South of Midnightrecently launched back in April. Compulsion Games' latest title is set in the bayous and backstreets of the American Deep South, bringing players to a location that is often underserved in gaming. Combining its depiction of the area with a stop-motion art style and a magical realism story drawing from its folklore, real-life history, and Gothic aspects,South of Midnightoffers a unique and distinct portrayal of the region.
Compulsion’s Studio Head Guillaume Provost sat down with Game Rant to go into further detail about how the development team went about carefully researching and buildingSouth of Midnight’s world. He outlined their trips to the South, gathering information and finding inspiration to integrate into the game, as well as working with various artists who also hailed from the region and provided valuable insight and assistance in creating its overall vision.
How Compulsion Games Realized South of Midnight’s Deep Southern Setting
South of Midnight’s Regional Sensibilities Were Extensively Researched
While some team members were from and were familiar with the area, Compulsion also brought on additional local writers, musicians, and other artists to ensure that everything felt seamless and authentic. After deciding onSouth of Midnight’s location, Provost described the team’s visits to the South and how they then took their observations and wove them into the design and tale:
We went on two research trips, one in the Louisiana area and the other in parts of Appalachia to see what the vibe of each space was. We saw some really interesting, iconic, and distinctive things, like the bottle tree that’s on the logo. We saw people painting their porches that shade of blue… just getting a sense of what day-to-day life is like to decide whether we’re seeing a reflection of the myths and folktales.
In terms of how this translated toSouth of Midnight’s presentationof the area, its peoples, and their collective history, Provost noted that art director Whitney Clayton took charge of “picking out what was really iconic about those places and kind of dialing that up to 11 to make a bit of a mishmash of what we feel are the things that make that region the most interesting.”
How South of Midnight Strove to Depict the South for All Audiences
Provost stated thatSouth of Midnight’s stories “really stem from understanding and trying to take the folktales that we researched and match them tomythical creaturesto build an actual history of those creatures and give an explanation for how they became who they are, and in some cases, humanizing them.” He added:
I want to verify that whatever story we’re telling, it’s accomplishing two things: that someone who is from the region will feel like we’ve respected the material and done the research of trying to portray the area, characters, and storylines in a way that feels recognizable. And for someone who’s not, they’ll get a window into a culture that they may not have been exposed to, and the intimate details of what makes the space different.
Provost went on to say that “the actors, writers, musicians, and the handful of folks that we had on our team really helped us to absorb the culture and be able to interpret it faithfully.” Given that he also revealed thatSouth of Midnighthas reached over 1 million playerssince release, it seems the hard work and meticulous efforts to render the region and its rich lore in such a way has truly paid off.
