Pierre Corbinais has been writing for and about games for a decade now and he is the writer of Haven. He’s mostly known for Bury Me My Love, a reality-inspired fiction about love and exile, and ‘Til Cows tear us apart, a two-cowgirls’ road-movie in space but also created a lot of other small games during various game jams. Haven is the biggest project he worked on so far (and he can’t wait for you to play it).

What’s your opinion about romance in video games? What is good and bad, from your point of view?

My main opinion about romance in video games is that we don’t see enough of it, and when you think about it, it’s actually a bit baffling. Romances are everywhere except in video games: I don’t know about the other countries, but in France, every year without fail, the best selling novels are love stories. Turn on a mainstream radio and there’s a fairly good chance that a love song will be playing. And romance (whether it is comedy or drama) had always been one of the strongest film genres: While released more than 20 years ago, Titanic still is the third highest grossing film of all times (#1 in France!), how crazy is that? Everything points to think that people LOVE romances, but a bunch of exceptions aside, we don’t have romance in games, at best we have flirting (in dating sims or RPGs). Why is that? There is this idea floating around that video games are mostly played by men and that men aren’t into romance, but I think both these assumptions are untrue. To me, the main reason why there is so few romances in game is that we, game creators, still don’t really know how to make them. It’s “easy” to make a game where you shoot people (“If bullet collides with enemy then enemy = dead”, but how do you program a game about falling in love? Being in love? Falling out of love? Everything must be rethought, reinvented. That’s a tough job, and a lot of work, but what a great challenge!

Where would you like to see the genre go? What kind of romance story or style would you like to see in a video game?

I would like it to go in every directions, form-wise and content-wise. There are so many different love stories to tell, and so many ways to interact with them to invent. Just try to imagine how every video game genre could be twisted to become a love story: What is a First Person Romance? What is a relationship management game? A heart racing game? A love puzzle?
And we’re not even talking about the new genres that might emerge.
As for the content, there is a subreddit called r/relationships where people share relationships stories (romantic or not) to get advice from the community. I love browsing through the posts there. They are sometimes funny, sometimes grave, sometimes relatable, sometimes just plain weird… I think these posts tell a lot about what being human is, about what loving is, and I’d like every single one of them to be turned into a video game.

Haven has quite a modern treatment in terms of dialogs, compared to traditional RPGs. Was it difficult to come up with that? How do people react to that style?

Haven’s dialogue style came up pretty naturally. While you can find some epicness in the game, I felt it was more about the little things, the daily life, and I needed the dialogues to reflect that. Yu and Kay shouldn’t talk like badass-and-somehow-also-super-witty heroes, they should talk like us, with our hesitations, verbal tics, cursing… I’m really into alternative comics that tell “slice of life” stories (Hernandez brothers’ Love & Rockets, Terry Moore’s Strangers in Paradise, Vanyda’s The Building Opposite to cite a few), I probably draw this style of writing from there.
I didn’t get the chance to see a lot of people playing the game so far so I’m yet not sure how people will react to that style, but the team and voice-actors seemed to like it! The very first dialogue I wrote to try out that style and see if it fitted the game ended up becoming Haven’s first scene.

There’s also a lot of humour in the game. Do you think it’s a way to make the players have fun or to make them get attached to the characters?

Yes, people usually enjoy to laugh and smile, so why not allow that? But humor is also a useful tool for Haven’s narrative structure. In Haven there are a lot of dialogue scenes that aren’t there to make the story advance toward an ending. They’re just slices of life meant to create attachment to the characters, chill moments spent in the Nest. How can you satisfyingly end such scenes that don’t really lead anywhere plot-wise? There aren’t that many solutions: You can end it with something cute, something deep, or something funny. Juggling with the three is the best way to keep the player surprised, and thus entertained.

Do you have a special process for writing dialogs? What’s your one advice for writing dialogs?

Writing is a very weird and personal thing, the more I talk with other writers the more I realise there aren’t two writing processes alike. Some people will tell you that you need to precisely know where your dialogue is going beforehand, me, I tend to just go with the flow and let the characters decide for themselves. Most of the time, when I start writing a dialogue scene, I have no idea how it’s gonna end. This is a terrible thing to do when you work in movies for example, because movies only lasts 90mn and you don’t have one minute to spare. But I think it works pretty well with video games, especially when you want your dialogues to branch in different directions: not having an ending in mind is a great way to allow the emergence of multiple ones.
As for the advice I will give this very simple one: whenever you’re stuck in your writing, drop your pen (or keyboard, or typewriter) and go outside. Walk. Sit in a park. Have a coffee (and don’t forget your notebook in case the inspiration comes back). Breaks aren’t a waste of time, sitting in front of an empty page is.

Finally, everyone wants to know. Are you more a Yu or Kay person?

I put a lot of myself in both characters, Kay got my poor sense of humour and Yu my terrible sense of direction, but I’m probably more a Kay person overall. Yet, when playing the game, I mostly play Yu. Go figure.

People often ask me why we didn’t do a sequel to Furi, and I usually answer that we made Haven because our goal is to surprise players, to innovate, to explore new experiences. This is the absolute truth. But there’s another side to it that I don’t always tell: Furi was exhausting to make. I needed a pause from fast paced action. I wanted a game that felt like a break between two action games. 

When I was working on AAA games, I played pretty much every blockbuster to know the market, the competition. But between a game of Call of Duty and Assassin’s Creed, I needed a pause, and I used to play 30 minutes of Flower. I remember this time fondly. This game helped me relax between two overwhelming experiences.

That feeling was at the core of what I wanted to make with Haven: a game that feels like a gentle breeze. A game that lets you relax. A game that’s like holding hands on a nice outdoor walk. One way to achieve that was of course with Haven’s concept: the love story of a couple trying to stay together. A couple gliding over tall grass on a deserted planet. 

Gliding and leaving a trail of tall grass is relaxing

But that relaxing feeling doesn’t come only from the game setting. All the game design around it has to make the experience smooth and chill. I wanted a game that felt light. Lighter than most modern big games that ask you to remember so many things.

If you don’t see what I mean by that, think about any big AAA open world game or RPG. They all have tons of features, most of the time the same features but with tiny differences in their implementation. Character progression, with lots of characteristics. Weapons and upgrades. Skill trees. Combos. Vehicles. AI teammates. Consumables items. Wide variety of lootable objects. Exotic gameplays like puzzles or races… 

All those features and content are exciting. It sometimes adds depth, it helps build the lore and makes the experience immersive. But it’s also a bit tiring. Playing those games is like learning a new language. There is so much content that, naturally, it means a lot to learn and remember. 

In order to create that relaxing feeling in Haven, we had to drop all that content. We had to reduce the amount of information needed. It’s a game where we want you to feel free: you broke from your chains and you explore a mysterious planet. We don’t want the game to be a drag by asking you to remember too much. To make it feel simple, we needed to make it lighter. 

Here is a bunch of concrete design decisions that came from this philosophy: 

No quest log

A RPG needs a main quest and side quests, right? Well, there are lots of secondary things to do in Haven, they are just not formatted in a “to-do list”. If you are like me, you already have tons of to-do lists in your real life… I didn’t want Haven to be yet another game with a list of objectives to complete. So in Haven, there’s a simple main objective, given by the story and no objective list! 

You can always have a chat on the couch to get a reminder of what to do.

After that it’s just about you exploring Source. To be honest, Yu and Kay do have a logbook. It helps you remember what to look for on the different fragments of the planet. But it’s not a list of tasks. There are no “tasks to complete” in Haven, because tasks are boring and tiring.

The logbook (bottom right) lists what’s been done and left to do on each fragment.

Simple economy

In many games, you have to manage resources, currencies, and optimize your spendings to save every little gold coin you can. In Haven you won’t have to worry about micro management. You have enough or you don’t, that’s it. 

The inventory screen is rather simple compared to most RPGs

On Source, Yu and Kay gather flow, a very handy energy they use for many things. The flow meter isn’t a detailed gauge with number and an advanced refill system. It’s a ball of energy that’s more or less bubbly depending on how much flow you have. 

You never need to know “precisely” how much flow you have, you just need to know if you’re running out.

You don’t have to check how much rust (the red crust that covers the planet) or food you have, you just go craft something and you’ll see. Basically, you never really think about managing your inventory. 

Very few numbers

Even action games can be crowded with numbers these days. In Haven, you don’t have a precise health bar in combat, but instead your characters show their health status through the color of their energy suit and by the way they move. The game is designed so that you don’t need the precise info (note: and it’s also designed to be colorblind-friendly). 

When their health state changes, the characters walk and stand differently.

Their stamina and hunger are reminded through the dialogs. The only number you see is the damage when hitting an enemy or taking a hit. 

Numbers here are not really important, they just show which attack deals more damage.

Simple crafting

Crafting can be very fun and prompt experimentation. But it can also require a lot of memorisation. In Haven, the UI simply shows you the ingredients you have. You can start mixing them and you’ll see a preview of the result. 

Aaah… Creamberry flambé <3

No weapons or skill tree

I’m a RPG lover. I can appreciate spending hours choosing the best equipment for my team. But Haven’s taking a break from that. There’s no choice of weapon or skill tree. Sometimes it’s also fine to just focus on being good in combat, by yourself. And to drop the burden of comparing stats for each item in the game.

Yu and Kay evolve and gain new skills, but the game is not about becoming more powerful.

Very little HUD and UI

It seems easy to state “there will be no HUD”, but eventually you find out that people don’t understand a complex game without help from the interface… That happened to me on many games, indie and AAA alike. The only way you can achieve this is by actually having a very simple game. Journey pulled it off brilliantly. In Haven, the HUD is really super light, because the game is simple from the root.

While gliding, you just need to focus on your characters and where you want to go. 

Play coop seamlessly

Even starting a co-op session has been designed to be easy and simple. If you’re playing solo and want someone to join your game, they just have to take the gamepad and press a button. Co-op will start automatically. There’s no menu. You don’t have to start over a new game. 

A second player can join simply by pressing a button on their gamepad.

Of course simplicity is not the only way to go. I love a hairy and dense RPG as much as anyone else. But sometimes, between these deep and exhausting systems you learn in games, it’s good to take a little break. It’s what we wanted to achieve with Haven. Make it a gentle breeze, a soft hand that will take you through its journey without asking you to care too much about details. In Haven, we only want you to care about Yu and Kay. 

I often say that game design is like cooking, because creating a gameplay experience feels a lot like selecting ingredients, mixing them together until it feels good. But we can make the analogy with cooking even larger: making a game is very similar to creating a complete meal! Gameplay is the main dish, for sure, but you also have to think about the starter and dessert. And as much as starters go, what’s better than a good old opening movie?

Opening movies really set the mood before you start the game. The first time you launch the game, you get a peak at the tone, the values, the characters. You project yourself on the journey. It’s a teaser. Then, you discover the game, and you spend hours on it. Each time you launch the game, the opening movie is there. As soon as you hear the first note, you are swapping worlds. Like the smell of a dish, you anticipate it, it makes you salivate. The opening is not a teaser anymore, it’s a welcome.

Japanese games have a tradition of opening movie playing from the title screen. Each time I launch a game like this, I let the opening play once before loading my save. It’s like watching the opening of a TV show or an anime. It’s part of the experience.

In Phantasy Star 2‘s opening, I like how the title screen says that it’s bigger than a kingdom, it’s a multi-star fantasy. There’s mythology and tech. Even the music covers two different tones, starting from gloomy and mysterious to something more cheerful and positive.

Persona games openings are always pieces of art. They present everything with style: characters, world, story. I can’t hear the first notes of Persona 4‘s opening without feeling a chill down my spine. Dragon Quest XI opening movie is much more classic, but no less strong. It’s the image of the game, a pretty classic yet epic adventure of a group of friends.

Years later, when I watch the openings from old games, they take me back. In a couple of minutes, they revive the memory of the whole adventure. Hopefully, we can create that long lasting connection for Haven, with a memorable opening that captures the game magic.

Please enjoy:

https://www.youtube.com/embed/bIhi9FP97Ys

The opening movie was directed and created by Yukio Takatsu – an expert of anime openings, with the support of Yapiko Animation. Takatsu-san did an incredible job bringing our concepts, world and characters to life. The editing really makes Danger‘s original music created for the game shine, and vice versa. We hope it will make you want to dance and twirl like Yu and Kay.

The art style is different from the art in the game of course, but it’s in essence exactly what we are trying to express with the game: a couple of characters who love each other, and with whom we hope you are going to fall in love in turn. An established relationship, that’s still evolving, in movement, gliding and twirling at a fast pace, tied by flow and rust, across different planets.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ragUUT9bsFQ

We are hard at work for finishing Haven and bringing it to PC and consoles this year. We hope that you liked the starter and still have a bit of appetite for the main dish!

Emeric and The Game Bakers

We’re happy to finally disclose more about our upcoming RPG Haven with a full gameplay trailer!

Share the journey of two lovers, escaped to a lost planet in a desperate attempt to stay together. Glide over the grasslands of a shattered planet, unraveling its mysteries to find a way to settle for good.

And if you are curious on why we created Haven after Furi? Emeric Thoa, co-founder and Haven creative director explains a bit of the decisions and intentions behind the game. Read his blog post here: https://www.thegamebakers.com/hand-in-hand-in-haven/

Also, we’re happy to announce Haven is coming to PC, PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch (full list of platforms and stores not final) and that we will have a DEMO at Gamescom (media only) and PAX West so get in touch if you’re a journalist or content creator and you’d like to test the game.

• Wishlist on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/983970/Haven/
• Web page: http://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/
• Join our Discord: https://discord.gg/thegamebakers

— Full press release below

Haven gameplay reveal

The Game Bakers unveil more details on their upcoming RPG Haven with a full gameplay trailer and a demo at Gamescom and PAX West.

Montpellier July 9th 2019,

In Haven, you share the journey of two lovers escaped to a lost planet in a desperate attempt to stay together. You play as Yu and Kay, gliding over the grasslands of a shattered planet, unravelling its mysteries looking for a way to settle down.

“Haven is a very accessible RPG, a relaxing game. It’s purposefully a very different experience from Furi.” writes Emeric Thoa, the game creative director. “But as with Furi, we tried to make a game that you have never experienced before. The story of a couple fighting for their freedom, an established relationship: what love looks like when you’ve moved past the early seduction phase, when you can be your true self with one another… I don’t think that’s been done much in video games.”

Haven is a story-rich adventure, with touching characters with whom you fall in love as you follow them through their challenges and everyday life. But it’s also a (J)RPG with an innovative combat system that lets you play the two characters at the same time, and chain actions using tactics and timing. “It’s a game with many inspirations, but to sum it up, I like to say Haven is kind of the lovechild of Journey meets Persona” details Emeric Thoa in his blog post about the game experience and influences.

The colorful and dreamy art direction of the light science fiction world of Haven is coming to life thanks to an original electro soundtrack by Danger, with a range of tracks that will carry players from the energy of a sunny morning to the tension of a fight in the mountains at night.

Haven is a solo game at its core, but at any time, a second player can jump in locally. Players can then share a moment of exploration and progression together.

The game will be available for PC, PS4 and Switch, and the complete platforms plan is not final. A demo will be playable at Gamescom (media only) and PAX West, contact us to book an appointment.

Key info and sites:

• Platforms announced so far: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch.
• Release date: 2020

• Blog post: https://www.thegamebakers.com/hand-in-hand-in-haven/
• Game Page: https://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/
• Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/983970/Haven

• Press kit: www.thegamebakers.com/press/sheet.php?p=haven

• Music: Danger 2emedanger.com

So we made Furi. A frenzied boss rush game about freedom. A game designed to be memorable because it was demanding. What would be next? Another hardcore action game? Furi 2?

It has never been on the table. We made Furi, next we had to make something different. Something that would explore another range of emotions. What do you need after Furi? You need a break. Can we make a game that feels like a break? A game that feels like a breath of fresh air. A pause in our fast paced lives. 

Like Furi, Haven is about fighting for freedom. 

Haven is about two characters, Yu and Kay, a couple in love. They escaped to a deserted planet to stay together. You play both of them, you live with them, you explore fragmented planet Source with them, gliding over the tall grass. 

It’s a completely different pace. It’s a game that aims at making you feel relaxed, making you laugh, making you fall in love with Yu and Kay. It feels good for all types of players, skilled and less skilled. It’s a solo game that’s welcoming for another player to tag along, so you can explore and progress together. 

Exploration is designed to create thrill, serenity and satisfaction. Gliding feels like going down a beautiful ski track, leaving a trail, cleaning the rust that covers Source’s landscape.

In combat, you control both characters at the same time. It’s not turn-based, but not completely real time either. You load orders for each character by holding buttons, and they launch their action when you release. It requires tactic and synchronization to either chain attacks or combine them. There’s no real stress to execute the orders with speed, but there is a sensual rhythm to the combat. 

The story is told through the daily life of Yu and Kay. You cook, eat, sleep with them during their journey. Dialog choices impact what you learn about the story, but may also have long term consequences…


Of course, life for Yu and Kay is not always a vacation. Survival is not even their bigger problem. The original soundtrack created by Danger covers this wide range of emotions: the pleasure of waking up on a sunny day surrounded by a beautiful landscape, the dreamlike feeling of being alone in the universe or the tension of being hunted down. 

Now that I have talked about our intentions with Haven, you can make up your mind by checking Haven’s first gameplay trailer. Enjoy!

Haven is a very original game, there’s not really a game like it. But I like to pitch it as the baby of two of its main inspirations: Journey meets Persona. Here is a picture that’ll tell you more about the various inspirations. 

Click to enlarge

We know Furi fans might be surprised by Haven. But we feel it’s our mission to surprise players. To make no compromise and create original games, with that same intention of creating lasting memories.

Thank you for supporting us!

Emeric and The Game Bakers

Venez participer aux playtests de notre prochain jeu Haven.
Les tests ont lieu à Montpellier, tout l’été à partir du mois de juin. Tous profils de joueuses et joueurs sont les bienvenus !
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Haven: http://www.thegamebakers.com/haven/
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