New details emerge on Life is Strange: Before the Storm

The internet has been abuzz with excitement since the announcement of Life is Strange: Before the Storm. Yesterday, an official trailer was unveiled at Microsoft's E3 conference, revealing a release date of August 31st for the first of three episodes in this prequel to the original Life is Strange. Today, IGN opened its E3 show with a segment on the anticipated prequel, sitting down with two of the game's developers to bring more information to the fans.

We've summarized the details that have emerged from the interview, which you can watch over at IGN. You can watch the game footage that was shown during the interview below. In a Press Release accompanied with the official release of the footage, Square Enix states:

Following the announcement on the Xbox E3 briefing of Life is Strange: Before the Storm – the next game in the award-winning, episodic franchise – Square Enix have released the very first gameplay footage video that is available to download now.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm is set in Arcadia Bay, three years before the events of the first game and introduces a rebellious 16 year-old Chloe Price who forms an unlikely friendship with the beautiful and popular Rachel Amber.

This in depth, 20-minute video showcases three separate scenes from the first episode entitled ‘Awake’. In this footage edited together from three much longer scenes, the first scene takes place in an abandoned mill on the outskirts of Arcadia Bay where Chloe has managed to gain entry to an illegal concert. The second takes place later in the episode where the girls have spent the day together in another brand new environment called The Overlook - and the third and final scene will take the girls back to an important area from the first game that fans will be familiar with.

The game is coming to Xbox, PS4 and PC and the first of the three episodes will be released on August 31, 2017.

While the original Life is Strange was developed by DONTNOD Entertainment, the prequel is being developed by Deck Nine Games. They have been preparing for three years to make a narrative adventure game, and a partnership with Square Enix is what has led to the development of the prequel to Life is Strange. They couldn't be more thrilled to be working on this game because they are fans of the original.

While DONTNOD has been moving forward with the sequel, the team at Deck Nine Games wants to explore the unanswered questions of the story and characters in the first game. They are excited to be working in an episodic format, especially with Life is Strange's established, passionate community.

The developers also feel like this is the right story for them to tell. Everyone has had a time in their life in which they've met someone who changed their world. Due to how Life is Strange tackles many real-world subjects that affect people in their everyday lives, the team wants to do the same with Life is Strange: Before the Storm while telling a different story in that universe.

In this season, there will be no manifestation of supernatural elements. Time travel was something that is integral to Max's character. Max is someone who is shy and hesitates on the choices she makes. In contrast, Chloe is brash, has attitude, and is a wrecking ball who has a lot of courage and doesn't care as much about the consequences.

The developers wanted to avoid making Arcadia Bay feel like a town that is filled with superheroes. Instead of giving Chloe a supernatural power, they would rather focus on the heart of the series: how it deals with real world problems and the relationships between its relatable characters.

This three-episode installment in the universe of Life is Strange will focus on Chloe and her relationship with Rachel Amber, who has mysteriously gone missing before the start of the original Life is Strange. When asked as to whether you can play as Rachel, the developers stated that this is Chloe's story from her point of view, and thus you will only be able to play as Chloe in the main game.

One concern that fans have expressed is that Chloe does not have the same voice actress. Ashly Burch, who is well-known for her incredible emotional performance in the original Life is Strange as Chloe, will not be returning as a voice actress in this installment. She revealed on Twitter earlier today that she did not resume the role due to the SAG-AFTRA strike.

While she isn't voicing Chloe, she is involved with the writing. The developers say that she received the script for the first episode, fell in love with it, and joined the team as a story consultant. She consulted from lines to the overarching story, sharing her unique perspective on what Chloe is all about.

However, even though this prequel will primarily focus on Chloe, fans can still look forward to playing as the original game's protagonist, Max Caulfield, once more. In the Deluxe Edition of Life is Strange: Before the Storm is a bonus "Farewell" episode in which you will have the chance to play as her one last time. It is a special episode that they will begin to make once they finish the main three episodes, and they will speak more on that later.

Additionally, Max's absence is said to be an almost presence that is felt throughout this game. It is something critical to Chloe's life in this moment. The developers share that Chloe actually writes letters to Max that she never ends up sending.

Various faces from the original game will be returning. You will see Joyce, David, and much more familiar characters in addition to a variety of new ones as you enter Rachel's world. You will see familiar locations like Blackwell and the junkyard. It was important to the team to return to these characters and locations to explore them in different ways.

As said before, this season will focus on Chloe and Rachel's bond. With Chloe, the developers want to explore a version of Chloe that we do not yet know. Here is where we will see her transformation into the blue-haired punk that many fans know and love in the original game. Emotionally and psychologically, Chloe is in a different place in this prequel from where she is then.

The first season of Life is Strange featured a lot of ambiguity in its choices and consequences. It embraced that there are no right or wrong answers, just different choices with different consequences. Deck Nine Games has preserved this ambiguity in Life is Strange: Before the Storm.

There was also a lot of ambiguity in the relationship between Chloe and Rachel. Just as how you can shape how Max and Chloe's relationship turns out in the first game, you can determine how Chloe and Rachel's relationship plays out here. The developers believe that the first game is extremely successful in how it portrayed complex characters with rich bonds.

It’s important for them to not be prescriptive about how players choose to relate to the characters and the world, just to create strong characters and relationships in a vibrant world. The ambiguity in Rachel and Chloe's relationship gave the developers a lot of room to create the story in various ways so that players have different chances to let it blossom however they want.

Mechanically, in order to create branching narratives, the developers are using a tool called Story Forge. To them, it was sacred to preserve the feeling of the original Life is Strange in both the game's atmosphere and mechanics, so the UI in this prequel is very similar. The developers also have animation sliders that have helped them create the emotional performances they need to tell this story.

In regards to the dialogue in this narrative, they have various writers who are working to create authentic lines that avoid typical and cliche teen territory. However, they acknowledge that this is a teen story, and teenage lives can be full of cliches. At times, the writing in the original Life is Strange embraced cliches, so the writing in Life is Strange: Before the Storm will do the same.

Even though Deck Nine Games is working on this prequel, they talked about DONTNOD's sequel for a moment. When asked about whether the series is open to exploring different stories in the future, or if Max and Chloe are its heart and soul, the developers said that while they do not want to speak for DONTNOD, they believe that DONTNOD embraces stories that live in all sorts of places. This is another hint towards the possibility that the sequel of Life is Strange focusing on a new cast rather than on Max and Chloe.

Ultimately, the developers believe Life is Strange has resonated with people in the ways it has because it explores characters and heroes who aren’t perfect, who have vulnerabilities and flaws - and that is an important thing to do. They are making this prequel with a lot of love and passion, and just like many fans, they are excited for the first episode to be released.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm will contain three episodes that will amount to a total of six to nine hours of play. The first episode will be released on August 31st. For more coverage on the game, keep an eye on all our news and updates!