The recently released South of Midnight may have an aesthetic inspired by handmade stop-motion animation but it's still created with 3D models. Despite sharing a similar name, The Midnight Walk goes one step further – everything you see does actually physically exist.
"I've been working with games for 30 years now, but I've always been kind of making sculptures too," Moonhood co-founder Klaus Lyngeled tells me.
Having worked with fellow co-founder Olov Redman previously at Zoink where the two co-directed Lost in Random, they both left after feeling the studio had gotten too big (it was eventually integrated into Thunderful Development in 2020), and wanted to get back to more creative projects.
Ironically, making clay sculptures was initially just a pastime for Klaus, though it was very early on that he had made the character of PotBoy, a lantern creature with a small flame on top of his head, who would end up becoming the key character for the studio's debut game.
From modelling hobby to new game
How this went from an artist's hobby into a new game was actually quite straightforward.
"I basically found out it's not very hard to actually scan these 3D models," Klaus explains, noting that The Midnight Walk contains more than 700 handmade clay models that have been scanned before being assembled in Unreal Engine 5. (For a similar workflow read our feature in how Harold Halibut was made.)
Despite the somewhat daunting number of models needed for the game's animation, Klaus clarifies it's less painstaking than it sounds. "We only worked for a year with about two to three people. Some models are quite simple to make but still look amazing in the game. It’s the rough style that makes it look handmade, but also quick to build."
He adds: "For example, building a full house only takes about one or two days, while a character takes three days at most. Remember, real objects have an unlimited amount of details even if they are made in a rough style."
It's not all clay either, as observing from a gameplay walkthrough, I notice some objects made from all kinds of materials, like a tent made out of a book folded out where you can still see some of the text on the pages, while an old coffee grinder was turned into a house with legs, which incidentally becomes your mobile base of sorts.
"We do a lot of thrift shopping," says Olov Redman. "All these objects from our world are giant in this miniature world to get a sense of a world outside this world seeping in."
Another benefit of having created real physical models is that they can also be filmed in live-action. One of the collectibles you'll find are film reels that you can then use in a film projector in your mobile home.
"We actually film real puppet sets, puppeteer them and then make these short movies with them that explains the backstory," Klaus explains. "As you go through the world, you can explore these different movies and find out what really happened to the world."
This is easily the most interesting lore drop I've heard of compared to the tired uses of written notes and audio logs.
Animating for VR
While what I have seen of The Midnight Walk has only been on a flat screen, developing it for VR as well was decided very early on. I can imagine that the PSVR2's 4K lenses will also mean all of the details of these real handmade creatures and objects won't be lost. That evidently also meant ensuring its stop-motion effects don't cause discomfort for VR users.
"We did a lot of different tests on the movement and we actually animate so that it looks slow when needed and smooth when needed," Klaus clarifies. "In certain places it’s fully 90 FPS, such as when enemies are procedurally animating their legs or when you are using your hands, and sometimes only 12 FPS in cutscenes. Many times it’s a mix in the same animation."
VR is also a perfect medium for horror (there's even a mechanic where you can physically close your eyes to make the monsters go away, while also heightening your ability to hear). Yet while much of the time is spent walking in darkness, there's an undeniable cosiness to The Midnight Walk's world, mostly down to the charming presence of PotBoy and his flame.
"To tell a story about warmth, you have to feel it too – the play with PotBoy, the strange communities you come across, and the breaks by the fireplace together with the creatures of this world who are only looking for some measure of peace," Olov explains.
He adds: "I’m a late bloomer when it comes to horror, and I know I manage to sit through a horror movie if I like the protagonists, if there’s some humour and nuance in there and not just cynical death and destruction. The world of The Midnight Walk has gone through and is going through a lot - but it is not doomed."
The Midnight Walk releases on PS5 and PC, playable on PSVR2 and PC VR, on 8th May. Enjoyed this interview? Sign up to our newsletters for more art and design insights.
