The first episode of Don’t Nod’s narrative adventure, Lost Records: Bloom & Rage, ended with a hell of a cliffhanger: a massive discovery of something unknown, possibly malevolent, and a devastating revelation about one of the story’s central figures. As the second episode, or tape, of this player-choice-driven, nostalgia-powered story aims to draw things to their conclusion when Lost Records: Bloom & Rage Tape 2 launches April 15 day one into the PlayStation Plus Game Catalog, players have been left wondering what to expect.
To dig deeper into the game’s ambitions and get some further insight on what to expect from Swann, Nora, Autumn, and Kat’s next escapade, we sat down for a chat with Michel Koch, Creative Director at Don’t Nod’s Montreal studio.
You Oughta Know
Koch was eager to tell us how this experience would differ from the first. “The first Tape, ‘Bloom’, is the nice and sunny part of the beginning of the summer, of you meeting and bonding with those girls. The second half is called ‘Rage’, which is mostly the aftermath of the cliffhanger at the end of Tape 1. We wanted Tape 1 to let the player find their own space within the group of friends, getting a feeling of a summer where you meet friends, but also giving hints of weird things. They’re finding the clearing. They’re finding the abyss. It’s a very natural story of four girls having a fun summer together before Swann moves away.”
“But Tape 2 will focus more on this weirder part of the story. We know what happened at the end of the summer. We still don’t know why, but we know that they promise not to see each other again. We know about the weird box, we know about Kat, but we don’t know the consequences of this revelation. How do you continue to have a normal summer with your friends? And, of course, the continuation of what’s happening with those weird things they found in the forest.
Those supernatural elements will be more important. Personally, I love trying to blend supernatural things and surrealism revolving around the story of our characters. You can create a darker, weirder mood while still focusing on the characters and then adding the characters. We create this vibe, and it will get stronger and play a huge part of the story’s resolution.”
The pacing in this follow-up will be more brisk, as well. “Tape 2 definitely picks up the pace,” he continues. “We saw what happened with Kat and the end of the concert, and Tape 2 will start the next day with Swann having to face kind of the guilt, even if it’s not our fault, of putting friends in danger. We’ll advance through the month of August up to the end events. So yes, it’s faster paced, with higher stakes.”
Koch also emphasized that players will see more of how their choices in tape one affect the overall narrative. “We had a lot of choices. Who you are talking to, who you are getting closest to, all those interpersonal relationships with the girls, and so on. What was the choice you made during the ritual? What did you do at the abyss? How did you react to Corey and Dylan in the times you were with them? Are you behaving in a more violent or unlawful way, or are you sometimes taking the route to be cautious? A lot of those will change the course of what’s happening in Tape 2.”
Girls on Film
One of the most interesting features of tape one was the camcorder, which protagonist Swann carries with her everywhere to chronicle her life in Velvet Cove, Michigan. Players could tape objects of interest as in-game collectibles or just film whatever and edit it together to make mini-movies. However, the camcorder becomes a crucial plot and gameplay element at several points.
We asked Koch about the role the camcorder will play in Tape 2. “We are expanding it a bit. We wanted to give you a tool that’s Swann’s ‘weapon’ or ‘shield.’ She’s filming people, but she’s also hiding behind the camcorder. We wanted to make it fun in a way that’s engaging like it was to film things in the 90s. We wanted to use these mechanics to link a lot of other mechanics of the game.
So, in Tape 2, there will be a few more exotic moments: unlocking a puzzle or finding a solution to a clue or something you have to do. There is a twist with the camcorder and your videos that I don’t want to spoil, that hopefully will resonate with players. It will be the way you film the game that will be important at a point story-wise, and hopefully, there will be a strong connection between those pictures and your own journey.”
Will Tape 2 also include more puzzles than the handful seen in the first half? Koch says yes. “There are puzzles that I really like in Tape 2. One is more like a narrative puzzle that’s still a blend of interaction, moving around, and dialogue. I think it’s very interesting because it uses all our narrative design elements, dialog options, and your knowledge about the characters to unlock situations, not just by finding objects but also by really knowing someone and using your main tools of dialogue and the camcorder.”
Tonight, Tonight
What about the other half of the narrative, the friends reuniting in a bar again 27 years later? “That part will still take place mostly in the bar,” says Koch. “We still need to finish remembering the past. We need to open the box, which will be an important scene. We have four different main endings at the end of the present-day portion, with variations on those endings based on your choices. During those endings, we will get out of the bar. You might discover a bit more of how the town is today, 27 years later.”
The bar, he explains, is what the game’s whole concept was built around originally. “Our pitch was a story where we were trying to convey the feeling of meeting again with old friends you haven’t seen for a long time, having a discussion with them, where you would be remembering your past and seeing if you can reconnect with them today. I thought of having a moment in a bar, in a restaurant, or a room where you start to connect again, and sometimes you reconnect perfectly. Sometimes, it’s iffy, and you don’t know if you can still be friends. That was the interesting part for me, the narrative aspect. Within these walls, you’re forced to talk. You’re facing each other, so you are obliged to remember the past.”
We asked Koch if he had any closing comments for fans. “I would say to the players, thanks for playing Tape 1, and I hope that Tape 2 will fulfill their hope of where the game goes. I also hope that Tape 2 will surprise them where the game goes, and that they enjoy seeing how relationship choice and morality choices they made in tape one play out. What will happen in Tape 2 will surprise, but also hopefully satisfy them, and they will love the end of the journey. For new players, I hope that they will love the characters, interacting with those girls, and engaging with this story, with us, with the summer.”
