as “a fun, soul-jumping game“, that is “very sandbox based and also very story-centric.”
Tchia – a tropical open-world adventure – is a game that is inspired and influenced by Crifo’s homeland of New Caledonia. Crifo and his team’s development journey is an incredibly personal one, as a lot of time and effort has been put into capturing the very essence of their culture.
“As you’re soaking in the world, you will be hammered by a lot of unusual stuff that you’ve never seen. It’s infused with a lot of our experience growing up in New Caledonia, and all the cultural aspects of the island. Like the music, the people, the food, the landscapes, the landmarks, the weather, and the vegetation, everything. If I had to condense Tchia into what it is at its core, it’s a very personal thing that we hope will resonate with many people.”
Drawing players into its tropical aesthetic is just the beginning, however. For all the attention that has been put into crafting a genuine, videogame representation of New Caledonia, just as much – if not more – has been put into creating Tchia’s dynamic open-world, one that is full of discovery and the best damned ukulele mechanics you’ll ever experience.
“We wanted to create that kind of what I like to call the ‘toybox feeling’, kind of the sense that you had when you were playing with a lot of toys and throwing stuff around and smashing stuff together. Everything you interact with reacts, has weight and physical reactions.
Tchia is a game that is fueled by pure passion. Despite its very particular setting, it is a game that will undoubtedly connect with us all. As Crifo put it, “we’re making a game that I think can be appreciated by anyone because the story is so universal.”
Tchia launches Summer 2022 on Steam and exclusively on PlayStation consoles.
Tchia on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/1496590/Tchia/
Tchia on PlayStation: https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/tchia/
Follow Awaceb on Twitter: https://twitter.com/awaceb
Awaceb Homepage: https://www.awaceb.com/
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