My third interview thanks to Shueisha Games came with the good folk of Sigono Inc., makers of the beautifully memorable Opus titles. For those unfamiliar, the Opus games all tend to have an element of space related to them, whether it be traveling through space or exploring a distant world. Done with gorgeous graphics and focused on communicating some human aspect in each tale, the Opus games have seen success in multiple title releases, various platform debuts, and plenty of remarkable moments that have etched themselves onto players’ hearts.

The next game for the saga will be Opus: Prism Peak, which I got a chance to see at BitSummit this year. Putting you in the shoes of a father-figure male protagonist, I was surprised to find myself set in a world that seemed…rather normal. It felt like I was traversing the countryside of Chiba, walking with someone who I thought was my daughter and taking photographs with my efficient but dated camera. While it was a pleasant setting, I was still caught off guard: where were the stars? Where was the interstellar impact? It was only as I neared the end of the demo that I began to see what might be beneath the surface of this cozy setting.

I’m pretty sure I looked exactly like this on my train ride OUT of BitSummit.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Scott Chen is the founder and lead creator for Sigono Inc., and he was able to give me some of his time during this busiest of weekends to talk about the creative process, his own thoughts for games, and, without too many spoilers, what fans and newcomers alike can expect with Opus: Prism Peak.

We’re here to talk about the newest Opus title, Opus: Prism Peak. Can you tell me a bit about the setup for Prism Peak?

It’s about a main character who is a photographer. One day, as he’s journeying back home, he finds himself stuck in a fantasy world that he can’t get out of. Inside this world, he meets a little girl. She’s lost her memory and her way, but she knows she needs to help this man find his way home. That’s the jist of it, and, again, it’s a narrative-driven adventure game with multiple endings.

This is the fourth Opus title now. Most of the others have been standalone titles themselves, does Prism Peak have any connections with the previous titles?

The biggest connections are the themes that we put into all our games. It’s about love, soul, and self-fulfillment…we’re focused around these ideas to tell the story. Of course, for veteran players, they’ll find little clues spread throughout that hint at connections to the previous games.

The art direction for Prism Peak is gorgeous.  Did you have any inspirations for this particular installment?

There’s a lot of Japanese influence within the game. In Taiwan, where we (Sigono Inc) grew up, we watched a lot of anime, so that has quite a bit of impact. But we also play to our strengths to have our own distinct style and creativity.

Is Prism Peak fully voiced?

Yes, the game will be almost entirely set with voiceover work.

The as-of-yet unnamed kid is very expressive and will probably turn into an easy fan-favorite character.

For players coming into Opus: Prism Peak for the first time, what can we expect in terms of the “adventure” aspect?

Our adventure games are usually about exploration – so going through different environments, looking at different places and different things. And for this game players will be using their camera to further examine and interact with different points. Through this method players will slowly start to uncover what this world is about and what the story is for both why you’re there and where to go next. There are different layers to the game, so as you explore the world, you’ll get more clues as to what everything is and what it means. This is true of all of our games.

The Opus titles have a specific feeling of otherworldly settings with a thread of recognition. What was the initial inspiration for Opus in general?

We actually started out…with key words. We thought about what we wanted: we wanted to be exploration based so people will explore the environment. We want players to have a sense of fufillment. Putting it together, we came up with players being able to explore these new, large environments and feeling fulfilled through these actions. So for our first game (Opus, The Day We Found Earth), what we want the player to feel is that they’re lost out in the vastness of space and attempting to locate this little blue dot in the galaxy. As they’re exploring, they begin to uncover the story, find more, different stars they can name, and those actions are a sort of collecting, so that’s its own kind of fufillment along the way. That’s how we started, and we grew the idea bigger and bigger with every subsequent game.

Each Opus game is a full experience from start to finish: you’re satisfied by the end, and you’re delighted when a new one arrives. What made you feel this was the time to create Prism Peak?

I think we always start with the story first. One interesting aspect is how we view the games. So our first and third games (Opus: Echo of Starsong) are all in space, so the focus is the space exploration. But our second entry (Opus: Rocket of Whispers) is all contained on one planet. So now with Prism Peak it’s situated on land, but not land as you know it. We like to change up our approach each time, and this was the right moment to return from space and go back onto a planet.

Otherworldly or not, I feel like I could live here comfortably.

The soundtrack of Prism Peak is quite evocative. Can you tell me a bit about it?

We always put music front and foremost when it comes to development. We really care about the soundtrack and its impact on players throughout the game. In fact, we have a sound director, sound effect artist, and composer in-house because we want them to be involved from the very beginning of the development process. We feel music has such an important impact on a game. What we always do is try and fuse the sound, the art, and the gameplay to make the most cohesive experience possible, and we take pride in making sure that’s all working well together.

What are your biggest influences in the game direction of Prism Peak?

I think it’s from a lot of games. Since storytelling is the most important piece, we don’t just want to focus on the text, but also on how the gameplay mechanics themselves factor into telling the tale. When the player plays, they can feel the character through the controls and it connects them better. Like when you watch a movie, there’s so much to consider: “why is the color like that, why is the music like that?” All of these elements come together to make a great story.

Do you recommend new players play any previous Opus games before trying Prism Peak?

They’re all pretty standalone. If a player plays one of the first titles and enjoys it, I think that helps them appreciate how the storytelling works and it might encourage them to try a subsequent game. Having said that, you can start with Prism Peak without needing any previous experience.

How long do you think the first playthrough of Prism Peak will take players?

We’re still building the story and the world as we speak, so I’m not totally sure.

Damn children always showing affection through playful roughhousing.

Did you always know you wanted to get into game development?

Since I was a child. I’ve always been playing games, exploring games, and I knew gaming was going to be my future.

Have you had any time to play games yourself recently?

Every now and then, yes. We need to get up to date with what’s popular and what’s trending, so we make sure to keep on top of current game trends. I’m playing on PC, console, smartphone…just everywhere.

Are you proud of the games you’ve put out?

Absolutely. We’ve always been happy with what we’ve put out, and it’s a really special sense of accomplishment when players email us and let us know that our titles have impacted their lives or even changed them in some way. So, yes, we’re very proud of our work.

Is there anything you’d like players to know or consider when they get into Prism Peak?

If you want to experience a game that can really move your heart, this game is for you.

Opus: Prism Peak will be released on PC in 2025.