How Stray Gods Embraces Its Inner Theatre Geek?
by Srinithi
Updated Aug 10, 2023
Stray Gods
Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical is a captivating and innovative video game that seamlessly blends the worlds of roleplaying and musical elements, creating a unique and immersive experience for players. Developed by Summerfall Studios and published by Humble Games, this game has garnered significant attention for its groundbreaking approach and artistic vision.
Set in a fantastical realm where gods have lost their divine powers and have become "strays," players embark on a grand adventure to restore these deities to their former glory. The game is designed to be played on various platforms, including Microsoft Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, ensuring a wide range of players can enjoy the experience.
How Stray Gods Embraces Its Inner Theatre Geek?
In the month of April, a notable event took place at the historic El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, where Summerfall Studios showcased their debut game, "Stray Gods: The Roleplaying Musical." The protagonist of the game, Grace, portrayed by Laura Bailey, emerged onto the stage with the enchanting melodies of Grammy-nominated composer Austin Wintory's piano compositions.
Accompanying her were fellow cast members including Mary Kate Elizabeth McGlynn as Persephone and Ashley Johnson as Calliope. The presentation also introduced the audience to choices that players will encounter in the game upon its imminent release later this week.
This bold presentation marked a distinctive and potentially daring move for an indie game studio's inaugural release. David Gaider, the founder of Summerfall and former lead writer for Dragon Age, openly expressed his initial skepticism in a blog post following the event. Nonetheless, this unconventional approach was a tribute to the musical theater essence deeply ingrained in "Stray Gods," underscoring the studio's commitment to catering to fellow theater enthusiasts.
In an interview with TheGamer, Gaider, and Wintory exuded a genuine enthusiasm for musical theater. Beyond the influences previously mentioned, such as West Side Story, Into The Woods, Hamilton, Rent, and Book of Mormon, Gaider teased a Disney-inspired number within the game, while Wintory positioned Leonard Bernstein's and Stephen Sondheim's masterpieces as benchmarks that "Stray Gods" aspired to reach. The aspiration to match the caliber of storytelling and lyrical artistry displayed by these legends was undeniably ambitious, especially given the unprecedented endeavor of creating the first-ever musical RPG.
From the outset, Summerfall Studios recognized the importance of melding the creative processes of crafting a musical with those of developing a game. This translated into a deeply collaborative approach involving Summerfall, Wintory, the Australian band Tripod, singer Montaigne, and the voice actors. Such a high level of cooperation was rare, particularly in the context of a game featuring multiple songs, each offering over 40 minutes of potential replay value based on players' choices.
A distinctive aspect of this collaboration was how the actors' contributions extended into the production of their respective songs. During recording sessions, Wintory intentionally provided minimal accompaniment—often just a piano or guitar track—for the actors to sing to. Additional instrumentation was layered in later, reminiscent of how Broadway composers adjust elements during a production's run to showcase the strengths and personalities of the cast.
Furthermore, Summerfall Studios grappled with blending two distinct developmental approaches when designing "Stray Gods' branching choice system." Crafting choices that seamlessly integrated with the sonic, narrative, and lyrical coherence of each song posed challenges that traditional dialogue decisions couldn't adequately address.
Stray Gods Development
Stray Gods marks is the debut project of Summerfall Studios, a developer based in Melbourne, Australia. The game's narrative is crafted by David Gaider, formerly known for his lead writing on BioWare's acclaimed series, Dragon Age, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic. The musical score is orchestrated by Austin Wintory, recognized for his contributions to titles like Journey, Flo, and Assassin's Creed Syndicate.
The game employs captivating 2D hand-illustrated visuals that exhibit a comic book-inspired appearance, characterized by stylized character designs.
Originally titled "Chorus: An Adventure Musical," the game garnered successful crowdfunding support on Fig.co in 2019 after its initial announcement during a keynote by David Gaider at PAX AUS. The name transition to Stray Gods was unveiled on March 18, 2022, accompanied by Summerfall Studios' collaboration with Humble Games for the project.
Drawing significant inspiration from the musical episode "Once More, With Feeling" from Buffy the Vampire Slayer, the creators of Stray Gods aimed to merge the essence of musical theatre with interactive storytelling within a video game format.
The game features diverging narrative paths, where player decisions influence not only the story and conversational tone but also impact the tunes, lyrics, and music styles sung by the protagonist, Grace.
Austin Wintory highlights the expansive potential for varied song combinations in "Stray Gods," making it highly improbable for any two playthroughs to be the same. In June 2023, Summerfall and Humble Games announced that the game would be accessible on major home consoles alongside its Steam release in August.
The "Myth & Music Live Event," held on April 12, 2023, was a significant showcase for "Stray Gods." Organized jointly by Summerfall Studios and Humble Games at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles, the event was dubbed "Myth & Music." Hosted by Troy Baker and live-streamed on Critical Role's Twitch channel, the hour-long affair presented live performances by Laura Bailey, Mary Elizabeth McGlynn, and Ashley Johnson.
Additionally, the event included insightful Q&A sessions that unveiled the involvement of Felicia Day, Rahul Kohli, Anjali Bhimani, and Janina Gavankar in the project's cast.
Stray Gods Voice cast
Grace
Laura Bailey
Persephone
Mary Elizabeth McGlynn
Apollo
Troy Baker
Freddie
Janina Gavankar
Pan
Khary Payton
Eros
Abubakar Salim
Athena
Felicia Day
Minotaur
Rahul Kohli
Hecate
Allegra Clark
Aphrodite
Merle Dandridge
Hermes
Erika Ishii
Calliope
Ashley Johnson
Venus
Lauren 'Lolo' Spencer
Medusa
Anjali Bhimani
Oracle
Kimberly Brooks
Orpheus
Anthony Rapp
Character
Voice Actor
How Stray Gods Embraces Its Inner Theatre Geek-FAQ
The game fuses music and narrative in a way that adapts to player choices, resembling classic improvisational techniques. This offers players a sense of familiarity with theatre's improvisational spirit.
"Stray Gods" is an innovative video game developed by Summerfall Studios and published by Humble Games, seamlessly blending roleplaying and musical elements to create a unique gameplay experience.
The game features a composition of songs intricately woven together, adapting to player choices while maintaining a cohesive essence, expanding content and decision points beyond initial plans.
Players experience a unique sensation of being actively involved yet also observing, reminiscent of a theatre audience stepping into different scenes while remaining rooted in their position.
"Stray Gods" captures the essence of theatre's improvisational spirit, offering a personalized narrative shaped by player decisions and creating a layered narrative that breaks the fourth wall.