Gris
Gris is a hopeful young girl lost in her own world, dealing with a painful experience in her life. Her journey through sorrow is manifested in her dress, which grants new abilities to better navigate her faded reality. As the story unfolds, Gris will grow emotionally and see her world in a different way, revealing new paths to explore using her new abilities.
—Adrián Cuevas, Nomada Studio
Creative Director Conrad Roset in his Barcelona studio.
Nomada Studio was formed after Roger Mendoza and Adrián Cuevas, two game developers who had worked on AAA titles at Ubisoft Montreal and Ubisoft Barcelona, met Conrad Roset, an artist and commercial illustrator, in a Barcelona bar. He liked games but didn’t know how to program; they liked art but weren’t artists themselves. The three clicked immediately. Two years later, Gris was released.
ASK THE CREATORSWhy this? Why now?
After many years working for AAA projects, we wanted to do a more personal project. By chance Roger, Adrián, and Conrad met one night and they started talking about video games. The mixture of Conrad’s art and creativity and Roger and Adrián’s technical experience was the key to creating Gris.
What did you learn while making it?
It was a great surprise how rewarding it was to work with a lot of people that never did video games before. They added a new perspective to the project and keep feeding us with fresh ideas.
What was the most challenging part of the job?
For an indie studio it is hard to take care of many tasks at the same time. Even though most of us were used to doing a specific job like artist or programmers, we had to act also as producers, HR, accountant. . . .
“In ‘Gris,’ you play as a woman (also named Gris) who has lost her voice and, with it, her agency. Her fears and her pain initially take the shape of a flock of birds that works to harass and punish her. She begins the game terribly weak, unable to even put one foot in front of the other. By the end, though, she’s become incredibly mobile and skilled. Hers is a journey to reclaim an intangible, inner kind of power. It is a journey toward rediscovering the self, and toward peace.”
