Former Dragon Age Writer Reveals Chorus, A New Mythological Musical Adventure
Summerfall Studios, the narrative-driven development team helmed by Liam Esler and former Dragon Age writer David Gaide, has unveiled their first project: an interactive musical adventure rooted in Greek mythology.
Chorus draws inspiration from games like Life is Strange and Dream Daddy, in addition to musicals such as Wicked and Hadestown, both the recipients of multiple Tony awards. Hadestown, which draws from a similar, mythological and music-focused premise, swept the awards show this year, claiming the highly coveted Best Musical and Best Original Score among six other honors.
In Chorus, you'll take on the role of Grace, a young singer thrust into the world of gods and fantastical creatures after a Muse dies on her doorstep. When the Muse's powers transfer to Grace, she is forced to prove her innocence to the other deities while searching for the truth about what really happened. Along the way, she'll learn to harness her new abilities, using her voice to draw people into song, manipulating both her targets and reality.
"We wanted to make a musical, a game with a focus on character and story, where the big moments happen in song, and the player decides where that song goes," explained Gaider.
Summerfall has managed to recruit several titans of the video game industry to work on the project. Troy Baker, a name that should look familiar to fans of The Last of Us, Death Stranding, and God of War, will act as the voice director. Laura Bailey, whose recent credits include Catherine in the English version of Catherine: Full Body, Kait Diaz in Gears 5, and Black Widow in the upcoming Marvel's Avengers, will voice Grace. Austin Wintory, who has created soundtracks for titles like Journey and Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, will compose.
Chorus has entered the pre-production stage. Summerfall Studios is currently running a crowdfunding campaign to support further work on the title at fig.co, raising over $80,000 in a single day. Hopefully, that momentum will see them reach their $600,00 goal by November 10. Based on the rewards tier, it looks like the developer is shooting for a Q4 2021 release for their debut game.