Hi! My name is Michael Frei. I worked on Time Flies, a game in which you play as a fly that comes on July 31 on PlayStation 5! This is a game you could see for the first time on PlayStation a few years ago, and now it’s almost here.
Before you start playing as a fly, we check where the game is played.
Country selection screen
If you come from Switzerland, your average life expectancy according to the World Health Organization is 83.3 years. In the game we convert years for 83.3 seconds (after all you are a fly). The goal is to complete the wish list before death. Because the expected life expectancy in the United States is 76.4 years, you get 76.4 seconds when you play with the USA.
Start for a fly
This means that the game will be more complex in some places than in others.
Wish list
But what to do in this world before you die? This is a complex question. Fortunately, the game contains a list of things to do. All you have to do is come up with how to do it, and then do them all in one life. At the beginning it may seem impossible, but you can die while trying, and ultimately you will get it. This Is Game about life, but you get many chances.
The challenge related to the passage of time was to come up with things that a fly can do. My personal favorite is the “Find God” staff. Here are the steps we went through to design it – without spoilers, so that you can find God yourself!
Early sketch of a game controller with a fly on a directional pad
Step 1: Getting ideas
Ok, so you played a million video games. But have you ever played a video game as a fly in a video game? How in a video game … in a video game? And wouldn’t it be even more finish if you could find God in this video game? The first idea was a platform game in which you must escape from hell and reach heaven. But this idea had some problems.
Platform game model in the game
Step 2: Understanding restrictions
The problem was that only one button could be liberated at once while playing as a fly. IN Time fliesAll your actions are triggered by the air rod control. You only physically cooperate with the world, bouncing, landing or walking for things. There are no drain buttons or key combinations that you can employ. You can interact with buttons and buttons liberating by landing on them and passing over them.
Screenshot of the final game in the game
Step 3: doing it well
The solution was to build a very elementary game, which is based only on three virtual inputs: the left right directional pad and the trigger button to start the game. You don’t have to reach for the heavens to find God – everything you have to do is look both ways and go in the right direction (which can be on the left). And if it’s too elementary for you, don’t worry: another game can be hidden! Not only a video game you play as a fly in a video game, but a video game you play as a fly in a video game that you play as a fly! It makes sense, we promise.
We hope you play well in the game as a fly in time when it comes to PS5 on July 31! 🖤
