Exclusive: South of Midnight Interview with Guillaume Provost

Compulsion Games is set to release their highly anticipated new game South of Midnight soon. While the game already has many thrilling trailers and gameplay demos, including the Developer_Direct that gave everyone a deeper look at the narrative elements and authenticity of the setting and its lore. With all of this in mind, there is still so much to learn from the development team.

Luckily, Lord Cognito, CEO of Lords of Gaming, and the beloved King David of the Iron Lords Podcast were able to sit down with Founder of Compulsion Games, Guillaume Provost to talk shop about the games setting, art direction and what players can expect from the narrative.

An Authentic Journey in the Deep South

While the gameplay style is already known to many who are eagerly awaiting the game’s release. The setting of South of Midnight was an important task for Compulsion Games to get right. The interesting mythology and depth of its lore was tackled on multiple fronts. Not only did the team take multiple research trips to Louisiana, Tennessee and the Carolinas. They also pulled from their own knowledge of the areas as members of the team originated there. Allowing Compulsion Games to get a previous “local experience” so to speak.

Everything from the locales and frequency of church’s, what billboards in the areas looked like and even discovering what a Piggly Wiggly was. Compulsion Games aimed to make the setting authentic while not detracting from the fantastical narrative they are crafting.

The Heart and Soul Poured into South of Midnight

Guillaume described the narrative in South of Midnight as aiming towards relatability for the struggle the main character, Hazel will go through in the game. In the Developer_Direct, Compulsion Games treated everyone to an ensemble of different local myths. But did not forget to shine a light on the angle of Hazel’s journey, as her mother was swept away following a fight and having to become a weaver to hopefully find her again.

Along the way, Hazel will encounter various different characters, all with their own past. While exploring the many locales, and meeting friends and foes, a certain is made, subtle, yet significant. Music is a massive part of experiences in video games overall, and South of Midnight is no exception. Not only will the music composed for each segment of the game match the tone – the lyrical additions to each track will add to the story of each character and moment they are used. Not too dissimilar to the effort they put into The Make Believes in We Happy Few, their previous game.

Stop Motion, and Accessibility Features

One final part of the interview Guillaume explained was the decision for the stop motion animation. He explained that it was decided by Whitney Clayton, the art director on South of Midnight. It is style that is not used very often in games, and even in film and TV shows these days. Making it a clearly unique choice for the game.

But while it might seem jarring for most players, there will be a toggle for it in gameplay segments. Just keep in mind that it will resume in cutscenes and story moments. Compulsion Games ensured the transition from gameplay with the stop motion toggled off will be smooth. Guillaume also hinted at multiple accessibility and gameplay features to alleviate certain frustrations in certain scenarios that players can encounter.

Parting Words from Guillaume

Guillaume has been through his fair share of industry strife. In the interview he mentioned multiple times the problems him and Compulsion Games went through with their past titles, including Contrast. But with the acquisition of Xbox and Microsoft, Compulsion Games were given all of the time and resources they needed with South of Midnight. Considering the games release date being April 8, Guillaume shared one last sentiment before the interview was over.

Guillaume only wishes that players who pick up South of Midnight will feel like the game respected every minute of the time they spent in the game. He mentioned it would be around a 10–12-hour game, which is just perfect for most gamers these days.