Discovering Smallthing Studio, between present and future

A warm and pleasant sun shines on Chiavari as, on a late Friday afternoon, the beach and promenade slowly fill with faces that, having finished the work week, come out to enjoy the last autumn warmth. From this vantage point, it's easy to understand why Smallthing Studio chose this location as its operational base. Behind us, inside the windows of the hotel hosting us, the Smallthing team is gathered to celebrate, along with a series of guests (including us), the completion of work on the studio's first title, Simon The Sorcerer: Origins. A project the team has worked on for the past 5 years, even writing a proprietary engine from scratch, and which will finally see the light on October 28th on PC, MAC, Xbox, Playstation, and Nintendo Switch. 

Bringing Simon the Sorcerer back to the attention of new and old fans is an ambitious and bold project: the young wizard, born in a period when graphic adventures (and UK development) were the reference genre, has seen his fame gradually wane over time. Massimiliano Calamai and Fabrizio Rizzo (Lead Game Designer and Narrative Designer of Origins) have therefore imagined a new starting point, a new beginning for Simon's adventures that can combine the series' classic atmospheres with the possibilities for innovation offered by the present. Thus, a prequel, an ideal link to the past, but also a starting point for the future. 

Simon the Sorcerer: Origins begins shortly before the events that made Simon famous and thus stands as a prequel to the events experienced many years ago in the first chapter: the connection to the past is direct, but the perspective is different and surprising. Starting with the visual style, entirely handcrafted with illustrations and animations that could deliver a contemporary look, while always keeping the original pixel art as a reference point. The final result is faithful to the source of inspiration and at the same time tries to fill those gaps that at the time were a borderland where imagination roamed.

Even the Simon of Origins, in some way, is a new Simon, faithful to the caustic personality of the origins, still rebellious and witty, but now accompanied by a deeper side and open to emotion. A dualism that also translates into gameplay mechanics: by pressing a button, it is possible to switch between the old point&click mode and a new, more modern control system, updated to allow the use of all peripherals. 

If Simon the Sorcerer: Origins is the imminent present of Smallthing Studio, a touch of Simon is also in the team's future. Origins is not the only project in Smallthing's portfolio concerning the young wizard: the creative collaboration with Simon and Mike Woodroffe, the original creators of the saga, will also extend to a remake of the original Simon the Sorcerer, the 2D adventure published by Adventure Soft in 1993. After bringing Simon back to players' attention with Origins, Smallthing's intention is to give new life to the character, still loved and remembered by a large segment of fans, also through a re-elaboration of the graphic style. Simon's first adventure, therefore, is destined to return soon, in a completely revised and renewed new incarnation, all made in Italy. 

But there's not only magic in Smallthing Studio's future. During the celebrations, in front of the festive team, institutional guests, and journalists like us present at the event, Calamai briefly presented with suggestive teasers the other projects the Italian studio is working on. It starts with Sword of Sodan 2, a sequel to the fighting game released on Commodore Amiga in 1988, remembered for the gigantic size of its sprites, revolutionary for the time. It continues with Where the River Dies, a Walking Simulator with four protagonists trying to reach the Estuary, which is said to hide the origin of a dying Prince's evil, in an adventure that traverses friendship, hope, and death. The most ambitious project, however, is 14:18, a psychological horror immersed in Where The River Dies that promises a dark and disturbing journey experienced in third person. And all announced products will be available for PC, MAC, and consoles. 

If the present and future of Smallthing Studio have piqued your curiosity, then don't miss our interview with Massimiliano Calamai, recorded in Chiavari during the meeting with the team, which you can listen to below.