With Sky: Children of the Light, thatgamecompany aims to create an MMO distinguished by friendly experiences with other players. A developer discusses in an interview the challenge of enabling a non-toxic social space in the game.
What is Sky: Children of the Light? Sky: Children of the Light comes from thatgamecompany, the developers of Journey. The game was originally released in 2019 for iOS and later for Android, PS4, PS5, and Nintendo Switch. The free MMO is set to enter Early Access on Steam soon. However, no release date has been specified there yet – but you can already play a demo.
In Sky: Children of the Light, there is a large, friendly open world with seven kingdoms that you can explore with friends and players from around the globe. Creative Director Jenova Chen wants players to see themselves as friendly partners rather than competitors.
How does the developer plan to achieve this? In an interview with PC Gamer, Jenova Chen, the Creative Director of thatgamecompany, explains that he wanted to create an MMO that would appeal to teenagers as well. MMOs are popular among teens but are rarely associated with wholesome, friendly experiences with strangers.
He aims to change that with Sky: Children of the Light. Thus, creating a non-toxic environment has become an essential part of the development of Sky. While there are tools to report offensive messages, the goal is “to introduce positive, preventive measures rather than reacting only after the damage has been done.”
Social interactions must be earned
Chen says that in real life, you need a license to use a weapon – and essentially, newcomers in online communities are given a shotgun. “They have no understanding of social norms, but essentially blurt out controversial statements because they elicit maximum feedback,” Chen states.
Sky: Children of the Light does not have a text chat, and player names are hidden. Chen states: “One of the most useful things we do is that you have to earn the right to apply your social power.” In Sky, there are candles as “symbols of trust.” With a candle, you signal that you agree to interact, and you spend candles like a currency to befriend others.
Chen recounts a player who apologized in the forum to their teammate for leaving the game early because their mother called them for dinner. Previously, the player had been disrespectful to other players in Call of Duty. Chen realized that nobody is born toxic; it’s really just the environment we’ve created.
In a conversation with MeinMMO, Jenova Chen reported more about the relationship system in Sky: Children of the Light in 2021. For him, the greatest feature they developed for Sky is the trust-building system. You must earn trust and consent for them to say: “I want to listen to you.”
