Expanding the Life is Strange universe – the franchises first side-quel

As we move past Episode 1 on the road to #JourneysEnd, we approach a first for the Life is Strange franchise. With The Awesome Adventures of Captain Spirit, there was an opportunity to create an experience not only additive to Life is Strange 2 (and more specifically Episode 2), but to expand the universe by focusing on one side character in-depth – transforming a secondary character into the hero of their very own game. Whilst a rich and touching experience in its own right, Chris appears in Life is Strange 2 Episode 2 to Sean and Daniel for the first time, but as a fully-fledged character to the player.

We spoke to Co-Creative Director Raoul Barbet and Square Enix Senior Game Designer Alejandro Gallardo about Captain Spirit, it’s connection to Episode 2, and what the experience meant to them.

What excited you about getting the opportunity to deepen a connection to a side character by giving them their own chapter?

Raoul: We had been wanting to create a smaller project which would allow us to further develop a character since the very beginning. We chose Chris because his story made for an interesting mirror to that of Sean and Daniel. Chris is roughly Daniel’s age, so we also talk about education and family through his relationship with his father. Of course, it was a first introduction of these themes before diving into them in LiS2 with Sean and Daniel. It made for an interesting parallel and it also allowed us to develop themes we had been wanting to expand upon for a long time, namely childhood, loneliness and the imaginary worlds we create as children.

Was it always the plan to use Captain Spirit for a standalone slice of story or were other characters considered?

Alejandro: When we started talking about the standalone, there were other characters that we thought it would have been cool to explore, like the drifters. But the one that resonated the most with everyone was Chris’s story.

Chris doesn’t have a power, but his wild imagination allows for many more abstract and imaginary scenes than we’re used to seeing in Life is Strange games. Can you tell us about your favourite manifestation?

Raoul: Indeed, there isn’t really a power per se in Captain Spirit, but we see Chris’s imagination as a power of sorts. If memory serves, the first manifestation I wanted to see was the one in the long dark corridor Chris must walk through to turn on the water heater. The idea was to make this corridor longer because it embodies a childhood fear, and in our imagination, the corridor appears longer than it really is because we’re scared. It turned into the evil water heater that you need to turn back on, which became a scene in itself, and the basis from which we created all the other imaginary scenes.

I would say the water heater is my favourite because I love the monster we created, and because it’s what started everything else. My second favourite is the planet, as I think it’s amazing visually and it adds a very cool element of science-fiction.

Alejandro: My favourite manifestation was the Water Eater monster, because it reminded me of my childhood. Kid me and my brother always had a room in the house that was dark and we always imagined monsters living in there, so the fact that Chris needs his alter ego to go in there to beat the monster was very relatable.

How do you think the player’s time with Chris in Captain Spirit enhances their view of the character in Life is Strange 2 Episode 2?

Alejandro: By experiencing the world through Chris’s eyes, it allows everyone to connect with his story as soon as you see him in Episode 2, making the decisions from Sean’s perspective even more difficult, because you care from Chris and you want the best for him.

Hopefully you care even more about the bond that Daniel creates with Chris, because for the first time you have seen Daniel happy with a friend – and you know that both kids need each other.

Life is Strange is known for tackling difficult realities of life, and in this chapter we were exposed to a young boy living in a home struggling with loss. Whilst Chris takes solace in his imagination, his father suffers from alcoholism. Why is it important for games to explore these elements of life?

Raoul: We try to talk about the realities of our society, and we wanted to tackle these themes – communication issues between father and son, loss, grief, and first and foremost, how children often find an escape from grown-up issues through their imagination. We think video games are an ideal medium to tackle these issues because they involve the player, and by playing Chris, we get back into the spirit of being a kid, home alone. As we’re playing a game, it creates a particularly interesting parallel, it’s quite meta: we’re playing a game in which Chris is trying to play to stave off boredom and maybe also to take his mind off of his issues with his father and the loss of his mother. Talking about all this was very important to us.

After getting to know Captain Spirit in his Awesome Adventures, and in Episode 2, we move onto Episode 3 in our road to the #JourneysEnd.

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