Earlier this summer, Keith Allison of Connect NYU had a wide-ranging conversation with 2016 Incubator participant Cosmo D about developing The Norwood Suite, psychogeography, jazz music, adventure games, and more. The result was a fascinating document of the many influences and creative process that has shaped The Norwood Suite. With the game slated for release via Steam on October 2nd, we’re posting a excerpt from Allison’s article here.
“Reflecting his growing experience as a game designer, The Norwood Suite is planned to be a more complex experience. Like Off-Peak, it’s set in a place of transience and commerce. In this case, a hotel that looks in initial designs to be a cross between The Shining‘s Overlook Hotel and Twin Peaks’ Great Northern (or perhaps the Black Lodge). Like a train station, hotels collect varied types of people, and once again the basis of the game will be drifting amongst them and exploring the environment.
Heffernan has expressed an interest in places that seem haunted, and few places can seem as uncanny as the cavernous ballrooms, dimly lit hallways, and ornate lobby of a hotel with echoes of faded glory long past their best days. Off-Peak was an engrossing but brief journey to/through a strange place. The Norwood Suite promises to be a similar, even richer experience.”