Wolves in the Walls final chapter explores family, friendships, and memories.
The third chapter of Fable’s adaptation of Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s Wolves in the Walls series titled, “They’re Everywhere” explores courage, friendship, and family during dire times as you and the main character, Lucy, work together to discover what is hiding inside the walls of her home.
“They’re Everywhere” steps away slightly from the first two installments. Chapters 1 & 2 set-up Chapter 3 beautifully by taking the time to build a storyline that had a whimsical, innocent, and mysterious tone with a focus on developing friendships. We actually got to know Lucy and she got to know us; we built an authentic friendship with her that felt incredibly real thanks to Fable Studios remarkable work with virtual beings and AI.
In the first two chapters of the story, Lucy tries to convince her family that something is coming for them. Unfortunately, no one is listening because no one believes her. Desperate for help, she creates an imaginary friend that she can rely on to assist, as well as comfort her; that imaginary friend is you.
This new and final chapter uses the choices and actions you made in the first two installments to determine how Lucy interacts with you personally. In many ways, your actions define the relationship the two of you have, much like how any real-world friendship would naturally grow; Lucy remembers you and even adapts to your actions.
Not everything is as it seems when 8-year old Lucy’s imagination proves to be a reality. Helpher discover what’s hiding inside the walls of her house in this immersive fable, based onrenowned children’s book by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean. The long awaited chapter,“They’re Everywhere”, expands upon the mystery and shows the power of courage, friendshipand family when all seems lost.
Courtesy of Fable Studios
Like any classic trilogy story, Chapter 3 encapsulates everything you experienced in the first two installments — character interactions, memories, decisions made — to create an intimate bond; at times you are literally seeing the world through an 8-years olds eyes.
This is the twist in the story. VR technology isn’t being used to bring your imagination to life. Instead, your real thoughts and your actions are bringing Lucy’s imagination to life; as the story progresses, you actually feed the virtual being’s imagination.
In an interview with VRScout, Pete Billington, Director and Co-Creator talked about this revelation, saying, “For us, it was about how to make a character truly feel connected and alive and responsive. There is something transcendent about these little quiet moments with Lucy that allowed you to really truly be with her,” adding, “the more we were able to hit on those moments, the more excited we got about them. It took us down a path of character awareness.”
It’s this character awareness that makes Wolves in the Walls so special. Very few VR experiences are able to create this feeling of togetherness or effectively build such an emotional relationship between you and a virtual character. This story is about a child’s imagination and taking you back to your own childhood friendships, and exploring family memories.
Jessica Shamash, Creative Producer and Co-Creator of the series, said, “We constantly ride the line between what is real and what is imagination. As Lucy’s imaginary friend, you see the world through her eyes, her mind, and her thoughts.” Shamash continues, “We are an extension of her. When she starts to doubt herself, wondering if the wolves are just her imagination, if it’s all in her head, our abilities as an imaginary friend starts to come into question as well. At that moment, we start to see the world in fragments through Lucy’s drawings.”
Wolves in the Walls has come along way since the debut of Chapter 1 in 2018. This past summer, Wolves in the Walls became the first project featuring a virtual being to win an Emmy when it took home the award for ‘Outstanding Innovation for Interactive Media.’
During the end of our conversation with the co-creators, I asked them, what would 30-year-old Lucy say about 8-year-old Lucy’s memories of Wolves in the Walls? Shamash responded, “I think she would think back and have all of these vivid memories of everything from that moment, where it all felt very real and her emotions were high.” However, Shamash adds, “As we get older, we question those memories. Was that real? Were there really wolves in the walls? Was that my imagination. For Lucy, she’d know it was all real, but.. you wonder.”
Wolves in the Walls goes beyond a VR story or experience. It’s deeper than that. You actually build a strong emotional bond with someone that makes you wonder what will happen to her beyond this story. Lucy offers you a sense of familiarity and trust.
The third chapter of Wolves in the Walls: They’re Everywhere is available now for all Oculus users and features an all-star cast starring Isabella Rosselini as Nana, Jeffrey Wright as Dad, Noah Schnapp as Brother, Elizabeth Carena as Mom, and introducing Cadence Goblirsch as Lucy.
Feature Image Credit: Fable Studios
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