We are leaning right in.вЂќ Musically too, Dan and I would just share references, grunge and hip hop stuff that really worked (or one example, a small grocery store that plays a motown tune because the speakers would probably be pumping retro radio in the 90s, was one of my favourite bits of his research). If you think about it, it is incredibly gross!Д«ut that was the thing that made us go вЂњOh yeah, weвЂ™re doing this. We looked at a lot of malls, some of them used to have carpets. ThereвЂ™s a level early in the game that takes place entirely in a mall, and it has a carpet running through the middle of it вЂ“ that was one of our earliest design decisions. When our art director, Saffron Aurora, started doing research, everything from the sprinkly backgrounds to the different outfits our NPCs wear, all of it was done with a lot of love. Mighty Yell: A ton! Narratively the work that started with Jill MurrayвЂ™s story creation and characters was all about figuring out what AliвЂ™s home town would feel like, what her hobbies would be, how she would talk, what kind of things we would need to make it feel like you were right there with her. GN: How much research was put into nailing that 90вЂ™s vibe? You had to phone your mom to check in from payphones on the road while you were trying to accomplish an elaborate safe heist. You had to write things down in a notebook. ItвЂ™s a time that feels mechanically simpler in a way that really works for the kind of game we wanted to make. People didnвЂ™t have cellphones, they didnвЂ™t have the internet вЂ“ you couldnвЂ™t really google to see if the person offering to sell you a rare Burblo was on the level, or part of some elaborate scheme. So we wanted to do something different, something colourful, something that we grew up during.ДЄlso, I think the early 90s was the last time that you could ever really be a travelling grifter with any level of success. Mighty Yell: Looking at con artist stories theyвЂ™re always set in the 60s, or the 80sвЂ¦ they are periods that weвЂ™ve seen a lot of game stories in before. What made the team focus on that timeframe? GN: The 90вЂ™s aesthetic is a huge part of The Big Con. Oh itвЂ™s also a game about making our players laugh a lot (we think, anyways).

ItвЂ™s a game about talking to people, about ripping them off, about a mother and daughter just trying to run a simple video store. When she finds out that her mom owes a lot of money to loan sharks, she sets out across the country to grift and steal the money they need to save their video store. You play as Ali, sheвЂ™s funny, sarcastic, hates playing the trombone (usual teenage stuff). Mighty Yell: The Big Con is a game about being a teenage con artist in the 1990s.

GN: For those who donвЂ™t know, what is The Big Con all about?

Mighty vibe