Hello, I’m Eser Kaya, I’m part of the Ubik Studios team developing Leila. I’d like to tell you a little bit about the world of Leila that you’ll be diving into.
Leila puts you inside the mind of a middle-aged woman and lets you wander there. You are allowed to enter her mind and you travel through her past experiences on her way to becoming the person she is today.
So what is in the past? The same things that everybody has: Regrets, mistakes, traumas, what ifs… The bad things leave more traces and when we look back at them, we see that they have shaped us, brought us to the present. As we experience Leila’s life story, we try to unravel the mystery of all this baggage, to get to the bottom of it. And we do this with the help of creative puzzles built into the game. We used traditional animation techniques to produce all the end-of-episode cinematics, and through the production of these we had the chance to see how intensive this work is. Every one of them is like a short film, giving the player clues about Leila’s past and functioning as a complement to the story.
Leila wanders through her memories with the help of a technological device that her daughter gave her as a gift. While doing so, she tries to get to know herself better, to establish a cause and effect relationship of her actions, and ultimately to see what exactly makes her who she is. The player becomes Leila as she listens to her inner voice and identifies themself with Leila, often looking at the world from her point of view. As you move back and forth between the decades, you also get a glimpse of the aesthetics or trends of the time. Thus the game strikes a balance between the nostalgia of the past and the promise of the future.
Leila was designed to be a powerful example of the female gaze, which we feel is sorely lacking in games. By looking at life from a woman’s perspective, it adds a new layer to the experience. By taking a close look at the untold, often ignored stories of women, she shows a practice of healing, shaking up and standing up that applies to everyone.
We put a lot of effort in for our first game Leila for about two years. Now it’s time to take it out to the world and present it to people and make it a part of them. We hope that Leila can show a path of healing for everyone who experiences it.
Leila
NAISU
Play as Leila and traverse through all phases of her life, uncovering her pivotal life moments. By unraveling puzzles imbued with the fragments of her narrative, you’ll comprehend the motives behind Leila’s life decisions. As you delve deeper into her psyche and her emotional landscape, you’ll discover facets of your own self mirrored in the life journey of this seemingly ordinary woman.
Step into journey through the layers of Leila, a captivating, story-driven adventure that comes alive with charming narration and stunning artwork. Every frame is a masterpiece, handcrafted with detailed traditional animation, and each moment is accentuated with an evocative original soundtrack.
Embark on Leila’s journey as she grapples with the complexities of love, trust, and the shadows of her past. Navigate thought-provoking puzzles that challenge and engage, deepening the immersion in her tale.
The post Are You Ready to Enter Leila’s Mind and Journey into Her Past? appeared first on Xbox Wire.
