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Along with OPUS: Echo of Starsong ($8.99) after being released on iOS after hitting PC and entertainment, I had a chance to talk with Scott Chen who is the founder and executive producer of Sigono. In our conversation, I touched on topics such as game subscription services, mobile delivery, Sigono’s upcoming games, and feedback OPUS: Echo of Starsong on iOS until now.
TouchArcade: Tell us a little about yourself and what you do at Sigono.
Scott Chen:Hi! This is Scott Chen, I’m the founder of SIGONO and the current executive producer of the OPUS series.
SIGONO (formerly known as Team Signal) was started 9 years ago, when Brian met me while studying at Carnegie Mellon University. During that time we developed a game prototype for the Microsoft Kinect called The Last Signal, and sold the idea to a large company. The money helped us kickstart SIGONO, and after releasing a few arcade titles on the App Store, we started thinking about how we could make games that players would remember. We wanted to tell interesting stories that would leave a lasting impression, and this led us to the OPUS story.
TA: I saw Sigono with OPUS: The Day We Found Earth last year. With every OPUS game, the range expands, and Echo of Starsong is a big step up in every way. What has changed for this game to give it a big jump compared to previous releases?
SC: I think for the three games, our goal has been to tell an exciting story. With each title, we have made the most of our resources to reach that goal, and luckily for us, each game has succeeded in providing a larger amount of money for the next, allowing for greater scope. The transition from a small group of people doing everything to a team of specialized members takes a long time to come, but when things are going smoothly, it’s opened up a lot of art tools that helped us create more content.
TA: Although the OPUS games started first before going to PC and then Switch, OPUS: Echo of Starsong was on PC before going to consoles and finally to iOS. How does the journey run through multiple layers at a time?
SC: I think the porting experience for the three games is very different, not only because of the differences between each game, but also because the market grows with each release. In general, going from mobile to PC and PC to mobile poses its own challenges. For mobile to PC, you need to increase the overall experience to meet the higher price. And for PC to mobile, you have to consider performance limitations on older devices. But an important thing that has been brought to us is the real planning of the type of platforms that we carry, because you have to calculate the demand on each platform, ease of transportation, and the probability of the platform showing your game, which is very difficult. predictions for a publishing house like ours.
TA: How is the response to the current iOS launch?
SC: The response so far has been overwhelmingly positive. We were very confident that this was the case before it was released, since it was a port of a game that collected many awards, and received critical praise in every possible field. However, the experience of playing with touch on small devices is very different compared to keyboards and controllers, so we paid a lot of attention to improving the user experience for mobile, and I think it paid off!
TA: How does it work on the mobile app after needing to update OPUS: Echo of Starsong for Nintendo Switch?
SC: The mobile version is a different beast compared to other versions we’ve carried. First, the UI and control panels have been redesigned to follow Apple’s design policy to provide the best user experience, because we want to make sure the controls are intuitive. , and will not interfere with the player’s hydration. Another big change we made was re-rendering a lot of our CG footage and tweaking a lot of levels to fit the wider aspect ratio and smaller screens. While only a small percentage of players will notice the differences, we believe these changes will add up, and paying attention to detail will help us differentiate ourselves from other games available on the App Store.
TA: OPUS: Echo of Starsong is available on Xbox Game Pass. Is this the first time a Sigono game has joined a game subscription service?
SC: Yes, OPUS: Echo of Starsong is our first game to be made available on a variety of game subscription services. To be honest, we didn’t know if there was a demand in XGP, but after the game was finished, we saw that many players were waiting for it, and there was a lot of positive response. The timing also helped us reach new fans. We’ve had players confirm that they don’t normally play our style of games, or that it’s their first time playing a movie series, but they’re hooked on the story, and the ending is jaw-dropping. So I’d say it’s a great experience!
TA: Have you planned to take it to mobile through Apple Arcade or Netflix given the option?
SC: We believe that both platforms are perfect for OPUS: Echo of Starsong, as they both focus on the same web experiences, especially at the time. If anyone knows anything about Apple Arcade or Netflix, we’d love to talk!
And finally, because iOS is where the OPUS series started, it’s like coming home, so we want to keep it that way, by bringing the product best we can.
TA: I own the Japanese release of the OPUS Collection and would love to add this to my collection to complete the trilogy physically. Are there any plans for a physical release of OPUS: Echo of Starsong on Switch?
SC: We are talking to publishers about the physical release of OPUS: Echo of Starsong, because we know that many fans have been looking forward to getting a physical copy (or the collection book). But nothing is set in stone yet, so please stay tuned for official announcements!
TA: After bringing the audio to the game on PC and it has been installed in all other versions from the beginning, there is something that you can not add to the game that you want to Do you have resources to bring?
SC: Because the story of the game is so important, language support is something that we would like to have. Especially the English voice, because we get tons of requests for it.
TA: OPUS: Echo of Starsong is less than half the application price on mobile compared to PC and consoles. Considering that mobile games are cheaper than PC and console platforms, is there anything else that led you to choose this price?
SC: This is a difficult question to answer. For us, pricing is always a tug-of-war between what we think the game is really worth, and what mobile users are used to paying for. People these days want to play games with microtransactions, so it makes sense for us to do the same. Then the game must be designed in a completely different way, because we have to think about when the players want to pay. We’ve decided against this because we want to keep the experience that PC gamers love and appreciate, so we’ve ended up complaining about what we think will make people happy. mobile game, cheaper than the Steam version in price.
TA: Any idea to add iCloud storage support (didn’t work for me if installed) or full drive support on the phone?
SC: We can’t promise, but we are looking into them.
TA: With it now on iOS, the only platforms left are Android and PlayStation. Any idea to bring those two platforms together?
SC: Yes, we love it! However, the team behind the iOS port is tired, so maybe later (laughs).
TA: OPUS: Echo of Starsong has about 97-98% positive reviews on Steam right now. What lessons from OPUS: Echo of Starsong did you take to help your next game?
SC: With OPUS: Echo of Starseng, we have committed ourselves to tell a story that is deeply rooted in Asian culture to a wider audience.
One of the main themes of the story is the beauty of loss, the light and growth of letting go of someone you truly love, even if it means you die. This concept is very common among Asians, but less so in the west. So in order to simplify the story, we explored different ways of combining elements from different cultures to create the world of Echo of Starsong. The result is a sci-fi setting that is familiar to westerners at first glance, but built on a myth that is not clearly Asian.
This method helped us to get a lot of information after the release, when we read reviews of the game from all over the world. It is very difficult to sum up what we have learned, because it has a lot to do with our story style, but we are confident that now we have a better understanding of how to take it. to an experience inspired by Asian culture in the general public.
TA: Tell us a little about Project Mountain.
SC: In keeping with the tradition of stepping up our game with each entry, Project Mountain will once again be a huge leap from Echo of Starsong in all aspects of production, while remaining true to form. in the same heartfelt content that our fans are familiar with.
The project’s Steam page has already been revealed, so for those who like it, you can wishlist and follow it now! We are hard at work developing the new program, and hope we have something to share with you!
For now, I’ll leave you with this: “The land of the gods resides in our minds.”
TA: Is Project Mountain on iOS the beginning or the end?
SC: Bringing our games to as many players on as many platforms as possible is important to us, but that’s because the mobile landscape has changed so much in recent years. , it is difficult for us to promise the Project or not. The mount is on iOS at launch. That’s something we want to do, since iOS is where the OPUS series started.
Thanks to Scott Chen of Sigono for his time after the start of OPUS: Echo of Starsong on IOS.
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