If you’re looking for an intriguing mystery with some horror and investigative elements, then you’ll probably be interested in The Missing Few, an upcoming title from Missing Game Studio, that’s due out in October on Steam.
The developers have worked very hard on various details and aspects of the game, including creating a sound system that puts players right in the middle of the action, auditorily.
We were so enthralled by the look and concept of the game when we discovered it, that we decided to ask the developers about its creation and some of the inspirations behind TMF’s creepily cool locations and storyline.
Here’s what Eric Lavallee & Connor McKee from Missing Game Studio had to say.
Tell us about your company, Missing Game Studio.
We come from all over the world, but the one thing that unites us is our love of games. We’ve been working together for some time now, and our project has seen an incredible evolution over time.
Tell us about The Missing Few.
The Missing Few is about Jack Norwood, a 38-year-old man, coming back to Staten to uncover the truth about his son’s disappearance after a call from his old friend, detective Scott Clarke.
Jack is a father struggling with his past and tormented by the loss of his son (and later wife), who is brought back to where it all began. As Jack, the player will explore the town of Staten to face his past and confront the truth behind Guiding light.
What was the inspiration behind the storyline?
One of our main influences was Cropsey, rumored to be a homicidal madman, an escaped mental patient with a hook for a hand who hunted children and dragged them back to the tunnel system that lay under the abandoned ruins of the old Seaview Hospital, a former tuberculosis sanitarium.
We also pulled inspiration from games such as Gone Home, and the Amnesia series.
Can you give us a few facts about the town of Staten, where the game takes place? Was the setting based on any real-life location(s)?
Yes, this goes back to our main inspiration Cropsey, a boogeyman-like figure from New York City urban legends. The town of Staten is directly influenced by Staten Island, the location the stories are based upon.
What type of gameplay can we enjoy in The Missing Few?
In The Missing Few, players will investigate and explore a semi-open world, finding evidence to uncover what happened all those years ago.
There is a stealth aspect. You’ll have some devilishly intelligent enemies to contend with. You’ll be ducking into cover or, if you’re more adventurous, luring them away with a distraction or two.
There are puzzles to solve and there’s a deep lore to uncover through investigating props and documents, throughout the town.
What are some of the most important elements of an investigative/mystery game?
We feel being able to interact with as much of the world as possible is an important element in getting the player immersed. In The Missing Few, the player can pick up and inspect many objects and documents.
One of the many elements you’ve been working hard on is the sound. Can you tell us what you’re doing to create a sound in-game that imitates how we hear things in real life?
We are very excited about sound in The Missing Few, utilizing next-generation software and ray casting thanks to Wwise by Audiokinetic Unreal integration.
We’ve been able to utilize every type of technique currently available to developers. This includes “Stochastic Ray Casting Spatial Audio” to simulate how sound bounces off surfaces and bends around objects.
In The Missing Few, we are creating convincing reverberations based on samples of real acoustic spaces, from the smallest room to the largest cathedral.
The Missing Few also features voice capture. You can yell in the game and someone will hear you. Even a whisper can give away your position if the enemy is near.
You’re currently looking for funding on Indiegogo. What are your main goals for the campaign?
Our main campaign goal is to help us pay for development costs.
We are using plugins developed by Wwise Audiokinetic to help achieve our next gen sound in-game. We are required to pay the current total of $4,500 in licensing fees before we can release The Missing Few.
You’re planning to bring The Missing Few to Steam in October, with a possible future release on consoles. Which platforms will this include? Will console releases most likely happen next year?
The current timeline is unknown for console release, however, that would include all current and upcoming generation consoles excluding the Nintendo Switch at this time.
We also hope to one day have a limited run physical release on select consoles.
You mention on your website that you’ll be looking for additional people to help bring The Missing Few to full fruition. Do you know yet what positions you’ll be looking to fulfill and, if so, how can interested parties get in touch?
Those positions include mainly the need for voice actors and a composer.
We just recently added a composer to our team, who reached out to us on LinkedIn. We really enjoyed his past work. He was interested in the project, so we asked him to join.
He will help us develop our dynamic soundtrack and main themes.
What’s next for Missing Game Studio?
We have a couple of game projects in the works. After The Missing Few is complete and available to everyone, we’ll be diving into those. For more details, you’ll have to wait and see.
What’s your best piece of advice to fellow indie developers who are creating their first game?
Keep things simple to begin with.
Once you have a working concept, build yourself a demo that covers the basics of your game and keep testing the core gameplay until it’s perfect.
Your friends might be a little confused about the demo to begin with, but after a while they’ll be asking you for progress, and wondering when the next build will be ready for them to try out.
That demo will be the seed for something much larger.
End Interview
Thanks so much to Eric Lavallee & Connor McKee for taking the time to answer our questions. We’ll look forward to the release of The Missing Few on PC, later this year.
If you’d like to help bring The Missing Few to fruition, you can give to the game’s funding campaign currently running on Indiegogo.
Keep up with the latest news from Missing Game Studio via Twitter.
Follow the latest development blogs on indiedb.com.
See a trailer and read more about The Missing Few on the title’s official website.
The Missing Few can be wishlisted on Steam.
