Netflix’s next attempt at a TV show will scare you

As part of the latest evolution of his game, Netflix has revolutionized cloud gaming that you can play on your TVsimilar to how you would watch a movie or play at a conference. So far, the game has been pretty dark. Things like trivia, party games, and and an amazing boyfriend FIFA. But Netflix’s next release goes in a completely different direction: It’s a horror experience that’s scary, dangerous, and perhaps the future of corporate endeavors.

The new game is called Don’t moveand will premiere on Netflix on June 30. It is produced by Night School Studio, which is very well known and Strange Things-Esque adventure game Oxenfree. Netflix found Night School in 2021and since then the studio has been released sequel to Oxenfree and other experiments, viz a Black Mirror to bind. But while Night School’s previous efforts were rough around the edges, Don’t move it’s straight up fear. And it’s done in a way that feels right at home in a fun game.

“We wanted to prove that this could be like a TV show or a movie,” explains Night School co-founder Sean Krankel. “There are a lot of people out there who would love a horror experience, but who don’t want to be very knowledgeable about the objectives, mechanics, or distribution of their weapons.” What we did was about how to make this product more interactive and accessible. “

Don’t move is the first game where you control a girl named Ava. He finds himself trapped in his house due to a storm, and it just so happens that a killer is on the prowl. Throughout the game – which lasts less than an hour – you’re trying to keep Ava safe and find the killer. All of Netflix’s TV shows use your smartphone as a controller, but with a twist inside Don’t move is that your real phone becomes Ava’s phone; you use the flashlight to point the way and things to come across, as well as to accept calls from Ava’s friend and superior. (Don’t move (It has a small but strong cast, starring Zoë Kravitz, Sadie Sink, and comedian Troy Baker.)

The experience is somewhere between a game and a movie. They appearance as a game, with a first-person view and 3D graphics, but it has been modified in several ways, cutting out many traditional mechanics. For example, you don’t control Ava directly; instead, in various places you have to choose a path for him, usually by pointing the flashlight at a certain area before time runs out. According to Krankel, these design types are designed to make the game as easy to pick up and play as possible.

It wasn’t always like that. The Don’t move The idea started two years ago as a horror game built around the idea of ​​using a flashlight. In the end, the team settled on the idea of ​​a controller that works like a gaming phone, and at the same time Netflix began to put more effort into its gaming offerings. The timing was perfect. But first Don’t move The concept had to be adapted to the new platform, a process that Krankel describes as “removal”.

At first Don’t move they had players directly controlling Ava, for example, but that doesn’t make sense without normal gameplay. It also had more complex features such as a branch conversation and a phone interface with different programs that you could go through. “This looks like Flight Simulator,” Krankel remembers thinking at the time. The latter is a lot like riding a theme park, driving you through difficult and sometimes dangerous situations without giving up. You have to make quick decisions, but you don’t have to struggle with the controls or the UI.

Another very important aspect of production Don’t move fit on Netflix was the height of it. “We wanted a horror experience that someone could experience overnight, and that’s how we saw it,” says Krankel. “Our idea is that there is a real market for this, and a lot of people who want something short and edible. I think if we had paid money, we would have made different decisions. But one of the fun things about working (at Netflix) is that we can test things like this, and test the game time.”

It is also an experience designed to be watched and played. It’s not a traditional multiplayer game – only one person can control Ava – but as a Netflix series or movie, it’s something that would be better as a group experience. I play Don’t move while my daughter watched, and it only added to the stress, as she yelled at me to decide what to do at that time. It is these behaviors that Krankel and the Night School team are looking forward to when the game begins.

“I’m sure we’ll get TikTok videos where people are going crazy with this thing.”