Unpacking devs reveal how they crafted a near-wordless story
There's quite a lot to unpack heree
Unpacking, the zen, block-fitting puzzler, is one of the surprise hits of late last year. The game launched a bit under the radar, but it soon picked up steam thanks to major critical praise and word of mouth. That helped bring the game even more attention, and eventually, two category wins at the BAFTAs.
There’s a lot to love about Unpacking, but one of its most impressive aspects comes from the game’s story. This unique, personal tale is told through settings and items, rather than a bunch of text boxes. In an interview with Eurogamer, creators Wren Brier and Tim Dawson shared some insight on the inspiration behind the game’s storytelling method, and how things came together.
“There’s a song called The Bed Song by Amanda Palmer, and it goes through a series of snapshots in this couple’s life, just depicted through the different beds that they’ve had over the years. And I was like, what if we did something like that but with the moves in someone’s life?”
“You can learn a lot from snapshots, you can fill in the blanks. Rather than sitting down and writing a story and saying ‘ok, which items tell that story’, we’re thinking of items and thinking of a story that item will tell, and sometimes we’re thinking of a story and that invents items. And we let the two cross-pollinate.”
The duo had a lot more to say about the game in general, including the real-life experiences that inspired it, the incredible amount of work put into sound effects, and much more. You can read the full Eurogamer piece here.
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