BUILDING WORLDS 101 (Feat. Colby Wahl)

Oh man, High On Life is in your grimy little hands in only 95 sweet days. That leaves you approximately 136,800 minutes to read this post and score the low-down on the epic worlds and environments of the galaxy's biggest. game. ever. (so far). (probably). Straight from the source, Squanch Games' Lead Environment Artist, Colby Wahl, dishes out the details.

Think of it this way: If it takes you 5 mins to read this post, you only have to repeat the process 27,360 more times to make it to High On Life's release day! 😀

HOLD UP! Are you following High On Life on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook? If you answered, "YES" proceed to the following Q&A. If you answered "NO" ...are you serious right now?

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So, what role do you play in the creation of High On Life anyways?

I am the Lead Environment Artist! I’m responsible for leading a badass group of rock-making, tree-sculpting, and (sometimes) poop-modeling individuals!

We all saw High On Life's awesome trailer with glimpses into insanely colorful maps. What types of worlds and environments will players discover?  

All of them! Well, at least 6… but they all are very distinctive! In our game, players will be able to travel to some crazy places: from vibrant cotton candy-colored forests to deserted futuristic western towns on the back of giant asteroids!

Squanch Games and comedy go hand in hand...obviously. How are incorporating some laughs into each setting?

My team is constantly looking for ways to pack in as much fun into each world as possible! One of the more subtle ways we have done so is by placing a lot of posters, graffiti, and even stickers around the levels. They’re all over the place, and each one has plenty of in-world humor to feast your squanchy little eyes on.

We all know and love that squanchy feeling that tingles through our bodies. Mmm. What is it about each environment that gives it the "squanch factor"?

Pretty colors!! We have a whole palette of saturated vibrant colors we use throughout the game to really make your eyes bleed rainbows.

Since you're responsible for so many of the cool, intricate aspects of each world, is there anything players should keep an eye out for?

Those damn Crystals of Ithecles. They are fuckin everywhere!

For those who played our other (really awesome) titles like Trover Saves the Universe, how do the environments of High On Life compare?

Our art is so much more realized and detailed in High On Life than in Trover. We’ve worked really hard to create environments that feel like you could actually step into them. But that doesn’t mean that the worlds you will see in this game are less Squanchy! Everything still has a bright and colorful feel to it. Just, less cartoonish and more Muppets-meet-Bladerunner.

What types of dangers are lurking throughout the worlds of High On Life? Asking for a friend...

Definitely not giant sand worms. We don’t have any of those.

Are there any hidden locations players can aim to discover throughout gameplay? Gotta love the hunters.

Yes!! My team and the design team have put together lots of side areas you can only reach after unlocking certain abilities and powers by rescuing the various Gatlian gun friends. Players should take the time to head back to old worlds later in the game, once they have more abilities to navigate the world.

High On Life is a big game with even bigger details. How did you collaborate with your team to make the worlds and environments become real?

During the prototype and layout stage of development, and the dark year known as 2020, we actually used Virtual Reality techniques to all join together and map out the worlds in 3D together!!**

Considering everything you’ve worked on thus far, what’s been your favorite piece to watch come alive?

Watching the Slums of Blim City come together was probably the most exciting part of the development. We managed to put it together really fast! I just love the grime and slime all over it. I’m also a huge fan of all the big Mascots we created for it – they are really fun to climb and explore all over.

**High on Life is NOT a VR game!!!! If you want to play one, I've heard great things about Trover Saves the Universe. Also Accounting+.

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HEY! Before you go, please follow Squanch Games on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, ok? We asked nicely.