Don't Nod's Evolution: From Life Is Strange to the Emergence of Lost Records

Four years have passed since Don't Nod Montréal first opened its doors, marking the beginning of its journey to create a title outside of the Life Is Strange franchise. The team behind the first two Life Is Strange games immediately started working on what would become Lost Records: Bloom and Rage. In a conversation with GamesIndustry.biz at Gamescom, creative director Michel Koch, studio executive producer Luc Baghadoust, and producer Cathy Vincelli discussed how Lost Records signifies a new direction for the developer while maintaining its tradition of producing narrative-driven games centered around choices and consequences. Initially planned for a late 2024 release, Don't Nod decided to push Lost Records to early 2025 to avoid clashing with the next Life Is Strange installment, Double Exposure, now being developed by Deck Nine. "We discussed it and thought the best solution was to give Lost Records more space," Baghadoust explained. "We know a significant part of the audience is familiar with the Life Is Strange name, but they might not be aware that the original team behind the first two games is creating a new title, and there needs to be room for both." Baghadoust considered this a positive outcome, as it allows the team more time to refine the content and ensure it meets their standards. The decision also takes into account the potential financial implications for fans, who might not have the budget to purchase two games released close together. Following Don't Nod's latest financial results, which saw the company pause two projects after Jusant and Banishers: Ghosts of New Eden underperformed, there is added pressure on Lost Records to succeed. Production on Lost Records began in 2020, but the concept was born when Koch presented Life Is Strange 2 at Gamescom in 2019. The team started exploring ideas beyond the teenage girls from Life Is Strange, considering adults with characters their own age to provide a different perspective. Lost Records alternates between two timelines: the present day and the '90s, the latter chosen because it represents the development team's formative years. "We were around the same age as the girls in the game, so many of us felt a sense of nostalgia," Vincelli noted. "It's the point in our lives where we were a little awkward and figuring ourselves out. This allowed us to draw inspiration from our own experiences while conducting research about the time period. Because many of us lived through it, we could bring that into the game as well." The team drew inspiration from media of the era, including Twin Peaks, which helped balance the game's supernatural elements. In terms of visuals and style, Lost Records was influenced by female-centric films like Foxfire and The Craft, as well as games such as Oxenfree and Night in the Woods. Despite being Don't Nod Montréal's first IP outside the Life Is Strange franchise, the series has significantly influenced Lost Records, adapting and evolving the studio's penchant for narrative-driven games. "We've been working on these types of games for over a decade now," Koch said. "We love storytelling and creating interactive narratives that allow players to tell their own stories in a way." The team learned a crucial lesson from developing Life Is Strange: the importance of characters. "That's something we saw in each Life Is Strange episode – the characters are at the center of everything," Koch noted. "Players will always remember good characters. We really wanted to focus on that." By focusing on the characters, the team maintained a balance, ensuring they were relatable enough for players to connect with. "Characters are the most important thing in our games," Koch emphasized. "We like to say that if you don't have good characters, no matter how good the story may be, it won't work. You need good characters to make players engaged with the story." Koch explained that the team starts with archetypes, and the personalities of each character develop from there. "With our four girls, we have some very classic archetypes. At the beginning, we have Swann, who is an introvert. Nora is the outgoing one who feels like way too much, Cat is more like the fierce, small ball of energy that is very direct, and Autumn is chill and laid back but very knowing in what she wants and being the leader of the group." The team then adds a second layer, which Koch illustrated using Nora as an example. "Even if she feels very outgoing and strong, she has a lot of frailty to her, and she is very insecure. We create and write characters that feel like real people we may have interacted with in our teenage years." This approach also influenced how the characters were designed, with Koch pointing out that Nora has acne and marks on her cheeks. "We tried to design body shapes that look like real people – even with the clothing, nothing is perfect. Looking back at pictures from our yearbooks, it looks real but weird." Koch stated that the team also wanted to ensure they were adapting to an ever-evolving industry. "We want to make sure we are not making games that are too passive, but also not just interactive movies," he explained. "That's why we brought new features into Lost Records, like the camcorder and the dialogue system, to engage with our players dynamically and ensure they're not getting bored or disconnected." The focal point of Life Is Strange was the dialogue options, where every choice impacted the narrative's outcome. This framework returns in Lost Records but has been expanded to make social interactions more realistic for the player. "We try to have a very natural dialogue system," Vincelli said. "That's why when you're going up to someone to speak to them, it's not necessarily just a talk interaction. You can choose how you want to get into that conversation – maybe being a little bit more shy or outgoing." Vincelli explained that the team aimed to make conversations feel more realistic rather than just presenting players with dialogue options to advance the narrative. "Conversations can sometimes be chaotic when you're with a bunch of friends talking to each other," she continued. "But there are also moments where it's slower and paced out. We wanted to maintain that balance of having those natural, chaotic moments when everyone's excited and talking, then other moments where you can pause or not say anything." The dialogue system in Lost Records is immensely detailed, which must have been challenging to script. "Yes," Koch laughed. "It's always a thing when we're fine-tuning because we want to find the right balance between making sure it feels real – that people are really talking to each other – and providing windows of opportunity that you can miss if you want to say something, then it's too late because they're talking to someone else." Koch emphasized the need to balance realism with the potential for player overwhelm. "But we also want the player not to feel overwhelmed; we want them to guess what's happening. And as it's a video game, you don't have all your real senses to see the people moving around you. You're looking through the window of a screen, so we still need to make it slightly slower sometimes. Hopefully, we are reaching the point where we achieve what we want and still make it legible enough for the players." Vincelli highlighted the importance of developing distinct characters, which is vital in helping players connect with them – especially through the dialogue choices. "I think that's what's interesting about our game: The characters are so well developed," she said. "You really get to know each of the girls, even though you're just playing as Swann. You'll know what they would do or what they would think – that's why when you're presented with certain options, hearts will appear in the replies. You'll understand what these girls like and dislike and what's integral to their personalities." The overall goal with Lost Records was to make it even more reactive than Don't Nod's previous titles, particularly Life Is Strange. "You're mostly always in control, and things are happening based on what you're looking at, what you're interacting with," Koch said, highlighting the ability for players to pick up and interact with various items like video tapes, books, and trinkets. "The game has to work for people who want to play straight and to the point. But we also put a lot of details in for players who want to interact with everything."