In Life is Strange: True Colors, Alex\u2019s psychic power of Empathy is brought to life through unique gameplay and cinematic experiences. Emotions are expressed by auras around other characters, which can explode into novas of light and color when the emotion becomes overwhelming. Each of these experiences transforms Alex\u2019s world, offering her valuable insights into another person but threatening to consume her own consciousness at times.<\/p>\n
As a dev team, we wrestled with the question of how to capture something as abstract as emotions. We found ourselves pushing the conventions of traditional Life is Strange storytelling, employing the tangible audio-visual representation of emotive sensations to drive the same response in the player that Alex herself feels each time. We also wanted to challenge the boundary between Alex and other characters, using elements like internal monologue and world exploration to blend perspectives and introduce questions about the strength of Alex\u2019s own thoughts. Although we approached each nova as a bespoke experience, we eventually landed on four general categories of emotions that shared similar elements: sadness, anger, fear, and joy. Here are some hints of what the player might experience with each.<\/p>\n