Worlds Apart: Éric Chahi on Another World's enduring influence

Rare is the videogame that can survive twenty years of industry development, along with changing cultural tastes, and still feel fresh, relevant, even vital. Another World is one such game, perhaps the only of its kind; two decades later, it still feels like a curious oddity – in the best possible sense. Hence, last month game designer Éric Chahi and Digital Lounge re-released the strange and disquieting adventure of scientist Lester Chaykin in time for the original game's 20^th anniversary.

It wasn’t the first time Chahi had done such a thing, having re-skinned his signature title for PC five years ago, but this time Another World received the cross-format release that the original had enjoyed all those years ago. “With time I realised how much Another World has become something special for me and for some players,” explains Chahi on his decision to release the game once more. “That was the motivation behind the 15^th anniversary edition. Last year I was excited with the idea of bringing it back to consoles but the graphics were a bit too pixelated and somewhat rough for the current hardware.”

As such, Chahi, along with developer Martial Hesse-Dreville, brought the visuals of Another World more in line with what an indie title on Xbox Live or PSN may look like in 2014. “I retouched all the art in an increased resolution and gave the backgrounds a more subtle tone to be better harmonised with the flat colours of the main characters,” explains Chahi. “I wanted to enhance the game graphically so it matched what we have in our memory from playing the game in the past.”

“I wanted to enhance the game graphically so it matched what we have in our memory from playing the game in the past” – Éric Chahi 

By this, Chahi means that Another World: 20^th Anniversary Edition doesn’t exactly zing with cutting edge graphical technology but rather utilises a stylized retro look to, hopefully, make the game look as your memory may have tricked you into remembering it. Chahi even used his original toolkit on an Amiga emulator (the original format AW was released on) for the sake of authenticity. And like the recent Halo: Anniversary, there is even the option to toggle between both graphical modes at the touch of a button.

Of course, Another World’s look was only one part of its appeal. Its rotoscoped characters and hand drawn art may have struck a chord back in the early 1990s, but even back then, such surface aesthetic would only have gotten it so far. What was undoubtedly more of a reason for the game’s eventual success was the uniqueness of its experience. At a time when console games were well on the road to ease and accessibility, as well as giving time-measured value for money, Another World seemingly bucked all received wisdom in this regard and produced a very singular, tough and relatively concise experience.

“It’s true, in the sense it was improvised,” says Chahi when asked if being created without constraint or expectation made Another World into the unique experience it is. “I didn’t know how the game would be precisely from beginning to end but I had a good feeling of the universe. I had the desire to create a game with the rhythm of a movie, so that was the constraint.”

Indeed, one aspect that makes Another World the game it is, is its highly directorial stance. Chahi’s touching story of alien friendship must be played out to the letter for progress to occur, something that drew criticism from players used to a lot more freedom of decision from their games. Its rough difficulty level was a further barrier for some, though it did have some unintentional benefits. “We had one day of play-testing with three kids where I could observe them whilst they were dying again and again” explains Chahi of the original game’s sadistic-sounding production. “It was then that I realised that the game was very difficult. Later (for the console ports) the game received a lot of professional play-testing (and it) became more balanced with less bugs but curiously Interplay wanted to make the game harder in some parts to make sure it would play longer.” It’s an odd trade-off, sacrificing one desired selling point (ease and accessibility) in order to achieve another (value for money), but it was perhaps the only ace that Another World held in this regard.

Yet despite the criticism, Chahi hasn’t tampered with the core experience of Another World in the intervening twenty years, though he has made a concession or two. “There’s an easier difficulty level for those who are absolutely stuck,” he points out. However, this is not something that will affect the overall tone and approach of the game. “What makes Another World so difficult is the combination of reflection and dexterity,” he explains. “Mixing both aspects is a difficult equilibrium to reach. Sometimes players may focus on dexterity when reflection is the solution. Often the solution is the opposite of what is usual in other games; flight instead of fight for example.”

Whilst protagonist Lester Chaykin may have been, rightly, more likely to flee a situation than tackle it head on, Another World came out fighting back in the 16-bit era, finding a home on almost every format imaginable. Unsurprisingly, a sequel was released, although the perceived notion that Chahi had nothing to do with it is not strictly true. “I gave my input about the main concept; replay the game from the viewpoint of the alien Buddy,” says Chahi, who envisioned both games taking place concurrently but from each of the protagonists’ viewpoints.

Sadly, Heart of the Alien was more of a direct sequel, picking up the story from Another World’s rather sombre ending. Its release as an exclusive on the doomed Mega CD perhaps cemented its demise after a lukewarm reception and it now stands as more of a curiosity that few have actually ever played, The Skinny included. “I have a very mitigated appreciation of the end result,” says Chahi somewhat diplomatically.

After completing one more game, the unrelated Heart of Darkness for PlayStation in 1998, Chahi disappeared from the videogame landscape, returning properly in 2011 with the Populous-inspired title From Dust. “The videogame field was mutating into an industry,” explains Chahi when asked about his hiatus. “Publishers and studios were obsessed by computer graphics and as an author I felt uncomfortable with the industrial façade. But more than anything, I needed to take time to refresh myself after six years of development.”

Yet despite his absence, Another World has very much remained in the gaming consciousness. Indie heavyweights such as 2001’s Ico and 2010’s Limbo have both doffed their caps to Chahi’s best-known work, something he is more than happy with. “Yes, I played and loved them both,” he reveals. “I saw a conference where Play Dead, the developers of Limbo, talked about ‘die and retry’ (the term often used to describe games like Another World). I felt less alone as it is usually criticised as bad game design but sometimes it is part of the game universe and can be used to describe it. Limbo made good use of it.”

Meanwhile the central relationship within Ico is reminiscent of the one in Another World. The strange, cross-world partnering of two maligned individuals is a clear connection between both games, and showcases something of a growing maturity within the medium. “Ico is an incredible game,” says Chahi. “Holding the hand of Yorda brought a new kind of empathy in a game. The fear of losing someone more than yourself.”

In that, Chahi is being incredibly modest, given that Another World predates Ico by close to a decade. Which is really the point and the reason why, after twenty years, Another World has become a cult classic, a pivotal title in the growing maturity of games and, in the same manner afforded to albums, films and books, a classic of its medium. “I knew it was very different, and seeing people’s positive reaction was encouraging,” Chahi reminisces. “But I didn’t expect such success – I was gobsmacked. I never thought it would live so long in the memory of players.”

Which it undoubtedly has, for twenty years at least and we’d wager for another twenty with ease. In a time of disposable gaming fodder like no other era before it, Another World is absolutely worth another visit.