The Forgotten City: Interview with Creator Nick Pearce

Xbox Game Pass members can now immerse themselves in the heart of The forgotten city time loop. However, the story behind the creation of this game is quite unique, and we had a chance to sit down with its creator, Nick Pearce, to understand its unique gameplay mechanics, inspirations, and what it means to bring The forgotten city to Xbox Game Pass.

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XW: Can you tell us more about the genesis of The forgotten city?

E.G: The forgotten city It was originally a mod for a popular RPG, in which you had to solve a murder case and time travel through a time loop, like in the movie “Groundhog Day.” This mod was downloaded over 3.7 million times, but it also won a National Writers Guild Award, the first ever for a mod. So, I decided to make a game out of it, and that’s what I spent 4 1/2 years working on.

XW: But you weren’t a full-time video game developer at the time the mod was designed, were you?

E.G: I worked as a lawyer for 10 years. It was a great job, but I dreamed of a different horizon. That’s probably why I had enough energy to spend time on this project. It was just a hobby, but it excited me more than anything else in my life. I dreamed of having the opportunity to tell stories and make it my full-time occupation. When the mod was successful, I decided to take the leap. I quit my job and spent all my time creating this game. I knew there was no going back, it was very exciting, but it also felt like jumping out of a plane in the air as I had to learn to use a parachute before hitting the ground … Looking back now, it seems so. it turned out well: the game got rave reviews, players like it… So, I hope to continue designing games for years to come!

XW: How is the game different from the mod that inspired it?

E.G: The game retains the premise of the original mod, as it is still about time travel, but this time it is about a city in Ancient Rome. You will explore a historically authentic place, be it the works of art, the architecture or the costumes of the people who live in the city. To advance in the investigation, you will have to use the time cycle wisely and solve puzzles.

XW: Why did you choose this particular period in history?

E.G: I’ve always been fascinated by that time, I have a shelf full of books on the subject. I believe, like many people, that I have always had the fantasy of traveling to that time, walking through those streets, admiring art, feeling the culture shock… This idea of ​​recreating all these sensations inspired me from the beginning. But this historical context was also perfect for the story I wanted to tell. It is “The Golden Rule”, which says that if someone commits a sin, everyone dies. It is a kind of collective punishment, something the Romans practiced a lot. There are other reasons too, one of the main ones, but I can’t talk about it without ruining your game… let’s just say that when you get to the middle, everything will become very clear!

XW: The time loop process always seems risky, especially in the framework of a video game, how did you consider its implementation?

E.G: The real challenge is avoiding the feeling of repetition. If I take the example of “Groundhog Day,” you can see Bill Murray go through the same scene ten times very quickly, thanks to editing. You can’t get the same result in a game … well that’s what I thought. I found a way around that and that’s the ability to delegate missions. If you’ve already figured out how to provide an antidote to a poisoned character, let’s say in your second loop, then in the third loop another character will be waiting for you at the exit of the time portal and can take care of that quest for you. . Subsequently, you can multitask him at the same time, allowing you to fully focus on the rest of the investigation.

XW: Why did you choose to also integrate action phases in a title with a decidedly narrative vocation?

E.G: It’s mostly an investigative game where you have to talk to people, but the original mod already had some action. So, we have this game mechanic with the golden bow, which allows you to turn any organic thing or person into gold. For example, when you get stuck in a cave with a hornet’s nest, you can shoot the hornet’s nest to make it turn to gold and fall and create a passage in the ground. If you have to go through a water plane and there is vegetation floating above it, you can shoot it to create platforms. Many of the puzzles are based on the use of the bow and I think it is a unique mechanic that provides a different rhythm, a good alternative when you are not investigating.

XW: Do you have any advice for those who are working on a mod in hopes that it will one day become a full game?

E.G: I don’t think it’s a good idea to go into a mod thinking that it could be successful and become a real game later on. It is a good gateway to learn to develop: if you can create something that you like to play and the community follows you, then maybe the opportunity will come. But be careful with the time invested, I spent around 1700 hours on my mod, that’s the equivalent of a year of full-time work. If I hadn’t enjoyed those hours of development, if I had only hoped that one day I would be able to create a game with this mod, it might not have been worth it. But beyond that, I maintain that this is an exciting and highly addictive hobby, allowing you to learn a lot about development, and I would recommend it to those who believe they can get that kind of satisfaction.

XW: As a gamer, what do you like about Xbox Game Pass?

E.G: What I like about Game Pass is that for me it is a solution to a terrible problem… Sometimes, on Saturday morning, I go to an online store, determined to take advantage of the weekend to play. And then, given the size of the thing, I can spend three hours looking at the list of new releases, not finally knowing what game I’m going to play, only to give up and go for a walk. With Game Pass, I can download three games I’ve never heard of and try them out. In this age of overflowing entertainment content, I like that a service can offer a selection, avoid falling into the paralysis of analysis.

XW: And as a developer?

E.G: I like the idea that a lot of people can discover my game, when they wouldn’t have even tried it without the Game Pass. Especially since I honestly think that people who don’t normally like this kind of game will like it. The forgotten city. I hope that many of you will download it, so that in the future there will be more and more demand for this type of game.

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Thanks to Nick Pearce for taking the time to answer our questions. You can take a look The forgotten city today with Xbox Game Pass.