Sony decided to dedicate a significant portion of last month's PS5 Future of Gaming show to the fascinating world of indie games, and one of the most interesting titles announced was Goodbye Volcano High. The next game from GNOG developer KO_OP, it is a story-focused adventure all about dinosaurs attending school. That's certainly an interesting and unique premise so we decided to catch up with co-creative director Kyle McKernan and community manager Marcela Huerta in an effort to learn even more about this lovely looking cross-gen title. What we discovered is a project the LGBTQ+ community can't wait to play.
Push Square: It's been just over a month since the announcement of Goodbye Volcano High at Sony's PS5 Future of Gaming show. When did you find out the game would be included in the livestream? How did it feel to be a part of such a big event?
KO_OP: We found out Goodbye Volcano High was going to be a part of the PlayStation 5 event a couple of months before, and as a small team we were thrilled to have this chance to announce our game at such a huge venue.
Being part of this event, one that was seen by so many people around the world, was absolutely surreal! I think I speak for all of us on the team when I say that it was the biggest moment of our careers. We were all on a Zoom call, sharing the experience together; a few of us got messages from our relatives in other countries, which was special.
In the time since that reveal, how has development been coming along? Are you still suffering from the effects of COVID-19?
Games milestones are stressful in the best of times, but we're making it work! The uncertainty of the world right now weighs on our team, for sure, but we make sure to check in with each other. We've always been a studio that prioritizes our health and wellbeing, so we're trying to do that now that we're working from home: taking personal days, switching to 4-day workweeks, trying to find some balance between the real world and Slack.
Could you explain the inspiration behind Goodbye Volcano High? Where did the idea behind sending dinosaurs to school come from?
Goodbye Volcano High was inspired by our desire to tell an emotional story with characters that find themselves in changing circumstances and how dark times can give flight to connection and love and self-actualization. The idea started just as a casual conversation about dinosaurs and then immediately sparked into more as we talked. When we first started developing it we were drawing inspirations from our favorite anime, TV shows and movies but we quickly realized we could make something unique to our own experiences. As the world around us became a bit more uncertain we saw an opportunity to reflect on how it made us feel and how it affected our relationships with others.
The game's reveal trailer gave very little away concerning the actual plot. Could you provide a basic narrative setup for Goodbye Volcano High?
Goodbye Volcano High is a teen coming-of-age story that takes place during our main character Fang's graduation year. Big news about a potentially life-altering event hits right at the beginning of the school year, and it paints the rest of the senior year -- and all the changes that come with that time in your life -- in a new light.
What will gameplay look like? Is this an experience where we'll be making choices and directly affecting the plot?
In the game, you'll be guiding Fang through conversations and experiences with their friends and family by choosing how Fang responds or acts in situations. The player will also be able to shape Fang's experiences through various interactions outside of dialogue. Our story branches based on the player's choices, so each response you choose or action you take will have repercussions on your relationships with the other characters and how the plot moves forward. There are other elements to the game that we'll be revealing in the coming months!
Goodbye Volcano High strikes us as KO_OP's biggest game to date. How ambitious is this project and do you think you have achieved the vision set out at the start of development?
It is absolutely the most ambitious game we've ever made, and our first narrative game. We've had to modify and develop a lot of production tools to help us, but every time we find a new solution we get so excited about how much easier it'll make the whole process. We won't know until we're done, but we're really excited about how it's looking so far. We figure out a lot of things as we go, which we think sometimes helps us find unique processes.
The game also sports a beautiful, colourful art style. What was the inspiration behind that?
Thanks! We're ridiculously proud of our art team. With GVH we're going for a detailed and colorful art style that resembles an animated movie; the backgrounds are hand-painted, and paired with the expressive characters, we think it makes every shot feel special. Because the game is so much about emotional growth, we want the art to bring you closer to what Fang is experiencing at any given moment.
When can PS5 and PS4 players look forward to playing Goodbye Volcano High for themselves?
All we can say right now is 2021.
Is there anything else you would like to share about Goodbye Volcano High? Why should Push Square readers be excited about it?
We've been really moved by people who have reached out to tell us how much seeing a nonbinary protagonist during a mainstream gaming event meant to them. As a team with a lot of LGBTQ+ devs and artists, we're putting a lot of ourselves in this game, and to know that it's important to other queer people has been hugely special to us. We want folks who love narrative games like Night in the Woods or Life is Strange to be excited to have another story-heavy and visually rich experience to look forward to!
We would like to thank Kyle McKernan and Marcela Huerta for taking the time to answer our questions and Nicolas Verge and Geneviève St-Onge for making the interview possible. Goodbye Volcano High comes to PS5 and PS4 in 2021. Are you interested in this beautiful, narrative-based adventure? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments 53
While I respect that they’re trying to give a voice to LGBTQ+ artists and writers, did it have to be furries? I know some will get a kick out of this stuff but uh, yeah, not my thing. Maybe once I know more about the gameplay I could be persuaded to get over my innate feelings of horror over the weird anthropomorphic dinosaurs.
most ambitious game we've ever made
I am bit scared when people start using those terms.
Ubisoft and xbox use those terms.
Feels like there previous game was not that ambicious.
Lets hope this game turns out well.
Hope its not another oxenfree style game.
@nessisonett My thoughts exactly. May also give it a go, though furries do nothing for me.
I'm sorry but this doesn't look appealing at all.
Great interview, Liam. It's always interesting to get a little more background from the creators. Thanks for sharing!
@Athrum Well, if people are looking for those kinds of games, then developers will start making them.
I don't think it's for me personally. I'm not a big fan of the point and click narrative driven games.
(edit: I see you've edited your comment, which makes my reply a bit awkward, oh well...)
@naruball There does seem to be an awful lot of gaymers that are interested in this stuff so I definitely would say that they know their audience. Undertale leans heavily into that aesthetic too but because of its art style, it’s not as noticeable. I’ll wait for reviews most likely.
This "game" was unironically the worst part of Sony's show. If we combine both Xbox events and the Sony event, this was the worst "game" shown at all of the events
@MordmitTotschlag Not every game has to be designed to your tastes. If you don't have anything positive or constructive to say, why bother commenting?
@LiamCroft Because I can
@MordmitTotschlag u so kwel
@MordmitTotschlag Come on, it’s not my thing either but devs have put hard work into it. It’s easy to just sit as a consumer and take the piss but this very clearly isn’t designed for you. Games are a medium same as movies or TV and not everything will appeal to everyone.
I do love anthropomorphic stories, but I need to see more of this, some of my favourites include Blacksad, Grandville and currently Beastars. I Highly recommend them all especially if you like noir detective stories and Beastars has me hooked as it gets more crazy with every new volume!
Idk, I loved Life is Strange 1 and Before the storm. But this one feels a little too edgy for me. But hey, I'm all about versatility, we all have different taste.
I hope the game does well, and everyone who's looking forward to it enjoys it, but miss me with this lol. It just comes across as Tumblr the Game: Furrie Fever Dreams.
I'm actually not that bothered by the anthropomorphic dinosaurs aspect (I'm a 90's kid; most of the cartoons I grew up watching featured anthropomorphic animal people, lol), but the tone of the reveal trailer was rather uninspired. Between the generic narration, even more generic indie artist music, and the high school setting, it reminds me of about a hundred other coming of age stories I've seen over the years.
The rule 34 artists that do fan-art of this game will make bank that's for sure.
I don't take kindly to weirdos OwO-ing at me, so uh...
lol no.
They look like they could be Pokemon, but as teenagers in high school. If it has a good story, it could be something worth checking out. I'll see how it reviews and go from there.
Looks interesting, if it has good story maybe I'll try it later.
I always thought furries were real folk dressed in animal costumes, not anthropomorphic cartoons. This reminds me of Arthur or similar. Not my style of game at all, but hope it turns out good for people looking forward to it.
I need a "Regular Show" adventure game. Badly.
@MordmitTotschlag Just because you don't like it doesn't make it bad.
I mean, I will admit, it was out of place and it was kinda dumb for this to be in the presentation, but it's not bad, just very odd.
@Constable_What owo
I get strong Oxenfree vibes from this, which I loved. But its good to see a team of LGBT+ devs get a chance at making something and being spotlighted. While im not sure i'll play this game, I wish them all the luck, and how much this game might mean for an under represented section of the gaming community.
I'm sure I'll try it eventually since I kind of like games centered around melancholic high school drama stuff.
@naruball Can you enlighten me on furries? I know what they are, I didn’t know there was something negative attached to them. I think the original comment has been removed.
I was wondering how this game would play? Definitely got a eye on this game.
@HotGoomba 「Constable What」
-Has died-
Okay so i just googled 'furries' after reading this comment section. I'd say it's a rabbit hole but that's probably an unfortunate turn of phrase.
@Arugula I was once like you
I have no idea why this title is getting so much attention. It looks akin to a bunch of 'bottom of the barrel' indie crap that sits in the dark recesses of Steam.
@Gremio108 "I'd say it's a rabbit hole but that's probably an unfortunate turn of phrase."
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
Nothing says game like full on identity politics.
This game looked like a fever dream
Definitely a game I want to try and a developer I want to support. I really enjoyed GNOG and love the fact that indies give us so much more to choose from. Thanks for the interview 🙂
The ultimate nightmare fuel.
I appreciate them trying to hit the diversity market. But this one ain't for me chief.
@MordmitTotschlag What kind of gameplay is there in the game how does everything work i dont know too much about it. So ill wait till i hear more about it. And there are more people in the world then me who knows maybe it will be written really good.
Was the least interesting game of the show to me. The background art is fine, but really not a fan of the character art - for me, the two don't seem to fit together.
@MordmitTotschlag Nah, Halo was worse.
😜
It sounds...interesting, I don't mind the odd narrative game from time to time but these are usually the more realistic looking ones i.e. Until Dawn and Detroit Become Human.
There's definitely a market out there for these types of games and I will keep an open mind on this one.
My favourite three Indies shown were Stray, Kena and Little Devil Inside.
@Constable_What Eh?
🤷
Maybe try rewriting that comment so it makes sense.
@Col_McCafferty Maybe try using Google to make sense of it?
Or you can be lazy! Here I'll help you out with that! You seem to like being lazy, so here you go!
OwO
Copy and paste that into Google. I promise it'll only take three to five seconds. Not too long, hey? Not too hard, hey?
lulz
@Constable_What Nah, you're alright mate.
@Col_McCafferty I'm so glad.
@nessisonett I don't think these are furries.. I think they'd be "scalies".
Its' interesting that 'furries' are now synonymous with human sized animals. Is this what the characters in Disney World and other theme parks are now?
Game's not for me either. I played Night in the Woods, and that was fine, but I wouldn't seek these types of games out.
@nessisonett Exactly what I'm saying.
@hush404 I don't really think it is if you look at the trailers like to dislike ratio.
Love the look of this game and I really hope it turns out well. Life is Strange vibes with colourful anime dinosaur characters? Sure, why not! As always with narrative games it'll all rest on how good the story is, but I loved GNOG so feeling optimistic about what these devs can achieve. Right up there as one of my most anticipated PS5 games, personally. Caught me by surprise in the event and I can't wait to see more.
@Nepp67 I guess I mean more the showcase and amount of articles I've seen. You don't see push square talking about random visual novel indie on steam #42, but I've seen a fair amount of articles talking about this title on various sites.
Interesting to see the amount of negative feed back their videos are getting. I mean, I too am not a fan, but that has to be disheartening for the developers.
@hush404 Oh I haven't checked much article sites then but yeah while it definitely must be disheartening for the devs to see they certainly still have their fans instead of none at all. I'm not interested in this, not just because of it having anthropomorphic characters but it sounding really generic and just not being my type of game.
Is it a game or one of these graphic novels?
I guess I'm in the minority here, but I really like the look of this. I love narrative based games so I'm definitely gonna pick this up
@LiamCroft Thanks for taking the time to setup this interview! Were they the first PS5 team to agree to one?
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