We’ve all experienced it: diving into a survival game, joining an online server, and diligently establishing your base, only to be swiftly met with the frustrating realization – that you’re dead. And to add insult to injury, someone is now disrespectfully teabagging your looted remains. Just delightful.
In the realm of survival games, PvP stands as one of the most prevalent game modes, attracting hordes of players and keeping them constantly vigilant. However, it takes a unique approach to cater to those discerning individuals who prefer the PvE aspect of survival gaming.
We had the opportunity to chat with industry veteran and former Mass Effect lead Aaryn Flynn, whose new venture with Inflexion Games involves the development of the survival crafter Nightingale. Flynn provided us with insights into the inspiration behind this late 19th-century style, fae realm-walking game and the challenges of creating a PvE-focused co-op base builder in a landscape dominated by PvP.
“We admire PvP-centric games, but they’re not our primary focus. Games like Rust have a massive community, but when your game centers on cooperative PvE, the lessons to draw from PvP-focused games like Rust are limited,” Flynn explains.
He highlights Valheim as a significant source of inspiration for Nightingale, acknowledging its impressive achievements within the genre. “Valheim is truly inspiring. It’s hard to be a developer in this industry and not be impressed by what they’ve accomplished,” Flynn remarks.
“When we conceptualized the project, games like Ark, Scum, and Conan were dominating the survival crafting scene. Then along came Valheim, showcasing an accessible example of the genre,” Flynn adds.
Discussing Valheim’s accessibility, Flynn emphasizes the importance of a game that is easy to pick up but still offers depth and challenge. “Valheim strikes a balance between accessibility and complexity, which resonates with both players and developers,” he notes.
Reflecting on Nightingale’s creative direction, Flynn explains the appeal of the Victorian-era setting infused with fae realms. “We were drawn to the Victorian concept early on. It offers a blend of familiarity and fantasy that energized our team creatively,” Flynn recalls. “Designing fae realms with Victorian era flourishes was an exciting challenge for our artists.”
Despite pressure from competitors to incorporate PvP elements, the team decided to stay true to their PvE focus. “We resisted the temptation to push Nightingale towards PvP,” Flynn says. “Instead, we focused on refining the survival gameplay experience.”
With Nightingale set to release on February 20th, now is the perfect time to visit the Steam page and add it to your wishlist.
