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It Takes Two designer Josef Fares spoke extensively in an interview with IGN about his design philosophy, his work with publisher EA and his perspective on the rest of the video game industry. Fares, who is known for his statements, likes to go a little further than one is used to from the usual industry spokespersons, but this time too he did not hold back with his opinion. So he expressed refreshingly open criticism of the way in which games with a narrative focus have always been developed and scolded Microsoft about their naming conventions.
In his opinion, the crux of creating a game that should primarily stand out through its storytelling is a holistic approach to design. He often got the impression that authors and game designers are “making two different games”.
“I believe in narrative play. We should really be looking at how mechanics and story are connected […]. We have to break away from this old idea that you learn your mechanics and then blah blah blah you just get better. Those are old design rules. I don’t care. They can work in other games, but in story games, the game and the narrative have to blend together. That’s what we’re trying to do. Everything the characters see, interact with, or come across is part of the gameplay. “
Microsoft’s “shitty mess”
When asked whether the more powerful hardware of the new generation of consoles would suit his design ambitions and whether he could possibly have made even bolder decisions with It Takes Two, the technology would have been available at the start of development, Fares initially answered in a similarly straightforward manner. However, when he couldn’t remember the name of the Xbox Series X for a moment, he fell into one of his characteristic, swear words-riddled rants:
“Of course I wished we could have dealt more with the new consoles for It Takes Two. […] But to be honest, they just reached us late in production – of course the game will be on PS5 and Xbox Series X. (buy now ) look better, but we haven’t really had the time to make adjustments and make the PS5 version special or the Xbox blah blah … whatever they call the Xbox Series. That’s a fucking confusing name. What the hell is going on at Microsoft? They’re going crazy, man. What the hell is going on Series S, X, Mex, Next. I mean who’s memorizing that? Come on. Madness. Just call it the Microsoft Box and you’re done. It’s a shitty mess. Believe me, they are confused in their own offices. What is this X, S … I don’t know what the fuck.”
It Takes Two is expected to be released on March 26, 2021.