Are you ready for the revolution? Mesmer, our new project
Last year, in May, we announced that we had received new funding from the Norwegian Film Institute to help us develop our next game. For an independent studio like us, this means not only an economic boost, but also peace of mind: we can keep working on the kind of games we like, and giving more life to our worldbuilding as we wish.
We’ve been teasing the name of our upcoming project here and there, even in a very recent post: Mesmer. But, what does this name mean, and how does it connect with Rain’s universe so far? You may have guessed something if you have already played World to the West: Mesmer is Teri’s homeland, a French-ish country of mind-benders and hypnotists. In this new game, we’ll get to know Pardam, the capital city. We’ll arrive there on the final days before the Great Revolution, no less. The masses are ready to rebel against the current king, demanding a new political rule and the end of the inequalities.
Mesmer is our personal take on the strategy genre, born from our love for board games as well. It is played in third-person view, as players pilots their chosen revolutionary leader among five different factions through Pardam’s streets. They will have to gather resources, ally with people of influence, gain support among the common folk and avoid drawing the attention of the Crown; all while competing with the other factions that are trying to do the same.
Another big change for us: Mesmer can be played in both singleplayer and multiplayer mode. If you play with a friend, you can choose between piloting opposing factions or cooperating to lead a single faction to win the people’s hearts and minds.
Our intention is to release Mesmer in 2019, for PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. We’ve been sharing news, screenshots, gifs… in our social media channels, and we’ll be doing it as regularly as we can, from now on: we want to keep you guys in the loop of our development status and updates. Feel free to shoot us any questions, or even suggestions, and of course give us your feedback! We are truly excited to share with you this new story, and we hope you’ll be as excited to dig more into the universe you had the chance to glimpse in Teslagrad and World to the West.
So, stay tuned to our blog, and follow us on Twitter and Facebook. And don’t forget our team! They will show you their daily work, from time to time.
- Art, animation: Aslak Helgesen
- Art, illustration: Olli Ivar Rudi
- Programming: ThomasTyssøy
- Scenery: Petter Amland
- Game Design: Peter Meldahl