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In Chicory: A Colorful Tale, players play as an anthropomorphic dog, named after the player's favorite food. When the artist (Chicory) disappears, they have to pick up the brush and its legacy and become the new 'wielder'. Broken into chapters with intriguing designs, puzzles and boss battles, players bring color back to a world gone colorless.
In essence, Chicory evokes self-doubt and the burden of legacy that an artist faces. Its sweet coloring book world with vibrant characters is met with corruption and darkness. There is no bar to what the player's imagination can bring to life - to grow plants or landscapes or clear away obstacles. In the present pandemic times, there is something extremely satisfying about this simple action.
Chicory: A Colorful Tale becomes a reflection of the dark times we live in and the role we can play in alleviating it. People are filled with grief and regrets in a world that has lost its color. Chicory showcases how we need someone to believe in us - to overcome our doubts, pick up the brush and paint the world the way we see fit.
Angshuman Dutta, of Sportskeeda Esports, recently had the chance to engage Greg Lobanov, director, designer and writer of Chicory: A Colorful Tale, in a discussion about what players will find in the world of Chicory.
In conversation with Greg Lobanov, designer and director of Chicory: A Colorful Tale, about the game's inspiration and development
Greg Lobanov, an award-winning indie game designer, is best known for Wandersong, 'a musical platforming adventure with an emotional story.' In this exchange, Lobanov discusses what it means to create a world like Chicory, what inspired him to do so and the distinct esthetics of the game. Chicory masterfully takes the concept of painting the world and uses it to tell a heartwarming story.
Here's an excerpt of the conversation.
Q: What was the inspiration behind creating Chicory?
Greg: At the outset I was curious if it was possible to make an adventure game where the main thing the player does at all times is creating art and drawing. I’d seen drawing in games before, but usually as a side-activity. I tried out a few ideas before I figured out what Chicory was going to play like.
Then I started to wonder about the life and feelings of this character who could explore and draw on everything. Why did they do it? What conflict could there be that they solve by drawing? It went on from there.
Q: In Chicory, the colorful palette and esthetics of the game are the first thing players are going to notice. How was the experience in developing the distinct esthetic and design of Chicory?
Greg: It took a few iterations alongside figuring out the basic mechanics. I personally love doing color design and had a lot of experience making ridiculous vibrant palettes for my previous game, Wandersong.
But the game esthetics really came together when I brought on my roommate, Madeline Berger, who mostly worked in comics and zine formats before this game. They have this incredibly warm and lively way of rendering everything, and they usually work with simple line drawings like we needed, so it was a perfect match.
Q: Seeing the freedom that the game affords to the players, does it matter how well a player draws in Chicory?
Greg: No. The whole point, and part of what made the design such a difficult needle to thread, was that we wanted players to draw whatever they wanted and find their own way to have fun with it rather than prescribing any particular way that art should be done.
Q: Wandersong is quite popular with the community at large. Does Chicory build on that? Is there anything between the two games that is common?
Greg: Chicory felt like a natural extension of Wandersong, an adventure game centering a different kind of creative medium, and the differences in tone and story basically represent how differently I look at their two mediums (music vs. visual art).
With Chicory I was also a lot more conscious about creating interesting mechanics that could be re-used in many places, rather than lots of bespoke pieces like I did in Wandersong.
I wanted the game to feel more mechanically cohesive since that was one of the bigger complaints people had about Wandersong. We focused on a smaller set of ideas that were more fun rather than putting everything in.
Q: What was the philosophy behind creating a world which is a blank canvas to an extent for the players to fill it with colours?
Greg: Something about the idea is just naturally satisfying, isn’t it? Once we settled into an art style it wasn’t too hard to just make everything in black and white. I have to say it was hardest on the UI.
The entire screen space is a paintable area, so we couldn’t have any buttons or interface or anything displayed anywhere on the gameplay screen at any time, because it would block the player’s art. It was also a challenge to communicate all the mechanics and designs in the game without using any color. But it worked out.
Q: The premise reminds me of another game called The Unfinished Swan. Is there any inspiration drawn from other games for Chicory?
Greg: I looked at a lot of other games when I started out with Chicory, including Unfinished Swan, because I was genuinely wondering if this game existed already. I was very surprised to find that no other game took the combination of art+exploration to the extent that I wanted.
So I didn’t end up having a good reference for the drawing mechanics specifically. But we did lift the paint swimming from Splatoon, the cozy collection and creation mechanics of Animal Crossing, and the screen-by-screen exploration of Link’s Awakening.
Q: Your games seem to encourage players to tap into their imagination and be creative. What drives you to make such games?
Greg: I really love making things. It’s basically everything to me. Among other things, I see my games as an opportunity to spread that joy of creativity with players.
Q: Did the pandemic have any effect on the development of the narrative of Chicory?
Greg: It’s hard to say. As far as the main plot, probably not. It slowed a few of us down and made our lives less fun but it didn’t spark any conversation about changing the game direction.
It probably made the biggest difference in all the side characters and NPCs. It was harder to fill a world with diverse and vibrant characters while I was feeling trapped inside without any way to go be a part of normal society.
Q: Chicory has turned out to be one of the best games of 2021 with players in love with the unique mechanic. How has the experience been since the release of Chicory?
Greg: Good reviews and accolades are always nice. What matters most to me are the players who connect with the game on a deeper level and feel they get something personal and meaningful from it. It’s been most exciting to see that happening for people. We put a lot of ourselves into this game and it means a lot to see it resonate with people.
Q: In conclusion I would like to ask, what can we as players expect next? Have you decided on any future projects?
Greg: I know what I’m doing next and I’m having a lot of fun working on it and I can’t wait to show it someday.
