Tchia is a new open-world game that offers players an immersive adventure as they accompany the titular character on her quest to save her father. One of the standout features of Tchia is its gameplay mechanic called "soul-jumping." This unique ability allows players to possess different animals and objects within the game world, giving them new abilities and perspectives to explore and interact with the environment.
During a recent interview with Game ZXC, game director Phil Crifo discussed Tchia's mechanic called "soul-jumping," explaining that over 30 animals and hundreds of objects could be possessed by players. Crifo not only delved into the mechanic’s uses in combat, exploration, and the scope of the game's narrative, but he also provided detailed information on the types of animals and objects that players can possess.
According to Crifo, the development team wanted to make the game a learn-as-you-go style in order to help players slowly get the feel of the gameplay. When the game begins, Tchia has yet to realize her soul-jumping powers. Players will join Tchia on her journey to learn how to soul-jump, immersing players into her character. After strengthening these powers, players can then upgrade their soul meter, which will allow players to soul-jump for longer periods of time.
“It was important to ease players into the mechanic for pacing because it’s a bit unusual to have so much freedom upfront. So by the time the world really opens up, you are at the early stages of the powers, and hopefully driven to improve them when you realize organically that they can be super useful for traversal, combat, and puzzles.”
The Evolution of Tchia's Soul-Jumping Mechanic
Tchia draws inspiration from New Caledonia, which is steeped in folklore and legends. In this region, stories about shapeshifting abound, with animals taking on human forms and humans also transforming into wild animals. Crifo and his team used these legends as a basis for the design of Tchia's soul-jumping mechanic, infusing it with thematic relevance that added certain levels of depth.
Crifo explained that the Tchia team designed the game as a toy box, where every mechanic could stand on its own as a self-sufficient operation. Crifo stated that Tchia's soul-jumping mechanic went through several iterations before its current form. Initially, it was a simple telekinesis ability, which was fun but limited. It later evolved into a possession-type mechanic with Tchia staying in one place in a “trance-like state.” According to Crifo, this version caused issues with locomotion, considering the fact that players were forced to return to their starting point after soul-jumping was done. Eventually, Crifo explained that the development team decided to enhance the mechanic by making Tchia warp into objects and animals, rather than locally possess them.
What Tchia Can Possess with Soul-Jumping
Tchia’s soul-jumping ability allows players to transform into a range of various animals and objects, such as birds like silver gulls, green parakeets, and doves, which allow players to travel long distances in the air and bypass mountains and hills. The land creatures Tchia can possess include pigs, deer, dogs, cats, cows, and even geckos. Players can possess various sea creatures as well, including dolphins, sea turtles, coconut crabs, and a variety of other fish. The mythical Xetiwa bird is a special animal in the game. Players can only possess the Xetiwa by finishing the story, after which players gain the ability to summon it with their ukulele.
Certain animals have certain special abilities. For example, cats and flying foxes have night vision, chickens have explosive eggs, and geckos can climb nearly anything. Animals are able to help Tchia complete important actions, like dogs digging up buried treasures and crabs can destroy locks and chains with their pinchers. Other animals offer locomotion advantages such as flying or being able to swim fast and deep, which is very useful for exploration.
“Every new animal we implemented was always a treat. Seeing the animations and abilities take shape and getting to control them for the first time was nice. Especially since those animals are inspired by New Caledonian fauna, which I grew up around and have always loved. It was so cool to be able to make our own little versions of them and actually play as them too!”
In addition to animals, players can also transform into a range of objects to engage in combat. For example, players can warp into jerrycans, which can be launched at enemies or used to destroy certain structures like Meavora statues. Players can also possess flaming logs and oil lamps, which can be thrown onto explosives to do damage to enemies.
However, with these advantages come disadvantages. Once players are controlling an animal or an object, Tchia’s soul meter will slowly drain depending on the animal or object being controlled and on the intensity of the activity. For example, a bird’s flight will drain the soul meter faster than a deer’s running, although traveling by air is often a more useful and faster mode of transportation than traveling by land.
The Tchia team balanced the abilities and strengths of the animals and objects Tchia can control with the overall difficulty of the game. Not every animal or object has a significant purpose or is useful for combat or locomotion. Therefore, it is up to the player to find out which ability they can use to help in specific situations, making the game fun and engaging. Most objects will only be useful for a specific purpose, so there are no objectively "overpowered" objects.
Challenges of Creating Tchia's Soul-Jumping Mechanic
Tchia's development team faced challenges in terms of the workload of programming and animation. According to Crifo, the team’s primary goal was to make “almost everything possessable by soul-jumping,” but the team struggled with finding a purpose for every creature or item. In the end, they focused on creating systems that prevented them from having to create every animal or object from scratch.
“What was liberating on the design front was to realize and accept that not every animal or object should have a purpose or be of significant importance. Some do, of course, like a dog’s ability to dig up treasures will be helpful for a treasure hunt. But we were also okay with the fact that some animals and objects are just fun to control, and don’t have to serve a deeper purpose.”
Crifo explained that the biggest challenge in developing the new Tchia game, however, was learning the boundaries of soul-jumping and outlining those boundaries to players. He stated that the team believes they solved this issue by utilizing visual effects.
"I think the biggest challenge was figuring out where to stop in terms of what you can soul-jump into, making sure it was clear to the player, and that it never created frustration," Crifo said. "I think the UI and effects help with that. When you go into soul-jump mode, the things you can possess are highlighted green, so it’s very straightforward. Hopefully, people are not mad at us that they can’t become a car!"
Tchia is available on PC, PS4, and PS5.
