GamesSurvivalNightingaleNightingale boss Aaryn Flynn opens up on the game’s challenges and massive new update: “Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
GamesSurvivalNightingaleNightingale boss Aaryn Flynn opens up on the game’s challenges and massive new update: “Everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face"When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.Here’s how it works.
(Image credit: Inflexion)
With Realms Rebuilt coming six months after Nightingale’s release, I had the chance to speak with Aaryn Flynn, CEO of developer Inflexion, about Nightingale, the Realms Rebuilt update, and his long history atBioWare.
Into the wilds, together
(Image credit: Inflexion)
Right off the bat, Flynn explains the ethos behind Realms Rebuilt: an audience-driven rethink of the way that Nightingale plays. “Unfortunately, our player numbers are not where we want them to be, and we think a lot of it’s due to the fundamental nature of some of the decisions we made,” he concedes. “This update means to address those things and provide players just an overall better experience.”
The choice to move towards more structured experiences isn’t universal though, and some less popular elements have been streamlined or even amputated altogether. “We used to have a tutorial level that we’ve chucked out, just thrown that into the bin, and we now have you just jump into the action,” Flynn admits. Likewise, the progression system is now less obscure and a lot more direct. Rather than seeking out traders and buying blueprints off them, there’s simply a tech tree you access and invest in through the pause menu, “to reduce the grind.”
(Image credit: Inflexion)
“It’s having to always thread that needle and ask yourself: what is our most vital aspect of our vision?”
“It’s having to always thread that needle and ask yourself: what is our most vital aspect of our vision?”
Most of the justifications and explanations behind these changes ultimately come down to giving the people what they want. Folks want bigger crafting projects? Inflexion triples the build limit so players can make giant mansions. Players find the starting crossbow unsatisfying? Here’s a bow and arrow as an alternative option. Enjoying the historical and literary icons? Expect to see Nellie Bly and Victor Frankenstein in the new update (albeit alongside a new bear boss with tree roots for a head).
Flynn admits to the challenge of balancing audience demands with Inflexion’s goal of a “great Victorian gaslamp-fantasy adventure”, but ultimately says that if any community suggestion doesn’t directly contradict that, it’s at least worth considering. “It’s having to always thread that needle and ask yourself: what is our most vital aspect of our vision? What’s the core of that vision? And does this change harmonize with that, or is it antithetical to that? If someone said they wanted to travel to space in our game, I think we’d have a harder time harmonizing.”
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Crafting and survival
(Image credit: Inflexion)
Realms Rebuilt marks “0.5” in Nightingale’s ongoing development, and is such a drastic step forward that an once-planned 0.4 update has been skipped altogether. Flynn laughs when I ask him if Nightingale’s original development plan and internal roadmap resembles their current trajectory. “As they say, everybody’s got a plan until they get punched in the face!” At one point Inflexion even considered a Palworld-like system wherein NPCs would help build and maintain your base, “but it was just always a bridge too far” – although a moment later, Flynn admits the team would love to explore something “similar” in the future.
More broadly, Realms Rebuilt seemingly marks the moment of getting back on course for Nightingale, an attempt to address essential audience feedback so that Inflexion can start building on that foundation in the updates to come, rather than just responding. “I think once we get a new biome out there, that will cement the last piece of the puzzle in terms of how we will create content going forward,” Flynn muses when asked about 0.6 and beyond. “There’s a volcano biome, there’s an Arctic and a jungle biome, all currently in discussion right now as to which one we’ll do first.”
Journey through the past
(Image credit: Inflexion)
As the interview draws to a close, we chat broadly about Flynn’s time as a director and general manager at BioWare. While he reveals his favorite creations – Neverwinter Nights and Jade Empire, for those curious – he also touches on"frustrations” with the company that he’s previously spoken about.Part of this stemmed from an apparent disconnect between the developer and its audience, which is something he’s been pleased to correct at Inflexion.
(Image credit: Inflexion)
At the close of the interview, Flynn speaks of the importance of flexibility and creativity in game development. “Don’t be shy about trying new things and experimenting, and finding new sources of inspiration!” he says earnestly – and when you take a look at Nightingale’s latest changes and the path it’s forging, it’s easy to see that philosophy at work.
Nightingale is available on Steam Early Access now, and the Realms Rebuilt update will be live on 12 September 2024.
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