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GAMING FEATURE

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GET ON BOARD THE MOVE-Y TRAIN!

We wondered whether there was anything that the team couldn’t put in the original that made it into Moving Out 2 . Dave confirms that there was… “We really wanted to get drivable trains into the original, but we just weren’t able to find a place for them. I’m happy to say that in Moving Out 2 you can actually drive a train and it’s lots of fun.”

50 main story levels. Each dimension has a unique look, feel, and set of mechanics. You start in good old Packmore before finding your way to a fantasy-themed Middle Folkmore, a candy-themed Snackmore, and a future-themed Packtropolis City.” Whether playing alone or with friends, we’re promised an even better Moving Out experience. “We actually have to tailor the levels to each player count because of how differently they all play,” explains Dave. “Because of that, we spend a fair bit of time making sure not only single player but also multiplayer is completely balanced with no one missing out on anything, regardless of the player count. We added quite a lot of mechanics for this sequel, so making them all work for both single and multiplayer was a challenge, but it’s something we take seriously, to make sure everyone gets the most out of the game.” Upon release, Moving Out received many comparisons with couch co-op favourite Overcooked , a much more stressful experience. Moving Out was always fun, even when things didn’t go as planned. So, how did the team nail that fine line of laughability over “screamability”? “The team’s main focus for Moving Out was always to put fun first,” says Dave. “If something didn’t make much sense in the game world but was still fun, we found a way to make it make sense rather than dial down the fun. I think this is part of what gives Moving Out its charm, it’s very silly and we never take ourselves too seriously. “We carried that over to every aspect of the game from design to art, writing, audio and so on. You’ll see lots of little gags, easter eggs, and environmental storytelling running through the game, so keep your eyes peeled! Moving house in real life is a major chore so we always wanted the game to be the complete opposite of that.”

Just when you’d settled right in, it’s time for more moving mayhem as Moving Out 2 lobs this month.We grabbed SMG Studio senior game designer Dave Lockman for a quick chat about what to expect. Words Amy Flower T he original Moving Out was a super-fun delight, and its success obviously led to this sequel. The SMG team weren’t

• Moving Out 2 is out on Aug 15

daunted about creating a follow-up though. “Honestly, it was exciting because we had so many ideas from the first game that we couldn’t fit in and we really wanted to expand on them,” enthuses Dave. “The first few months of development for Moving Out 2 were spent on exploring new ideas and testing them in the game engine. We made a lot of weird stuff, and it was a lot of fun. Having that extended amount of time to explore really helped us decide which direction we wanted to take the game to get the most out of our ideas.” Having nailed top-notch presentation first time out, the team still found many areas to tweak.

of movable objects! We also learned a lot from the feedback we got from players about the original game’s accessibility options, so we’re happy to say that Moving Out 2 is even more accessible than the first game.” As for those new movable objects, we got Dave to reveal some of what we can look forward to hurling into our moving trucks. “In no particular order… drones, wrecking balls, flamingos, foosball tables, ladybugs, a smelly shoe, mover robots, slingshots, goldfish, and musk sticks!” This time out, we’re set to travel beyond the town of Packmore, too.

“We wanted Moving Out 2 to feel like Moving Out 1 , but better!” Dave says. “The biggest addition –and our most requested feature - has to be online multiplayer. We also doubled the number of levels, doubled the amount of F.A.R.T.s, plus added heaps of new mechanics and three separate game modes. The art had a major overhaul from our awesome art team – we’ve actually quadrupled the number

“After going to space we knew we had to up the ante, so this time the F.A.R.T.s are going interdimensional!” Dave laughs. “There are four main dimensions, each with their own overworld map, and there are over

In Moving Out , “F.A.R.T.” stands for “Furniture Arrangement Relocation Technician”. DYK?

26 AUGUST 2023

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