Exploring the Unthinkable: Josef Fares on How Split Fiction Elevates Co-Op Adventures

Creating Split Fiction was no small feat. The game seems to surprise players every quarter of an hour, constantly introducing new mechanics while letting go of the old ones. The challenge, though, is to make sure each innovation doesn’t feel like it’s only partially developed.

Take, for instance, the dragon-riding segment in Split Fiction. Crafting even a single dragon took around eight months to perfect. Earlier in my career, a lot of my colleagues would wonder, “Why put in such an extensive effort for just a ten-minute gameplay piece?”

But think about it like this: in movies, you don’t keep replaying a great scene just because it came with a hefty price tag. Sometimes, overusing those breathtaking moments might just dull their initial magic. There’s a common notion in the gaming industry that costly features should be used repeatedly, but why should they? Recycling content could dilute the thrill that comes with experiencing it for the first time.

In Split Fiction, we’ve taken this approach to the extreme by creating vast sections of content that players can completely skip if they wish. While It Takes Two offered a few mini-games along the journey, here you can uncover full-scale worlds through portals, filled with new mechanics, unique bosses, and stunning visuals.

In essence, it feels like discovering an entirely separate game within the main game itself.