Ustwo, the London-based developer behind the popular games Whale Trail and Blip Blup, is working on its next game, which will be an exploratory puzzle game based on the art work of M.C. Escher and titled Monument Valley.
Monument Valley will be released for the iPad by the end of the year. The idea for the game stems from sketches made by Ken Wong, ustwo’s artist and designer.
“We started experimenting and asking ourselves – what about making a game about impossible geometry?” Wong explains. “What if we took M.C. Escher and all of the things he explores, so that it’s not just an impossible shape but there are characters in there and it’s its own little world.”
Enter Ida, the protagonist of the game. You’ll guide Ida through a series of interconnected monuments to discover hidden paths to the exits and explore all sides of the levels as you uncover the game’s central mystery. If you’ve ever played Echochrome, you might notice some similarities between the two games, but ustwo is taking these ideas even further.
“Looking at Echochrome, it’s a really nice piece of work but I think one area we can improve on, or at least what this game could do better, is that Echochrome is the same coupe of mechanics spun over a lot of levels – so you kind o fend up doing the same thing over and over. Our approach is that each level tells its own little story and has its own unique mechanic.”
In the game, you’ll literally manipulate the monuments in each level to get around. The game will also feature a time rewinding mechanic. Every level will have its own unique mechanic and the story will unfold through the environment and characters that exist in each stage of the game.
Image Credit: Edge Online
